Fino’s context warning
by Sarah Abbott MW
Elegy V Here take my picture; though I bid farewellThine, in my heart, where my soul dwells, shall dwell. Tis like me now, but I dead, ‘twill be more When...
Author: Tim Atkin
News from the Court of Natural Sommeliers
by Ron Washam
The Court of Natural Sommeliers is pleased to announce that it is now accepting applications from qualified people in the wine trade who wish to pursue their N.S. There are...
Is food and wine matching an art?
by Tim Atkin
At the height of her fame as a Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Fit Club contestant, the ex-Tory MP Ann Widdecombe was asked to write a book about how to...
South America’s march on the future
by Tim Atkin
This year is the 200th anniversary of one of the key events in Latin American history. In January 1817, the Army of the Andes set off from Mendoza, determined to...
The Tyranny of Travel
by Giles Cooke MW
If you’re of a certain age you may remember a routine by Ben Elton. He described his anxiety about getting on a train or a bus and how you “...
Sam Euthanasia, the World’s Oldest Wine Critic, rates the 2016 Bordeaux
by Ron Washam
While other critics try to be the first to publish scores of a new Bordeaux vintage, Sam Euthanasia, who, at 95, is the World’s Oldest Wine Critic, as well as...
Where have all the wine merchants gone?
by Tim Atkin
What makes a good wine merchant? As a significant chunk of the UK trade returns from Bordeaux, having tasted their way through a few hundred samples of youthful, unfinished claret...
Crapaholics Anonymous
by Ron Washam
Hello, my name is Ronald. And I’m a Crapaholic. Hello, Ronald! This is my first time speaking at a Crapaholics Anonymous meeting, but I’ve been thinking a lot about the...
Ignoring the wine snobs
by Felicity Carter
When I was a music student back in the 1990s, a bomb went off in classical music. The world’s three greatest tenors – Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras...
Is meat really made for Malbec?
by Natasha Hughes MW
The wine trade loves a good shibboleth. Sauternes is the best match for foie gras, for instance. (Wrong, unless you’re into having your palate clagged up by an unctuous sweet...
Making wine on the West Bank
by Anna Greenhous
Imagine a wine region where delays at checkpoints are a part of daily life and your land can be confiscated at any time for “security reasons”. Where daily life is...
Can you mix wine and politics?
by Tim Atkin
“Stick to wine, Tim – you’re wasting time.” If you spend as many hours on social media channels as I do, then you get used to – and even rather...