Imagine, if you will, two equally-skilled chef-restaurateurs whom we’ll call Jean-Paul and Jean-Jacques. J-P’s philosophy is simple: he makes the most out of locally-grown ingredients – even when they aren’t...
Mount Etna’s most controversial winemaker, Frank Cornelissen, is a hard man to track down. After a first failed meet up (my tardiness partially to blame) and a number of vague...
What’s the definition of a 100-point wine? Depending on who’s handing out the numbers, a cynic might say it’s something you can’t afford and don’t want to drink anyway, but...
It was a stupendous amount of work. I knew that going into it, but, still, it was overwhelming. I persevered, spent countless hours studying and memorizing, and I’m proud to...
If you work in the wine industry, you’ve probably heard this joke before: What’s the best way to become a millionaire in wine? Answer – start with two million. Definitely...
Fashion, so the experts say, is cyclical. Wear your flared jeans or Annie Hall waistcoat long enough and you’ll eventually look like you’re in with the in crowd. (Don’t hold...
People have been writing about wine for as long as there has been wine, and nearly as poorly as they write about it today. It’s humbling to be part of...
Although certainly a fully revised and updated edition of Tom Stevenson’s standard reference work on Champagne and all things effervescent, this opus is more than that- it’s very much Essi...
With some big names in sparkling wine on five continents billed to speak at Denbies for this, the third and largest yet ISWS, the gathering mood was of course one...
You won’t be able to say I didn’t warn you. 2014 looks to be another strange year in the wine business. If you don’t believe my predictions, remember that I...
The news that the five surviving members of Monty Python are planning a one-off reunion gig at London’s O2 arena next summer met with a range of responses, ranging from...
Like most winemakers in the world of my age (and that’s the only clue I’m going to give you about my identity) I grew up regarding Bordeaux as the reference...