Au revoir, Chamarré?
by Tim Atkin
“Made in France, enjoyed everywhere,” runs the tag line on Chamarré’s appropriately colourful website. At the time of writing, both parts of this statement remain true, but for how much...
Author: Tim Atkin
The trouble with Australia
by Tim Atkin
Australians don’t do pessimism. They’re generally such a chipper, stop-moaning-and-get on with-it nation that they’d rather share a hot tub with a great white shark than be accused of whingeing...
Grenache and Woody Allen’s Zelig
by Tim Atkin
Some grapes are born great, some achieve greatness, while others have greatness thrust upon them. But what about the supporting actors: the spear carriers, the chorus, the walk-on parts? There...
What’s great about Grenache
by Tim Atkin
Delegates at the first ever conference dedicated to Grenache were handed a bag celebrating “G-Day” upon arrival, a tongue-in-cheek allusion to the Normandy landings in June sixty-six years earlier. To...
World Cup Wines
by Tim Atkin
Here we go. Or rather ‘ere we go, ‘ere we go, ‘ere we go. Unless you’ve been in solitary confinement for the last year, you’ll be aware that the World...
A taste of English fizz
by Tim Atkin
How do you define Englishness? To some, it’s village greens, warm beer, stiff upper lips, pinstriped suits and the changing of the guard. To others, it’s a little less idealised...
Beaujolais – more than nouveau
by Tim Atkin
Talking about Beaujolais in May feels weird, like donning thermals in the height of summer. This vibrant, juicy red is so closely associated with Beaujolais nouveau day, a worldwide celebration...
LIWF: what does the future hold?
by Tim Atkin
How was it for you? As the spittoons were emptied at the end of the 2010 London International Wine Fair, it was the question on the lips of many of...
Wine and the spirit of co-operation
by Tim Atkin
Co-operation may be fashionable in political circles at the moment, but in the wine business it’s increasingly regarded as the equivalent of a tweed skirt: frumpy, moth-eaten and distinctly old-fashioned....
The big three: feedback from the spring tastings
by Tim Atkin
It was a neat coincidence. As we entered the final week of the Barclays Premiership, with Chelsea and Manchester United competing for the trophy, so the two best high street...
A cloud with a silver lining: natural wines
by Tim Atkin
Walk into any wine shop and you can see the bottles that sell, placed strategically in the fridge or in attention-grabbing piles close to the till. The wall flowers are...
What to drink on election night
by Tim Atkin
If his diaries are to be believed, the late Alan Clark always went to bed early on New Year’s Eve, avoiding noisy parties to get a good night’s kip in...