Go wild with The Bunch
by Tim Atkin
Attending a tasting run by The Bunch, a group of Britain’s leading independent wine merchants, is like watching The Magnificent Seven. Every time the posse reassembles, it seems to have...
Author: Tim Atkin
Sparkling form
by Tim Atkin
Help! I fear I’m turning into a Prosecco snob. You might think this is slightly silly – like favouring one daytime soap over another – but I’m serious. There are...
William Golding and wine competitions
by Tim Atkin
When William Golding sent the manuscript of “Lord of the Flies” to the publisher, Faber & Faber, it landed on the desk of a reader called Polly Perkins. Her verdict...
Majestic’s six bottle switch
by Tim Atkin
Economic necessity or swift-footed tactical shimmy? Majestic’s decision to reduce its minimum in-store purchase from 12 to six bottles – as predicted here on 2 August – is arguably both...
Review of La Tour d’Argent’s Wine List
by Tim Atkin
When La Tour d’Argent lost its second Michelin star a few years ago, continuing its slide down the ranking of top French restaurants, television crews were camped outside for days....
A Fruity Number
by Tim Atkin
I know we’ve just come through the silly season, when tales of killer chipmunks and dolphin sign language deputise for what’s normally classed as news in the British media, but...
Wolf Blass and his wines
by Tim Atkin
There are so many stories about Wolf Blass that it’s hard to know when fact shades into fiction. Did he really page himself at airports so that other people would...
Aussie wines and The Ashes
by Tim Atkin
How good was that? For an Englishman who’s passionate about sport, nothing compares with beating the Aussies at cricket, not even a win on penalties against the Germans or a...
Sideways look
by Tim Atkin
The Hitching Post in Buellton has got used to the attention by now. Five years after the hit movie Sideways featured two scenes filmed at its friendly, no frills bar,...
Youngest First
by Tim Atkin
I’ve never been to a Tupperware party, let alone an Ann Summers get-together, but I have a feeling that’s where the people behind i-wine (i-wine.tv) found their inspiration. Billed as...
Europe’s new legislative dawn
by Tim Atkin
The European wine sector took a step into the 21st century earlier this month. Given that many of its practices were mired in the 1930s, it was a stride that...
California dreaming in the UK
by Tim Atkin
If location, location, location is the key to the property market, explaining why a sock drawer in Knightsbridge costs more than a palace in Kabul, it also tells you a...