Pick and Mix
by Margaret Rand
A couple of things have struck me recently. One was Richard Geoffroy, ex-chef de cave of Dom Pérignon, saying casually that he blends everything, even his breakfast orange juice. The...
Margaret Rand
Margaret Rand writes for World of Fine Wine, winesearcher.com, Gourmet Traveller Wine and is general editor of the annual Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book; she has won various Roederer and Lanson awards over the years, including one for Grapes & Wines (2001). Her latest book is 101 Wines to Try Before You Die (2018).
Articles by Margaret Rand
Cutting Through The Babble
by Margaret Rand
It struck me, watching Katya Kabanova at Glyndebourne this last summer, that opera has terroir. It also has directors, who fulfil the same role as winemakers, either expressing the terroir...
Can We Taste Colour?
by Margaret Rand
It is probably safe, at this distance in time, to confess. The PR who organised it is dead; those at Rémy Martin will have moved onwards, upwards, outwards. It was,...
Wines That Sing To Themselves
by Margaret Rand
The trouble with taking human emotions and dumping them on to unsuspecting bottles is that they bring their connotations with them. A wine can be cheerful, or dour; that’s pretty...
Powerful Elegance
by Margaret Rand
There was a broadcast on BBC Radio 3, the other week, of an old recording of Maria Callas in Lucia di Lammermoor. I forget who the other singers were, but...
Looking For Something Else
by Margaret Rand
Most of the time, for most of history, people have wanted wine to taste other than how it does. That’s normal: raw beef straight off the bullock is a lot...
In Search Of Familiarity
by Margaret Rand
It was a comment by a South African producer a few weeks ago that set me thinking. He said, in effect, that South Africa isn’t making enough Chardonnay. It should,...
The Quest For Authenticity
by Margaret Rand
An email coversation with Jill Norman, trustee of Elizabeth David’s estate, sent me back to An Omelette and a Glass of Wine. This collection of writing, first published in 1952,...
The Vanishing Point
by Margaret Rand
I have an age problem. First of all, 38 years of tasting young wines has conditioned me to their charms – their energy, their freshness. Second, there’s little point in...
Looking at wine like an artist
by Margaret Rand
My husband, who is a painter, says that the more colours you can describe, the more you can see. You could put it the other way round and it would...
Ticking the right boxes
by Margaret Rand
I’ve been doing some recreational online shopping in the lockdown. But only for things I know will be reliable; only things which will be as I expect. Once upon a...
When is a gimmick a genuine innovation?
by Margaret Rand
The most improbable things can turn out to have lasting value. Who would have thought, back in the day, that changing the old vats in Bordeaux, those ancient wooden barrels...