Independents’ day with The Dirty Dozen
by Tim Atkin
Dartmouth House, the home of the English Speaking Union, is an unlikely place for a revolutionary gathering. Set in the heart of Mayfair, it feels like a slightly fusty gentleman’s...
Country: Other Countries
The joy of Austrian red wines
by Tim Atkin
Heaven, runs the old joke, is where the police are British, the chefs Italian, the mechanics German, the lovers French and it’s all organised by the Swiss. Hell, on the...
2010 Domäne Wachau Terraces Grüner Veltliner, Wachau
( £8.49, down to £6.36 from June 29 to July 19, 12%, Waitrose )You might want to wait until this excellent, entry point Grüner goes on special offer at the end of the month, but it’s a really good wine with which to celebrate the arrival of summer. It’s taut, minerally and complex, with pure fruit flavours, no oak, and lovely aromas of white flowers, white pepepr and wet stones. The kind of thing that makes you want to sing in the (Viennese) woods.
What’s wrong with the UK wine scene
by Tim Atkin
In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re in the middle of National Wine Month, an initiative launched by the admirable Wine & Spirit Education Trust. I may have missed the road...
The rebirth of Lebanese wine
by Tim Atkin
A five hour flight to Lebanon coupled with a lengthy, fog-bound delay at Heathrow is a good time to do some reading about this most complex of Middle Eastern countries....
Jilly G, Gary V and wine TV
by Tim Atkin
Call me a member of an endangered minority, but I still miss Food and Drink, the BBC cookery show that Delia Smith once dubbed “the most disgusting programme on television”....
Wines to drink by the Med
by Tim Atkin
When the package tour operator Goldtrail Travel collapsed last week, cancelling the summer holidays of some 50,000 customers, bar owners in Greece and Turkey must have had mixed feelings. Goldtrail’s...
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...
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...
Are we ready for Turkish wine?
by Tim Atkin
“Read it? I know him.” Travelling around Turkey on a wine trip, there are times when you’re reminded of the joke about the Polish man who goes to the optician’s...
The Atkins. My wines of the year for 2009
by Tim Atkin
First, the good news. Not since 1990 has the world enjoyed such a consistently promising vintage as it did in 2009. The châteaux owners of Bordeaux may be leading the...