2011 Tercius Alvarinho, Vinho Verde

Alvarinho is exactly the same grape as Albariño – it’s just grown on the other side of the Minho River in Portugal, as opposed to Spain. In fact, it’s one...

Humanising The New Normal

by Andy Neather
...together as social beings. Even in lockdown, for most of us the social remained vital: the park walks with friends, the virtual cocktails and family quizzes, the Zoom calls with...

Remaking Burgundy

by John Atkinson MW
...yet high-minded understanding of vineyard determinism. Bulk “Pommard”, “Chambertin” and “Clos Vougeot” became the only points of intra-regional comparison by default. When it came, domaine-bottling was the lightning rod that...

Facing The Fires

by Christy Canterbury MW
...that CalFire offers controlled burning for which the state assumes liability rather than a landowner. Local authorities also offer free assessments for irrigation system efficiency and carbon impact management, all...

Burgundy

by Tim Atkin
One of my favourite Monty Python sketches is the All England Summarise Proust Competition, where contestant are required to précis all seven volumes of the French novelist’s masterpiece, “A la...

A Good Marriage

by Margaret Rand
...And if you are successful in that, food cannot improve them. Not that they all care about that. As a witness, let me summon my recollections of various dinners and...

The Climate Change Paradox

by Tim Atkin
...group of academics argued that “the impacts of climate change on viticultural suitability are substantial” and that “global changes…caused by climate change may result in substantial economic and conservation consequences”....

Music and wine: classically trained

by Tim Atkin
...classical music – harmonious Baroque and Early Classical. Play them a piece of rock, pop, rap, techno or jazz and it doesn’t work. The same goes for choral music. Words,...

A Greek (Wine) Christmas

by Peter Pharos
I knew Greece had lost the struggle against its perennial bugbears of Westernisation and capitalism, when I saw on TV that the big Christmas tree in Syntagma Square went up...

Don’t forget your corkscrew

by Matt Walls
...Don’t forget to factor in the inevitable garage bills. Normal cars aren’t designed for dusty vineyard tracks. Last year in the Rhône our car got beached on a hump in...