The Burgundisation of wine
by Guy Woodward
Every so often, a new buzzword springs up in the wine world. Often rather nebulous, sometimes completely intangible, its role is pithily to reflect a trend gaining traction with the...
Topic: Champagne
Picking The Right Moment
by Kate Lofthouse
Pharrell Williams, Kate Moss, and a soil expert walk into a bar… and share a bottle of Moët. Not my wittiest opening, but that’s because it isn’t really a joke....
The Death Of Nostalgia
by Tom Hewson
Something was eating away at me; had I written this piece before? Or had somebody else? The only result that came up after a hasty sanity check was an obscure...
Uncomfortable Truths
by Kate Lofthouse
Champagne is one of the elegant extras in life. These words, borrowed from Dickens, capture some of the glamour and sparkle of Champagne, its decadence and luxury. It is a...
Resuscitating The English Patient
by John Atkinson MW
Two decades ago, I gave a PowerPoint presentation on Champagne in Champagne. At the end, there was a ripple of applause that fell decibels short of ‘polite’ on the clapometer....
A Different Path
by Margaret Rand
Did any grower ever say, ‘I’m looking for a really cold, wet site – Yorkshire, maybe, or Derbyshire – so I can plant Ortega and Huxelrebe and Rondo’? Equally, how...
Resonant Rosé
by Margaret Rand
To be perfectly clear, I love rosé. On a hot summer’s day it’s all you want; on a cool drizzly summer’s day it reminds you that it is in fact...
Big Money And The Soul Of Wine
by Andy Neather
You would need a heart of stone not to laugh at the travails of Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, honorary chairman of the Champagne house and grandson of its founder. The British press...
Cultural Elevation
by Tom Hewson
I couldn’t find the right polish for my tan suede shoes that morning, so they’re looking a bit unloved as they sink into the expensive taupe carpet. Nobody is sitting...
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...
The Mysteries of the Mousse
by Tom Hewson
Why is it that some sparkling wines glide like fluffy meringues whilst others seem to fizz and froth like an angry jacuzzi? The route to the finest bubbles is one...
Wine’s Invisible Cities
by Tom Hewson
Nested in the discussion of “Big” versus “Small” Champagne is an interesting question I saw posed by Oregon winemaker Jason Lett of Eyrie vineyards: “Is the Traditional Method antithetical to...