Monty Python and the meaning of wine
by Tim Atkin
The news that the five surviving members of Monty Python are planning a one-off reunion gig at London’s O2 arena next summer met with a range of responses, ranging from...
Topic: Column
Calling time on the Bordeaux recipe
by The Secret Winemaker
Like most winemakers in the world of my age (and that’s the only clue I’m going to give you about my identity) I grew up regarding Bordeaux as the reference...
The Sweet Smell of Success
by Robert Joseph
“When that limey writer Tim Atkin said my S.O.S. Winemaker’s Red Blend was the ‘Coca Cola of wine’ I could’a hugged the guy. He probably thought he was bein’ critical,...
All I want for Christmas
by Ron Washam
Dear Santa, I don’t really want much for myself this Christmas. Oh, I guess there are a lot of material things that part of me craves. I was thinking I...
Wine, minerals and bull schist
by Robert Joseph
“I go with the flow.” Lubricated by six serious Mojitos – his favourite drink – Danny Makeabiggabuck is surprisingly loquacious about the approach he takes to the wine business. The...
The Official 2013 Bordeaux Vintage Report
by Ron Washam
Here in Bordeaux, we’re Singin’ in the Rain over the wonderful 2013 Harvest. Many might compare 2013 to the magical vintage of 1984, a vintage memorialized by the great George...
A spoonful of sugar
by Tim Atkin
There’s nothing like delivering a speech about the UK wine market to make you focus on its strengths and weaknesses. I was asked to talk to a group of Spanish...
Wine and the Académie Française
by Robert Joseph
The arrival of President Jean Suis-Convaincu at the Elysée Palace in 2017 changed everything – but only briefly after Tea Party Republicans drove the world into a second financial crisis...
What it takes to make great wine
by Tim Atkin
What does it take to make a great wine? An amazing vineyard is the most obvious answer, preferably but not necessarily planted with old vines. You can’t put lipstick on...
The Wisdom of Age
by Tim Atkin
“A vineyard planted at the gates of hell”, doesn’t sound like the most promising source of fine wine. You’d expect it to make a pruney, full-bodied red or a fiery...
The Sommeliers’ Last Wish Foundation
by Ron Washam
Dear Friend of Wine, Hello, you’ve probably heard of me. My name is Larry Anosmia, and I’m the best Master Sommelier in America. Yes, that Larry Anosmia, star of the...
The Beautiful South
by Tim Atkin
Welcome! Bienvenidos! Thobela! Using a modern day riff on Joel Grey’s famous song in Cabaret, The Beautiful South held its first, keenly-awaited tasting in London last week. If you’ve not...