Wine at the movies
by Brian Miller
“I like to drink wine more than I used to. Anyway, I’m drinking more.” Marlon Brando, ‘The Godfather’ With his proceeds from ‘The Godfather’ director Francis Ford Coppola bought himself...
Topic: Column
What’s the point of posh tastings?
by Tim Atkin
A friend of mine who’s a barrister calls what I do for a living “the most un-job like job in the world”. It’s a common perception. “Need an unpaid assistant?”...
Lord Sugar’s nose for fine wine
by Tim Atkin
It’s a rare occurrence, admittedly, but there are times when Lord Sugar, the original East End barrow boy made good, talks a lot of sense. The latest series of The...
Sicily: a continent comes of age
by Tim Atkin
There’s a spot on the north face of Etna, Sicily’s smouldering, still active volcano, where you can stand in front of the remnants of the last big lava flow, a...
Wine, toilet paper and Costco
by Tim Atkin
Like many of you, I suspect, I’d never heard of Annette Alvarez-Peters until she appeared on American television recently, chatting about wine, toilet paper and televisions. But suddenly, she’s all...
Alsace and the meaning of tradition
by Tim Atkin
The wine world thrives on novelty: new vintages, new flavours, new producers. In some ways, this is both understandable and necessary. Creating a bit of sizzle around a category that,...
Should Bordeaux en primeur take a holiday?
by Tim Atkin
Nothing divides opinions quite like Bordeaux en primeur. If you’ve spent the last few weeks in the Australian outback, without access to a mobile phone or the internet, you might...
Redefining fine wine
by Tim Atkin
The wine world is often celebrated for its breadth and diversity – all those grape varieties, countries, regions and sub-regions – but there are times when it feels like a...
Pinot Central by Alan Brady
by Tim Atkin
A friend of mine in the south of France runs a business advising people who want to buy vineyards. Some of them have lots of money, refugees from the city...
The UK’s culture of cheapness
by Tim Atkin
Anyone who still believes the UK is the centre of the wine world should pay a visit to ProWein, the annual trade fair in Düsseldorf. The place has a self-confidence...
2010 Rhônes: still time to flash the plastic
by Tim Atkin
“They are both for sale.” The response of the Bordeaux château owner to my question about the relative merits of the 2009 and 2010 vintages was delivered with tongue lodged...
In search of “ordinary” wine consumers
by Tim Atkin
Imagine a wine column that began with the following sentence: “Now since there is much to be written on wine, let us discuss briefly some points of special interest after...