Articles
7th Jun 2013
Canada: you can't build an industry on Icewine
by Matt Walls
Norman Hardie has been making impressive Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Ontario, in the east of Canada, since 2004. He admits that Icewine has been both a blessing and a curse: “it’s good and bad... it shows people we can make wine” he says,... Read more
4th Dec 2012
Ten things you need to know about the 2011 Burgundy vintage
by Tim Atkin
My full report on the very enjoyable 2011 vintage in Burgundy will be published in January... Read more
27th Oct 2012
Do New World wines age?
by Tim Atkin
What’s the difference between a New and an Old World wine? Twenty-seven years ago, when I started writing about the subject, the distinction was clear-cut. The received wisdom was that the former made fruity, easy-drinking wines, often with... Read more
17th Sep 2012
Champagne: where the party's really at
by Matt Walls
Sometimes I feel very lucky to be living in the UK when it comes to getting hold of good wine. Since the UK has historically been an importer of other countries’ wines, rather than producer of its own, the UK wine industry has tended to be... Read more
2nd Jul 2012
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?” I get asked on a regular basis, although the offers are less frequent when... Read more
5th May 2012
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, in the UK at least, is struggling against a combination of... Read more
25th Mar 2012
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 or the corporate world, but many of them don't. What most of them have in common is... Read more
10th Feb 2012
My Dream Cellar
by Tim Atkin
Imagine, just for one minute, that you were richer than Bill Gates: more loaded than a Hollywood film star, Warren Buffett and a Russian oligarch put together. Which wines would you buy? Would you stock your cellar with the most expensive... Read more
20th Jan 2012
Burgundy 2010: the year of the sorting table
by Tim Atkin
Burgundy week has become such an established feature of the annual tasting circuit – half of London’s livery halls, art galleries and old court rooms seem to be taken over by growers pouring samples – that no one ever stops to question the... Read more
14th Jan 2012
Me, Kurt Vonnegut and wine
by Tim Atkin
One of my favourite cuttings, passed on to me by my father more than a decade ago, first appeared in an unlikely place: Inc. Technology magazine. It's an interview with the late Kurt Vonnegut, best known for the satirical novel... Read more