Articles
3rd Nov 2010
Why is Asia in love with Lafite?
by Tim Atkin
A long face is almost de rigueur for anyone working in the London wine trade right now. There was a brief outbreak of optimism in the late spring and... Read more
29th Oct 2010
Wrangles at Wine Australia
by Tim Atkin
What’s happening to the Australian wine industry at the moment reminds me of the famous line from Oscar Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest: “To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like... Read more
22nd Oct 2010
Burgundy 2009: first impressions
by Tim Atkin
“Hey, guys, great choice of time to visit.” Dominique Lafon of Domaine des Comtes Lafon in Meursault was only voicing the views of many of the Burgundian growers who received me in the middle of the 2010 vintage. And he had a point,... Read more
16th Oct 2010
Grape heists - no ladder required
by Tim Atkin
It was among the most famous heists in the art world. Early one February morning in 1994, two crooks propped a ladder against the wall of Oslo's National Gallery. They smashed a first floor window, climbed inside and lifted Edvard Munch's... Read more
15th Oct 2010
Australia: the joy of Melbourne
by Tim Atkin
You don’t need an excuse to spend time in Melbourne. At least, I don’t. It’s Australia’s most cosmopolitan city, with a fantastic food and wine culture and some seriously good late night bars. OK, the weather can be grim (it looks like... Read more
8th Oct 2010
Wine and alcohol: how low should you go?
by Tim Atkin
"And how many units of wine do you drink a week?" If you've been to see your GP for a health assessment recently, you may recognize the question as well as the dilemma facing the patient. Do you lie, knowing that most doctors double what... Read more
7th Oct 2010
A wino visits El Bulli
by Tim Atkin
General de Gaulle famously complained about the difficulty of governing a country that produced 246 different cheeses. Dining at El Bulli, the world’s most famous restaurant, leaves you with a similar sense... Read more
4th Oct 2010
Pass the artichokes: difficult food and wine matches
by Tim Atkin
Long before Ant and Dec came up with the idea of subjecting minor celebrities to the indignity of eating witchetty grubs in the Australian jungle, a friend of mine invented something called The Vindaloo Challenge. The game is easy, if... Read more
29th Sep 2010
Wine, moustaches and 50 words for snow
by Tim Atkin
The Inuit languages famously have more than 50 words to describe different types of snow, enabling native speakers to distinguish between a landscape that is variously fresh, firm, packed, rippled, crusty, wind-beaten, threatening or ideal... Read more
24th Sep 2010
In praise of older wines
by Tim Atkin
How long does it take you to drink a bottle of wine once you've bought it? A day? A week? A year? I'm not sure how accurate the statistic is, but the word in the wine trade is that nine out of ten bottles are emptied within 48 hours of... Read more