Articles
1st May 2010
Sir Alex Ferguson and a world of two halves
by Tim Atkin
Sir Alex Ferguson -- soccer genius, gum-chewer and mind game player extraordinaire -- wants to go into the wine business when he retires. The story emerged in the News of the World last weekend, so should be treated with a degree of... Read more
30th Apr 2010
What makes a great sommelier?
by Tim Atkin
It's been a mixed month for Gallic gastronomy. If the French were insulted by the fact that their country didn't feature once in Restaurant Magazine's list of the top 10 eateries in the world, they could at least take solace in the result of... Read more
22nd Apr 2010
Riesling and the high Mosel bridge
by Tim Atkin
"Ah, classic aromas of petrol on the nose." Professional wine speak can sound silly at the best of times, but the description that invariably makes punters splutter into their Paris goblets is the one used to describe the smell of mature... Read more
16th Apr 2010
Teaching students to drink wine
by Tim Atkin
When I first heard about a French government proposal to hold wine tastings on university campuses, I assumed it was a belated April Fool. But the more you think about it, the more sense it makes. Offering free booze to students is like... Read more
15th Apr 2010
Bordeaux plays cat and mouse
by Tim Atkin
There were sixteen flags fluttering forlornly in the drizzle outside Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, each representing a different nation. Some of them were making their debuts at the 2009 en primeur tastings, specifically installed to welcome... Read more
3rd Apr 2010
Thank you, Mr Darling
by Tim Atkin
Even when you’re prepared for it, a punch to the stomach still hurts. Alistair Darling warned the wine industry in March 2008 that the annual duty escalator would be 2% above inflation until 2012 (subsequently extended to 2015), but there... Read more
2nd Apr 2010
How Much Should You Spend on a Bottle of Wine?
by Tim Atkin
Imagine buying a case of wine. Now imagine removing six bottles and leaving them on Alistair Darling’s doorstep. That, in effect, is the upshot of last week’s budget, which has pushed duty to £1.69 a bottle, the highest in Europe after... Read more
25th Mar 2010
Black Tower and the spirit of the Seventies
by Tim Atkin
It was a Life on Mars moment. Hearing about the imminent relaunch of Black Tower made me feel like Sam Tyler, the detective in the BBC television series who gets hit by a car in 2006 and wakes up in the 1970s. Black Tower Liebfraumilch was... Read more
21st Mar 2010
A Hedonist's Paradise
by Tim Atkin
No one needs an excuse to go to Wellington, New Zealand's most cosmopolitan, food-loving city, when it's central heating and thermals time back in Europe. But throw in the chance to attend a three day conference dedicated to Pinot Noir, the... Read more
21st Mar 2010
Are we ready for Turkish wine?
by Tim Atkin
"Read it? I know him." Travelling around Turkey on a wine trip, there are times when you're reminded of the joke about the Polish man who goes to the optician's and is asked to decipher a line of random letters. It took me a week to learn how... Read more