Articles
17th Jul 2013
Golden Burgundies and funny money
by Robert Joseph
Chapter One It all began so simply. In London, one day in January 2014, the wine writers Tom Nutkin, Albert Joshua and the superstar German winemaker Dr Titan were having lunch with Nicholas Interr of Interr Brush & Rod,... Read more
5th Jul 2013
London’s wine scene: a tale of two cities
by Matt Walls
Considering its total lack of vineyards, London's long-established position in the wine world might seem surprising. But this has proved to be London’s strength; historically there has been no local pride, patriotism or short-sightedness to... Read more
1st Jul 2013
The World Cup of Wine
by Ron Washam
I don’t care about Canadian wine. I don’t know anybody who does. Canadians should be making wine like Jamaicans should be bobsledding. Oh, but they make great Ice Wines, eh! I hear this all the time and I think, “Yes, pour Canadian wine... Read more
28th Jun 2013
In search of wine expertise
by Tim Atkin
Last week I was an invigilator at the Master of Wine exam in London, supervising a tasting paper that I’d helped to set. Before the roomful of... Read more
17th Jun 2013
Fruits, newts and cutes
by Robert Joseph
In the Wine And Novelty Corp. boardroom, the atmosphere was tense. Behind Warner Biggereturne III, the company president, the chart on the electronic whiteboard said it all: wine division sales had dropped for the third consecutive quarter. Worse... Read more
14th Jun 2013
Wine's whistle blowers
by Tim Atkin
Traitor or patriot? Whistleblower or scoundrel? Depending on your point of view, Edward Snowden, the man behind the recent revelations about the National Security Agency’s surveillance techniques, is either a hero or a villain. Whatever you... Read more
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
3rd Jun 2013
How to Throw a Perfect Home Wine Tasting
by Ron Washam
More often than not, when I attend a wine tasting at a private home it’s disastrous. And not just because I was invited. A wine tasting seems like an easy affair, like oral sex with a Washington intern. Yet, without proper planning, your home... Read more
3rd Jun 2013
Meet the Osborns
by Tim Atkin
There can’t be many world-famous wineries founded by teetotalers, but d’Arenberg in McLaren Vale is one of them. Despite working in the industry as company secretary at Thomas Hardy & Sons for 30 years, Joseph Osborn hadn’t touched a... Read more
31st May 2013
Looking for the BrewDog of wine
by Tim Atkin
How conservative is the wine business? Less than it once was is the obvious answer, at least in the UK. When I started writing about the subject in the mid-1980s, a pin striped suit and tie were de rigueur at tastings, and that was just for the... Read more