Articles
23rd Mar 2012
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 that is based on tangible success. Producers from all over the globe want to... Read more
21st Mar 2012
Hitchin, mon amour
by Tim Atkin
Travelling in Burgundy earlier this year, I came across a sign outside the town of Nuits St Georges. “Jumelée avec Hitchin”, it proclaimed. It all seemed rather incongruous and I Tweeted to that effect, asking tweeps for some other... Read more
20th Mar 2012
The Chancellor prepares to clobber wine drinkers (again)
by Tim Atkin
Tomorrow is budget day in the UK. Like the Grand National, the Baftas or the last night of the Proms, it’s something of a national ritual. The chancellor will be photographed outside Number 11 Downing Street with the red budget box, Dennis... Read more
18th Mar 2012
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 firmly in cheek. But then he paused for a second. “I think we will... Read more
17th Mar 2012
Is this the best value Pinot in the world?
by Tim Atkin
Drinkable cheap Pinot Noir is almost an oxymoron. We Pinotphiles are all too aware that we need to pay over the odds to get a fix of our favourite grape. Decent examples tend to start at £12 and even then buying Pinot can be something of a... Read more
16th Mar 2012
Drinkers versus investors
by Tim Atkin
Listening to people discussing their claret portfolios has become as boring as the house price conversations we Brits used to have to endure in the 1990s. For “I bought this rundown semi in an up and coming area and it’s doubled in price”... Read more
9th Mar 2012
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 the manner of Aristotle.” As intros go, I’m sure you’ll agree that... Read more
2nd Mar 2012
Robert Parker, Nigel Tufnel and the 2009 Bordeaux
by Tim Atkin
There’s a famous moment in This is Spinal Tap, Rob Reiner’s spoof “rockumentary” about an ageing English heavy metal band, when the lead guitarist, Nigel Tufnel, is showing off his custom-made amplifier. Whereas most amps stop at 10, he... Read more
17th Feb 2012
Argentina: full speed ahead?
by Tim Atkin
The recent arrival of HMS Dauntless in the south Atlantic, complete with Prince William in his role as a search and rescue helicopter pilot, hasn’t done much for Anglo-Argentine relations. As the 30th anniversary of a war that the Argentinian... 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