One of the aspects I didn’t cover much in my discussions of perception in I Taste Red, is how emotion affects the perception of the world around us. When we…
The Lidl Prosecco giveaway, and why we need Minimum Unit Pricing for booze
Yesterday people queued for hours outside branches of discount supermarket Lidl, all for a six-pack of cheap Prosecco. If you were one of the lucky first 20 or so…
Some thoughts on Prosecco
Prosecco is one of the wine world’s success stories. I’m drinking one now. It’s the Bella Covina Prosecco from Tesco, which is as cheap as Prosecco gets at £5.85. Is…
Chapel Down Kit’s Coty wines, including the £100 Coeur de Cuvée
These are some new releases from Chapel Down, one of the UK’s largest wineries. Chapel Down make very good sparkling and still wines, and they fulfil an important function: they…
Greek wines on the world stage: a talk I gave in Athens
Here’s a written version of a talk I gave to Greek wine producers in Athens yesterday. It’s not exactly what I said (I never read talks); but rather it’s something…
Tasting three commercial wines on camera: YellowTail, Jacob’s Creek and Barefoot
I found myself in a supermarket. In the wine aisle. I always have a look in the wine aisle: it’s important to see how normal people experience wine. Even if…
The race to the bottom
An observation. Not backed by firm data, admittedly, but an observation of a trend in the UK’s wine market. There seems to be a race to the bottom, and it’s…
Wine predictions for 2016
What do I know? I’m a wine journalist who travels the world, asks lots of questions, and has a slight obsession with interesting wine. But my love for wine means…
Port round-up: my guide to the best readily available Ports
Port is one of the most seasonal drinks of all. And we’re in peak Port-drinking season right now. I drink quite a bit of Port – all year round –…