On Friday I wrote a piece for Tim Atkin’s website on the future of wine writing, considering the differing roles of critics and writers. In it, I suggested that if…
Judging at the International Wine Challenge, 2015, Tranche 1
For the last couple of days I have been at The Oval (one of London’s two major cricket grounds) judging in the International Wine Challenge. It’s the second year where…
A week as a wine writer
So what does a week as a wine writer consist of? It’s hard to say. Every week is different. There’s travel. Attending tastings. Writing articles to deadlines. Lunches. Dinners. It…
Just pick earlier!
I had a remarkable tasting a few weeks ago with Marcelo Papa of Concha y Toro. He did an experiment: picking some of the grapes for Marques de Casa Concha…
Unwritten rules for wine writers
I was recently at a supermarket press tasting, and one of the buyers – new to the game – commented that he was surprised how well we (the wine journos)…
Sorry for the absence
Apologies for being a week without updating this blog. Normally I update daily, so this has been very uncomfortable for me. It was a technical issue to do with the…
Recently on the main wineanorak site
For the benefit of those who just visit this blog, some recent articles from the main wineanorak.com site: Lowburn Ferry: small, high quality winery from New Zealand’s Central Otago Vino…
Perfectionism
Some thoughts about perfectionism. Generally speaking, this is an undesirable trait. There are some people who you would quite like to see perfectionism expressed in: for example, your neurosurgeon, your…
Keep on running
I wrote last year about how I’d begun running. The good news is that I have managed to keep it up. And I’m just about to get on a plane…