Today I lunched with Dan Keeling at Kricket, a small Indian small plates restaurant in Pop Brixton. It’s a tiny restaurant – full every evening – but this was a…
At Noble Rot with the IPOB crowd, drinking Raveneau and Chave
On Tuesday evening I was back to Noble Rot, for dinner with the In Pursuit of Balance crowd: Raj Parr, Jamie Kutch, Jasmine Hirsch, Steve Matthiason, Mark Andrew and Totte…
The role of wine critics: The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers (2)
Yesterday I began a series of write-ups from the Wine Writers’ Symposium, starting with Jay McInerney’s keynote. This was followed by a panel session with Eric Asmiov, Virginie Boone and…
Jay McInerney on wine writing: The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers 2016 (1)
‘This has become a special part of my life,’ says novelist Jay McInerney, referring to wine writing, his parallel career. McInerney’s keynote kicked off the 2016 Symposium for Professional Wine…
Craven Syrah Faure Vineyard 2014 Stellenbosch, South Africa
This is interesting. It’s from Craven Wines, which is a new project from Mick and Jeanine Craven that focuses on single vineyard wines from special sites in Stellenbosch. The approach…
Twitter’s powerful metrics – how can I use them?
Very interesting to see the sort of data you can now get from Twitter on the way people interact with your posts. These ‘analytics’ or metrics are very detailed. But…
A beautiful South African white: Cape Point Vineyards Isliedh 2013
This is a brilliant oak aged Sauvignon/Semillon from Duncan Savage at Cape Point. The blend in 2013 is 82% Sauvignon, 18% Semillon and the grapes were all hand-harvested, whole bunch…
A lovely biodynamic Crémant du Jura from Champ Divin
Had this at lunch today, at The Slanted Door in San Francisco’s Ferry Terminal. It’s a lovely restaurant with modern vietnamese cuisine the theme, and a stunning wine list full…
In the Napa Valley for the wine writers’ symposium
I’m just on my way home after a week in California’s Napa Valley for the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers. It was my first time at this event, which was…