When I started out drinking wine, supermarket wine ranges were extremely variable. There were some terrible wines: wines that made you gag. As a student, and thus a bottom-feeder, the…
The internet, cozy cocoons, confirmation bias and the death of the generalist
I have been leafing through issue 38 of The World of Fine Wine. One article that has got me thinking is a book review by David Williams, who is one…
Minimum Unit Pricing for alcohol: what’s the downside?
The UK is considering Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) of alcohol, with an initial level of 45 p per unit. Initially, I couldn’t see a downside, from the perspective of a…
Returning to my old university for a wine tasting
From 1986 until 1992 I spent six years at Royal Holloway University of London, first doing a BSc and then a PhD. Last night, I returned for the first time…
On Andrew Jefford’s famous speech at the bloggers’ conference
I can’t think of many recent pieces of within-trade wine communication that have had such an impact as Andrew Jefford’s keynote speech at the recent bloggers conference, which he has…
Primitivo, Musar, Bordeaux and Rioja
Had some friends round last night, so four interesting reds went into decanters. These friends weren’t wine geeks, and I always enjoy seeing the way non-wine-nuts respond to wine. So, from…
Winning Blogger of the Year at the IWSC awards dinner
Isn’t the Guildhall in London just fabulous? It’s properly grand and very old, and it proved to be a great setting for last night’s IWSC Awards Presentation and Banquet. It…
The bloggers conference wraps up with a BIG night!
The blogger conference is over. I am very tired, but it has been a brilliant event. I’ve met lots of wonderful people and had some stupidly late nights. I have…
Fun at the bloggers conference
So it now day 2 of the wine bloggers conference. It has been a great experience. It is a lot bigger and more professional than I had anticipated. Everything about…