Drinking a very nice, affordable Pinot Noir as I type. It’s Villa Maria Private Bin 2009 Marlborough, New Zealand (£9.99 Sainsbury, Tesco, Coop, Wholefoods, NZ House of Wine). Fresh and…
This video makes me squirm: is it because I’m a Brit?
James Suckling, previously wine critic with the influential US publication The Wine Spectator, is launching his own website. He’s going to be focusing on video content, and to whet readers’…
Domestic stuff
I know some readers encourage me just to stick to wine. But I also know that some like to know a bit more about the context of me as a…
Sorry to miss the European Wine Bloggers Conference
Today is the European Wine Bloggers Conference in Vienna. I would have loved to attend, but it’s a big clash with half-term, when I have a self-imposed travel ban so…
At the Tesco press tasting today…
So I was at the Tesco press tasting today. It was held in a new location: floor 31 on Centrepoint, the large concrete tower at the intersection between Tottenham Court…
Controversialist: judgements of quality in wine
One of the issues about wine that really interests me is this: who gets to decide what is good? This touches on aesthetics, and also definitions of quality, and there…
A mixed day – a nice tasting, some good work, and some IT horrors
It is now just about the end of a long day; one that has been mixed. This morning I walked the dog, then headed off to the Marks & Spencer…
Asda press tasting, and a first look at Brancott (ex Montana)
It was the Asda press tasting today. For those outside the UK, Asda is a supermarket with a reputation for value for money, aimed higher than Lidl and Aldi, but…
The Wine Opus launch: on the winning team!
Last night was the launch of The Wine Opus, a significant new wine book that is probably the heaviest I’ve yet encountered. The reason it is so heavy is that…