After all the bashings I have dished out to the larger Champagne houses regarding their fatuous attempts to match their products with unlikely foods, I can, at last, report on perfection.
Read more...
Yesterday I felt like I spent time in two parallel universes. In the first one, I was in the office reading about the Bank of England's radical moves to try and halt the economy's slide into a total meltdown, whilst pondering (for about the millionth time) my own financial future.
Read more...
It may be quite some time since you signed a petition or put your voice behind an industry initiative, but it's increasingly important as many people in the sector as possible stand up and be counted on the issue of responsible drinking and the misconception there now is about how bad our drinking culture has become.
Read more...
The time has come for me to call out to any of you out there who may be reading and semi-amused by my venture into the wine industry.
Read more...
The impact of humans on the environment has perhaps been felt more seriously in Australia than any other country. So, it is Australia that must take the lead in sustainable winemaking.
Read more...
With the global economy on the brink of collapse and the credit crunch tightening its pincers on every sector of the UK consumer base, what does the future hold for the wine industry?
Read more...
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the cheapest retailer of them all? Not an easy one for even the cleverest of mirrors that one, but it is the main topic of the day in boardrooms of multiples and discounters across the country.
Read more...
This story caught my eye in this morning's Metro newspaper. Some clever clogs has invented a gadget that apparently turns cheap plonk into the equivalent of oak-aged vintage stuff. Surely this has to be too good to be true.
Read more...
I'm starting to wonder at the magic M&S seems to have woven into its wine collection.
Read more...
Whoohoo, September does not seem to have been as bad a month as feared, thank God. I am certainly not saying this to jinx our businesses but I do believe in celebrating the small rays of sunshine we have as and when they come, without letting fear of tomorrow stop us being thankful for the blessings of today.
Read more...Despite some pretty strenuous efforts on a skiing holiday in 1987, I have only slept with one German. And he wasn't exactly what I'd had in mind. It was a chaste night that Markus and I spent together. Thankfully. And what pillow-talk we did enjoy focused mostly on Germany's "Geiz ist Geil" discounting culture and its impact on wine sales.
Read more...
In Dispatches' "What's in your wine?" Jane Moore asked: "Do we really want to spend so much money on a drink that can use such high levels of sugar to achieve its taste?" Yes, we do Jane. It's called the second fermentation.
Read more...
It's funny what thoughts pop into your head on a long tasting tour of South Africa, but I did not expect to be thinking about my old A-level history teacher when I set off to Cape Wine in Cape Town last weekend.
Read more...
We might be in the midst of an economic downturn, but that doesn't seem to be stopping wine loving singletons in London from having a good time - especially if they're men!
Read more...
Sometimes, when business is slow, the news is negative or fatigue seems to take over momentarily, it is best, as an old conservative used to say, 'to get back to basics'.
Read more...
You could take it as a sign of the importance of the wine market in the UK that Channel 4 should devote an hour-long programme to industry practices.
Read more...
During a tedious long train journey earlier this week I had plenty of time to ponder the conundrum facing the industry over how much information they should or should not be including on the average wine label.
Read more...
It can be a thankless, lonely, stressful job, that of the wine sales person.Endless calls repeating the same introductory spiel, each time trying to inject the energy of someone with a new exciting story to tell, this is a lonely place. The increased repetition, which can sometimes give way to inappropriate bouts of self amusement (as there is often no one to share the embarrassment with!), as one is passed from person to person, asked to repeat information again, put on hold, or shame of shames, inadvertently speak to someone already spoken to.
Read more...
So Dispatches on Channel 4 aired a programme last night called 'What's in your wine?' The programme concluded that, when it comes to buying the stuff, we're being conned by wine producers who fill their bottles with bad stuff that's not grapes.
Read more...
The Institute of Masters of Wine is unusual this year in celebrating a bumper crop - in this case fifteen new MWs. Of these, three become the first MWs in Asia; one is the first Brazilian to pass; and another the first Spaniard. One is only the second Swede to pass, and we finally have another French MW.
Read more...
