The wine trade is not renowned for disruptive business models. We haven't yet had our Uber, Airbnb or iTunes. Nor do we have much of a history of radical innovation.
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Our regular columist Jerry Lockspeiser has published "YOUR WINE QUESTIONS ANSWERED: The 25 things wine drinkers most want to know", with 100% of the revenue recieved donated to the Millione Foundation, which he started with Mike Paul and Cliff Roberson to fund primary schools in Sierra Leone.
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People working in the wine business arrive by different routes. Jerry Lockspeiser tells the tale of Jan Kaspar and how he came into the wine trade.
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Many of us in the wine trade rue the Brexit result. Some, including Tim Atkin in his recent Harpers piece, hope that it won't be implemented. I campaigned to Remain, twice writing in Harpers in support, the second time urging readers to join in before it was too late. Alas, now it is. The people have spoken
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It was a glorious event. The Stade de France a sea of Polish and German colour- red and white scarves held aloft by their thousands, black and white shirts everywhere you looked. Crazy hats, painted faces, couples framed by a huge heart kissing on the giant screen.
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While everyone in the wine business agrees that product quality is important, how we define 'quailty' may vary. So how do we persuade a buyer to give us a listing?
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Jerry Lockspeiser has learned a lot of lessons through his training for marathons that are also applicable to running a successful business.
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Are you an "inner" or an "outer"? This is not a question about bicycle tyres but the increasingly vexed matter of where you stand on Britain's membership of the European Union.
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It's about time we considered the customer and put their preferences first, rather than treating them as an inconvenient obstacle to a perfect wine and food pairing
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Jerry Lockspeiser weighs in on the new Chief Medical Officer guidelines of alcohol consumption and argues as a trade we have an 'obligation to pay attention'. Are we skeptical because we simply don't want to believe the argument is valid?
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Jerry Lockspeiser on why mission-driven businesses are appealing to consumers
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Mike Veseth appears to be on a mission. Money, Taste and Wine: It's Complicated! follows his Wine Wars and Extreme Wine (reviewed here in May 2014) in discussing aspects of the wine world in a language ordinary mortals can understand.
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It happened again last week. I was on a flight from Mallorca to London City airport. It was one of those small planes with just two seats either side of the gangway. She was in an aisle seat and I was bolted in next to the window. I was trapped and I wanted to lie.
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You know that feeling. For years you have been doing something that seems slightly illicit, almost shameful, then out of the blue someone knowledgeable tells you it's OK. You don't have to hide it any more. And you discover you are not alone. Lots of other people are doing it too. In fact it might even be a good thing!
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Companies with lots of shareholders shouldn't have annual general meetings like this. Really. It's dangerous stuff. It might change the way we think about doing business completely and forever. And we don't want that. Or do we?
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There is no doubt that ratings works.
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Would you buy wine from a fascist? Would you recruit a star salesman with a history of punching his colleagues?
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Jerry Lockspeiser gives his assessment of the new book by Deidre Heekin: An Unlikely Vineyard.
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Why is crowdfunding so inherently exciting? The heady emotional mix of allure, participation, open access, opportunity, creativity and success is hard to resist.
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The Millione wine brand is a social business started by myself, Cliff Roberson and Mike Paul. All profits are used to build primary schools in Sierra Leone. Four schools have been running successfully and the fifth is half built.
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