Essays
A window back into the pre-pandemic

We’re just not there yet

by  |  03-11-2021 ~ 7 Comments

Last week I went to attend a professional wine tasting here in Catalunya. It's held inside the striking location of an abandoned church up on a hill with a view to the village below and... more »
Image from Researchgate.net

Biogenic amines, sulfites, headaches, & wine

by  |  14-06-2021 ~ 2 Comments

The research papers for Master of Wine candidates don't often receive a lot of attention once released for public consumption as they're quite focused and specialized, sometimes to a fault. It would however seem that... more »

Wines on film

by  |  17-05-2021 ~ 2 Comments

A few months back, I posed the question on Twitter as to whether or not others enjoyed watching people taste wine on camera. I wasn't asking for nefarious reasons but purely due to the fact... more »

Not finding fault

by  |  23-03-2021 ~ 2 Comments

A much-delayed visit to Raventós i Blanc in Penedès finally came to fruition last week as we just emerged from "county confinement" to "regional confinement". With a brilliant sun shining upon us after weeks of... more »
Photo derived from work by Alfons Morales

With wine information, you get what you pay for

by  |  05-03-2021 ~ 6 Comments

A little while back on a wine professionals online forum I often interact with, someone asked a great question about where to get information for studying up on the region of Jura as she was... more »

The personal story behind a stock wine photo

by  |  25-02-2021

If you spend any time in the internet you undoubtedly know these hands holding those grapes. Anyone who has seen anything relating to wine, whether a newsletter or the cover of a well-known magazine will... more »

Why Sherry is reviving

by  |  22-02-2021 ~ 3 Comments

It's the news that Sherry producers have been waiting literally decades to hear: Sherry sales have increased! As was recently reported in terms of the UK (a principal market for the wine), Sherry sales have... more »
Going your own way means a lot more paperwork

Revisiting the disclosure issue in wine writing

by  |  20-01-2021 ~ 8 Comments

The assault on journalism never stops. Just within the last week I've seen two grave ethical violations of purported "journalism" in wine, and these are but the latest examples... One was an article about Georgian... more »

Riedel me this!

by  |  12-01-2021

I have a guilty secret that I’ve been hiding from the wine world. No, it’s not a sneaking admiration for white Zinfandel, it’s far more embarrassing than that. The truth is that I prefer drinking... more »

ReWine & the bottle: Using a resource in plain sight

by  |  30-11-2020 ~ 6 Comments

The memories are hazy from when I was a child walking into the first supermarket in my hometown. There was a glass front to the store which let in a stream of daylight. It always... more »