Essays
Do not get between Allison Janney and a porró.

Guzzling with the stars; six new celebrity wines

by  |  18-03-2019

From press releases about Sarah Jessica Parker’s forays wearing gumboots into the vineyards of New Zealand, to Brangelina’s lucrative Provençal Rosé adventures, to Jon Bon Jovi’s uh, Rosé, to Drew Barrymore’s, uh… other Rosé (wtf?)... more »

How to visit the Priorat wine region

by  |  27-01-2019 ~ 4 Comments

Despite the fact that I travel a lot for writing about wine, when I'm around in Priorat, I'm happy to lead tastings and tours. Sharing such great wines and opening up minds to how much... more »

How that “wine influencer” might well be a fraud

by  |  10-01-2019 ~ 12 Comments

"Influencer" is a word many of us will have heard of at this point even if not in marketing circles where it's the current brass ring in terms of social media advertising campaigns. In brief,... more »

Üllo: Why the wine sulfites & headaches myth never dies…

by  |  06-12-2018 ~ 2 Comments

So as is typically the case, the claim was framed as such: "A wine filter that will make your pinot noir headaches disappear" and as always, the claim was most assuredly not true and probably... more »

Life, under Coravin

by  |  23-07-2018

The Coravin. This little device has changed the face of wine service and storage massively since its creation in 2011. The act of jabbing a hollow needle through the cork in a wine bottle, injecting... more »

Wine buying in a vacuum: Winebuyers.com

by  |  28-05-2018 ~ 8 Comments

"Disruptive" is a term that raises my hackles. This is due to it being used either when referring to something like Uber who are outright breaking the law or then someone who is claiming to... more »
If you're not on social media, give people something to put there

The winemaker/winery guide to social media

by  |  04-04-2018

For anyone in wine, you’ve probably been constantly hearing how this generation or that generation or men or women or fill-in-the-blank is “now buying wine via social media!” Most of these articles usually make big... more »
Mustard, Napa has it

Seeing the Napa Valley of now

by  |  26-03-2018

This past February, the impossible happened: I actually slept in Napa Valley. In fact, I slept seven nights and passed an entire week within the confines of these world-famous vineyards bracketed by the Mayacamas and... more »
Simply cannot determine the original source...

The wine blog. Where from here?

by  |  30-01-2018 ~ 3 Comments

To a great extent, I've become numb to shocking headlines over the last year and half. But despite the constantly being on the brink of nuclear war and shithole talk, when I read "Huffington Post... more »

On writing a Georgian wine guide

by  |  28-06-2017 ~ 2 Comments

For anyone who might think it a quick way to riches, you simply do not write wine books for financial gain. Most everyone writes these types of books with little regard to the scant paycheck... more »