Essays

A more balanced amendment to OIV judging guidelines?

by  |  09-05-2019 ~ 1 Comment

Given the amount of wine competitions and people touting themselves as "professional wine judges" these days, it may seem to the general public that setting up such an endeavor takes little more than coming up... more »

Et tu, Eto? Redefining single-serving wine, again.

by  |  08-04-2019

The core issue with First World problems is that there are simply so many and they’re all so equally “serious”. The grocery store has run out of your preferred bottled water. Your personal trainer only... more »

Zayane, a new tribe on the Moroccan wine map

by  |  05-04-2019

It was 2015. I was slightly younger, living in a different village, and most importantly, thought nothing of going to Morocco, in July, during Ramadan. That was an adventure worthy of the hardest of face-palm... more »
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 »

Family wineries and the issue of Climate Change

by  |  04-03-2019

Last week I was invited to a friendly, relaxed lunch in Barcelona, albeit one that was focused on the serious topic of Climate Change and how it relates to winemaking. The unfortunate joke behind the... more »

Wine Predictions for 2019

by  |  01-01-2019

In these illustrious times of silly-haired men holding sway over the misdirection of the world, predictions of any kind are slightly less useful than horse sweat. But, as little value as general predictions may have,... more »

The 2018 Wine Predictions in review

by  |  26-12-2018

We arrive to that time of year for everyone’s predictions in the wine industry about the year to come. I’ll join in that bluster parade shortly but unlike everyone else, I like to go back... more »

Gifts for those wine type people you know and… dread?

by  |  10-12-2018 ~ 3 Comments

Wine type folks (*) are horrible to get gifts for. "Oh!" you're possibly thinking, "Surely, I can simply give them the gift of wine? No?" Forget about that pronto as most any bottle, unless insanely... 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 »

A small taste of Málaga

by  |  26-11-2018

You are spoiled, simply spoiled, when it comes to wonderful food and drink in Spain. There are however those more spoiled than others and I posit that anyone in Catalunya or the Basque Country lives... more »