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Miller leaves The Wine Advocate, and a few questions 6 Dec 2011 | 12:13 am
Of course I can say it now but it was only a matter of time before something happened. The continued pressure on Jay Miller as Robert Parker’s man on Spain (don’t forget South America and the Pacific ...
Should we let the wine do the talking? 2 Dec 2011 | 12:08 am
It’s quite fashionable to be dogmatic these days. I’m exceptionally guilty of it, whether for or against Natural wines; against the way Bordeaux is cynically marketed; against the idea that a high pri...
How much is a wine critic worth? 24 Nov 2011 | 03:06 am
Today I wrote a post for the soon-to-be-gone catavino.net, stating at one point that the regional wine body of Murcia would have been better off spending a fraction of the €29,000 cost of inviting Jay...
Appellations: would we be better off without them? 2 Nov 2011 | 12:16 am
In a recent edition of Decanter magazine, Piero Antinori tells the world that Rosso di Montalcino might benefit from the use of so-called ‘International’ grape varieties. Indeed, the Tuscan Marquis sa...
Wine writers: the future is unwritten 13 Oct 2011 | 09:18 pm
If we accept the statement, made by many veteran wine tasters, that wines today are significantly better than they were several decades ago, I have to wonder what the purpose of our ‘greatest’ wines i...
Wine fraud: why no one talks about it 29 Sep 2011 | 10:38 pm
Luckily, for the reputation of certain highly praised wine regions, we have relatively short memories. But let me remind of the 2008 Brunello di Montalcino Scandal (commonly known as Brunellopoli) in ...
Vintage 2011: Malvasia 28 Sep 2011 | 12:12 am
Before I bring you the latest ‘news’ on my 2011 production, I feel it would be wrong of me to gloss over my Vendange Hative Malvasia and the Blood of the Abandoned. Firstly, the Vendanges Hatives: af...
Wine and Anarchy: winemaking by committee 23 Sep 2011 | 02:00 am
Everyone agrees (though with differing interpretations) that in Barcelona in 1936, something rather special happened. The city and the surrounding countryside witnessed the first ever successful Anarc...
In praise of Natural Wines 4 Aug 2011 | 12:29 pm
Yes, you read the headline correctly. But, before you all start the malicious ‘Benedict Arnold’, ‘Italian Army WWII’-style comments, let me set a few things straight by saying that I maintain deep mis...
Bordeaux En Primeur: why wine critics think you’re dumb 1 Aug 2011 | 10:56 pm
[This post comes partly as a response to Simon O'Hare's comments on my previous post, partly as an update of thoughts. I want to challenge the notion that En Primeur ratings do not need to include a p...
