When Diesel - the ultra trendy purveyor of $300 (₤160) jeans - decided to get into the wine business this year with equally expensive wines, they got the grape varieties all wrong. Sorry but Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir simply aren’t the vinous equivalent of denim. That honor would go to […]

This article appearded in the June/July 2006 edition of Connections Magazine (Ireland)
Well priced, massively fruit-forward, quaffable Australian wines seem fairly ubiquitous these days, and why not? Who hasn’t picked up a bottle of Jacob’s Creek, Rosemount, Hardy’s, Banrock Station or [yellowtail] lately? They’re the cheap, cheerful, user friendly wines that rescued us all […]

Last month, faster than Boris Yeltsin could say tough shitzki y’all, the Russian government pulled the plug on Georgian wine, banning all imports. Since Georgia exports 89% of its wine to Russia, it’s been devastating to the Georgian wine industry.
The ban continues and has generated a good deal of press but they’re […]

If you’ve caught the wine bug hard, the need to purchase a Laguiole corkscrew may have set in. You may already own one. Simply put, they’re the most elegant (and expensive) way to open a bottle of wine. And now that the reality-based wine community is clamoring for the end of cork in […]

Last week I talked about why it’s a good idea to take wine notes. This week we’ll go through the tasting note for one wine together. To do this properly, you’ll need the following materials:

1 bottle 2003 M. Chapoutier Belleruche Rouge Côtes du Rhône. Its label, like all Chapoutier labels are in […]

If you’re interested in getting better treatment in a restaurant or tasting room, I know of one sure way: take notes. Faster than you can say “expert in the house,” the staff will be falling all over you, indulging your every whim. OK, I’m exaggerating. The real reason to take notes […]

Note: the bulk of this article is an accompanying chart that compares the major scoring systems now used, from 3 stars to 100 point scales (see it online here).
If you watched the movie Mondovino, you may have come away with the impression that the 100 point rating wine rating system is the root of all […]

It’s a funny coincidence to have a Sauvignon Blanc tasting just when a mainstream wine writer is completely trashing the grape: “For years, this offensively inoffensive grape has escaped criticism while Chardonnay and Merlot have been scorned. The free ride ends here” rants Slate’s Mike Steinberger. It sounds like a joke but he keeps up […]

I was very pleasantly surprised to find a selection of Domaine Viret at my local Lea and Sandeman’s here in London.

True to the spirit of the Wine Century Club, there was a great deal of variety in our wine drinking over our long weekend in NYC.