My thanks to my mate Nadim for passing on this from this month’s British Psychological Society’s monthly research digest: Practising describing wines could help you become a connoisseur “Hmm, it tastes peachy, gutsy, with a pinch of wild berries,” the wine connoisseur says after swirling the Chiraz [sic] round her […]
Recent Posts
Anyone who’s been to more than a handful of wine tastings knows that they should be gentle with the eau de cologne and after-shave. But while most adhere to such a rule, they seem to forget that there are other aromas that linger. This came home to me most recently […]
Flagrant, not fragrant
Sad news that week that two of the wine world’s more interesting winemakers have died. Didier Dagueneau, the wild man who took Pouilly Fumé to another dimension, was killed in a microlight, while Bailey Carrodus, the quiet but passionate founder of Yarra Yering, also passed away. A couple of years […]
Bailey-ing Out
One of the definitions in my Concise Oxford Dictionary of the word ‘premium’ is ‘of best quality. This seems to have escaped those who sell wine. Today, wines touted as ‘premium’ products are usually bog-standard, entry-level fodder. So what’s above premium? First there was super-premium. Then ultra-premium. Then Icon. This […]
When the best isn’t good enough
A lovely story has broken of how the US magazine Wine Spectator has paraised a restaurant that doesn’t exist. American author Robin Goldstein invented sent details of the fictitious Osterio L’Intrepido in Milan to the magazine, along with a fee of $250 and wasn’t surprised to receive one of the […]
Château N’Existe Pas
First things first. Don’t try this at home. On the assumption that you follow the Huckleberry Finn principle and do the opposite of what I suggest, let’s proceed. Am off to Spain tomorrow for a trip around Galicia – I’m expecting a version of Catalonia but with more in-breeding and […]