Has natural wine killed the tasting note? An army of internet warriors wants us to believe it is so!
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Are natural winemakers in denial about mousiness?
This is an updated and significantly longer version of an article which originally appeared in Issue 2/2017 of Meininger’s Wine Business International with additional input from Joseph di Blasi, and Geoff Cowey. And yes, another outing for that photo…. Imagine a yoghurt manufacturer decides one day that using predictable, laboratory cultured lactic bacteria to create their
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Tasting orange wines with Hugh Johnson
I’m not sure that I have heroes anymore – and those I once had were certainly not wine writers. That said, if I did, and if they were, Hugh Johnson OBE would be a candidate. Several of his books are on my shelf, and his writings have accompanied my entire journey into wine over the last 25
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“Orange wines are a sideshow and a waste of time”
“What’s the point of experimenting? We know how to make really good wine. Why do we want to throw away the formula and do something different?” Hugh Johnson, interviewed in the Washington Post, October 2016. Recently I’ve been wondering whether the whole arena of natural wines was becoming so mainstream, tolerated and understood that maybe there
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When slurping isn’t natural
I looked at the bottle three times, picked it up, took a photo on my phone. Something didn’t feel quite right. “This is simply a fabulous French no-nonsense natural wine…” screamed the label. And then further down, there it was again: “This wine is 100% natural as well as gorgeous to drink”. At €4.99 in
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Wine Society whitewash – evil plot or careless journalism?
It’s no surprise that wine writers and journalists almost unanimously sing the Wine Society‘s praises. After all, here is a retailer which does not have profit as its primary motive, is entirely owned by its members and exists purely “to make available to members the highest possible quality of wines and services at the best
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Musar fireworks
Chateau Musar is an utterly unique, beguiling wine from the Lebanon, which could be said to have a cult following in the UK and internationally. Its uniqueness stems, I think, from a perfect combination of old world finesse and restraint, with new world ripeness and fruit. Particularly impressive is how the Musar character – exotic