Although Marks and Spencer picked up the best supermarket award at both the International Wine Challenge and Decanter World Wine Awards this year, I rarely find myself buying their wines. Food, yes of course, but wine? Nope, can’t even remember if there’s been a first time let alone a last. Last night (under instruction to [...]
Archive | November, 2008
Watch Out Beadles About… and He's Not Amused
The following statement is an example of a wine industry lobbyist disappearing up his own backside. In reaction to Mr Darling’s most recent raise in alcohol excise duty, Jeremy Beadles of the Wine and Spirits Trade Association (WSTA) said the following:- “The Chancellor has turned into Santa Claws, snatching scarce pleasure from millions of people… It is staggering that a [...]
Top 5 Best Wine Moments in Film and not a hint of Liver or Chianti
I was flicking through the channels the other night and stumbled across Silence of the Lambs just as Sir Anphoney Ham-it-up-kins was doing his “ate his liver with some fava beans and a glass of Chianti” speech. It got me thinking. What are the best wine references in film? So, here’s my Top Five – [...]
Darling Cuts Tax and Ignores the Stimulus of the Vine
Forget reducing the VAT rate. Shopping online at 1am in the morning after consuming a bottle of wine may soon become one of Mr Darling’s retail stimulation policies. It’s guaranteed to get you spending. I’ve just completed some late night consumption on LastExittoNowhere.com after finishing off a bottle of M&S own label Bourgogne. The site [...]
Wine of the Week gets a P*ss Poor Mention
Wine of the Week featured on broadcasting legend(s) Martin Kelner and Eduard LaPaglie’s P*iss Poor Podcast last week. If you haven’t yet heard this extraordinary slice of web based broadcasting then prepare yourself for an assault on common decency and a rich vein of gutter humour. Great stuff! I’m a follower of Martin Kelner firstly because [...]
Maradona vs Butcher? Lets Settle This Over a Glass of Malbec
There are some images in life so disturbing that, even though you may avert your eyes from the source, the imprint remains burned into your retina before sweeping up the capillaries into your very nightmares. I’m thinking of the visuals of war, famine, animal cruelty, clowns on bicycles and Anthony Perkins dressed as his dead [...]
How to Sell Wine the Frat Boy Way
The strapline for this video is “Nothing attracts 18-year-old girls like 18-year-old grapes.” I’m afraid, that despite myself, I laughed out loud twice while watching it… [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4uSKvXEuZc]
Ridge Geyserville
I first discovered Ridge Geyserville at a Wine Society Committee meeting in 2006. These meetings were invariably frustrating affairs – like a kind of parish council meeting writ large. And yet, the pain was (nearly) always eased by great food provided by the caterers at RIBA and awesome wines chosen by The Society’s fine wine [...]
The Great Rodenstock Wine Swindle
Decanter Magazine reports on a case of intrigue, fraud and scientific investigation.. Wine collector Hardy Rodenstock ‘removed labels from ancient bottles’ of French wines and had them reproduced, according to German magazine Stern. In an article titled ‘The Great Label Swindle,’ Stern says in its 13 November issue, ‘It is unclear whether the German justice [...]
The French Celebrate "Crap Wine"
Winemakers in France’s Languedoc region, which has suffered a reputation of being the “poor relation” to its Bordeaux and Cote Du Rhone cousins, have called their lastest product “Vin De Merde”. Go beyond the joke and you’ll see that this is a story of despair… [youtube=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=AD1IwzHE72Q]
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Tesco wine chief hoists himself by his own petard. Ouch.
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Caption This Photo: I’m only drinking with you because…
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Concha Y Toro Killed My MacBook Pro
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Caption This Photo!
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Caption Competition!
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Oddbins returns but does it know what it’s doing?
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DrinkOware: Fake Shardonnay from Austrlia. Hic.
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Chewing gum found in ‘fake’ wine bottle
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6 litre bottle of 1961 Latour sells for £135,000
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Who Madoff with all the wine? Bernie did!!
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MorayJ: Customer Recommended Auction Price - geddit!?...
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Gravy Drinker: website may say coming soon, however the wines are...
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Simon: I like to bottle my sons wee and resell it as Blue...
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Hibbert: Being a devoted fan of Manchester United & tha...
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Leen: I'll take a shot of that spo-dee-o-dee! Anybody r...
