I’m devastated. Distraught. Bereft. Less than three weeks after I purchased a brand new MacBook Pro, the poor machine is now lying dormant, unable to power up, utterly f*cked. And it’s all the fault of a Malbec from Concha Y Toro. Here’s the sequence of events: 2008-2009 – I pontificate, procrastinate and ruminate about buying [...]
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Dear Wine Society, Why Won't You Talk to Me?
My dear friends at The Wine Society recently tweeted an announcement about their 2008 Bordeaux en primeur offer. I clicked on the link and was, as ever, impressed with what I saw. So I tweeted back to ask for some recommendations. I waited for a reply. I waited some more. I’m still waiting. Alas, The [...]
Are The Good Times Over For Laithwaites?
Question: What do Laithwaites, Sunday Times Wine Club, Telegraph Wine Service, Natwest Wine Club, British Airways Wine Club, Warehouse Wines, Avery’s, and (pause for breath!) Virgin Wines have in common? Answer: They are all owned by Direct Wines, the behemoth of the UK wine by the case market. Founded upon one man’s passion for Bordeaux [...]
Average Wine Drinker Puts on Half a Stone a Year
The headline to this post was taken from The Daily Telegraph last week, and upon reading it my first thought was “I’m ok then. I don’t drink average wine” And yet with further examination, it seems that this story has nothing to do with the quality of the wine and has everything to do with [...]
Dan Aykroyd is a Snob Free Grape User. Huh?
The list of celebrity vineyard owners is long and varied. Francis Ford Coppola, Sir Cliff, Sting, Bob Dylan and of course Olivia Newton John (!). But only one celebrity affords an opportunity for a reference to spectral investigation and removal services. Dan Ackroyd ain’t afraid of no ghosts and he ain’t afraid of making wine [...]
Why Don't UK Wine Drinkers Get Down With California?
A recent article in Decanter magazine reported on how Californian wines in the UK are mis-represented by the dominant big brands that saturate our supermarkets. John MClaren, The UK head of “Wines of California”, was quoted in the article as saying ‘The problem is the consumer thinks California is what they see on the supermarket shelf [...]
How To Live to One Hundred and Ten, Drink 1500 Bottles of Wine a Day
The Red Wine Pill is in the news again. A study has shown that the resveratrol capsule provides more health benefits than drinking hundreds of glasses of the “sweet nectar of the gods.” About Seventeen years ago, the CBS program 60 Minutes first examined the so-called “French paradox”, which suggested that the French – despite [...]
Nil Points! Is Robert Parker Still Relevant?
This weekend’s Financial Times carried a full page reader offer for 2004 Chateau Langoa-Barton with the by-line “Awarded 90 points by Robert Parker, this wine is not to be missed”. The rating of 90 recalled to mind an article by professional cynic John C Dvorak who describes a 90 point Parker rating as “the chicken [...]
"UK Wine Consumption Will Rise Despite Recession" – Well They Would Say That Wouldn't they?
“For me, whenever I’m sad, I drink,” confessed Bora Baki, co-owner of Hillsborough Vineyards near Hillsboro, Virgina USA, “But whenever I’m happy, I drink. So, I don’t know, maybe wine is recession-proof.” This morning I attended a press conference at Christies entitled ” The 12th Global Study on current trends in the international Wine & [...]
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 [...]
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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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Wine enthusiast orders £20,000 worth of wine from Twitter
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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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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...
