Blind tasting chez Philippe

The serried ranks of decanters were lined up with military precision their vinous booty glistening teasingly. God forbid we were going to drink the stuff within; instead we were going to wrestle with the fundamentals of identity. I had to decide, coming off a cold and sore throat, if I felt lucky, punk, and whether the sensitivity of my palate would allow me to shoot judgements unerringly from the lip…

Framingham - Andrew Hedley’s notes

The inside track on these excellent NZ aromatics…

Ribolla Gialla by Princic

Amber alert or yellow peril? Neither - it is another cherishable Princic golden globule…

Recession Report - Countdown to Uncertainty

The UK restaurant and the wine trade has boomed in the past five years. Some of the businesses were built on superb product and others on first class economic models, but many subsisted on a diet of unjustifiable discount and extended credit. It’s time to wake up and smell the Java…

To Get The Business You’ve Got To Get Busy

There - got that out of my system…

Price Hikes and Recession Busters

The on-trade gets a reality check…

Stray Philosophical Thoughts About Wine

Once in a blue monday I get this itch which I have to scratch. Every pretentious thought about wine that I’ve ever had comes bubbling to the surface and has to be skimmed off. (How many metaphors is that?) The subject of wine is intoxicating and full inebriation is achieved when one strays into the realms of philosophy. It always comes back to the same question: wine has inspired artists and philosophers but is it art or is the question itself a load of Jackson Pollocks?

Not Only Strange But Untrue Also

The shape of things to come?

Let’s Get Metaphysical

The soul of wine…

2009 - The Oenomancer Sifts Through the Wine Lees