the wine thinker

Bordeaux bottles on poster at the Chengdu Wine Fair 2013 “China isn’t easy”; “It’s a tough market…”; “Taking a long time to get really going”; “China hasn’t developed a wine culture yet…” Over the last few weeks, in France, the US and at ProWein and the Chengdu wine exhibition, I have heard a number of […]

Following up my post on Madness in Bordeaux… I hesitate to give a Bordelais negociant a history lesson, but when Patrick Bernard of Millesima suggests that  “For over two centuries, the Bordeaux Grands Crus Classés sell their harvest en primeur, in springtime, to the Bordeaux Negociants.” I don’t think he’s being strictly accurate. The modern […]

“What Latour did last year was madness” I’m not sure what qualifications Patrick Bernard, founder of Bordeaux negociants Millésima may have to diagnose mental illness, but I’m not rushing to recommend him as a psychiatrist.  Let’s analyse precisely what Latour did in fact do last year. It – it the form of director Frederic Engerer – […]

A slightly amended version of a piece that originally appeared on Timatkin.com Two strangers, a man and woman meet at a cocktail party. The man turns to the woman and says, I’ve got a hypothetical question for you. The woman, whose curiosity has been piqued, says “OK ask away…” “If a reasonable-looking man you don’t know […]

More light relief…

A little light relief

One of the ongoing arguments I tend to have with other commentators on the wine scene concerns the interest – or rather the lack of interest – the general public has in wine. I’ve made my point elsewhere and don’t plan to use many words to reiterate it here. Instead, I’ll merely offer a set […]