England Beyond Bubbles

We all, by now, know that England makes very good (occasionally great) sparkling wine. And that's all well and good. But what's potentially even more exciting is the emergence of world-class English still wines - particularly those made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.  Burgundy lovers (ie most...

Mastering Christmas

Festive. What does that word mean to you? For some, it elicits a buzz of intense excitement. For others, it sends a chill down the spine. The majority will be somewhere in between – or both at the same time. And that includes us. Particularly this year. In...

Christmas Wine Bargains 2022

(By Peter) I took part in a blind tasting in late September 2022 for Which? magazine to find some great value sparkling and red wines for Christmas. Full results are in the magazine or the PDF below. It's quite a handy guide if you're on the lookout...

‘Perky podcasters’

Gosh we haven't posted on here for a while - we blame the podcast for taking up all our time! On which note, we wanted to share the very exciting news that we've been featured in the Radio Times. Wine Blast is Show of the Week...

Why Covid Didn’t Kill Wine Shops

Here's a column I wrote for Decanter on how Covid has changed wine retail. It was based partly on my experiences chairing the Decanter Retailer Awards. Here's an excerpt: 'Far from blighting wine retail, the pandemic has created openings for a new breed of ambitious wine purveyor [...

Having a Wine Blast

OK, so it's not writing per se (apologies). It's definitely more on the 'listening' side of things. But there are things to read if you want to! That is, about our appearance on the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast with Natalie MacLean. Natalie recently suggested a podcast...

Winemaker Lockdown Stories

Wine is all about being social and sociable - so the various pandemic lockdowns around the world have had major ramifications on an industry that relies on global and personal interactions. This feature for Decanter was fascinating to research and write, relating how people all around...

Decanter Retailer Awards 2020

Judging awards in a pandemic lockdown is a strange affair. But we wanted to press on with our annual Decanter Retailer Awards more than ever in 2020, to reward and champion those people who had worked tirelessly to keep our spirits up and our glasses full...

What’s hot in Chile

Back in February 2020, just before the world started locking down due to Covid-19, I enjoyed an eye-opening trip round Chilean wine country. These trips are always eye-opening. Chilean wine is a scene seemingly stuck on fast-forward, such is the pace of change and novelty. And...