According to the US parenting website BabyCenter, the girl’s name Chardonnay (with connotations of ‘popularity’) saw its usage peak in the 1990s, at 47 babies per million. Its frequency has declined since, to the point where Parents.com ranked it as the fourth worst baby name...
Neyen Malbec 2016, 13%, Apalta, Chile (c £50) I wasn’t supposed to taste this wine. The producer was supposed to send another wine. But somehow it was this very particular Malbec – just one of 762 bottles made – that ended up being despatched. Serendipity, I guess you’d call...
Did you know that the winners of the FA Cup, one of Britain's biggest sporting events, now celebrate (and dutifully spray each other) with non alcoholic sparkling 'wine' rather than champagne? It's a small detail, a pub quiz oddity if you like, but it made headlines...
Clusel Roch Traboules 2017, Coteaux Lyonnais, France (£12.67, Justerini & Brooks) Clusel Roch is an excellent producer best known for its excellent northern Rhône reds, including some delicious Côte Rôties. This Traboules is an intriguing and utterly delicious oddity. It's from the south of the little-known Lyonnais appellation, not...
Wine's brilliant. So selling it must be easy, right? Wrong. It's a crowded market. Brexit hasn't helped. Consumer confidence is low, we have a fluctuating currency and a punitive tax regime. On top of all this, people are drinking ever less. All this means we need our best...
'We believe English still wines have the potential to challenge Burgundy.' Let's consider that statement for a moment. Yes, it's hardly disinterested because it was said by an English wine grower (Ruth Simpson of Simpsons Wine Estate in Kent). And yet the Simpsons also make wine in...
'If there's one thing that gets wine lovers hot under the collar, it's great Pinot Noir. As for the Holy Grail - well, that's great Pinot Noir at a bargain price.' This Decanter panel tasting revealed exactly that - some outstanding Pinot Noir from Chile at...
This opinion piece (Decanter, Oct 2019) is a heartfelt plea for Chile to realise its potential. And a slightly despairing sigh...
Mas Martinet Bru 2016, 14.5%, Priorato, Spain ($39, €18-22, £18.68 Justerini & Brooks) Catalonia is one of our favourite wine regions on the planet. It’s such a beautiful part of the world. Amazing food and wine. Wonderful people. A Mediterranean coastline that veers from the tourisy to the...