The inevitability of falling wine sales
This decade, wine commentators have incessantly bemoaned both wine’s ‘dwindling allure’ amongst younger drinkers, and the phenomenon of falling sales more broadly. Naysayers hypothesise all manner of causes, ranging from wine being stuffy and elitist, to sluggish innovation, failing to connect with the values of younger drinkers, and a lack of ‘inclusivity’—which has been a […]
Neo-prohibition and selective scrutiny
Four years ago, I published the first of two articles on biodynamics; unbeknownst to me, this diptych would springboard my nascent profile to much greater standing, significantly increase my blog traffic, and bring about my first entanglement with wine industry controversy. To date, the articles have amassed more than 30,000 views and still regularly rank among […]
The great scourge of supermarket wine
In 1962, changes to retail licensing laws allowed supermarkets to begin selling alcohol. Ten years later, supermarket wine sales had grown from 5% of off-trade wine, beer and spirits to 25%, this staggering expansion was largely attributable to Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose and the Co-Op, who were first to exploit an aspirational middle class increasingly preoccupied with continental luxuries. […]
Distilling Krug’s Clos du Mesnil with chef de cave Julie Cavil
From grower champagne to unfortified sherry, resurrected indigenous varieties from Corsica to the Canaries, and the many faces of new school Burgundy, contemporary wine culture has changed, forcefully redefined by irreverent outsiders and trailblazing pioneers. Whilst the preponderance of this change has been a great good—there has surely never been a better time to enjoy […]
The new benchmark non-vintage champagne: Billecart-Salmon Le Réserve
Founded in 1818, Maison Billecart-Salmon has a long, sustained history of entrepreneurism and innovation, successive generations have overcome varied challenges, and elevated the house to increasing heights. When seventh generation Mathieu Roland-Billecart returned home to Mareuil-sur-Aÿ in 2018 to take the helm at this family-owned and managed estate, he initiated a programme of agronomic, winemaking, […]
The wine industry advocates
In 1975, a young, studious Baltimorean who had fallen in love with wine after visiting France with his childhood sweetheart began writing his own wine guide. Inspired by American lawyer and consumer advocate, Ralph Nader, Robert Parker set about writing on wine without the conflicts of interest that he believed might taint the reviews of […]
Preserving identity at Château Montrose
Etienne Théodore Dumoulin planted the first vines at Montrose in 1815 on an uncultivated patch of land covered in pink heather which gave this great estate its name. Encouraged by the estate’s classification as second growth only four decades after its founding, Etienne fervently expanded his landholdings, leaving his heirs a contiguous 95-hectare parcel largely situated […]
La Renaissance d’Anjou
In 582, historian Grégoire de Tours, who wrote frequently on the wines of France, recorded that the then sitting Count of Anjou and the local Catholic administration had planted and managed vineyards around Château de Chalonnes, less than 20 kilometres from Angers. Besides scattered vines planted by earlier Roman settlers in Nantes, this is generally considered […]
The Vinfluencers we deserve
This article was reproduced from a mailshot previously shared with Word on the Grapevine email subscribers. Join my free mailing list here for articles like these directly to your email before publication online. I’ve been around long enough to remember the fiery and vitriolic Vinfluencer affair of late 2020, including the notorious ‘Wine Bit*h’ lampoons published […]
In defence of wine scores
This article was reproduced from a mailshot previously shared with Word on the Grapevine email subscribers. Join my free mailing list here for articles like these directly to your email before publication online. Between 1935 and 1978, various authors, professors and critics proposed scorecards and scales for grading wine. These scales varied in composition, ranging […]