Published: 31 March, 2026
Front-of-house was never my strong suit. I’d forget the daily specials, mix up orders and drop trays of glasses. I’m still haunted by the time I spilled an entire finger bowl of murky prawn water into a customer’s lap at the end of a meal. Safe to say his first date didn’t last long after that. I’ve always been in awe of people with the magic touch for hospitality – the servers and sommeliers who glide between tables intuiting the needs of their guests, able to multitask with ease and stay calm amid the carnage of a busy service. When I became a journalist it was a no-brainer what I would write about. Truth be told, the actual liquid has always come second for me. It’s the people behind the bottle – those who produce as well as pour it – that make for great stories. It’s those stories that keep me coming back.
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Published: 31 March, 2026
Front-of-house was never my strong suit. I’d forget the daily specials, mix up orders and drop trays of glasses. I’m still haunted by the time I spilled an entire finger bowl of murky prawn water into a customer’s lap at the end of a meal. Safe to say his first date didn’t last long after that. I’ve always been in awe of people with the magic touch for hospitality – the servers and sommeliers who glide between tables intuiting the needs of their guests, able to multitask with ease and stay calm amid the carnage of a busy service. When I became a journalist it was a no-brainer what I would write about. Truth be told, the actual liquid has always come second for me. It’s the people behind the bottle – those who produce as well as pour it – that make for great stories. It’s those stories that keep me coming back.
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Published: 19 November, 2020
The Times wine critic Jane MacQuitty talks to Andrew Catchpole about her new MBE for services to wine journalism
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The two emails arrived on the same morning. The first was from Mark A, offering me an “exclusive invite” to join Biginfluencers.com and “connect with some of the biggest brands”; the second was a release about the launch of a Standardised Wine Rating System called iS Winescale. In their different ways, they both cut to the core of what it means to be a wine writer today. Are we still relevant? And if so, how and to whom?
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