Q&A: Tom Wilson and Lucy Holmes, Kanpai sake microbrewery, Peckham

Kanpai, London’s first sake microbrewery has just set up in Peckham. Anna Greenhous talks to co-founders, Tom Wilson and Lucy Holmes: 

Guy Woodward: A love letter to Bordeaux. No, really…

“Ahh, so you’re the one who hates Bordeaux…” said the late, great Denis Dubourdieu when we were introduced. Bordeaux’s pre-eminent authority on white wines, Dubourdieu was a man used to having his reputation precede him. Me? Less so. As I told the master winemaker, though, I don’t hate Bordeaux. We were drinking white Haut-Brion at the time, after all. But, as I also told him – and put into print as often as I could get away with at Decanter – I do hate its arrogance, its prices, and the nauseating esteem in which it is held by those old enough to know better.

Tim Atkin MW: Argentina and Chile are a joint wine force to be reckoned with

This year is the 200th anniversary of one of the key events in Latin American history. In January 1817, the Army of the Andes set off from Mendoza, determined to end Spanish rule on the other side of the mountains. At its head were an Argentinian, General José de San Martín, and an exiled Chilean, the wonderfully named Bernardo O’Higgins, who, after a brave and arduous crossing of the Cordillera, did indeed defeat their common imperial foe. 

Q&A: Julián Chivite, winemaker and owner, Bodegas Chivite

Q&A: Joe Fattorini, IWSC Wine Communicator 2017, talks passion vs professionalism

Presenter and writer Joe Fattorini has made a career out communicating about wine.

The political threat to our wine life

"Stick to wine, Tim - you're wasting time." If you spend as many hours as I do on social media channels, you get used to - and even rather enjoy - the odd spat, but this was different.

Jerry Lockspeiser: That's your bloody GDP. Not ours.

Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, recently announced an increase in the annual growth forecast for the UK economy from 1.4% to 2%. But things may not be as good as they sound.

Guy Woodward: Why is the wine trade still slow to deliver fulfilment?

As a middle-aged, middle-class man, my weekly highlight is Saturday morning, illuminated by a warm croissant (180ºC for eight minutes, served with passion fruit curd), a Nespresso coffee (medium froth, Ristretto pod) plus the weekend papers - and here's the most indulgent part - delivered to the door. 

Tim Atkin MW: Can artificial intelligence replace human judgment in the world of wine?

What do you think of the following tasting note? "Inconspicuous boysenberries and cigar wrappers revel in unresolved rosehips, while dried wormwood and chemically tanned leather swim amongst illusive black liquorice." And this? "Like a sherry, wet wool, mead, musk and nail polish remover cocktail." 

Tim Loughton MP, All Party Parliamentary Wine and Spirits Group chair, urges the trade to speak up

With the Budget just around the corner and Brexit going full steam ahead, there has never been a more important time for your voice to be heard in Parliament, writes Tim Loughton MP

Jerry Lockspeiser on 2017: Something or nothing?

January. The beginning of a better year. That's what we hope. However good or bad 2016 was personally, for our families, our businesses, and people in other places, we are hardwired to aim for better.

Guy Woodward: Why are we so down on English fizz?

There was a degree of sniping when environment secretary Andrea Leadsom claimed recently that England was taking its place "among the world's most renowned wine producers".

Tim Atkin MW: Burgundy 2015 - a year for the little guys?

Burgundy and Bordeaux may share a common language, but they are very different places.

Jerry Lockspeiser: A great time to be in wine

I don't want to be a siren of gloom. After all Christmas is the time for good cheer. But we are racing towards the end of a year where disruptive global events - Brexit, Trump, Aleppo - have shaken our feelings of security.

Tim Atkin MW: The rise of the counterfeit wine trade around the globe

Investigative journalism is a dangerous business. Indeed, you could argue that in its purest form it's often fatal.

Jerry Lockspeiser: My mind is made up, please don't confuse me with the facts

September 11th 2001. Anyone out of childhood can remember what they were doing the day the Twin Towers were felled.

Guy Woodward: Why is the wine world so snotty about luxury?

My former colleague Adam Lechmere came out with a great line the other day.

Tim Atkin MW: Rioja's future lies in diversity, not uniformity

The poster in Vivanco's Museum of Wine Culture said it all. It was first published in 2001, but it looked much older than that.

The South American adventure of a Morrisons wine buyer

Andrew Ingham, wine buyer at Morrisons Plc, recounts a recent buying trip to Chile and Argentina. 

Jerry Lockspeiser: What do wine drinkers really want to know?

Our regular columist Jerry Lockspeiser has published "YOUR WINE QUESTIONS ANSWERED: The 25 things wine drinkers most want to know", with 100% of the revenue recieved donated to the Millione Foundation, which he started with Mike Paul and Cliff Roberson to fund primary schools in Sierra Leone.