Why journos SHOULD accept freebies
There has been much chatter, and Twitter, about the payment and potential corruption of critical journalism recently. George Monbiot on 29 Sept 2011, performed an ethical striptease that has shaken the journo tree to its roots, and I can assure you he did not leave his hat on. Hacks’ public reputations as bad as derivatives traders,...
London International Wine Fair 2011
The 2011 London International Wine Fair was fabulous, an extremely well-orchestrated event with many simultaneous tastings, presentations, and lectures that took place in theaters, 'Access Points,' and even 'freestyle' in high-topped chairs within the display of a geographic region or winery.
Masterclasses
Arriving on Tuesday, I started off with the Circle of Wine Writers looking at a...
Oral Oscars: Pros and Cons
As with most things in SA wine, the decision whether to enter the latest wine competition, Top 100 SA Wines, the Oral Oscars, has become a political hot potato. Some thoughts on whether to enter or sit this one out:
Ten reasons to enter Top 100 SA Wi...
Su’s Dodgy Dossier
In a departure from her usual negative attitude which calls a half full glass half empty, WOSA CEO Su Birch put a welcome positive spin on the future for wine exports in a presentation to UK importers in London this week.
A brave strategy indeed in a ...
Trojan Chickens
Bashful billionaire Dick Enthoven was lunching at Societi Bistro on Wednesday and I didn’t dare look to see if chicken was his choice. For roast capon just has to be his favourite bird, given the stellar performance of Nando’s in which he’s a ma...
Can A Wine Blogger Make A Living Blogging?
One of my predictions from 2010, as yet unrealized, is that a wine blogger would figure out a financial model that would make our efforts more than just a labor of love. Fellow blogger Joe Roberts at 1WineDude is blazing the trail on this at the moment but Tyler Colman, who blogs as Dr. Vino,...
Top Ten South African Wine Stories for 2010
Judging by the counters on www.winenews.co.za, 1000 hits seems to be the quantum for best-seller status in SA wine reportage, although winenews does allow multiple hits from the same IP address. Using this measure, the Top Ten best seller stories on P...
WOSA with peri-peri
My call for Nando’s to take over marketing SA wine in die buiteland from WOSA in the Sunday Times yesterday has earned me many e-mail bouquets and only one brickbat via SMS so far. Let’s hope the Letters to the Editor are in the post to ignite a p...
Abstraction vs. Context: How do Toro Wines from Quinta Quietud Measure Up?
A couple of months ago, wine writer Jamie Goode and I disagreed over an abstract approach to wine assessment. I took the deconstructive stance that one does not need to know any information about a bottle of wine to be able to rate it or appreciate it. Jamie argued that context (where it was made,...
World Cup Wine Flop
SA shipments of bottled wine to its largest market, the UK, are in serious trouble according to new figures from SAWIS. Exports tanked from 38.2 million to 30.7 million litres between January and June, a period in which the SA wine category received u...
