Jancis Robinson



Profile:


Full name: Jancis Mary Robinson

Area of interest: Wine

Journals: Financial Times

Email: jancisrobinson.com contact page

Personal website:

Website: JancisRobinson.Com

Blog:

Representation: AP Watt

Networks:



Biography:
About:

Education: Oxford University: Mathematics and Philosophy

Career: After leaving school worked for a travel company. Began her wine career writing for Wine & Spirit, 1975. FT’s wine correspondent since 1989

(the first person outside the wine trade to become a Master of Wine, 1984)


 * jancisrobinson.com biography

Current position/role: wine critic / columnist


 * also writes/has written for:

Other roles: author

Other activities:

Disclosures:

Viewpoints/Insight:
 * MySpace.com: Meet the author (VIDEO)

TV/Radio:

Video:
 * Presented award-winning TV programmes, including: Jancis Robinson’s Wine Course and Vintners’ Tales, and is also a professional narrator
 * jancisrobinson.com videos / podcasts

Controversy/Criticism:

Awards/Honours: Honorary Doctorate from the Open University, 1997; OBE, 2003

Scoops:

Other: Married to the food writer Nicholas Lander



Books & Debate:

 * The great wine book OCLC 8388797, 1982
 * Anatomy of the wine trade: Abe's sardines and other stories OCLC 15791176, 1985
 * Jancis Robinson on the demon drink OCLC 17441203, 1988
 * Vintage timecharts: the pedigree and performance of fine wine to the year 2000 OCLC 19669089, 1989
 * How to taste: a guide to enjoying wine OCLC 46321187, 2000
 * Confessions of a Wine Lover OCLC 43201064, 1997
 * The Oxford companion to the wines of North America OCLC 59563945, 2000 (with Bruce Cass)
 * Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes OCLC 45592960, 2001
 * Jancis Robinson's Concise wine companion OCLC 45592960, 2001
 * Vines, Grapes and Wines (Editions) OCLC 13271167
 * Jancis Robinson's Wine Course (Editions) OCLC 34078806
 * The Oxford companion to wine 3rd ed OCLC 70699042, 2006

Latest work: The world atlas of wine OCLC, 2007

Speaking/Appearances:

Current debate:



Financial Times:
Column name:

Remit/Info: Wine

Section: FT Weekend / Food and drink

Role: Wine correspondent / columnist

Pen-name:

Email: jancisrobinson.com [http://www.jancisrobinson.com/static/contact? contact page]

Website: FT.com / Jancis Robinson

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Saturday

Regularity: Weekly

Column format:

Average length: 1100 words



Articles: 2011

 * Oz bounces back - Contrary to its reputation as being good only for over-processed labels, Australia is a wonderful source of artisan wines - 15th October
 * No one forecast this ... - The 2011 growing season has been a climatological roller coaster. Go, stop, go and a heck of lot of work sums it up - 8th October
 * My natural instincts - Fine wine production is at a crossroads between authentic and over-manipulated - 1st October
 * Bordeaux britannique - The general character of the 1996 vintage is rather old-style British, but with a decent amount of flesh on the bones - 24th September
 * Virginia’s climbers - After thorough soil mapping and intensive input from soil and viticulture specialists, the wines are thrillingly good - 17th September
 * Red rises in China - The Chinese wine lover enamoured with names and brands is now a very powerful reality - 10th September
 * Dark days for pink fizz - Two poor summers and a rosé craze have put pink champagne producers under pressure from entirely external factors - 3rd September
 * really new Beaujolais'' - The 2010s are showing beautifully – even if the vintage is very different in character to the relatively tannic 2009s - 30th July
 * Vulture: Italy’s Aglianico'' - As more wine drinkers around the world are exposed to its charms, Jancis Robinson hopes the classy Aglianico grape will be planted more widely - 23rd July
 * growth pains'' - The protracted and unpredictable nature of Bordeaux’s 2010 primeur campaign has caused acrimony - 9th July
 * tastes'' - The day of the annually printed wine list is well and truly over – there are few more dated sights in a restaurant - 2nd July
 * to heel'' - The most alluring local grape is Primitivo – but the Puglians seem determined to kill the goose that lays this particular golden egg - 24th June
 * godfather'' - Janis Robinson dines with Francis Ford Coppola, but the 1958 Inglenook Cabernet from his Napa Valley estate is the real star of the evening - 17th June
 * is sweet'' - To make really good Sauternes, pickers – who must be available at a moment’s notice over several weeks– may have to comb a single vineyard up to 10 times - 11th June
 * pinot pioneers'' - It is the tantalising nature of red burgundy that seems to have inspired a new generation of vignerons to seek out sites in California - 4th June
 * and quotable'' - Jancis Robinson realises that Michel Chapoutier had become Rent-a-Wine-Quote when he came out with ‘fruit is to the wine what the disc is to the music’ - 28th May
 * points'' - Paying three-star prices in a restaurant with very limited menu justifies you in expecting the wine waiter to be able to suggest several perfect matches for every dish - 21st May
 * ambitions'' - Jancis Robinson looks at an online wine retailer whose customers not only get to rate producers’ wine but are given the power to decide a vintage’s worth - 14th May
 * such a grand plan'' - Based on the latest attempt to forge a sustainable future for the Languedoc, Jancis Robinson fears that wine and French politics will never blend into one harmonious cuvée - 7th May
 * and prejudice'' - Does one get what he pays for with the wine on offer today? Jancis Robinson strongly believes there is little correlation between price and the pleasure a wine gives - 30th April
 * reds? Mazel tov!'' - Kosher wine – served at Passover as part of Jewish ritual – has seen a dramatic improvement in sophistication and is no longer seen as a cheap joke - 23rd April
 * summer of content'' - Jancis Robinson was dreading a tasting assault in Bordeaux due to high levels of alcohol and tannin, but finds that the best of the nascent ferments strike a convincing balance - 16th April
 * and en primeur'' - The bordeaux 2010 samples may bear little relation to the final wines as the eventual mix will be made up of a blend of hundreds of barrels coming from different forests, coopers and treatments - 9th April
 * to Bordeaux'' - The 2001 vintage is generally much better and cost much less than 2002. Those who bought sweet whites should feel very smug indeed - 2nd April
 * student drinking'' - At the 58th Varsity Blind Wine Tasting competition, Jancis Robinson saw agony, angst and euphoria. She also noted an element of military precision about the triumphant Cambridge team - 26th March
 * bubbling under'' - As new vignerons systematically change the profile of vine varieties grown in the UK, English fizz will have to deliver more pleasure if it is to thrive commercially - 19th March
 * new Austrian empire?'' - These wines must have been very absorbing because I ended up for the first time ever being shooed out of the tasting room - 12th March
 * there class in ’95?'' - The 1995 Bordeaux vintage, offered at prices that seemed outrageous at the time, could be said to have been the first of the current era of maximum commercial opportunism - 5th March
 * buy generously'' - In the past wines have tended to favour the first half of the phrase ‘cheap and cheerful’, but there has been a distinct step up in quality for this year’s Wine Relief - 26th February
 * revisited'' - A second look at 2008 red burgundies reveals that the vine-by-vine attention biodynamicists lavished on their vineyards has paid off - 19th February
 * going places'' - With China’s current wine-fever, sommeliers such as Krishna Hathaway are in great demand, bringing a sensible sequence to an exciting drinking culture - 12th February
 * isolation'' - Portugal’s unique viticultural heritage offers the discriminating drinker wine made from a dazzling array of high-quality vine varieties rarely found elsewhere - 5th February
 * elephants'' - Along with en primeur merchants, white burgundy’s disappointing track record has been the single most common complaint on Jancis Robinson‘s website forum - 29th January
 * charm'' - At a recent tasting in London, Jancis Robinson finds that there could hardly be a greater contrast between the open, ripe red fruit flavours of 2009 burgundy and the reticent 2008s - 22nd January
 * fruits'' - The range of wine styles available today from New Zealand’s North and South Islands is much more exciting than it was just five years ago - 15th January
 * on their Rhône'' - High temperatures in the region in the summer of 2009 seem to have resulted in wines that are delightfully supple and well balanced - 8th January



Articles: 2010

 * on the page'' - After a few rather lacklustre wine book vintages, 2010 has yielded a number of titles that are either intriguing or particularly useful, and occasionally both - 31st December
 * a lot of empty noise about vessels'' - Wine professionals tend to clasp one besmirched glass throughout an entire tasting, contrary to a widespread belief that glasses must be changed often - 24th December
 * pickings'' - In the last of her festive guides, Jancis Robinson picks strong and sweet wines. Lovely soft, long-aged taste of the sea, what sailor could resist this? - 18th December
 * the white thing'' - From the fresh and zesty to the assertive, exotically rich and flamboyant, Jancis Robinson presents a selection of white wines with real distinction - 11th December
 * red alert'' - Jancis Robinson selects festive wines that go well with celebratory meals and their sweet accompaniments, from bordeaux bargains to underpriced offerings from the Languedoc - 4th December
 * results'' - Jancis Robinson looks at various champagnes for Christmas drinking – nothing in excess, just the sort you’d be thrilled with at a party - 27th November
 * place like Rhône'' - The northern reds seem to be much more relaxed, eloquent and convincing, a phenomenon already evident in the 2009s that Jancis Robinson first tasted back in May - 20th November
 * lot of bottle'' - Jancis Robinson meets Adrien Tramier, a vivid exception to Bordeaux’s image as a region of grand wine, high prices and predictable people - 13th November
 * Robinson on oak barrels'' - Twenty years ago wine producers around the world measured their success by the number of new oak barrels they had in their cellars. But oakiness is now considered as 1980s as shoulder-pads - 6th November
 * What crisis?'' - Italian winemakers are all doom and gloom, but Italian wine sales in the US are booming - 30th October
 * grandchildren'' - The sons of André Lurton have strayed from Bordeaux in spectacular and unusual fashion: Jacques focuses on consultancies, while François owns vineyards and wineries across the globe - 23rd October
 * and bothered'' - The great majority of 2003 bordeaux, whose grapes were afflicted by the year’s heat-wave, should be drunk before the fruit recedes altogether - 16th October
 * thrillers'' - When tasted blind, do New Zealand and Oregon Pinot Noirs outshine those from Australia and California? Jancis Robinson joins a comparative tasting of 65 vintages to find out - 9th October
 * pleasure?'' - First organic, then biodynamic, and now ‘natural’. The latest in holier-than-thou drinking, natural wine has invaded Britain surprisingly recently - 2nd October
 * wars: Chile v Argentina'' - The two South American countries have been moving determinedly – occasionally recklessly – upmarket, and can now offer wines with real personality - 25th September
 * on the web'' - Thanks to the diligent work of New Zealander Martin Brown, Wine-searcher.com was born in the late 1990s. It now lists more than 4m wines available from around the globe - 18th September
 * brimfire in a bottle'' - There are now so many styles of the Loire Valley white wine – all of them showing the Chenin minerality and ageability of which a corner of the Angevine countryside seems uniquely capable - 11th September
 * exposure'' - Anne Gros, one of the most respected wine producers in the world, establishes a new domaine in Languedoc, arguably France’s most challenging wine region - 4th September
 * these walls could talk'' - Jancis Robinson samples wines from 56 producers of the Grand Cru, Clos de Vougeot in Burgundy, and discovers suppliers that are little known in the UK - 31st July
 * wine books'' - Writers are increasingly taking the initiative to self-publish, which has its attractions if you can find your market and a direct route to customers - 24th July
 * year in the sun'' - The exuberant quality of the 2009s is impressive – stuffed full of fruit, cost well under £15 a bottle and actually delicious to drink - 17th July
 * is ripe for Germany'' - Winemaking in has never been more brilliant, the weather never more propitious for ripening grapes fully while retaining the freshness that is German wines’ special trait - 10th July
 * 2009s: there’s a price to pay'' - The vintage has hit record prices but what is scary is that demand for the top wines seems to have been similarly exceptional, even if it is unclear if people are buying to drink or for investment - 3rd July
 * wine special'' - Jancis Robinson selects her favourite bottles, from lighter reds to vintages bold enough for a barbecue, for those long hot evenings - 26th June
 * growing gulf in the world of fine wine'' - Many brokers, traders and merchants who cluster around London will have nothing to do with wine bought in the US and Asia - 19th June
 * a bottle is better than a case'' - The UK is known as a sophisticated market for wine, but Jancis Robinson says consumers in search of a single superior bottle will find few retailers able to help them - 12th June
 * delights from the south of France'' - Languedoc-Roussillon is the perfect playground for those who like hand-crafted, highly individual wines that express the place where they were grown and are sensibly priced - 5th June
 * wine – from bottom to top'' - A recent showcase in London proves that some of Ontario’s best Chardonnays can hold their own with the world’s finest - 29th May
 * last – wine is a force for good'' - Jancis Robinson attends a fundraising wine dinner in Singapore for the charity Room to Read where 400 guests donated well over S$2m - 22nd May
 * continent of connoisseurs'' - Jancis Robinson was once told that Asians – cast as teetotallers or beer guzzlers – would never become wine drinkers. Yet they are now the focus of the world’s fine wine trade - 15th May
 * – not just for Christmas'' - Jancis Robinson goes on an extraordinary celebratory tasting featuring the Atlantic island’s finest wines - 8th May
 * wine gets serious'' - English viticulture, once the preserve of untutored amateurs, is now a much more commercial proposition - 1st May
 * for progress'' - The country’s wine producers have started to make a higher proportion of dry white wines – typically dry versions of Tokaji’s signature grape variety Furmint - 24th April
 * 2009: the right bank'' - Growers in Sauternes and Barsac are cock-a-hoop over the quality of the vintage and unprecedented demand from Asia is likely to push prices up - 17th April
 * 2009: the left-bank reds'' - This vintage can offer more sheer pleasure than any I can remember and may well provide delicious drinking throughout its life - 10th April
 * the flagon: new wines from China'' - Jancis Robinson spends 48 hours in China and is delighted to see the exciting new developments in Chinese-grown wine - 3rd April
 * tasting that gave me so much pleasure'' - Jancis Robinson samples top quality 2000 bordeaux and is awed by the vintage’s delightful freshness, gentle tannins and seriously impressive harmony - 27th March
 * (and wine) for thought'' - Most producers want to show off their wines in a pure, unadorned state and would serve food only after a tasting. But Jancis Robinson is convinced that food is no distraction to wine evaluation - 20th March
 * on its own in California'' - Ridge has been producing appetising, claret-style wines for half a century and has built up a faithful international clientele - 13th March
 * you ready for wines from Japan?'' - Jancis Robinson learns that there is a new initiative to launch an export campaign for Koshu, which is made from a grape variety that is often dismissed within its native country - 6th March
 * vines, new region'' - Jancis Robinson discovers the Spanish region of Cigales, whose wines tend to be rather more structured and very few of them suffer the over-oaking that seems endemic in Ribera del Duero - 27th February
 * for Australian Chardonnay'' - Jancis Robinson generally agrees that Australia’s large wine companies have been allowed to tarnish the industry’s reputation but two recent tastings left her with newfound admiration for a big brand - 20th February
 * wine web'' - Eric LeVine revolutionised the world of wine appreciation when he created CellarTracker, an online cellar management system that allows wine users everywhere to rate wines and compare notes - 13th February
 * room to cultivate that added sparkle'' - Champagne drinkers have been branching out into those made by growers themselves. But a recent tasting showed they are not necessarily superior - 6th February
 * mean, green streak in the crimson'' - The 2006 vintage was compromised by rain and rot, and there was still a marked gap between the most and least successful wines - 30th January
 * diamonds in the dust'' - Some of the 2008s from the region’s top ‘domaines’ are marvels of precision and charm, but most of the reds shown at merchant tastings in the past two weeks are, Jancis Robinson admits, much harder work - 23rd January
 * rescue for 2008 burgundies'' - Rot, mildew and continuous rain wreaked havoc on the region’s vineyards, but the north wind and sunshine saved enough grapes to make very good – even great – wine - 16th January
 * secret of a great white rioja'' - Jancis Robinson is impressed by the Macabeu or Viura grape, a variety that has the unusual virtue of being capable of making dry white wines, often blends, with verve and character that improve with age - 9th January
 * to Riesling and responsibilities'' - Jancis Robinson hopes for a tax on the use of the word ‘passion’, top quality places to store wine, responsible shipping and storage and to drink more and more Riesling in 2010 - 2nd January



Articles: 2009

 * to pour it and store it'' - As we all go into entertaining overdrive this season, Jancis Robinson offers practical advice on how to serve and handle wine - 26th December
 * and sweetness'' - This is the time to indulge in dessert wines, ports and sherries - 19th December
 * of the reds'' - Jancis Robinson lists 75 top reds for festive drinking, including the exceptional 2007 Rhônes - 5th December
 * Christmas'' - Suggesting good buys for FT readers is never easy. This week, Jancis Robinson presents the first in a series of wine guides: a selection of 75 divine whites for festive drinking - 28th November
 * wrong rain in the Rhône'' - The valley has usually been blessed with successful vintages, but Jancis Robinson finds out that too much rain caused grapes to swell with water, diluting the flavour of the 2008s - 21st November
 * still sparkles, even without fizz'' - The surprisingly complex and refreshing still Chardonnays are the finest group of wines made in this surprising region, which offers French finesse and good value - 14th November
 * some place in South Africa'' - The quality of wine being exported from the Cape has progressed in leaps and bounds – even if we often have to guess at exactly where the grapes were grown - 7th November
 * quiet masters'' - Jancis Robinson talks to the Boissenots, the Médoc’s leading consultants, and is struck by the fact that they never court or rarely receive publicity - 31st October
 * wild world of wine'' - On a trip to the south of Russia, Jancis Robinson discovers that wine production there is remarkably like it is everywhere else, with the big transformation being in new equipment - 24th October
 * year worth a splurge?'' - After trying almost 120 red bordeaux at a tasting organised by fine wine traders Farr Vintners, Jancis Robinson says there are certainly bargains to be had from the 2002 vintage - 17th October
 * sweetness and light'' - Many British wine drinkers are looking for wines that are more refreshing, simpler and fruitier. Jancis Robinson was at a wine trade forum to discuss this trend – and how to benefit from it - 10th October
 * Tuscans 10 years on'' - A tasting in Hamburg demonstrates that time in the cellar has benefited these substantial red wines, making them sweeter and more luscious - 3rd October
 * marvel in the Médoc'' - Jancis Robinson says Château Sociando-Mallet wines are much better than those of its neighbours because it lies on a gravelly hillock and has the best view of the Gironde - 26th September
 * winemakers hope for a fine vintage'' - Vintners interviewed by the Financial Times this week have expressed optimism about the prospects of producing a highly desirable vintage after a severe winter had killed off harmful bugs and allowed vines to rest - 19th September
 * the burgundy du jour'' - After an intense, three-day blind tasting of top 2006 red burgundies, Jancis Robinson finds that Nuits-St-Georges, which showed real savour and raciness, is by far the best-value appellation - 12th September
 * mature nose for investment'' - AltaTech sells its ‘high end’ grapes at top dollar on the basis that it will help wine-producing customers gain higher scores for their products - 5th September
 * back a decade for the best bordeaux'' - All the significant 1999s vintage are just about ready now and are providing really rewarding drinking - 29th August
 * QwAM QwMT Merlot, anyone?'' - The wines of Okanagan Valley show quite extraordinary directness of fruit; they almost punch you between the eyes with their frankness - 22nd August
 * vintner determined to stamp out wine fraud'' - Laurent Ponsot, the Burgundian wine grower, tells Jancis Robinson how he became an amateur detective - 18th July
 * the sommelier home with you'' - Bertrand Faure Beaulieu’s Sarment offers personal services to well-off individuals who lack the time and experience to look after their own wine collections - 11th July
 * Zealand comes of age'' - Jancis Robinson is encouraged that New Zealand wine is no longer a one trick pony and that winemaking is better than it has ever been, at a wide range of price levels and styles - 4th July
 * hearts and classic clarets'' - Continuing a fine FT tradition of ‘looking at’ each vintage of the top red bordeaux at 10 years old, Jancis Robinson surveys how many of the 1999s are inspiring - 27th June
 * nose for wine, a head for business'' - Direct Wines turns 40 and Jancis Robinson learns that its owners, Mr and Mrs Lathwaite, have always complemented each other: he takes care of the wines and she deals with the business side - 20th June
 * passes the acid test'' - The weather may have presented challenges but the country’s best wine producers are more skilled and more determined than they have ever been - 13th June
 * new Ottoman emperors'' - After a short trip to Turkey’s vineyards and cellars, it will not be long before the country produces something exceptional - 6th June
 * port trade’s calling card'' - The quality and sheer sophistication of the best 2007s convince Jancis Robinson that the appearance of vintage port every three or four years should encourage us to pull some corks - 30th May
 * meets pragmatism'' - Jancis Robinson visits a former Japanese diplomat whose high standards has resulted in exceptional vintages at his New Zealand winery - 23rd May
 * versus the rest of the world'' - Most Bordelais shudder at comparative tastings, which tend to benefit the organisers by showing that their wines are much better value than top bordeaux - 16th May
 * weird et le wonderful'' - Jancis Robinson values Les Caves de Pyrène because the wines are authentically French and the staff provide a direct line to the latest developments in France rather than peddling the same old list - 9th May
 * do it better'' - Their dry Rieslings are less austere, partly due to climate change and to the fact that German vintners today are more skilled at making well-balanced dry wines - 2nd May
 * Albariño that isn’t'' - The famous Spanish white wine grape is at the centre of controversy after Australian growers were told that their own versions are of a different vine variety - 25th April
 * wines that came in from the cold'' - Commentators find attractive vintages at the 2008 tasting in Bordeaux in spite of the rains, mildew and rot that swelled, ravaged and threatened the grapes - 18th April
 * for Bordeaux to swallow'' - A vast proportion of the 2007 vintage is still sitting on merchants’ books, unloved and unwanted - 11th April
 * Australia went down under'' - While more and more fine Australian wine is being produced, its fortunes and reputation have plummeted - 4th April
 * to keep the bubbly from bursting'' - The Champagne region’s traditionally unorganic vineyards, are slowly developing environmental credentials - 28th March
 * age of uncertainty'' - The increasing incidence of drought, bushfires, floods, frost and dramatic storms and the giddy gavotte of world currencies are raising concerns - 21st March
 * égalité, fraternité ... and abstinence'' - New anti-alcohol policies are just one of the threats pressing on France’s wine industry - 14th March
 * passion for Pinot Noir'' - Winemakers keep experimenting with the red burgundy grape to discover interesting new flavours from this delicate, unpredictable, playful liquid - 7th March
 * up in a national disaster'' - In spite of the bushfires, Melbourne’s Yarra Valley is still very much open for business - 28th February
 * strategies, some involving sheep'' - One factor that has helped sustain the price of Marlborough whites, apart from the huge popular appeal of its zesty, off-dry style, has been its relative scarcity - 21st February
 * women on song'' - Visits between winemakers on both sides of the Atlantic foster understanding of the vinous opposition and engender a re-examination of attitudes - 14th February
 * and white go green'' - Jancis Robinson has been running a campaign against extra-thick, extra-dark and extra-heavy bottles whose manufacturing and transporting costs are far more than those of regular bottles - 7th February
 * new négociants of Burgundy'' - One of the things found most exciting by Jancis Robinson during her extensive tastings of 2007s was how many of the best ranges were made by new or recently revamped producers - 31st January
 * discreet charms of 2007 burgundy'' - Stressful was the word invoked to describe the year’s growing season, brought about by a ‘détestable’ summer - 24th January
 * on the grapevine'' - For between £5 and £8 a bottle the less expensive wines of the southern Rhône offer the best value in straitened times - 17th January
 * The man with wine in his veins - The exceptionally well-connected Peter Max Sichel built Blue Nun into a 3m-case brand and is Mr Fixit in the international wine business - 10th January
 * Southern comfort aids 2007 Rhônes - Surprisingly few of Châteauneufs had uncomfortably hot finishes and most were surprisingly refreshing, helped certainly by the relatively modest temperatures and powerful mistral during the summer of 200 - 3rd January



Articles: 2008

 * Bubble to bust in a year that lacked bottle(s) - As the fine wine market suffers from plummeting purchases, Jancis Robinson observes increasing soul-searching among producers about environmental concerns - 27th December 2008
 * No champagne, no gain - In the last of her four-part guide to festive drinking, Jancis Robinson selects the bubbly - 20th December 2008
 * Fortified wines - In the third of her four-part guide, Jancis Robinson selects fortified wines - 13th December 2008
 * Christmas whites - Online extra: The FT’s wine writer lists 75 white wines she recommends for Christmas drinking - 8th December 2008
 * Red wines for the season - Online extra: Jancis Robinson recommends more than 60 reds for drinking this Christmas - 6th December 2008
 * Sweet, strong and surplus - If you know where to look, you can find caches of ancient liquids languishing at attractive prices - 22nd November 2008
 * The online evangelist - Through his web-based wine tasting show, Gary Vaynerchuk wants to infect an entire generation with his enthusiasm for wine - 15th November 2008
 * A weak year for bordeaux - Underripe tannins and occasional green notes are in many of the 2006 reds – although Jancis Robinson does identify some from the vintage that outshine the norm - 8th November 2008
 * Bordeaux’s brilliant 2005 gets better - Jancis Robinson finds that the vintage now has a greater lustre, since its perfect growing season has been followed by a series of increasingly difficult ones - 1st November 2008
 * Meet Japan’s besotted brewer - Philip Harper has made a greater commitment to Japanese culture than any Englishman before him: he is Tokyo’s only western ‘toji’, or master brewer of sake - 22nd October 2008
 * Australia’s greatest glory revisited - In its youth, Grange can be a bit much – all tannin, tar and camphor. It takes many years to evolve into a gorgeously sweet, luscious, exotic elixir - 18th October 2008
 * Why Argentine Malbec shines above the rest - Once scorned, the ubiquitous Malbec grape is now properly valued as offering a vibrant yet haunting expression of South American sunshine - 11th October 2008
 * Sweet and Spanish – but it’s not sherry - What is dark, sticky, transforms plain vanilla ice-cream into a feast and can cost so little? Jancis Robinson samples a unique varietal wine that is - 4th October 2008
 * Get stuck in the middle - Reports suggest that it is mid-priced wines that will suffer most from the current economic turmoil, a great shame since they offer the best-value - 27th S eptember 2008
 * Forget the grapes, it’s a cultural thing - Wines are starting to taste much more similar, in spite of coming from a wider range of sources. Jancis Robinson suspects the widespread use of a narrow range of commercial yeasts may be the cause - 20th September 2008
 * A spoonful of sugar - Many have expressed displeasure in Alsace wines getting sweeter and sweeter, and it is becoming a concern to drinkers and local authorities - 13th September 2008
 * Consulting the chameleon - Jancis Robinson meets a Catalan winemaking consultant who is responsible for successful new wines from the right bank of Bordeaux and further afield - 6th September 2008
 * Souvenirs to leave behind - Those who expect their treasured wine mementoes to prolong the warmth and languor of the summer holiday just past are all too often disappointed - 30th August 2008
 * Eins, Zwei, ... Dry - Partly thanks to climate change, says Jancis Robinson, the quality of German Riesling fermented out to dryness has dramatically improved over the past decade - 26th July 2008
 * Beware a new red menace - The practice of picking grapes later is producing uncomfortably dry finishes in more red wines - 19th July 2008
 * On tour with Napa’s VIPs - Touring the world’s most visited wine region demands organisation, designated drivers, pocket money and temperance to enjoy the countless tasting sessions one can savour - 12th July 2008
 * Chianti ups the ante - The 2006 vintage of Chianti Classico brings us wine lovers something to celebrate – and not just that so many of the wines taste good - 4th July 2008
 * Everything’s coming up rosé - “The world is awash with rosé,” observed an old friend who once managed one of London’s most famous hotels somewhat testily to me the other day - 30th June 2008
 * Long live German Riesling - Anyone keen to buy 2007s but less than enthusiastic about bordeaux should think seriously about Germany’s exceptional 2007 vintage - 21st June 2008
 * Hot spots for Chile’s vineyards - Wine production being a particularly sensitive barometer of climate change, vineyards are creeping polewards in both hemispheres - 14th June 2008
 * Time to think again about sherry - Do you remember one of the prime reasons that sherry died? - 7th June 2008
 * The insider’s choice - This must be the first time such an array of wines has been shown in London since the time of the Pontacs,” said Prince Robert of Luxembourg last week - 24th May 2008
 * Local whites are just the Italian job - Think of Italian wine and what do you see? Something deep purple or dusky crimson? - 16th May 2008
 * Brits who love a vigneron’s life - No one knows exactly how many French wine enterprises are British-owned but the total must now be well into four figures - 12th May 2008
 * Wine magic and other mysteries - Has the magic gone out of wine? This seemed to be the over-arching theme of a rare two days of discussion between some of the world’s most respected winemakers and wine writers in the Andalusian town of Ronda a fortnight ago - 5th May 2008
 * A meal to toast the class of 1982 - The year 1982 is of huge significance in the world of wine. It was the vintage that marked the beginning of the modern era in Bordeaux, when ripe fruit was first accepted as fine bordeaux’s most desirable feature - 28th April 2008
 * Bordeaux 2007: White is the new red - What was extraordinary when tasting hundreds of samples of young 2007 bordeaux earlier this month was how good the whites looked - 21st April 2008
 * Bordeaux 2007 – the vintage only the fittest survived - The 2007 vintage is quite extraordinary – as exceptional as the 2003 heatwave year but in an entirely different way - 14th April 2008
 * ‘I’ve never sold a wine that everyone wanted as much as this one’ - One of the most exciting things about my job is discovering a new wine region. And these are not always in far-flung corners of the wine world - 7th April 2008
 * South African stars, served on a ‘Platter’ - One of the great mysteries of the world of wine is why South African wine is not more celebrated - 31st March 2008
 * Time to get hot on temperature control - Last summer one hundred cases of very fine wine indeed had to be poured straight down San Francisco’s drains - 24th March 2008
 * ‘Millions of Chinese will be disappointed’ - I went back to China earlier this month after a gap of five years. Visitors of a more serious bent may go to China in search of answers to the future the planet. I went in search of wine - 15th March 2008
 * The hills are alive with heroic viticulture - Slovenia is possibly the most unusual wine culture in the world, certainly in Europe. During a brief visit there last November I tasted some of the most distinctively delicious wines to have come my way for several years, and some of the worst - 7th March 2008
 * ‘It’s more important that I’m in love with wine’ - It may be surprising but there are not all that many wine producers in the most traditional villages of Bordeaux and Burgundy who are absolutely besotted by the wines of the world - 1st March 2008
 * Name-dropping in Italy - Wine-label printers have much to thank the Hungarians for. From the beginning of this year the name Tocai Friulano is officially banned from wine labels exported from Italy, so a new name is required for wines made from this popular grape variety in the north-east Italian region of Friuli - 23rd February 2008
 * Australia’s climate of change - The Australian wine industry is in flux. Supplies of inexpensive wine produced with maximum added water and minimum human hand that have underpinned Australia’s export effort have been drying up, quite literally - 16th February 2008
 * Alsatians come to the aid of a one-trick pony - New Zealand has long been the envy of other wine exporting countries - 9th February 2008
 * Davos: wining, dining... and mining - I host wine tastings regularly and am used to keeping an audience, even a crypt full of fund managers, under control. But halfway through a look at 10 wines with – can you believe it? - 2nd February 2008
 * Should burgundy lovers resist the 2006 vintage? - With burgundy, there are rarely certainties. With 2006 burgundy, there is only one: that both reds and whites will evolve relatively fast - 26th January 2008
 * The year that sorted the diligent vignerons - Tasting with Dominique Lafon in the cellars of Domaine des Comtes Lafon in the Burgundian village of Meursault is always a pleasure but last December Lafon’s grin was particularly wide - 19th January 2008
 * Rhône whites give burgundies a run for their money - The question every wine professional dreads is: “What’s your favourite wine?” As with our children, we love them all equally for their very different charms and capabilities - 12th January 2008
 * The American telling the French what to do - We all know that French wine producers have been having a tough time and have been sorely in need of a bit of help in selling their products in a world awash with cleverly marketed New World alternatives. But who exactly has been capitalising on this opportunity to offer advice and expertise? - 5th January 2008



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