Ben Howkins - Sherry, Understood, Enjoyed, Celebrated! Fresh from two weeks in the California sun, where I was wearing my Last Drop Distillers (‘seekers of rare, old, exceptional spirits’) hat, I plunged into the UK October autumnal weather with a feeling of huge excitement. Read more >>
Fiona Morrison MW - Winemaking: Art or Science? This was one of the essay questions that came up when I sat the Master of Wine exam. Having just completed the 2019 harvest at our three domains in Pomerol, Saint Emilion and Castillon, crunching numbers and going back to my school chemistry lessons has been an essential part of the […] Read more >>
Steven Spurrier - It has been a busy autumn at the AdVL with the publication of Sherry: Maligned, Misunderstood, Magnificent! by Ben Howkins. This was launched to great acclaim at the Consejo Regulador de Jerez on 15 October under the Presidency of Don Beltran Domecq, who then travelled to London the following week to present a Master Class […] Read more >>
Susan Keevil - Bringing together wine writing from across the ages for our new anthology In Vino Veritas has been a wonderfully self-indulgent way to spend my working day – work, really? I can choose between exploring the English wine bubble with Justin Howard-Sneyd and experiencing the 2019 harvest at Le Pin with Fiona Morrison for a more […] Read more >>
Steven Spurrier - Exactly this time last year I was lunching with Hugh Johnson and Ben Howkins at their Club in Saint James’s and was bemoaning the fact that modern wine books were either well-written but weighty reference books or buying guides with recommended rankings on the 100 point scale. Read more >>
Ben Howkins - I have just purchased one of the earliest books about tasting wine, Professor George Saintsbury’s classic Notes on a Cellar-Book published in 1931. Read more >>
Fiona Morrison MW - It is the end of August and our adrenalin is rising. Step by step the grapes are inching towards maturity. Step by step we begin to analyze the data: sugar and acidity first and then with time the anthocyanins (the pigments which affect the colour and the structure of berries). Step by step we walk through the […] Read more >>
Susan Keevil - Following my trip to Lebanon recently I’ve been reading up on my ‘Sergeisms’. Serge Hochar (1939–2014) was the creator of Lebanon’s iconic red wine, Chateau Musar, and a more charismatic winemaker you will rarely meet. Read more >>
Fiona Morrison MW - July being a calm season (we are just nervously watching the effects of the drought and doing rain dances in the vineyards), I thought I should turn my attention to the whos, whys, whens, hows and whats of the wine business, especially the way we communicate about wine. This, you may think, should come […] Read more >>
Ben Howkins - Last month, I had the good fortune to sit next to my old bachelor flatmate at a small party to celebrate his 75th birthday. Nothing particularly remarkable about that, except that my old flatmate happened to be the ‘World’s greatest living explorer’, Sir Ranulph Fiennes Bt. We shared a flat in South Kensington and then […] Read more >>
Steven Spurrier - It’s been a busy month. Our commemorative edition of Michael Broadbent’s seminal Wine Tasting continues to draw praise and we will be launching Sherry – Maligned, Misunderstood, Magnificent! by Ben Howkins in September. This month, when people’s minds have been on Wimbledon, Britain’s choice of a Prime Minister or getting ready for the holidays, on […] Read more >>
Académie du Vin Library - A very special gathering of consumers and trade was held at Berry Brothers & Rudd in St James’, London, on the 10th July, to celebrate the launch of 10 Great Wine Families – A tour through Europe by Master of Wine Fiona Morrison. In the second title from the Académie du Vin Library, still hot […] Read more >>
Susan Keevil - I’ve been Lebanized. I’m not driving the streets of Henley like a Beiruti taxi-driver (a sure way to instant license loss now I’m back here in the UK) but I’ve become a total convert to this country’s array of food – and the wines that almost miraculously match it. For me, the most startling combo […] Read more >>
Fiona Morrison MW - It is June and the vineyard floor is strewn with wild flowers, clover, dandelions, rabbit ears. The smell as I bend down to inspect the flowers that are forming on the tiny green buds, is that of early summer; green, certainly, with aromas of blossom, a touch of honey, a touch of herbal bitterness and […] Read more >>
Ben Howkins - I may look calm, but I am really totally absorbed by the heat and beat of this stunning Flamenco performance at a private caseta. It is the 2019 annual Feria del Caballo in Jerez, and it is May. Flamenco is Andalucia. Any region that can give birth to such deep, yet joyful music deserves to […] Read more >>
Steven Spurrier - Why the Academie du Vin Library? To re-publish and re-create the ‘literature’ of wine. Today much wine writing is reduced to tasting notes and scores, while technical information and prices can be found on the web. The books that taught me about wine in the 1960s were based on Places and People more than the […] Read more >>
Martin Preston - Académie du Vin Library friend Jancis Robinson has recently posted an excellent article on her website asking ‘What is to be done about Sherry’? What indeed. Spain’s finest wine has been in the doldrums for the last 30 years, especially in the UK, where its associations with net curtains, vicarage tea parties and drafty senior […] Read more >>
Steven Spurrier - After the stupendous launch of Wine Tasting at the Vintners’ Hall last week – an event that will go down in the annals of the Livery Hall’s 650-year history – it is now time to spread the word about the Académie du Vin Library and Michael Broadbent’s book in particular. Fortunately, I am on the road […] Read more >>
Martin Preston - At 67 Pall Mall yesterday with Simon (Publisher), Matthew (Sales & Marketing) and Susan (Editor) for a meeting with 10 Great Wine Families author Fiona Morrison MW, who had just jetted in from Vietnam but was certainly none the worse for wear. For those of you who don’t know her (in the wine world, that’s […] Read more >>
Martin Preston - We were all very nervous. The weather had suddenly warmed up (thank goodness) but it was a Tuesday night and the traffic was as bad as ever. Supposing we held a party and nobody came? Or worse, they came, saw, had a quick drink and left? We needn’t have worried. The launch party of the […] Read more >>
Martin Preston - Michael Broadbent’s son Bollew posted this snap of Michael (immaculately dressed as always) signing a copy of Wine Tasting for his daughter Emma. But Michael will be flouting publishing convention by not signing copies tomorrow night at the official launch at Vintners’ Hall. He’d far rather spend his time enjoying himself talking to the other 180-odd […] Read more >>
Steven Spurrier - Late January found me in Washington DC at Master of Wine Jay Youmans’ Washington Wine School, invited for my fourth year as a judge for the Governor’s Cup. The three previous tastings had been held at the splendid Jefferson Hotel in Richmond VA, with optional visits to wineries in nearby Charlottesville, but this time the […] Read more >>
Martin Preston - In the 5th floor café at Waterstones, Piccadilly yesterday for a meeting on our Sherry book with the delightful Ben Howkins – always a pleasure – and Susan, our wonderful editor. For those of you who don’t already know, it’s the place to go for a meeting in central London: friendly staff, stylish surroundings and comfy […] Read more >>
We don’t know what they’re feeding them over there in Virginia – but if Michael Broadbent’s son Bollew’s golden retrievers are anything to go by, the world of gourmet dog food is about to to take a step up. I’m not sure that’s quite what Michael had in mind when he wrote Wine Tasting, but […] Read more >>
Martin Preston - You’ve probably noticed the elegant Zalto wine glasses dotted around our website – for some time, the connoisseur’s glasses of choice. But Académie du Vin Library friend Jancis Robinson has pointed out that Zalto now faces stiff competition – in the shape of a single wine glass, designed to suit any occasion and any wine. […] Read more >>
Steven Spurrier - The last weekend in March found me flying from Luton to Cluj Napoca on WhizzAir to attend a wine fair that was held in the National Art Gallery on the city’s centre square and to give a Masterclass on the 10 wines that had impressed me most. Romania occupies the same latitude as France and […] Read more >>
Simon McMurtrie - Académie du Vin Library Publisher Simon McMurtrie and his wife Emma present Michael Broadbent with the first advanced copy of the Commemorative Edition of Michael’s book Wine Tasting at his flat in London. “It’s hard to find the words to express the absolute joy on Michael’s face as Emma and I visited him and his […] Read more >>