The Archive

Food writing

Beginning with the premise that taste is primarily subjective and for most of the time utterly elusive, why on earth would anyone want to comment on food, its producers, its consumers or its cooks. For my part I think it is because we wish to share the overall experience with at least one other, to find common ground, to contribute joy and most of all, to avoid disappointment. So much of the historical reasoning behind food has been lost, but as a result of our interest and our efforts over the last few decades, so much is now being re-discovered. We require guidance and illumination in the face of biased marketing and social hypnosis, and to be part of such a continuous cultural dialogue is a privilege, it is also hugely enjoyable.

Food writing blogs

Wine writing

“Life is what happens to us, when we are making other plans”

How did I enter the wine trade is a relatively simple question to answer – I inadvertently reversed into it whilst looking the other way.

Why I chose to continue, needs more rigorous address.

That dubious British establishment, once known as the landed gentry, laudably gave up its sons to run the country, and by default maintain an empire. The first would be sent into politics, the second to the armed forces, the third into law and with the main buttresses in place, the fourth would be consigned to the church. Were there to be a fifth son, this apparently decreasing professional lineage would have doubtless provided a safe haven – that of the wine trade. The term trade being thought too vulgar perhaps, the term profession too arrogant, the wine trade has more recently chosen to define its uncertain activities as an occupation – and indeed, many souls does it occupy. Like watching the endless credit list scroll down at the end of the Harry Potter films, one has but to visit any one of the numerous global wine fairs to see just how many people are bound into its embrace.

What makes up this caucus is an indiscriminate group dedicated to amusement, diversion and congeniality. Entering such a profession makes little sense to those who require either commercial security or financial gain. It is frowned upon by bankers, accountants and clerics and spurned by global investors. Wine is principally spared the vicissitudes experienced by the constant desire for profit. The oft-quoted maxim that ‘in order to make a small fortune in the wine game, you have to start with a large one’ rings out clearer than a country church bell across a hazy meadow.

The cast of thousands that contribute to this perambulating circus are neither strangers to false modesty nor blessed with altruism. They are in the main a motley crew of rapscallions, chancers, new-age philosophers, delusional imbibers, promiscuous sommeliers and amiable misfits. Some purport to old-school protocol others to bohemian ostentation, but above all they exhibit the desire for hospitality, camaraderie and a need to share and dispense what they fervently believe to be that bewitching nectar of the Gods – wine.

Their limited aspirations may well be shared with another more noble occupation. When Picasso was informed, by a young visitor to his studio “…that when I grow up I want to be an artist”, he replied, “You can’t do both”.

 What has been of unexpected entitlement, has been the task of visiting wine-growing regions across the globe, and wine growing regions by definition encompass some of the most staggeringly beautiful scenery any country has on offer. Coupled with a willing immersion in aspects of local geography, culture, history, sociology, biology, gastronomy and chemistry – there have been, and continue to be, a host of shared tributes along the path from vine to glass.

As a wine merchant, restaurateur and writer, I am pleased to have been part of their ranks and contributed to some of their diversions over the last twenty years.

I have been drinking wine (in preference to any other alcoholic beverage) for nearly forty years, I have been selling wine for nearly twenty years, but I have been writing about it for only ten – clearly there appears to be a lot of catching up to do. However, even if such a concept were possible, wine will inevitably outrun me, or you for that matter, as it transforms and renews itself every season, every harvest and almost every bottle. Every time you think you have nailed a preference for a specific country or a region, a grape variety or style, wine will shape-shift in front of your very eyes to adopt a new and sometimes disarming persona. As wine is never static, its commentators must therefore embrace the same outlook. A new bottle is not an immutable product it is a living adventure, an expedition full of twists and turns and the only offer I can make here is to ask that you join me on the exciting journey I know it to be.

Wine writing blogs

Consultancy

I have spent many years sourcing wines from vineyards around the world, meeting the demands of anything from discerning private purchasers to the commercial needs of many of the nation’s restaurants and hotels up and down the country. I have designed wine lists for modest gastropubs scattered across rural England as well as providing fully stocked cellars for major hotel chains, I have even selected a complete range of wines for a notable e-commerce site. It is immensely rewarding to provide wines that meet commercial constraints and provide suitable gross margin, whilst at the same time offering exciting, expressive and unique wines, often from small family producers and rarely available through multiple outlets.

I have lectured on wine in many countries and organised vineyard visits all over the world. I have undertaken wine tastings in village halls, private schools, embassies and country estates. Tutored tastings have been undertaken in front of a mere half a dozen headmasters and, dauntingly on one occasion; over one hundred financial advisers. I have tasted on behalf of The Royal Air Force, The Hilton Group and The National Trust alike. I have never once been disappointed with the enthusiasm and interest these events generate and I have never left feeling the experience was anything but worthwhile. I fully anticipate providing more of the same during 2010.

Consultancy Blogs

Publishing

When I first had the idea of creating an independent wine and food magazine I was driven by a sense of enquiry and a wish to engage with the real as much as with the romantic.

My wish was to return to a dialogue that examined the simplicity and originality of context, highlighting methods and traditional flavours that reach beyond the merely innovative. I felt that the publication could also provide insight and explanation, as much with powerful imagery as it could with words.

I am not alone on this voyage and have been joined by a chorus of independent and incisive voices from around the world – writers, artists and photographers – whose contributions provide rich and varied perspectives.

We seek out and examine the essence of all we eat and drink, be it from the farm, the sea, the vineyard, the market, the kitchen or the restaurant, all in the belief that an understanding of place, and a respect for culture, can provide an important key to delicious tastes.

The principle purpose of all we eat and drink is to provide refreshment and nourishment. It must never do anything less, but we believe it can do so much more. We will reappraise accepted facts, challenge received assumptions, educate, inspire and amuse.

You hold in your hands the first issue of our venture together – independent and thought provoking, with inspiring prose and beautiful imagery, unsullied by pages of advertising.

We are delighted that you are joining us on this voyage of discovery. June 2015

Publishing Blogs