Top 5 Rising Stars of Italy
China and Italy have ties that go back many centuries. The height of the Roman Empire coincides with the height of the Han dynasty when great advances were made in China in the area of mathematics,...
View ArticleTop 5 Wine Accessories
For anyone who has seen the movie Sideways, it is hard not to wince and cringe when Miles Raymond, the depressed the wine enthusiast, finally opens up his beloved 1961 Cheval Blanc in a paper cup at a...
View ArticleOde To Mature Wines
Reviewing my wine notes over the past 23 years, I have to admit to a bias: I am less critical and more forgiving of mature wines than I am of young wines. I judge them less harshly because they can’t...
View ArticleThe Diversity Of Piedmont
The first time I tasted a very mature Barolo, a 1964 Borgogno, I remember thinking that there was more than just a whiff of black fermented tea notes there. I couldn’t place which black tea I was...
View ArticleCalifornian Cult Wines
Californian wines have had their ups and downs in the Asian market. In the 1980s and early 1990s, before the Australians, Kiwis and Chileans became marketing savvy and zoomed in on Asia, Californian...
View ArticleEmbracing Burgundy
Just glancing at the recent wine auction results in Hong Kong, there is no doubt that fine wine collectors in Asia are turning to Burgundy. The lots that are breaking auction records and surpassing...
View ArticleTop 5 White Burgundies For Your Cellar
As I grow older, I am coming to appreciate aged white Burgundies more and more. The very best examples have a steely backbone that enables it to prolong its life for decades and surrounding this core...
View ArticleAn Afternoon With Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy
In early November 2013, I visited Domaine Leroy and was fortunate enough to spend several hours with Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy. As many wine writers know, it is very difficult to book an appointment...
View ArticleUnderstanding a Nation in Mourning
When I was 16 years old, I spent the summer in Seoul and stayed with my Aunt and Uncle who had three cousins around my age. One day I was out with my eldest cousin who is five years older than me and...
View ArticleNapa Valley Earthquake – Assessing the Damage
It was the tremour, then the deafening rumbling sound that woke me up from peaceful slumber at 3.20am on Sunday, August 24 in Napa Valley, while on a working visit. I sat up and held on to the side of...
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