Over the past couple of years, a dispute has been raging between two very small French appellations – Bugey and Clairette de Die. In some ways this story sums up all that is mystifying about the legal intricacies of the French appellation system, in other ways it simply smacks of protectionism. And then, despite the… View more
I had this problem in the Jura and now I have it in Savoie. What to do when there is a lovely story, which has been related by everyone from vignerons to official regional bodies and onwards to journalists, educator and authors, but you find out it’s not true? And, the issue is further complicated… View more
The Kickstarter campaign for my new book, Wines of the French Alps reached its target just over a week ago and is forging ahead towards a new goal – thank you to all who have contributed. In the meantime, I’ve prepared a sample chapter and contents to give you a taste of what will be… View more
Ten days ago in New York, I launched the Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for self-publishing my second book, Wines of the French Alps. The book’s focus will be on wines from Savoie, Bugey and other French Alpine regions. Click on the Kickstarter video below for more. I had gone to New York, as well… View more
In preparation for my new self-published book in the making, I’ve been spending some time pondering what makes wines from the French Alps so special. I’ve also been trying to define where the wine regions of the French Alps begin and end, and indeed why. My first book, Jura Wine, seemed impossible to create when… View more
It’s all too easy to believe that once a scientific advance has entered into common usage it must be the best and only way to solve a problem. However, just as how in the world of medicine a good surgeon will examine a patient thoroughly, in addition to looking at the results of an MRI… View more
Until about five years ago, you’d be lucky to find one article a year on the Jura that wasn’t written by me. Quite rightly that began to change as wines from the Jura started winging their way outside of the region and journalists picked up there was something fascinating going on in this tiny wine… View more
In a relatively short time the perception of Jura wine in the UK has changed dramatically. Perhaps, just as one notices how much a child has grown after not seeing him for a few months, my 11-month absence made this change all the more evident. This month the cut-price supermarket chain Lidl, as part of… View more
My whole life may seem to have revolved around Jura wine and the book in the past year, and in many ways it has. However, since early June I have been based in Auckland, New Zealand, working as acting editor of the on-line magazine at Wine Searcher. It was an unusual opportunity to leave everything… View more
Winner of the Drink Prize in the AndrĂ© Simon Food and Drink Book Awards 2014, Jura Wine uncovers the secrets of the fascinating wines of this gorgeous region in eastern France. Don’t go to the Jura without it! Wine writer Alice Feiring wrote: “I find myself consulting your book all the time, every time I dip in again,… View more
