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 André 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
Last weekend the Savoie wine region celebrated 40 years of being classified Vin de Savoie AOC with an array of local Michelin-star chefs serving impeccable food to over 300 invited guests. In the marquee erected for the occasion in perfect surroundings by the Lac Saint André circled by the vineyards of the largest crus, Apremont… View more
Today I received a transfer of approximately £12.5k into my bank account accumulated from 375 people who had pledged to the Kickstarter project I ran recently. The project was to raise funds for the production of my book Jura Wine that I will self-publish early next year. Some of the people who pledged are friends… View more
For those not subscribed to the Jura blog, perhaps you have not yet seen my rather daring Kickstarter Project to crowd-fund my proposed book on the Jura wine region. With the little eastern France region going from strength to strength on export markets there is also news specifically for the wine trade in the UK,… View more
