Andrew Jefford's Blog

Madeira: the missing link

Andrew — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:03:54 +0000

This blog is an edited version of a Madeira ‘masterclass’ I gave at the Portuguese Embassy in London on October 29th 20

Is Chile the New Australia?

Andrew — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:01:00 +0000

On September 30th I took part in a debate in which five panellists were invited to chew over this proposition.

Rockyards and stonejuice

Andrew — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:48:59 +0000

It’s been too long since I visited the Languedoc.

High on the hog

Andrew — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 21:01:57 +0000

A Night at the Roederers

Andrew — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:05:27 +0000

Walkabout in Sonoma

Andrew — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 09:27:36 +0000

Whenever I’m asked about California wines, I feel a pang of guilt, since my knowledge of them is so sketchy.

Ken Grills Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:04:57 +0000

Ken Payton, one of the administrators of an excellent site called (you won't forget this one) Reign of Terroir, has recently asked me some some searching and wide-ranging questions.

The Mission

Andrew — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:52:52 +0000

A bright May morning and a Mayfair restaurant: The Square.

Absinthe friend

Andrew — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:08:54 +0000

I’ve been doing a little work on pastis recently (see Financial Times piece on 9.8.08) and that has taken me back

Calling Little Venetians

Andrew — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 11:34:58 +0000

I finally made it to David Motion’s The Winery at 4 Clifton Road W9 (http://www.thewineryuk.com/) recently, close to Little Venice.

Wiston Ho!

Andrew — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:17:43 +0000

Recording interviews for the Food Program of July 27th/28th has given me a chance to visit some old friends as well as new es

Everything you always wanted to know about the Champagne area revisions but were afraid to ask

Andrew — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:32:34 +0000

Champagne intends to expand its growing area. Here’s the nitty-gritty, based on a recent visit.

Is this a new idea?

Light, capers, fennel, anis, mastic

Andrew — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 11:08:51 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to walk to the northern tip of Gozo: one of those summer walks on small Mediterrane

Green wine: why?

Andrew — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:58:00 +0000

This is a very brief introduction to a vast subject, prepared from a speech given to Waitrose Wine Advisers at the London Wine Trade Fair on May 22nd 2008. It is divided into two sections, crudely called Macro and Micro.

Macro

12 billion years ago – in other words 12,000 times one million years ago – the Universe came into being.

All the fun of the Fair

Andrew — Tue, 27 May 2008 10:33:00 +0000

To the London Wine Trade Fair for two days last week. Faced with the possibility of tasting almost anything and meeting almost anyone, what’s the strategy?

Aimless wandering is best avoided, since the Fair drifts by in a succession of 10-minute chats with old acquaintances: socially enjoyable, but professionally useless. A determined stride and temporary tunnel vision is the best way to move down the channels and gulleys which separate each island stand.

Spreading the word

The train to London

Andrew — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:28:00 +0000

I live in Kent and work from home. Most weeks, though, I will be in London two or three times for meetings, tastings and other professional excursions. I bike to High Brooms station, then take the train: a 55-minute rail journey.

Architecture and the burden of living

Andrew — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:52:55 +0000

I tuned in to the BBC World Service two or three nights ago and hooked up with the end of a conversation with Richard Rogers (whose rapid and distinctive half-mumble must be hard for those who have learned English as a second language to follow).

"Can architecture change lives?" he was asked.
"You make the burden of living easier," Rogers replied.

Behind the scenes at the tasting

Andrew — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 15:35:55 +0000

Off to the Decanter World Wine Awards tastings every day last week, medal-hunting with the Regional France and Languedoc-Roussillon panels. I can’t reveal any of the results, obviously; indeed I don’t know them yet myself in any useful sense, since all we’ve done is award medals to unidentified wines. What I can do is pass on a little of flavour of the week, and try to explain why it’s so enjoyed by its participants.

Coming soon: Wine of France! (Maybe)

Andrew — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:13:55 +0000

Those of you who have bumped into my writing down the years will know that I love French wine.

Brahms in the forest

Andrew — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:19:55 +0000

This is number 1 in a discontinuous series of ‘quotes of the day.’ (’The day’ being the day I come across them.)

Florence May: “How can I most quickly improve?”
Johannes Brahms: “You must walk constantly in the forest.”

A little background: Florence May (1845-1923) was a talented English pianist who had travelled to study piano technique under Clara Schumann but who ended up as a pupil of Brahms himself. She later wrote a two-volume biography of Brahms.