Philosophy

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.

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.

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.

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.

Should I stay or should I go?

Andrew — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 14:49:38 +0000

Writing about places on earth, and the foods, drinks and scents connected with them, necessitates travel.

Thinking about it: listen in

Andrew — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 16:40:38 +0000

Back in December 2004, I attended the now-celebrated conference at the University of London called ‘Philosophy and Wine’. You can read the piece I wrote for the FT afterwards (February 2005) in the articles section of this site.

Barry Smith, the organiser, has edited and published a collection of essays, some of them originally papers given at the conference and others written specially for the book, called Questions of Taste.

Eating other animals

Andrew — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 14:38:55 +0000

Visitors to the ‘Worldview’ section of this site will know that human population growth and the impact of humans on the environment trouble me more than the way the Bordeaux 2000s are shaping up,

Worldview: John Graham’s comments

Andrew — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 20:00:55 +0000

Worldview: have your say

Andrew — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 21:01:55 +0000

My distinguished colleague John Graham, Senior Contributing Editor to Tatler magazine and a former US Editor of the Financial Times as well as a mean man with a deck of cards, has recently contacted m