Nadsat and Newspeak – Words for Wine Are you self-isolating in Airstrip One, watching our dystopias unfold? Choose from climate emergency, the covid-19 pandemic, surveillance society, social media hate-crimes, fake news, or 1001 other worrisome issues (add your own here). Our world can sometimes seem like it’s becoming a combination of two classic books: George Orwell’s 1984 and Anthony Burgess’s …
And I've got one, two, three, four, five, senses working overtime. Trying to take this all in - I've got one, two, three, four, five, senses working overtime. Trying to taste the difference 'tween a lemon and lime, pain and pleasure, and the church bells softly chime.
XTC, Senses Working Overtime, 1982Silly Tasting Notes and Neuroenology
Silly Tasting Notes and Neuroenology It might seem obvious, but the taste of wine occurs in the human brain. Indeed, there is a good deal of scientific research that’s gradually revealing how this works. A terrific book called Neuroenology, by Gordon M. Shepherd, explains this in detail. So why also include the Silly Tasting Notes in this article? Well, once the taste …
A Haiku for Pointless Wine Scoring
A Haiku for Pointless Wine Scoring Some recent correspondents have asked why I don’t append a points score to the wines I recommend. Well, I’ve always preferred words to mere points when evaluating wine. So I prefer reading to seeing yet another naked 90+ point score. They’re just noise. Instead of being part of the equation, now they are the equation. Points …
Corks Out! Diam Bouchage fights back
Corks Out! Diam Bouchage fights back. Hands up, who has had a bottle of corked wine? Ok, that’s most of you. And I don’t mean wine with a few bits of cork floating in it. It’s the awful smell and taste of musty or mouldy cardboard. The culprit is TCA, short for 2,4,6-Trichloroanisole. It forms when airborne bacteria and fungi …
Breaking Glass – which fizz glasses are best?
Breaking Glass – which fizz glasses are best? One rainy Sunday afternoon I tested the suitability of various stemware for fizz in an experiment called Breaking Glass. What works best for bubbly? Admittedly my Breaking Glass test was conducted without much scientific rigour. Different glasses were hand-washed beforehand to ensure there were no lingering traces of detergent, which kills bubbles …
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