After a run of challenging years, South Africa is completing one of its greatest ever vintages. BUT. @timatkinmw.bsky.social makes important points about financial sustainability and transformation.https://harpers.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/34055/Tim_Atkin_MW:_The_Cape_deserves_our_respect.html

Why is it so difficult to make money in the wine business, even for people that succeeded in other fields? My two cents in my latest for @timatkinmw.bsky.social . timatkin.com/wine-fortunes/

📌 @timatkinmw.bsky.social regresa a nuestro país y celebra 15 años de degustaciones. El Master of Wine y crítico británico llega mañana a Argentina 🇦🇷, donde recorrerá más de 50 bodegas en sus 25 días de estadía y degustará un total de 1200 vinos. 📲 Leer: www.winesofargentina.org/es/single-ne...

Vuelve @timatkinmw.bsky.social a la argentina para su reporte 2025 guiadevinos.com.ar/tim-atkin-vu...

My latest podcast is with Felicity Carter, an expert on health and alcohol policy. We chatted about the French paradox, the j-shaped curve, the WHO, Prohibition, safe drinking levels, Big Tobacco and good and bad science. #corktalk in association with Amorim. timatkin.com/cork-talk/co...

I am proud to publish Christy Canterbury MW’s fourth Burgundy Special Report. At 214 pages, it’s her most comprehensive overview. Over the space of a month, Christy tasted 2,225 wines from the “immediately appealing” 2023 vintage, making her report essential reading. £20 to download from my site.

My latest #podcast, with Australian legend John Duval of @johnduvalwines, is live. #corktalk in association with @amorimcork. timatkin.com/cork-talk/co...

The wine trade is facing a number of challenges right now, not least from neo-Prohibitionists. But it has dealt with crises in the past, argues Andy Neather, and has proved itself to be both creative and adaptable. There are reasons for optimism. timatkin.com/reasons-to-b...

My latest column for @timatkinmw.bsky.social: in a Dry January with plenty of bad news for the wine industry (neo-prohibitionists running amok etc), there are still good reasons to be cheerful: wine retains its innate ability to surprise and delight timatkin.com/reasons-to-b...

Seems to me as though, as a quid pro quo for wealthy donors getting a public subsidy for their donations, they should declare who they are. No transparency - no subsidy. goodlawproject.org/end-charity-...

Pioneers don't always get things right. Who does? But the people who make the right brave choices, pushing boundaries and challenging received wisdom, enrich the wine world, argues Margaret Rand. Photo by Zybnek Popisil. timatkin.com/a-different-...

My latest podcast, with the amazing Jen Parr of @valliwine, is live. Cork Talk in association with @amorimcork. timatkin.com/category/pod...

Loving this William Hill Award-winning book about life as a journeyman tennis pro. Highly recommended.

Have wine merchants lost touch with their customers? Are they averse to innovation? For all their past achievements, Sara Danese argues that they need to adapt to the new consumer landscape or risk irrelevance. timatkin.com/what-have-wi...

Happy New Year

A bit of appreciation for the festive season. Why I like wine people, my latest for @timatkinmw.bsky.social . timatkin.com/why-i-like-w...

Brilliant final morning in Santiago chatting to Don Alejandro Hernández, the Emile Péynaud of Chile. #2025chilereport

How do you perceive ‘value’? After braving some UK supermarket wine aisles this week, I couldn’t agree more with @timatkinmw.bsky.social in his newsletter this week. mailchi.mp/timatkin.com...

Sixty years ago to the day, John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones recorded this album in a single session at Rudy van Gelder's studio.

Always a pleasure to visit @vinedosdealcohuaz. One of the most beautiful vineyards in the world. #2025chilereport #therealchilereport

Today’s poem is called ‘This is One of Those Poems without any Rhymes’.

Last year’s Best of Rioja London tasting was such a success that we’ve made it an annual event. The tasting will provide a unique overview of what’s happening in the region. Many of the winemakers be there in person. Ticket are very limited. £50 each. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-best-o...

a review of The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad — the story of how Russian scientists preferred to risk starving together than eating their prized collection of seeds www.ft.com/content/ffa5...

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says the public want to leave the ECHR Let him know he’s wrong by sharing this widely

225 glasses of wine representing the average monthly per capita alcohol consumption in France in 1952.

Why is the government not capable wiping the floor with Nigel Farage every single day like this? Alastair Campbell effortlessly destroys him over his Brexit legacy which by almost every economic and financial measure has been disastrous for the country

Haut-Brion is sometimes described as the wine world's first luxury brand. But how was it made in the 17th century? In his latest piece for my site, Charlie Leary uncovers a fascinating tale, which questions our modern idea of authenticity. timatkin.com/making-a-shi...

La fameuse fenêtre d’Overton

My 2024 Rías Baixas report is out today. Lots of tasting notes, plus an overview of the region’s history, climate, grape varieties and terroirs, as well as vintage reports, restaurant recommendations and suggestions for further reading. £10 to download from my site.

This is what Putin and Farage fear and hate – brave Georgians campaigning for freedom, democracy, and EU membership.

Long Tied to Russia, Georgia’s Winemakers want to export to the West. Some vintners in the former Soviet republic are seeking to break a politically risky dependence on Russia and focus more on high-value European and American markets. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/w...

How seriously should the wine business take video-based social media? And what about influencers? In his latest column, Andy Neather argues that the phenomenon has become too big, too successful and too important to ignore. Photo by Rodion Kutsaiev on @unsplash. timatkin.com/under-the-in...

My latest column for @timatkinmw.bsky.social is out: Under the influence: why vinfluencers are good for the world of wine. With thanks to @tomgilbey.bsky.social @victoriamoore.bsky.social timatkin.com/under-the-in...

My latest podcast, with wine and marathon man and Instagram sensation, Tom Gilbey, is live. We had such a hoot. #corktalk in association with Amorim cork. timatkin.com/cork-talk/co...

Fireside red from Rodri Méndez. #santmartidempuries

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre.... Excellent from Andrew Rawnsley. Wine drinkers are pissed off with the government too. #capthewinetax

Is there a right and wrong way to consume wine? Is it OK to chill reds? And what about mixing them with ice cubes or another beverage? It all depends on where you live and which cultural norms you grow up with, argues Panama-based @bacopty on timatkin.com Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash.

My 2024 Ribera del Duero Report is live. Everything you need to know about one of Spain’s greatest wine regions. £20 to download from my site. timatkin.com/reports/

Man who told The Times in 2021 that he’d only bought his £4.25m farm to avoid paying inheritance tax to lead protest against inheritance tax 😂🤣😂 www.thesun.co.uk/news/3179317...

Excellent piece. Beth Willard and o were talking about this last night. The people who buy and sell these wines are mostly interested in labels and showing off. harpers.co.uk/news/fullsto...

My latest #podcast, with the amazing Dawn Davies MW, is live. #corktalk in association with Amorim Cork. timatkin.com/cork-talk/co...

Very useful book for anyone visiting Madrid.

The sad reality of the viticultural crisis in France. Numbers of vines being definitely pulled up, by department. 27,451 hectares.

Today’s poem is called ‘A Brief History of Modern Art in Poetry’.

Good morning! If you've found my 'UK news and politics' starter pack useful to get you up and running on @bsky.app, please spread the word to new users by giving this a repost. Cheers! go.bsky.app/VNsC9bL

A bunch of wine friends is trying to stop the February duty hike. To join the protest send a capsule or screwcap to Rachel Reeves c/o HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, London SW1A 2HQ. Please urge the government to #capthewinetax. Our petition goes live soon. We’re aiming for 10,000 signatures.

www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4.... Well worth a read.

Should great wine move us to tears? In his latest piece for my site, Wojciech Bońkowski MW argues that in our attempt to "professionalise" our response to wine, we rob it of its ability to touch the core of our being. Photo by Sam Barber on Unsplash. timatkin.com/wines-epipha...

Made a (quite short to begin with) wine people starter pack. I feel like the wine world is a bit under represented here so please point me in the direction of folk I ought to know / be adding. go.bsky.app/FhogrfS