We've just one of these lovely shiny things for our 2023 Natural Ferment Chardonnay. Which is nice.

Earliest ever Chardonnay flowering in the vineyard. Are we the first in the UK for this variety??

Controversial but I think Bordeaux might just be the best value source of red wine anywhere at the moment. This 2019 from Chateau Beaumont is ridiculously good at £12.95 from the Wine Society.

Of course this has all happened before. Back then Global Trade was a fraction of what it is today and it made a dire situation worse rather than creating its own crash. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot%E...

Is this right, the world economy is tanking and Trump has gone to play golf? I bet he cheats.

I think for Trump "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning"

I think I might be putting off retirement for a bit.

It seems American Exceptionalism might be somewhat misplaced.

The decline of Britain as a world power started in earnest in 1945, was confirmed eleven years later by Suez. The USA is beating that timescale by quite some margin.

The one thing more dangerous than a politician who believes in nothing is a politician who believes in something stupid.

Given that the extra cost of tariffs get passed onto consumers, aren't they just a huge sales tax ?

Will Trump's tariff day be his Truss moment?

First Canada and Greenland. What will the USA want next? Somewhere oil rich, has A nuclear base,Trump has a golf course and it has a big beautiful wall (in need of repair). There's even an snippy political party to co-opt that sees themselves as ruled by a foreign elite. Scotland, you're next 😳

Wine competitions should have a special category called - divides the room. You see judges plowing through wines that are distinctly average. It's the ones that half of them love and half hate that are invariably the most interesting but they too get average scores.

How sustainable is it for the UK to have military bases on its soil that are controlled by an increasingly hostile foreign power?

I don't know much about the Canadian USA border but if I was a Canuck (I hope that's an affectionate term, I intend it that way), I'd be looking at any lake Islands, bends in the river, promontories or other features. If you're going to invent a border dispute, that's where it's going to happen.

Having to put a 25%tariff on your competitors is basically like holding up a great big sign saying our products are really shit and this is the only way to sell them.

Checkout affordable art on the Paintings in Hospitals website. Every sale helps Paintings in Hospitals support health and wellbeing in care spaces across the UK.

Same thing has occurred to me recently.

In times of financial uncertainty buying fine wine was used by wealthy people as a safe haven and prices rose accordingly. I'm not so close to the market anymore but this time it doesn't seem to be happening, the market seems flat or in decline. Why is this?

So, should Canada join the EU?

I mean, I quite like a cat but, every other post I see on bluesky is a picture of somebody's unremarkable pussy. Is it just me or are the enemies of JD Vance taking over the world?

Did I dream it or did Cary Grant really come back to his hometown of Bristol once a year and ride around in an open top carriage with a deserving child?

Any restaurant that supplies a small table for the wine list because it's so big can't be all bad.

Spaghetti Vongole. Tomato or not?

Wordle 1,356 1/6 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Just sayin.

Will the day ever come when setting up a new laptop takes anything less than 5 hours?

Living dangerously.

Who'd you reckon would win in a fight, Sauron or Voldemort?

Sometimes it's just really hard to make the right choice.

I'd be interested to know what people think about this - Most wine education is identifying good wine from bad wine. The problem is that what it defines as bad is also what the vast majority of consumers enjoy from their local supermarket and so makes them look foolish. Is this sustainable?

Is it just me or do Trump's proposed economic policies sound a lot like those of the great lettuce herself Liz Truss?

Name that cookbook.

Here’s your starter for producers, professionals, and personalities in English wine. Let me know if I’ve missed you!

Why does everyone seem to dislike James Corden?

🦐 risotto. Parmesan?

Somerset reflections.

Wines I always buy year in year out. CVNE Imperial Reserva Ulysses Cazabonne Pauillac Ulysses Cazabonne Sauternes Fefinanes Albarino Tio Pepe En Rama Chave Crozes "Silene" What wines do other folks buy every single vintage?

I'm not an advocate of sitting around the house in pyjamas all day long but if there was ever a day to do, this is it #stormbert

This morning on Classical Byways: classicalbyways.substack.com/p/henry-purc... To get a near daily dose of lesser known classical music subscribe (its free) to classicalbyways.substack.com

Good morning bluesky

We're there farmers protests when the subsidies they received pre-brexit were discontinued? I can't remember any.

If you are interested in #classical music, we have a free daily Substack devoted to it. “Classical Byways” looks at lesser known composers or lesser known works by well known composers. There’s usually one new piece a day. Why not have a read and a listen? classicalbyways.substack.com

My first ever post here. What does the French Navy say when it sets to sea? Á l'eau, c'est l'heure.

I learned some stuff about Bluesky I did not know by reading this. Maybe worth passing it on to others so we can all start getting the full benefit of the 🦋.