‘He does not play the high-volume game. All of his producers create seriously interesting wine’

‘I for one admire producers of superior wines who use screwcaps, risking the scorn of the uneducated consumer’

‘Vintage port would be a fine gift, even if it needs to be really quite venerable before it truly delivers’

‘Pessac-Léognan tends to be denser, more food-friendly and oakier than the Sauvignons of the Loire’

‘French wine producers were berated for being poorer at encouraging tourists than counterparts outside Europe’

‘Attempts to restrict the name champagne to the sparkling wines of the Champagne region are legendary’

‘You only have to look at a wine list in Greece to see what treasures it has to offer the curious wine drinker’

‘A remarkable thing about these deliciously mature wines was their price and availability’

‘Superior own-label sherries have to be some of the wine world’s great bargains today’

‘When’s the best time to drink 2008 white burgundy? I’d say generally over the next few years’

‘For decades, historians and growers posited wild theories about the grape’s origins’

‘For producers, there is the allure of identifying end-users and their email addresses’

‘The dire quality of supermarket champagne constitutes the greatest threat to its image’

‘We think the era of wines with 15 per cent alcohol is over. Consumers want something more refreshing’

Chinese consumers are no longer regarded by wine exporters as a soft touch

‘Despite last year’s drought, the right bank has bounced back with a classical vintage’

‘The rise of the Indian middle class has lured about 50 wineries into existence’

‘On successive evenings I tasted port and then sake. The experiences could not have been more different’

‘Brunello is serious Italian wine for the cellar at prices a little friendlier than those of Barolo’

‘The epicentre of Mexico’s wine scene reminds me of nothing more than a slightly untidy Napa Valley’

‘Most Bordeaux producers would say they are making much fresher wines today than they were in 2005’