My Grape Escape

Micro machines, Nissan Micros, micro-managed… These are all forms of micro-ness that have featured heavily in my life so far, and the micro-blog is the latest. On the back of some useful advice at the European Wine Bloggers Conference, I recently set up a Tumblr account. If you are lost already, Tumblr is just another [...]

The second and final installment of Christmas Day with the stars of the Irish wine scene. Read on to find out more about the next global iconic wine, some top wine nerdiness, and how one particular reputable blogger is worryingly about to ruin Christmas for his family. Can someone stop him before it’s too late? . Paul [...]

I asked the “who’s-who” of the Irish wine scene for their choice of tipple this Christmas Day. The one day of the year when shops are shut, smart-phones are switched off, Twitter is banned; all is calm in the wine blogosphere. While us wine nerds can smugly sip on our perfect bottle choice for the [...]

In an annual debate as divided as The Front Line on Budget Day, the question as to which wine to pair with your Christmas dinner is always a good one.  I’ll return to that debate later in the week with advice from some real experts. Down the years though I’ve generally noticed three schools of [...]

“Sorry about the dates, sorry about the rain!” joked homeless 54-year old Viv Askeland as a small group of us huddled drenched on London’s South Bank listening to her recount the fascinating history of London Bridge. An American tycoon Robert McColloch bought the bridge in 1967 (or was it ’69?), thinking he was buying the [...]

The story of what I am declaring the 2010 ‘Judgement of London’, which took place in central London last week. On a recent chilly November evening in London a historic event took place. While naughty students tore up Westminster and stormed Conservative Party headquarters, a secret location tucked away behind the hustle and bustle of west-central London [...]

At the European Wine Bloggers Conference I dropped in to a workshop focusing on gadgets and tools to help your blog content stand out. At first I wasn’t blown away by the suggestions but the more I look into them, I’m starting to understand their value. Soundslides What is it? Soundslides is about storytelling. It’s basically [...]

The first in a deluge of discoveries from the 2010 European Wine Bloggers Conference. Just home from Vienna and what a trip it was! I took in lots of ideas, gadgets and apfelstrudel; I learned all about the delights of Austrian wine (Blaufränkisch? Gemischter Satz??); and most importantly mingled and networked with the 200 fellow [...]

I’ve been watching a lot of American Football lately, and my new hero is none other than the Rhinestone Cowboy himself; mullet wearin’ quarterback killin’ rattlesnake eatin’ Jared Allen. In a recent interview I learned the Minnesota Vikings defensive-end likes to hunt wild game and feast on it (‘you gota grill what you kill’); would eat Peyton [...]

As promised I liberated my Flip MinoHD camcorder of sticky, awkward Chardonnay juice and was on hand to record the first few precious moments of the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir harvest at Château de Meursault. Despite sounding half way between drunk and hungover and totally disinterested, I am actually beyond excitement to be there. I can [...]