Guy Woodward
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guywoodward.bsky.social
Guy Woodward
@guywoodward.bsky.social
160 followers 70 following 38 posts
Mainly wine. Director, Grand Cru Creative. Ex-editor, Decanter. Used to love Twitter.
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A fantastic portrait of life in the wine trade courtesy of David Williams in this week's Observer.
Hats off to him for the humour, honesty and realism he brings to this 25-year overview of the ups and downs involved…

observer.co.uk/style/food/a...
Days of wine and noses: the life of a critic | The Observer
Getting paid to drink all day might sound like a dream job. But what’s it really like to be a wine critic?
observer.co.uk
Useful advice from
@thewinesociety.bsky.social
in its 1880 list (though I'm a bit confused by the difference between 'Sweet' and 'Dessert'…)
If you want to read some words of wisdom (hers, not mine), here is the result of an hour’s conversation with the 100-year-old wine legend May-Eliane de Lencquesaing (NB her comments on wine and health – especially resonant as the AIV confronts the UN about the ‘denormalisation’ of wine by the WHO).
WHAT I’VE LEARNED | May-Eliane de Lencquesaing at 100
May-Eliane de Lencquesaing was born in 1925 – the same year that her family added Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de...
67pallmall.com
I see water sommeliers are in the news again.

One of my favourite (and most widely reported) tastings when I was editing Decanter was a water tasting, spanning everything from London tap to 39p Vittel to £50-a-bottle, complete with Swarovski crystals…

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/...
Tap water beats bottles in taste test
www.telegraph.co.uk
Anecdotal evidence of ⬆️ perception of English Sparkling Wine:

As deputy head of a private school, my wife receives some nice gifts at term-end. This year 2 of the 4 fizz were English (Nyetimber and Gusbourne, alongside Bollinger and Billecart-Salmon). Wouldn't have happened 5 years ago…
Taittinger’s English fizz Domaine Evremond served at the Royal Banquet in honour of French President Macron tonight…
‘We lock all our vineyard gates behind us when we go in, to make sure no-one can show up unannounced.’

The chaos wreaked on California wineries by Trump's immigration raids, and the possible loss of vineyard crews – 👏 to @decanter.com for running this:

www.decanter.com/wine-news/ca...
California's wine communities face deeply human costs amid Trump's immigration raids - Decanter
Immigration raids affect California's wine community: Trump's immigration policy has placed immigrant communities squarely in the cross hairs
www.decanter.com
Stuck w @theobserveruk.bsky.social through the tribulations of recent years, but it’s now a world away from the great paper it once was. New sports section particularly low-budget.

Sad to see the UK press now without a serious Sunday paper to represent a liberal, left-leaning perspective.
The new Observer has gone to press.

Buy your copy, available across the country, tomorrow morning.

observer.co.uk/print
Also agree with @wlyons.bsky.social that studying for MW etc risks 'destroying my love of wine and teaching me how to taste in a manner I'm not sure suits my personality'.

Writers need to be able to see wine from a consumer's view, not an analytical/trade perspective…
Chatting to Jay Boberg of Oregon's Nicolas-Jay this morning:

'People who argue this is good for US wines – think of all the importers and retailers dealing in European wines, who suddenly lose 50% of their revenue, and the knock-on effect this has on their business, staff levels and operations…'
‘Bordeaux is a very small town. It’s very incestuous. The sport is trying to sleep with everybody’s else’s wife.'

I interviewed the always-entertaining Sacha Lichine, the man who gave up a fourth growth to invent swimming pool rosé...

67pallmall.com/what-ive-lea...
No, I think her quote has been misunderstood. She's making the point of how ridiculous such an approach would be...
Indeed – I don't think anyone is arguing for that!
Good question. I guess you could argue it might show more of the *original* 1855 terroir, yes. But obvs it depends on the individual wine and vineyard. And I'm not really making an conclusive argument as such – just putting the topic up for debate...
Cheers Blake, hope all well with you!
I don’t think anyone’s suggesting that! But how much do you exclude and/or manipulate before it is no longer the same terroir??
Producers are now having to jump through so many hoops to retain the style of their wine that they're almost circumventing terroir.

Meanwhile, classed growths eliminate over half the crop from their grands vins. So – is great wine really still made in the vineyard?

timatkin.com/the-dilution...
The Dilution of Terroir – Tim Atkin – Master of Wine
timatkin.com