' Serve them good wine, they will make good laws',  said Michel de Montaigne, one of the most popular philosophers in the world and former mayor of Bordeaux. This sentence should resonate in the corridors of the French Senate, at a time when a special committee proposes to raise taxes... More...

In Vintners' Hall in London last night, at a dinner for the great and good of the international wine trade, I had the great pleasure of proposing the health of the Vintners' Company on its 650th anniversary. I had to adjust my speech at the last minute because of receiving news that the total... More...

Jancis writes: Our German specialist Michael Schmidt tasted widely at the VDP's Weinbörse, its first showcase of 2012s, in Mainz at the end of last month, an experience he describes in Mosel Riesling 2012 - terroir v tradition?   Below are his notes on 27 Pfalz 2012s. We'll be... More...

Wine professionals in London have a choice of two wine fairs to visit today: the first day of the London International Wine Fair at Excel exhibition centre in London's Docklands (on a Monday rather than a Tuesday for the first time) and the second and final day of the RAW wine fair, on which... More...