Natural wine shouldn’t be a style
Natural wine was supposed to be about ideals, but did it just became a style equated with cloudy, funky wines?
Originally published in Noble Rot issue 32.
Book Review: Peter Stafford-Bow – Eastern Promise
Simon reviews the latest in Peter Stafford-Bow’s series of satirical novels. Does Eastern Promise deliver the goods?
Uncomfortable bedfellows? Burgundy and natural wine
Why is it so difficult to talk about natural wine in Burgundy? Simon explores the increasingly blurred line between classical and natural techniques in the region.
Originally published February 2023 in Issue 3 of Fondata magazine.
Exploring Southern Italy with Radici del Sud
Simon reports on a superb evening tasting Southern Italian wines and pairing them with delicious food from their home regions.
Roll out the barrel – getting beyond oak in wine
Simon asks why winemakers are still obsessed with putting wine in oak. Or are they?
Originally published in Noble Rot issue 30.
Tasting Romanian natural wine with Philip Cox
Tasting Romanian natural wines with the owner of one of the largest wineries in Romania – Philip Cox – might seem like an odd choice for Simon. But this meeting of two very different minds ended up being enjoyable and educational for both of us.
Orange couture – a Denavolo vertical
The story of an incredible and unexpected lunch which took in a complete summary of Guilio Armani’s Denavolo wines.
Originally published as “Dina is served” in Noble Rot issue 29.
I Come from Nowhere (Wine Classification is an Ass)
Wine classifications guarantee provenance, but why have many of their controlling institutions become de facto style police?
Originally published as “System of a Dão” in Noble Rot issue 28.
Is food and wine pairing irrelevant?
Simon gets grumpy about the state of food and wine pairing in restaurants, outlines some of the most deadly sins and ponders if this fussed over topic is even still relevant.
Auf Wiedersehen Pét
Simon gets ranty about pét nat, natural wine’s ubiquitous fizz. This article was originally published in Noble Rot Magazine, issue 27.