Six years later...

A nice bit of symmetry today. Very few will remember how this site (which I've now christened "World's Least Influential Wine Blog") began - it all started in late 2010 when Fine & Rare wines announced a competition to submit a tasting note about a Bordeaux wine. The prize was the chance to travel with the FRW team to Bordeaux during En Primeur week. Current readers might be surprised that tempted me: Well, I was and still am a great Bordeaux fan, however back in 2010 it was the centre of my known wine universe.

The competition was publicised and judged by none over than Jancis Robinson. My entry sank without trace, but this was the trigger that got me writing - on a reasonably regular basis.

I guess I never gave up the fight, as last October Jancis announced a new wine writing competition. It was inconveniently timed during a very busy month (a total of almost 7,000 words submitted to various publications during October 2016), but nonetheless I rattled off a couple of pieces. They are …