Wine on Substack

As the final post of the year I thought I’d give readers an update on my plans for this Substack and recommend some other wine writers whose work I enjoy.

My subscriber numbers are tantalisingly close to 1,000 which means that from next year I will be doing some paid subscriber only posts. At first just drink recommendation columns but gradually some features too with the aim to have about half my work behind a paywall. I am thoroughly enjoying writing this Substack, it gives me a freedom to be whimsical, discursive and personal in a way that’s very hard with magazines*, both online and not. For example, the Tour of Duty piece began as something commissioned by a website but I wasn’t happy with how they wanted me to make it more polemical so I kept it roughly as it was and put it up on here. I currently have a file ‘this thick’, imagine me holding up my thumb and forefinger, of articles I want to write here which a few more paid subscribers will give me the time to finish.

This is something that I’ve noticed with other writers who have migrated here. They are writing with a new freedom and sense of fun. Here are a few recommendations in the wine sphere, I’ll recommend some spirits writers and drinks generalists in a few weeks.

Miquel Hudin - beholden to no man

Be Wine Curious - Miquel Hudin is an American wine writer who has gone native in Catalonia. He lives in a little village, makes his own (genuinely superb) wine and is beholden to no man. He’s neither  in the US wine scene or the UK one which means that he has the freedom to be be brutally honesty/ incredibly rude about his peers and the industry. He’s also often first with big stories, such as pointing out that there was something decidedly fishy about Wine Buyers, a UK wine club that promised to ‘cut out the middleman’, as early as 2018. 

Joe Fattorini - Joe is the presenter of The Wine Show and a marketing expert, I think someone described him as the ‘Rory Sutherland of wine.’ His writing ranges from insights into customer behavior to the history of the British relationship with claret. Whatever he’s writing about, Joe is always worth reading. I get the idea that he has more ideas in a day than most of us have in a year.

A View from my Table - This is the Substack of Andy Neather, former wine columnist for the Evening Standard. I’ve known of Andy for years, he was a regular face at wine tastings, but we had never interacted until we came across each other here. Freed from the constrains of Fleet Street, it feels like he’s really enjoying his writing here, ranging from drinks trade comment, food writing and more personal pieces. 

Eat this, Drink that - While for years poo pooing the concept of wine and food matching, I’ve also been an avid reader of Fiona Beckett to help me decided what to drink when attempting duck with cherry sauce or knocking up a prawn cocktail. She’s the Guardian’s regular wine columnist and I get the impression that she spends her whole time tasting food with different wines. In short, she knows what she’s talking about. Her website is the place for food and wine matching, whereas the Substack contains wine recommendations, recipes and restaurants reviews like this one of Brutto.

Fermentation - This was recommended to me by Joe Fattorini. Tom Wark is something of a legend in the US drinks world for his fearless and incisive commentary. A good place to start is his look at the recent furore on the US Court of Master Sommeliers dropping the terms ‘old world’ and ‘new world’. I would not want to get into an argument with Tom. 

Dan Kirby - Dan is an Master of Wine student and works (or worked, I’m not sure) for one of England’s best wine producers, Flint vineyards in Norfolk. I think his newsletter began as an MW study diary but has morphed into something far more interesting tackling subjects as diverse as the wine available at Butlin’s holiday camps to the future of wine packaging. 

I’ve probably missed some here so please let me know any good ones that should be on my list.

*Having said all that, writing for The Critic this year where I now have a regular drinks beat has been a revelation compared with other well-known current affairs magazines I could name. They let me write what I want and there’s no obtrusive subbing enabling me to do things like this one, Labelled with Love. It’s well worth reading with a thoroughly eclectic selection of writers from across the political spectrum.