I think you have made your editorial position regarding Oddbins abundantly clear. Maybe it’s time for you to back off and cease publishing this seemingly unending torrent of whingey letters from Oddbins employees, past and present. By the way, is it editorial policy to make a moan about Oddbins the “star letter” every single week? Let’s look at the facts: Oddbins isn’t the same company…

If that sounds like a lot, even for a pre-French Revolution claret from a legendary property, then it’s worth remembering that the bottle, engraved with the inscription, “Th. J.”, once belonged to the third president of the United States, the wine-loving Thomas Jefferson. Or at least that was what many people believed. Now, with the news that billionaire American collector Bill Koch, who owns four…

then spread through the GB off-trade, not least because it’s good business. Politicians and anti-alcohol groups are hovering in circles around the industry, with the prospect of even more legislation, as alcohol increasingly gets treated like the new tobacco! I feel there is increasing evidence, driven by the social and political battle of the on-trade versus the off-trade and below-cost selling, that some supermarkets are…

Frost, drought, bush fires and phylloxera. These are not phenomena you’d wish on winemakers anywhere, though the Australians will probably get less sympathy than most. That’s what happens when you reach the top of the tree: critics will always be ready for you to get your come-uppance. Vintage 2007 promises to be a big turning point for Australia. It has the opportunity to abandon the…

I’m not saying that Nicolas doesn’t have a great range of French wines, many of which we could sell if we were allowed to stock them but, unlike the days when John Ratcliffe and Steve Daniel were in control of buying, we are unlikely to get the interesting small parcels that our customers (and staff) loved. My branch has been held back by being unable…

What sort of man was he? I can’t speak from personal experience here, because I never met him, despite numerous requests to do so. At times I felt a bit like Michael Moore in the film Roger & Me , trailing after the head of General Motors in an attempt to get him to go on the record. The only interview I ever read with…

The importance of responsible drinks retailing is currently permeating the pages of this paper, and rightly so. The recent spat on the letters page about the perils and morals of selling to those who have a problematic relationship with alcohol is familiar to me and outlines the uncomfortable grey area between what is legally stipulated and what is morally acceptable. On Monday evening there was…