Sipping this wine the other day, I reflected on how dramatically tastes and habits change. In the 1970s I drank Chablis a lot. Nowadays I drink it once every four or five years. This is not because I like it any less. On the contrary, I am sure I get far more out of it now than I did thirty years ago. So what has changed?

The short answer is “everything”.   If the past is another country, the 1970s are another planet.  Spacehoppers.  Jumbo flares. Chopper bicycles.  Kipper ties.  Even at the time it seemed an aesthetic wasteland; now it is beyond comprehension.

The popular wines of that period seem equally baffling, or at any rate many of them do.  Thinking back as dispassionately as I can, I should say they fell into three categories.  First you had the stinkers: Liebfraumilch; “Chianti” in raffia baskets; supermarket carafes from California.  All were indefensible.  Most have long since dribbled down the pissoir of history. Read the rest of this entry »

A decidedly unfashionable grape, Riesling.  A century ago it was held in much higher esteem.  In those days Hocks – Rhenish Rieslings – were better known than white Burgundies, and they commanded higher prices.  Nowadays the only people still keen on Riesling live in Riesling-growing areas.  The rest of the world has lost interest.  Contemporary taste favours wines that are heavily oaked and super-strong.  Riesling can be neither.

There may be one other reason for the grape’s low popularity.  With two or three years’ bottle-age, Riesling acquires a curious odour, often likened to petrol or kerosene.  This is caused by a flavour compound called 1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene, more commonly known as TDN.  Read the rest of this entry »