Selling a bottle of wine in a restaurant for three times what it cost is pretty normal in the UK. However, would you want to pay 600% the cost? How do you know which wines have bigger mark-ups? With difficulty.
Until now.
Raisinable is a new app available on iPhone and Android that gives you an idea of the markup being added by a restaurant. [...]
Restaurant markups uncovered
Selling a bottle of wine in a restaurant for three times what it cost is pretty normal in the UK. However, would you want to pay 600% the cost? How do you know which wines have bigger mark-ups? With difficulty.
Until now.
Raisinable is a new app available on iPhone and Android that gives you an idea of the markup being added by a restaurant. [...]
The ultimate corkscrew?
@CoravinUK Do you insert gas into the bottle after extracting wine? Otherwise, if you drink 50cl of 75cl, won’t oxidisation start?
I thought that I had found the ultimate corkscrew: the Coravin™ System inserts a “thin, non-coring, medical grade needle” to pierce the cork (and capsule) in a bottle of wine, which [...]
Gordon’s Alive
Published 30 July 2014
Which state in America am I?
The first vines were planted here in 1825 by the Hudson’s Bay Company
I have more glaciers than any other state.
I do not levy a personal income tax
amazon.com is based here
Jimi Hendrix was born here
Starbucks was founded here
The world’s richest man, Bill Gates, lives here
The answer is [...]
Ricasoli’s Elegance
Published 30 May 2014
“Elegance.” That’s the one word to sum it all up: the wine, the food, the hotel.
I was invited to the Northall restaurant, located within the Corinthia Hotel, for an evening with Barone Ricasoli (pronounced Ba-rhone-ay Rick-ass-oh-lee). I assumed this meant that the hotel’s chefs had created a tasting menu to accompany t [...]
“Blow into this tube”
Published 25 April 2014
A friend of mine had a new “toy” at work: a Dräger Alcotest® 5510. He’s a university researcher who focuses on sports nutrition and is about to embark on a study of how alcohol affects performance.
But, before he got started, I persuaded him to allow me to run a far less scientific test on a couple of [...]
Tell me a story
Published 29 March 2014
At a recent meeting of venture capitalists, I met Damjan Obal. His product, edgartells.me, helps you tell your story. It’s fantastic in its simplicity.
You take up to 7 photos (or other images), overlay some words and it stitches together a beautiful little video which is then featured on their site but you can also em [...]
Buying locally
Published 28 February 2014
I’m impressed. Having been asked to pay attention to some supermarkets for a new project (more about that soon), I have found some pretty good wines in unexpected places; I’ve also been disappointed in wines from some ‘premium’ shops.
Probably the most impressive is the Co-Operative. Although their range is far smal [...]
Sensorist
Published 16 January 2014
Do you have any wine that you have laid down to age? Where are you keeping it? Please tell me it isn’t :
in the cupboard next to the boiler
in the kitchen
in the shed/garage/other outside (uninsulated) building
Wine does not like excessive temperature – low or high. Cork does not like temperature fluctuations. Pape [...]
A miracle cure?
Published 14 December 2013
I think I drink sensibly. I try to have 4 nights a week when I don’t drink and make the 3 nights I do drink start on Thursday or Friday. When I do drink, I try to make it of good quality and make sure that I share it with my wife.
But I know that sometimes it doesn’t work out as expected. A second bottle is sometim [...]
Wine matching help
Published 28 November 2013
How to match wine to food is one of the first questions people ask me. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to pass on all the information they need in a few minutes: you either give a few suggested pairings (e.g. Malbec with steak, Pinot Noir with lamb) or you try to give them some rules (e.g. match the richness/weight o [...]