Wine Thinker
@robertjoseph.bsky.social
Former wine critic - turned wine producer (le Grand Noir K'AVSHIRI), industry analyst (Meininger's), consultant (Moldova)
Happy Christmas to the 600 or so of you who've found your way to this more pleasant place.
Hopefully, next year that number - and more importantly, the number of people on this platform - will have grown a LOT.
I very much doubt Muskland is going to become any more agreeable any time soon
Hopefully, next year that number - and more importantly, the number of people on this platform - will have grown a LOT.
I very much doubt Muskland is going to become any more agreeable any time soon
December 24, 2024 at 12:20 PM
Happy Christmas to the 600 or so of you who've found your way to this more pleasant place.
Hopefully, next year that number - and more importantly, the number of people on this platform - will have grown a LOT.
I very much doubt Muskland is going to become any more agreeable any time soon
Hopefully, next year that number - and more importantly, the number of people on this platform - will have grown a LOT.
I very much doubt Muskland is going to become any more agreeable any time soon
Here's a treat: 20 year-old Bob Dylan's first ever recording - playing harmonica for all he's worth on a Harry Belafonte track.
Thanks to BBC R4 Add to Playlist for introducing me to it
bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
open.spotify.com/track/5ZOcgv...
Thanks to BBC R4 Add to Playlist for introducing me to it
bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
open.spotify.com/track/5ZOcgv...
December 10, 2024 at 4:49 PM
Here's a treat: 20 year-old Bob Dylan's first ever recording - playing harmonica for all he's worth on a Harry Belafonte track.
Thanks to BBC R4 Add to Playlist for introducing me to it
bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
open.spotify.com/track/5ZOcgv...
Thanks to BBC R4 Add to Playlist for introducing me to it
bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
open.spotify.com/track/5ZOcgv...
If you have any interest in art and the way it is discussed, please watch this.
www.instagram.com/reel/DCtvs6N...
www.instagram.com/reel/DCtvs6N...
December 10, 2024 at 4:48 PM
If you have any interest in art and the way it is discussed, please watch this.
www.instagram.com/reel/DCtvs6N...
www.instagram.com/reel/DCtvs6N...
A long morning blending a gastronomic K'AVSHIRI Georgian rosé with Vladimer Kublashvili,using co-fermented Saperavi-Mtsvane, direct-pressed, barrel-fermented Ojaleshi, some Aleksandrouli, and air-dried Aladasturi bled from a qvevri after 24 hours.
December 4, 2024 at 4:24 PM
A long morning blending a gastronomic K'AVSHIRI Georgian rosé with Vladimer Kublashvili,using co-fermented Saperavi-Mtsvane, direct-pressed, barrel-fermented Ojaleshi, some Aleksandrouli, and air-dried Aladasturi bled from a qvevri after 24 hours.
Watching TV in Georgia. The coverage is pretty much the same every night. The mood of the protests is youthful and generally non-violent.
But the military police with the face coverings that only reveal their eyes never become less forbidding
But the military police with the face coverings that only reveal their eyes never become less forbidding
December 3, 2024 at 4:42 PM
Watching TV in Georgia. The coverage is pretty much the same every night. The mood of the protests is youthful and generally non-violent.
But the military police with the face coverings that only reveal their eyes never become less forbidding
But the military police with the face coverings that only reveal their eyes never become less forbidding
As spotted in a shop window in Kutaisi, Georgia: a patriotic, pro-EU Santa, silently offering his support to the thousands of anti-government protesters a few streets away.
December 2, 2024 at 6:26 PM
As spotted in a shop window in Kutaisi, Georgia: a patriotic, pro-EU Santa, silently offering his support to the thousands of anti-government protesters a few streets away.
For a Briton used to seeing his countrymen using the cross of St George as a nationalist-anti-European symbol, it is surreal to be here in Kutaisi, Georgia's 3rd city, where protesters firmly associate *their* flag with being fervently pro-EU.
December 2, 2024 at 5:33 PM
For a Briton used to seeing his countrymen using the cross of St George as a nationalist-anti-European symbol, it is surreal to be here in Kutaisi, Georgia's 3rd city, where protesters firmly associate *their* flag with being fervently pro-EU.
Tbilisi, midnight 29, November 2024.
"Back in the USSR"
You can't see the protests, but they're happening down there, and older Georgians are openly talking about their fears of being controlled by Moscow
Again
"Back in the USSR"
You can't see the protests, but they're happening down there, and older Georgians are openly talking about their fears of being controlled by Moscow
Again
November 29, 2024 at 8:16 PM
Tbilisi, midnight 29, November 2024.
"Back in the USSR"
You can't see the protests, but they're happening down there, and older Georgians are openly talking about their fears of being controlled by Moscow
Again
"Back in the USSR"
You can't see the protests, but they're happening down there, and older Georgians are openly talking about their fears of being controlled by Moscow
Again
The Carpe Diem wine shop in Chisinau, Moldova, is also a great place to drink a glass or two (from a wide range) with some ham and cheese.
November 23, 2024 at 6:46 AM
The Carpe Diem wine shop in Chisinau, Moldova, is also a great place to drink a glass or two (from a wide range) with some ham and cheese.
A Chilean, onion-infused wine produced for Korea that used to have a cult following in that country
The name - 1879 - refers to the number of holes on a golf course and a round of 79 shots
The 2015 was soft, jammy, and, yes, subtly onionny
The name - 1879 - refers to the number of holes on a golf course and a round of 79 shots
The 2015 was soft, jammy, and, yes, subtly onionny
November 23, 2024 at 6:28 AM
A Chilean, onion-infused wine produced for Korea that used to have a cult following in that country
The name - 1879 - refers to the number of holes on a golf course and a round of 79 shots
The 2015 was soft, jammy, and, yes, subtly onionny
The name - 1879 - refers to the number of holes on a golf course and a round of 79 shots
The 2015 was soft, jammy, and, yes, subtly onionny
Ion Luca's Moldovan Carpe Diem brand is instantly recognisable from the black-and-white portraits on its many labels.
This orange wine, made from the muscatty local Viorica is the first to stray out of monochrome
The wine is memorably good too
This orange wine, made from the muscatty local Viorica is the first to stray out of monochrome
The wine is memorably good too
November 23, 2024 at 6:24 AM
Ion Luca's Moldovan Carpe Diem brand is instantly recognisable from the black-and-white portraits on its many labels.
This orange wine, made from the muscatty local Viorica is the first to stray out of monochrome
The wine is memorably good too
This orange wine, made from the muscatty local Viorica is the first to stray out of monochrome
The wine is memorably good too
I am a firm believer in karma.
So, after being responsible for countless seemingly interminable International Wine Challenge awards in many countries, it is only just that I feel as though I have been watching these Wine of Moldova competition results for 8 hours. (actually only 81 minutes so far)
So, after being responsible for countless seemingly interminable International Wine Challenge awards in many countries, it is only just that I feel as though I have been watching these Wine of Moldova competition results for 8 hours. (actually only 81 minutes so far)
November 22, 2024 at 5:22 PM
I am a firm believer in karma.
So, after being responsible for countless seemingly interminable International Wine Challenge awards in many countries, it is only just that I feel as though I have been watching these Wine of Moldova competition results for 8 hours. (actually only 81 minutes so far)
So, after being responsible for countless seemingly interminable International Wine Challenge awards in many countries, it is only just that I feel as though I have been watching these Wine of Moldova competition results for 8 hours. (actually only 81 minutes so far)
It's the small green leaf that makes all the difference to the subtly varied colours of this dish...
November 22, 2024 at 1:23 PM
It's the small green leaf that makes all the difference to the subtly varied colours of this dish...
Text on door (in Chisinau, Moldova) reads
"We were looking for a spot
With mindful.bites and sips
Cozy chats and shameless dances
We didn't find it
We're creating it"
I've no idea what their place will be like (I hope to find out on another visit) but I love the copywriting
"We were looking for a spot
With mindful.bites and sips
Cozy chats and shameless dances
We didn't find it
We're creating it"
I've no idea what their place will be like (I hope to find out on another visit) but I love the copywriting
November 21, 2024 at 5:04 AM
Text on door (in Chisinau, Moldova) reads
"We were looking for a spot
With mindful.bites and sips
Cozy chats and shameless dances
We didn't find it
We're creating it"
I've no idea what their place will be like (I hope to find out on another visit) but I love the copywriting
"We were looking for a spot
With mindful.bites and sips
Cozy chats and shameless dances
We didn't find it
We're creating it"
I've no idea what their place will be like (I hope to find out on another visit) but I love the copywriting
If you ever wondered why porcelain tends to be white... here's another option...
(If it looks grey, in fact, I think it might have been described as 'satin' black)
(If it looks grey, in fact, I think it might have been described as 'satin' black)
November 18, 2024 at 10:00 PM
If you ever wondered why porcelain tends to be white... here's another option...
(If it looks grey, in fact, I think it might have been described as 'satin' black)
(If it looks grey, in fact, I think it might have been described as 'satin' black)
1903 chimney + heater in National University of Moldova offices in Chisinau
November 18, 2024 at 9:51 PM
1903 chimney + heater in National University of Moldova offices in Chisinau
In case you ever needed to say 'I love you' in Romanian/Moldovan...
November 18, 2024 at 9:49 PM
In case you ever needed to say 'I love you' in Romanian/Moldovan...
Foucault Pendulum in National University of Moldova
November 18, 2024 at 9:47 PM
Foucault Pendulum in National University of Moldova
Bonjour Cafe, from the other side
November 18, 2024 at 9:46 PM
Bonjour Cafe, from the other side
One of my favourite places: Bonjour Cafe in Central Park, Chisinau, Moldova
November 18, 2024 at 9:45 PM
One of my favourite places: Bonjour Cafe in Central Park, Chisinau, Moldova
So, we ran a blind tasting with local wine media of Moldovan wines + similarly priced UK best-sellers: The Guv'nor/ Mucho Mas + La Vieille Ferme
The non-Moldovans were well received, though some noticed the red Guv'nor sweetness (18g/l)
The non-Moldovans were well received, though some noticed the red Guv'nor sweetness (18g/l)
November 18, 2024 at 9:43 PM
So, we ran a blind tasting with local wine media of Moldovan wines + similarly priced UK best-sellers: The Guv'nor/ Mucho Mas + La Vieille Ferme
The non-Moldovans were well received, though some noticed the red Guv'nor sweetness (18g/l)
The non-Moldovans were well received, though some noticed the red Guv'nor sweetness (18g/l)
8 bottles of wine - in the unglamorous socks, and the case that - with the help of other clothes - protected them through 4 flights... From the UK-Frankfurt-Belgrade-Istanbul-Chisnau, Moldova
Hopefully, all sealed with Diam or screw cap. It would be a pity to have gone to all this trouble for TCA
Hopefully, all sealed with Diam or screw cap. It would be a pity to have gone to all this trouble for TCA
November 17, 2024 at 5:56 AM
8 bottles of wine - in the unglamorous socks, and the case that - with the help of other clothes - protected them through 4 flights... From the UK-Frankfurt-Belgrade-Istanbul-Chisnau, Moldova
Hopefully, all sealed with Diam or screw cap. It would be a pity to have gone to all this trouble for TCA
Hopefully, all sealed with Diam or screw cap. It would be a pity to have gone to all this trouble for TCA
NYC-based, French candidate, Pascaline Lepeltier, on stage, competing in ASI European, Asian, African Sommelier Championship
(She came a very close second to the Estonian Mikke Parre)
(She came a very close second to the Estonian Mikke Parre)
November 17, 2024 at 5:17 AM
NYC-based, French candidate, Pascaline Lepeltier, on stage, competing in ASI European, Asian, African Sommelier Championship
(She came a very close second to the Estonian Mikke Parre)
(She came a very close second to the Estonian Mikke Parre)
Poster for New Year's eve event in Belgrade, Serbia is a reminder that what plays well in one culture may not always play as well in others
November 17, 2024 at 5:09 AM
Poster for New Year's eve event in Belgrade, Serbia is a reminder that what plays well in one culture may not always play as well in others
Attractively-labeled, clean, very well-made natural wines from Bikicky in Fruska Gora, Serbia
November 15, 2024 at 7:00 AM
Attractively-labeled, clean, very well-made natural wines from Bikicky in Fruska Gora, Serbia