Devil's Advocate: Why is a Wine or Spirit Brand Like a Mediaeval Castle?

Robert Joseph makes the case for taking the high ground, whether you're a 13th-century monarch or a 21st-century brand owner.

Reading time: 3m 15s

Devil's Advocate - Personal Memories of ProWein and its Competitors

Robert Joseph looks back across four decades of wine fairs, and at the quiet ascendence of ProWein after a late start.

Reading time: 4m 45s

Devil’s Advocate: What We Could All Learn From ChatGPT

Robert Joseph thinks about thinking.

Reading time: 3m 20s

Devil's Advocate - Sommeliers are now the Trendsetters of the Drinks World

Fresh from his experience at the 2023 ASI Meilleur Sommelier du Monde, Robert Joseph suggests that wine service professionals now know more about the drinks industry as a whole than almost anybody else.

Reading time: 4m 15s

Devil's Advocate: Vinegar or Wine?

Robert Joseph wonders if younger consumers - and sommeliers - are growing more tolerant of volatile acidity than older experts.

Reading time: 3m 30s

Devil's Advocate: What if the Doctors Didn't Have an 'Anti-Alcohol Agenda'?

Robert Joseph reacts to recent advice about alcohol from the Canadian health authorities, and a US study revealing public ignorance of the link between alcohol, of every kind and a wide range of cancers.

Reading time: 5m

Devil's Advocate: A Different Way of Looking at No-Alcohol 'Wine'

Robert Joseph wonders whether the focus on using sophisticated technology to remove alcohol from wine hasn't distracted producers from making beverages that taste good. And maybe more like the kind of wine most people really want to drink.

Reading time: 3m

Devil's Advocate: Red Chardonnay and Pink Prosecco. What's the Difference?

After meeting David Gluckman, the creator of a list of successful wines and spirit brands, Robert Joseph wonders whether the idea of red Chardonnay really was a bridge too far.

Reading time: 3m 30s

Devil's Advocate: The Bots Are Here. Time for the Wine Industry To Wake Up To Artificial Intelligence

Robert Joseph, an early adopter of the internet in the 1990s, argues that the wine industry needs to be taking a greater interest in how AI, one of its offshoots, is going to affect their businesses.

Reading time: 7m 30s