Many sommeliers today seem to set on creating wine lists full of unfamiliar wines that express their own tastes, and rely on customers asking them for help and explanations. Robert Joseph, who grew up in a family-owned restaurant, finds this annoying.
Heidi Mäkinen talks to Robert Joseph about the unique aspects of the Nordic monopolies and the way tenders work. She also explains the differences between Finland, Sweden, and Norway, as well as varying consumer preferences in these markets.
OpenAI's artificial intelligence bot, ChatGPT has been the centre of global discussion since its launch at the end of last year. Anja Zimmer wonders how far this technology could change the wine industry.
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.
First woman to win the prize, the first from China, or the first from the former Soviet bloc? In Raimond Tomsons' case, it was the latter. Robert Joseph reports on a fiercely contested competition where the price of a Chinese baijiu can be crucial.
The Italian Wine Crypto Bank (IWCB) has developed a digital sommelier. The system - dubbed ‘Personal GPT Sommelier’ - will be used in the ‘hybrid wine bar’ BG3.0 Winebank in Bergamo.
More than 500 winegrower families in the cooperative Deutsches Weintor – the Gateway to German Wine – have joined forces on some 750 hectares of vineyards to produce top-class wines, including the excellent collection known as Blue Fish.
