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

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.

Reading time: 4m

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

Reading time: 3m 30s

The Italian Wine Crypto Bank (IWCB) has developed a digital sommelier. The system that has been dubbed ‘Personal GPT Sommelier’ will be used in the ‘hybrid wine bar’ BG3.0 Winebank in Bergamo from March on. 

Reading time: 1m 30s

In recent years, traditional wine critics have been increasingly supplanted by young influencers on Instagram and YouTube. Freshly returned from a 'Sommelier Bootcamp'  Robert Joseph wonders if that new breed of communicators might be about to face a challenge of their own.

Reading time: 4m 45s

One of the most famous baseball teams in the US has formed a partnership with a leading Master Sommelier.

Reading time: 2m

In the United States restaurant patrons and staff say goodbye to ‘before Covid,’ adapt to ‘during Covid,’ and wonder if there will ever be an ‘after Covid.’ Roger Morris reports. 

Reading time: 4m 25s

The Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) is launching a platform for employers willing to offer employment to Ukrainian refugees.

Despite efforts to prohibit journalists from even using the word 'war', many people in the Russian wine industry are demanding peace for Ukraine.