July 2023 Newsletter

Though I haven't traveled extensively in recent weeks, I managed to escape the monotony of working from my home office by attending events more frequently than usual. Last month, I had the opportunity to attend the inauguration of Britain's new brandy distillery, Burnt Faith, in Walthamshaw. The mastermind behind this venture is Simon Wright, known for his success with Hawkes cider, but it also involves the expertise of drinks industry legend and good friend of mine, Jean-Dominique Andreu. I am genuinely thrilled to witness the progress of this project, and you'll soon be able to read all about it in my upcoming article on Club Oenologique.

A few days later I returned to London to participate as a judge in the Best UK Sommelier 2023 competition, won deservedly by London Edition head somm Giuseppe D'Aniello. I'm now looking forward to my next visit to London later this month to judge the International Beer Challenge, after which I'll be attending the British Guild of Beer Writer's annual summer party.

Since my last newsletter, my work has taken on a rather multimedia approach. The June and July episodes of the Wine Scholar Guild's Grapevine Podcast were released and Good Beer Hunting featured several of my works on Instagram. These include pictures from a b-roll story centered around my recent trip to Croatia, as well as shots I took during my visits to Seychelles Breweries in Victoria and White Dog Brewery in Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

More photography went into the latest issue of Gin Magazine to complement my piece on Lebanon's winemaker Faouzi Issa and his gin GinBey. The mag also featured my exploration of South-American gin, which was such great fun to research and write.

Some of my rather geeky writing projects have been published too. One of them is a blog for the Wine Scholar Guild, where I delved into the topic of additives in wine. If you've never heard of Chitosan, then this piece might prove to be an informative and interesting read. Meanwhile, SevenFifty Daily published my investigation into the practice of co-fermenting white and red grapes. This practice is more common than one might expect but remains poorly understood, and I find it utterly fascinating and compelling.

As for my regular reporting for consumer insights agency Canvas8, my latest projects involved researching sustainability issues within the Tequila industry and the crucial role played by "artified" packaging in high-end, luxury spirits.

I'm now busy conducting the last few interviews and hitting the last deadlines before I can finally switch off and enjoy a well-deserved break later next week, when I'll be flying to Venice for a long weekend of sightseeing. After that, I'll be spending some time with my family in Italy. I'll be doing some work here and there, but still prioritising relaxation as much as I can... September's already looking pretty crazy