“Sod the wine, I want to suck on the writing. This man White is an instinctive writer, bloody rare to find one who actually pulls it off, as in still gets a meaning across with concision. Sharp arbitrage of speed and risk, closest thing I can think of to Cicero’s ‘motus continuum animi.’

Probably takes a drink or two to connect like that: he literally paints his senses on the page.”


DBC Pierre (Vernon God Little, Ludmila’s Broken English, Lights Out In Wonderland ... Winner: Booker prize; Whitbread prize; Bollinger Wodehouse Everyman prize; James Joyce Award from the Literary & Historical Society of University College Dublin)


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27 February 2017

COUNTERPOINT FROM CHUCK HAYWARD

Chuck Hayward, long-time San Francisco-based expert on the wine of Australia and New Zealand; wine writer, blogger, judge and buyer, with the coveted last man in line ticket at his favorite local Swan Oyster Depot. I presume this means he can sit 'til it's all gone ... which is indeed a privilege!

"Been there since 1912," Chuck says, " an absolute classic: oysters, crabs, lots of great commentary from the family behind the bar ... 22 cherished seats ... about 70-90 years old…. many winemakers from the Tasman have been there on my account and the smiles afterwards are priceless…. Should you ever venture here, one of the first places I would take you to."

Chuck, whom I've never met, but admire, was miffed by my recent spray about foreign experts coming to judge Australian wine shows to tell us how to make wine and how much we should expect to be paid for it. Read his response right here.

My original story is here.

As most of my my Stateside friends seem embarrassed and apologetic at the President their countryfolk somehow elected, I understand their prickly response to my piece about locking foreign colonialist winers out when Trump was doing the same to all those Islamic folks who don't drink ethanol. Jesus it's complex. But in my case, that bit was not deliberate.

Just to prove some credentials, which is not at all necessary, here's Chuck, a top honest writer, harder at work (note Royal medal for bravery):


1 comment:

Trevor Haynes said...

agree with both of you bastards: sick of judges from elsewhere preaching at me but appreciative of blokes like Chuck and his efforts