Everything I've paid for
And everything I haven't - 2024 edition
As for last year, I’ll finish the year with a declaration of everything I’ve paid for, and everything I haven’t. Here was 2023’s:
First, though, a huge thank you to all Six Atmospheres subscribers for your support in 2024. Here are some of the most-read and shared pieces:
Dropping the price of a subscription appears to have paid off: as a reminder all the main pieces on Six Atmospheres are for paid subscribers, with occasional free roundup emails sent to the whole list.
People tend to be fascinated with how, or if, this career works. Well, it does, just about - I don’t see a particular reason to be coy about the fact that wine writing/criticism doesn’t pay well (unless you take money for work that conflicts with it), and I’m fortunate to be in a position to do it fairly efficiently. I’m entirely self-employed, and I don’t have a private source of income. This year I still earned around 40% of my income via music. It’s a good balance; during the times when wine has been quieter I’ve been writing and recording an album, doing some gigs and teaching, too.
As the flexi-parent based at home, I manage to work a scant 4 days per week, for about 42 weeks per year. The remainder is spent happily mucking around with family, trundling around tennis lessons, school pickups and playgrounds or in extended meditations with washing machines, dishwashers and hobs. I travel around 8 times a year, cramming as much as possible into my trip as my kids have a habit of getting ill as soon as I get my passport out…
A frosty morning in the Coteaux Sud d’Épernay back in January
Sometimes I wonder whether I should be a bit glitzier as a ‘Champagne Correspondent’. I’m not sure I can pull it off, though - essentially I’m a scruffy East London dad who likes wine and has somehow landed the enormous privilege of writing about it for money. Zero complaints.
In general I’ve been largely under my own steam this year. Here’s the lowdown:
Travel
24 days in Champagne - all travel for this was paid for by me, or by Decanter.
5 days in Penedès - all international travel paid for by Tim Atkin. A few taxis in-between producers were covered by the producers themselves.
5 days around England - travel paid for by the Wine Advocate.
I also travelled to Champagne and Poland for masterclasses and judging, which I paid for.
Accommodation
I didn’t go on any organised press trips this year, but I was put up a few times:
Coteaux Champenois tasting, June 2024 - L’Assiètte Champenois, Champagne. The organisers of this event invited me, and paid for a night’s accommodation at the hotel. Definitely the most comfortable night of the year (apart from in January when I stayed at the Royal Champagne as a judge for the Terre de Vins Best Old Vintage awards).
Taittinger - I attended the reopening of Taittinger’s historic cellars at Saint Nicaise in September. This included one night’s accommodation in Reims, lunch and wines. I paid for travel as it was during my harvest trip.
Alexandre Bonnet put me up in Les Riceys for a night as I spent the afternoon and evening with them over harvest.
DO Cava hosted me for three days, including putting on a two day tasting at their HQ with accommodation, meals and travel between producers I was visiting the following day. All remaining expenses for visiting Corpinnat/Penedès producers was covered by Tim Atkin.
Apart from this I paid for all my accommodation, or stayed with friends/family in Paris and Reims (which I’ve lucky to have, unconnected to the wine trade).
Launches, Lunches, Samples
Much of what I review is sent to me as samples. I taste many wines which do not make it into articles - I never promise to review a wine before tasting it. Decanter have a very light touch editorially and I am free to choose the wines I feature (or don’t).
Producers tend to do their slap-up lunches for the trade (buyers and sommeliers), often prefacing this with a drier, more technical (and lunch-free) event for journos. However I was treated to some:
Philipponnat - the launch of 2015 vintages was over lunch at the Clove Club, London
Mumm - dinner with latest releases in London (Edition hotel)
Wiston Estate - lunch at Trivet as part of a press event
Sugrue South Downs - lunch at the estate as part of a press event
Gosset - lunch at the Four Seasons for the 21 Ans de Minima launch.
Louis Roederer - lunch at Raffles to accompany the Cristal Rosé retrospective
Bollinger - lunch at Apricity for the launch of VVF and Côte aux Enfants 2014
I had meals whilst travelling in Champagne at Billecart-Salmon, Louis Roederer, and Pierre Paillard. And possibly a few more, which I’ve forgotten…
And, with that, I’ll see you in 2025.
Refreshing content!