Author Archives: Stuart

Introducing Hauenstein, Scriptwriter Stuart Pigott

Some strange noises – at first barely audible and impossible to identify – came from behind the heavy curtains. For some time I was frozen to the spot, unsure not only what to do, but if I should do anything. … Continue reading

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A Crown for Hock

There were a number of requests for me to publish the text of my speech at Weingut Flick in Wicker/Rheingau on the occasion of the unveiling of the restored Königin-Victoriaberg monument by Jill Gallard, the British Ambassador to Germany. I … Continue reading

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Happy 100th Birthday to the 1921 vintage in Germany!

Today is my 61st birthday and anniversaries are useful moments to look back. Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the 1921 vintage for German wines, which is celebrating its centenary. It was not only a great vintage, but was … Continue reading

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In Loving Memory of Annie Pratt (1910 – 2011)

This is my maternal grandmother Annie Pratt who died ten years ago today on her 101st birthday, and this is one of the last photograph I took of her just a couple of months earlier. She’s sitting in her favourite … Continue reading

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The Inspiration of Ludwigshafen, 1976

In exactly one month it will be the 45th anniversary of the so-called Judgment of Paris tasting at which a French jury placed red and white wines from Napa Valley/California first ahead of the most famous wines of France. It … Continue reading

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TIME FOR CHANGE – Everything Flows (Including Wine)

Für den deutschsprachigen Text bitte nach unten scrollen! I went to Gut Hermannsberg (GHB), the ex-State Domain of the Nahe region of Germany, from JamesSuckling.com in March 2019 to be Riesling Ambassador for their 10th anniversary year under the ownership … Continue reading

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England’s Unsplendid Isolation and the Dangers of “Common Sense” History

Welcome to the deep end of 2020, the shortest and darkest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the original mid-winter festival. However, for the United Kingdom this is the Darkest Hour in my lifetime, and I am … Continue reading

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Spooky Berlin Now

I don’t expect anyone will find it hard to believe that Berlin, where I lived from the end of 1993 until the end of 2012, currently feels very spooky. In virtually empty side streets and parks where the risk of … Continue reading

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Letter from Vienna

Vienna, 4th September 2020 Hello Kelby,  being here for the first time in a couple of years has made me do a lot of thinking. So far Vienna has weathered the Covid-19 storm better than most big Western cities I’ve … Continue reading

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In Denial in America Now

There’s a very apt American expression for the current position in the USA: IN DENIAL. This means not just denying one or two true facts on certain occasions, but living in a state of denial about a situation of some … Continue reading

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