The most published wine-writer in the world is not Hugh Johnson. Nor is it Robert Parker Jr. Nor is he the talented, charming grandmother, Jancis Robinson. No, the most prolific pen in the wine world belongs to Hubrecht Duijker, doyen of the Dutch wine-writing corps, who this month brings out yet another hefty, engaging, thoroughly captivating book, De Duizend van Duijker

Culled from a lifetime well spent in the world of wine, Duijker offers unique insights in a series of one thousand vignettes, ranging from the amusing and anecdotal to the serious and investigative. An easy, free-ranging style tempers his erudition, making the book as enjoyable to complete wine novices as to expert professionals.

Its publication, coinciding with the end of the tenth harvest at Rives-Blanques, comes as an unparalleled encouragement for us. Spread over two pages is an in-depth article on Rives-Blanques, with photographs of our snowclad peaks looming over the vines …pictures that offer a persuasive suggestion why Mr Duijker thought of Rives-Blanques when he thought about white wine from the South of France.