just-drinks authors and correspondents

Biography

Chris Losh has been writing about drinks for 15 years and still doesn’t wear a tweed jacket.

He has edited Wine and Spirit International and Wine Magazine. He has written columns for just-drinks for ten years and is never short of opinions, some of which may even not be completely wrong.

Columns by Chris Losh

Comment - Wine - The Losh Cause

Chris Losh looks at the latest issues affecting the global wine industry.

Articles by Chris Losh

South Africa's wine industry is on its knees and it's not just thanks to COVID - comment 8 October 2020

South Africa's wine producers have been hard-done-by this year, more so than any other wine-producing nation. As Chris Losh explains, the country's handling of the coronavirus pandemic is a case study in 'How not to support your high-profile industries'.

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Why the wine industry will struggle to balance supply with demand post-COVID - comment 10 September 2020

As the grape harvest hits its peak in the northern hemisphere, category commentator Chris Losh surveys the devastation wreaked by COVID-19 and asks: Just what are we going to do with all our wine?

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Why black lives in wine should matter more than ever before - comment 9 July 2020

More than any other drinks category, wine has long had an issue with diversity. For long-standing wine commentator Chris Losh, the Black Lives Matter movement has engendered a strong sense of deja-vu.

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Why France's wine industry should look beyond COVID-19 for the source of its woes - comment 2 June 2020

The wine producers in France are in a bit of a hole - but then, so is every other wine company around the world. Unlike their foreign peers, however, the French can't lay the blame squarely at a pandemic's door. Indeed, as Chris Losh discovers, the guilty party is much closer to home.

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Is Treasury Wine Estates setting up Penfolds to be the next Porsche? - comment 7 May 2020

In an attempt to distract himself from all things coronavirus, wine commentator turned to Treasury Wine Estates recent announcement about its Penfolds brand. just-drinks editor Olly Wehring asked of the proposed brand demerger: What is the point? Chris thinks he may have found one.

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How is the coronavirus hitting the wine industry? - comment 9 April 2020

Every industry is being severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In wine, the sales channels have been battered while production also has battles to fight. Category commentator Chris Losh surveys the wreckage.

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Why has wine failed to educate the consumer on price? Ask Jacob's Creek - comment 12 March 2020

As former Diageo CEO Paul Walsh once told just-drinks: "They say, in wine, a fool and his money are easily parted." Unfortunately, for the wine category, the consumer is no fool. Chris Losh looks at Pernod Ricard's attempts to move Jacob's Creek up the value chain and finds a brand struggling under the weight of consumer perception.

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Will Australia's bushfires bring on wine industry burn-out? - comment 6 February 2020

This year started with Australia dominating the news headlines. Chris Losh considers what the country's bushfire crisis has done - and will continue to do - to Australia's wine producers.

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What's coming up in wine in 2020? - Predictions for the Year Ahead - comment 7 January 2020

This month, our category commentators are lining up to share with us their thoughts on how 2020 will shape their respective sectors. Here's Chris Losh, our wine expert, with his take on the year ahead.

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What challenges face the lower-abv wine segment? - Comment 19 November 2019

While the efforts of brewers and distillers to create products with lower alcohol content are well-known, the wine industry has garnered far fewer such headlines. This month, category commentator Chris Losh looks at the difficulties affecting not only the production of 'lighter wine' but also the consumers' uptake of the concept - despite their purported interest.