Fine Wine Diary

Toby Bailey and his brother Richard are based at Edinburgh and Cambridge Universities respectively, and share an obvious knowledge and passion for wine. This site is really nothing more than a massive collection of several thousand tasting notes which are succinct to the point of being abrupt. This is no-nonsense stuff that comments on each wine in a direct, terse but very knowledgeable style.

The site scores well in two areas: sheer volume and reliability of information. The brothers taste a phenomenal amount of wine and their notes seem very reliable.

When first reviewed in summer 2000 the site let itself down badly because finding a tasting note on a specific wine was extremely difficult. The thousands of notes were presented chronologically, and with no searching facility, working your way through the lists was a tedious chore. The site was crying out for a decent search facility, and thankfully a relaunch in Autumn 2000 provided that, plus numerous other worthwhile enhancements.

A simple navigation panel on the left hand side of the main screen links to all main sections. There's a "latest" section for regular visitors and of course, the all-important search facility. Load speeds are excellent due to the simplicity of the pages.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Tasting Notes The latest tasting notes are listed in reverse chronological order under "Diary Latest" on the home page. Previous Notes are listed under "Diary Archive", grouped by year, and then month, going back to September 1995. For each wine a comment and star rating is included. The star rating system is another new development since the site was first reviewed by the Good Web Guide and scores the wine both on current enjoyability, and on future potential. Suppliers are given where known, as well as prices at the time of writing. The Bailey brothers drink and taste a lot good stuff so the notes cover everything from ancient and rare clarets to the most interesting wines of the New World. Only very rarely do they venture outside the fine wine area into more mundane bottles.

Edinburgh Restaurants This archive of restaurant reviews is a very useful guide to the Scottish Capital's dining scene, from Michelin-starred luxury, to cheap and cheerful vegetarian. Detailed critiques are offered, with addresses and phone numbers.

Newsletter Another new feature, sign up to receive latest news, reviews and thoughts from the Fine Wine Diary, direct to your mailbox every fortnight.