A rioja to beat the new year blues
There was only one flaw in my Christmas this year. I did not spend enough of it with Santa Claus-age…
The promise of South Africa
‘Earth has not anything to show more fair.’ One can admire the view from Westminster Bridge and feel near the…
Raising a glass to Grey Gowrie
A group of us had gathered together to raise a glass, tell stories, to laugh and to mourn. It was…
The heady Heights of Israeli wine
‘Where is this from?’ my friend asked, handing me a wine glass. It was a Cabernet Sauvignon, high in alcohol,…
Is it worth gambling on supermarket wine bargains?
Rich men often look out for bargains. I suppose that is why they are rich. But there can be problems.…
Vega Sicilia: the best Spanish wine I have ever tasted
Four hundred and fifty years ago this month, a great victory helped to safeguard European civilisation. The battle of Lepanto…
Is this Greece’s finest wine since Homer strummed his lyre?
We were in deepest Dorset, l’Angleterre profonde. The weather was also typically English: inundations followed by counter-attacks from the Indian…
The wonder of Lebanese wine
In the Levant, the grape has been cultivated for millennia, some of it used for wine. The hills of Lebanon…
Spain vs Italy: who would win the wine Test?
In London, the weather is a gentle sashaying mockery. An Indian summer reminds us of the sullen apology of summer…
In turbulent times, there’s sherry
I sometimes wander through Trafalgar Square in the small hours when the traffic has abated and children are no longer…
The wine that made me change my mind about Valpolicella
There was a marvellous general of yesteryear called George Burns. He had a good war and a splendid peace. He…
The beauty of wine from the Rhine
In an apparently benign — almost prelapsarian — setting, the Rhine is an epitome of the human condition. Scenery is…
The wine that made me change my mind about rosé
Some time ago, I wrote that rosé should only be drunk south of Lyon, but one could start on the…
Boris's 'lobster law' is ridiculous
Sometimes, there is only one conclusion to be drawn – that somehow, the calendar is stuck. Though days appear to…
A new take on New Zealand wine
‘The doors clap to, the pane is bright with showers.’ With ‘summer’ determined to do its worst, there is one…
How to drink in the delights of France (without leaving the country)
It is hard to decide which is more depressing, the extension of the lockdown or the public support for this…
The wine that links Thomas Jefferson, Charles II and Samuel Pepys
It seemed a suitable topic for a bank holiday. We were discussing Haut-Brion, a bank-breaking wine. There is a question…
A novel approach to New Zealand’s wine
The last Saturday of lockdown — inshallah — and we were discussing literature. Specifically, when does a detective story become…
My post-lockdown resolution: drink more Alsace
Freedom approaches. Should we be humming ‘Va, Pensiero’ or ‘O Welche Lust’ — perhaps both. Thinking of Fidelioreminds me of…
Wine by the jug in Venetian Venice
We were discussing travel, that forbidden delight now tantalisingly close. Where would be our first destination? Forswearing originality, I chose…
David Cameron has done nothing wrong
To paraphrase the old adage, truth can still be pulling on its boots when a misconception is already half way…
Drowning the sorrows of Scotland’s virulent nationalism
There is a more depressing subject than the lockdown. The evening began with a bottle of 18-year-old Glenmorangie. It was…
Finally la Vendée has a winemaker worthy of its traditions
A year of lockdowns has certainly passed slowly. But there are topics for thought. One disappointment has been the Church…
Boris Johnson undersold his security review
It was the political equivalent of Halley’s comet. On Tuesday, Boris Johnson underestimated his own achievement. He claimed that the…
Nights – and wines – to remember in Paris
Some friends claim to be making marks on the wall to count the days until liberation. Ah, the forgotten delights…
