Drink
Is it time for me to renounce the Devil?
As I spent much of January in dry dock in Tommy’s hospital (‘dry’ being doubly appropriate), other avocations were needed.…
Why are the British so snobby about prosecco?
My late grandmother used to say that seeing Pope John Paul II descend by helicopter into Dublin’s Phoenix Park in…
Hell is Dry January
‘Earth has not anything to show more fair.’ I have always believed that the notion of a Dry January must…
The secret to a good marriage is drink
Many years ago, when entertaining my then girlfriend (now wife) for our first Valentine’s Day, I spent a considerable amount…
How to drink like you’re at the Savoy – from your sofa
There are two great American bars in London. One is perfect to escape the winter chill, the other to embrace…
The quest for the perfect January red wine
There are different ways to approach the tyranny of Dry January. One is to drink in secret. Another is to…
There’s nothing to fear from Madeira
Perhaps because of the Flanders and Swann song in which a louche older gentleman tries to lure a younger lady…
One of the joys of wine is the people who make it
Towards the end of the war, a young Guards officer met some Italian aristocrats. They had much in common. Robert…
A Frenchman who does not drink wine is a disgrace
The world is in an even greater mess than was apparent. I am not referring to Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan or…
Wine to toast the fallen
Solemn, moving, serious: British. As silence fell and the wreaths were lain, even teenagers joined in the mood of reverence.…
How to drink sake
There is a fellow called Anthony Newman who is fascinated by drink, as a consumer, a producer and an intellectual.…
A sip of Israeli history
We were drinking Israeli wine as the talk ranged from frivolity to seriousness: from Donald Trump to the tragic paradoxes…
Drink early, drink often
As readers will be aware, and without sounding too immodest, this column is absolutely committed to diversity. In an earlier…
The glory of the Goring
Last weekend, I was in England: among two very diverse aspects of the nation. In recent months, every Saturday, central…
Is God a Thatcherite?
Autumn: surely one of the most beautiful words in the language. All the other seasons are expressive, almost even onomatopoeic,…
Vodka that makes an excellent aperitif
Jack Gervaise-Brazier is a restless romantic. He was brought up on Guernsey, which filled him with a love of islands,…
North Uist’s whisky is one to watch
There are at least two Long Islands. One of them, eternally famous for The Great Gatsby, is a fascinating blend…
The English pinot noir that rivals Burgundy
England is now and history. The other day, in the Weald of Kent, now was England and pleasure. We were…
Wine to pass the cricket Test
What to drink while watching cricket? Beer or even Pimm’s for the village green, but I think that a Test…
To rehydrate, drink beer
‘The nuisance of the tropics is/the sheer necessity of fizz.’ Over the past few days, during which England endured sub-tropical…
The lure of St James’s
Procrastination may be the thief of time, but in the right circumstances, it can be fun. The other day, I…
The loveliness of Ligurian wine
We were talking about Italy: where and when to sojourn. I confessed to so many gaps. It is years since…
The art of the political lunch
We had been discussing Ukraine, Gaza, Iran, the possibility of a nuclear exchange across the Punjab and other trifling matters.…
My new-found love for Marsala
Western Sicily is one of the most wonderful places on Earth. From the Greek temples in the south to the…
The Chinese tried to get me drunk
China: what next? Around the time of the millennium, I wrote that during this century, many of the world’s great…
