Drink

Nicholas Soames’s Twitter account is a miracle (and so is his diet)

21 May 2016 9:00 am

Miracles are not ceased. A few years ago, a kindly educational therapist took pity on John Prescott and set out…

Nicholas the miraculous

19 May 2016 1:00 pm

Miracles are not ceased. A few years ago, a kindly educational therapist took pity on John Prescott and set out…

The wonders of white Burgundy

7 May 2016 9:00 am

I promised a return to Burgundy and the 2014 vintage, which becomes no less impressive when recollected in tranquillity. We…

White mischief

5 May 2016 1:00 pm

I promised a return to Burgundy and the 2014 vintage, which becomes no less impressive when recollected in tranquillity. We…

Dinner with a Grand National winner

23 April 2016 9:00 am

Not quite nil humanum a me alienum, but I have always been interested in other people’s trades and worlds. That…

Riders and diners

21 April 2016 1:00 pm

Not quite nil humanum a me alienum, but I have always been interested in other people’s trades and worlds. That…

The kindest man in the Bordeaux wine business

9 April 2016 9:00 am

There was a moment during the war when De Gaulle was being more than usually impossible. Roosevelt, furious, asked Churchill…

A gentleman of Bordeaux

7 April 2016 1:00 pm

There was a moment during the war when De Gaulle was being more than usually impossible. Roosevelt, furious, asked Churchill…

On the trail of a Burgundian Holy Grail

26 March 2016 9:00 am

It was a scene evoking the first movement of the Pastoral Symphony. The evening sunshine was caressing the verdant woods…

On the trail of a Holy Grail

23 March 2016 3:00 pm

It was a scene evoking the first movement of the Pastoral Symphony. The evening sunshine was caressing the verdant woods…

A thirst for justice: the wit and wisdom of Oliver Wendell Holmes

12 March 2016 9:00 am

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, a great common lawyer, was an adornment to the American Supreme Court. His wisdom is still…

A thirst for Justice

10 March 2016 3:00 pm

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, a great common lawyer, was an adornment to the American Supreme Court. His wisdom is still…

The torturer named for a beautiful shrine

27 February 2016 9:00 am

As you came from the Holy land Of Walsingham Met you not with my true love By the way as…

The grim irony of Walsingham

25 February 2016 3:00 pm

As you came from the Holy land Of Walsingham Met you not with my true love By the way as…

The perfect wines to toast the end of the hunting season

13 February 2016 9:00 am

A few years ago, a distinguished cove in the diplomatic service was made High Commissioner to Australia. To prepare himself…

Game show

11 February 2016 3:00 pm

A few years ago, a distinguished cove in the diplomatic service was made High Commissioner to Australia. To prepare himself…

The fighting spirit of the Borders comes a posh wine merchant

30 January 2016 9:00 am

There has been a gastronomic revolution in London. For some years, the Boisdale restaurants, often mentioned here, have featured Macsween’s…

Border spirit

28 January 2016 3:00 pm

There has been a gastronomic revolution in London. For some years, the Boisdale restaurants, often mentioned here, have featured Macsween’s…

Drink: How I was forcefully reinforced at the Battle of Brussels

16 January 2016 9:00 am

My friends divide into three groups. There are those who are determined to anticipate Lent. There is a larger number…

The Battle of Brussels

14 January 2016 3:00 pm

My friends divide into three groups. There are those who are determined to anticipate Lent. There is a larger number…

The Field Marshal, the restaurateur and the wine family

2 January 2016 9:00 am

As the bottles flowed, the talk ranged, to a serious vineyard, an awesome Field Marshal and a delightful restauranteur. For…

Commanding vintages

31 December 2015 3:00 pm

As the bottles flowed, the talk ranged, to a serious vineyard, an awesome Field Marshal and a delightful restauranteur. For…

Even great wine can’t quite give me hope for Lebanon

12 December 2015 9:00 am

Housman had a point. If men could be drunk for ever, the human condition would be tolerable. But thought always…

Even great wine can’t quite give me hope for Lebanon

10 December 2015 3:00 pm

Housman had a point. If men could be drunk for ever, the human condition would be tolerable. But thought always…

An overflow of bookshelves, a huge kitchen, a cellar, music, dogs, hens, donkeys children . . . all the ingredients for civilised life

5 December 2015 9:00 am

In the later 1850s, Palmerston was Prime Minister: Gladstone, his Chancellor. It was a successful partnership between two very different…