Drink
The heroes of Cognac
The chestnut trees were still resplendent in yellow leaf along the banks of a misty autumn river on its glide…
The great lunchtime wine showdown
This is a tale of two lunches, sort of. The first was a classically English affair. We started with native…
Last of the lunchtime wine
This is a tale of two lunches, sort of. The first was a classically English affair. We started with native…
The real French embassy is a restaurant
Semper eadem. There is some basement in a Mayfair street that is forever France. It is not far from the…
The real French embassy
Semper eadem. There is some basement in a Mayfair street that is forever France. It is not far from the…
Wine merchants might just be the happiest people in the world
A delightful girl came to see me this morning. She is helping with the research for a biography of David…
A vintner’s vocation
A delightful girl came to see me this morning. She is helping with the research for a biography of David…
The secret kinship of good wine and good cricket
A high proportion of wine-lovers also enjoy cricket, and vice versa. This might seem natural. Anyone with an aesthetic temperament…
The willow and the vine
A high proportion of wine-lovers also enjoy cricket, and vice versa. This might seem natural. Anyone with an aesthetic temperament…
Proof that the Japanese know how to make great Bordeaux
Château Lagrange, a St Julien third growth, has the largest acreage of any Bordeaux classed growth. For much of the…
In praise of Japanese Bordeaux
Château Lagrange, a St Julien third growth, has the largest acreage of any Bordeaux classed growth. For much of the…
In praise of the Loire - cradle of civilisation, and wonderful wines
Rivers are the cradles of civilisation and the Loire is an outstanding example. It is one of the head-waters of…
For the love of the Loire
Rivers are the cradles of civilisation and the Loire is an outstanding example. It is one of the head-waters of…
The Society of Odd Bottles and the Sisterhood of the Black Pudding
The Honourable Society of Odd Bottles has been mentioned in this column before. I can report that the membership is…
Three sisterhoods
The Honourable Society of Odd Bottles has been mentioned in this column before. I can report that the membership is…
Horse racing, Sancerre and escaped lobsters
A stint in dry dock — the ‘dry’ literally — has one advantage. There is time for lots of long…
From horses to glasses
A stint in dry dock — the ‘dry’ literally — has one advantage. There is time for lots of long…
Visiting Burgundy from my hospital bed
There have been some splendid rumours about my health. According to the most exotic, I was cas-evacked from a hill…
Escape to Burgundy
There have been some splendid rumours about my health. According to the most exotic, I was cas-evacked from a hill…
From Glyndebourne to St Thomas's Hospital
‘Don’t you think you’re drinking too much?’ said the nurse, contemplating the array of bottles. ‘But I feel so thirsty,’…
Bedside manners
‘Don’t you think you’re drinking too much?’ said the nurse, contemplating the array of bottles. ‘But I feel so thirsty,’…
A toast to all bottles
Where two or three British males are gathered together, the agenda often includes a glass or two. One thing can…
A toast to all bottles
Where two or three British males are gathered together, the agenda often includes a glass or two. One thing can…
Measuring out an elegy in Burgundy
It was a sort of wake. An old friend’s father had died, and some of us were helping him and…
An elegy in Burgundy
It was a sort of wake. An old friend’s father had died, and some of us were helping him and…
