Drink
Toast to a future wedding
Three of us, old friends, were meeting to arrange a marriage. The young couple have never actually met. Indeed, they…
Spirits of Bruegel
The ostensible subject matter is misleading, as is any conflation with his lesser relatives’ wassailing peasants and roistering village squares.…
Spirits of Bruegel
The ostensible subject matter is misleading, as is any conflation with his lesser relatives’ wassailing peasants and roistering village squares.…
Burns Night bottles
Give us this day our daily bread: those are also words of great culinary significance. Even if the ‘bread’ takes…
Burns Night bottles
Give us this day our daily bread: those are also words of great culinary significance. Even if the ‘bread’ takes…
The immortal memory
As a life, it was a scintillating spectrum of the human condition. There was hardship and suffering, as well as…
The immortal memory
As a life, it was a scintillating spectrum of the human condition. There was hardship and suffering, as well as…
The great white Burgundy disaster
We agreed that it was the gravest crisis facing mankind. It has led to dashed hopes, widespread grief and a…
The great white Burgundy disaster
We agreed that it was the gravest crisis facing mankind. It has led to dashed hopes, widespread grief and a…
The fall of France
Our sweet enemy, France, is not always that sweet. It is tempting to respond to France’s current degringolade with cynicism…
The fall of France
Our sweet enemy, France, is not always that sweet. It is tempting to respond to France’s current degringolade with cynicism…
Claret’s class war
Claret has a commercial advantage over Burgundy. Thanks to the grandes lignes of châteaux and vintages, you know where you…
Claret’s class war
Claret has a commercial advantage over Burgundy. Thanks to the grandes lignes of châteaux and vintages, you know where you…
Mineral reserves
St James’s Street is a repository of urban comfort. It contains majestic clubs, a gunsmith, a boot-maker, a barber, a…
Mineral reserves
St James’s Street is a repository of urban comfort. It contains majestic clubs, a gunsmith, a boot-maker, a barber, a…
House sherry
The Speaker was in trouble. I do not refer to Michael Martin or John Bercow, the two worst Speakers in…
House sherry
The Speaker was in trouble. I do not refer to Michael Martin or John Bercow, the two worst Speakers in…
The romance of fall
The fall: one of the few instances where American English is superior to English English. ‘Autumn’ has a comfortable charm,…
The romance of fall
The fall: one of the few instances where American English is superior to English English. ‘Autumn’ has a comfortable charm,…
Treasures from a lost domaine
René Engel must have been a wonderful man. He studied wine-making before fighting in the trenches during the first world…
Treasures from a lost domaine
René Engel must have been a wonderful man. He studied wine-making before fighting in the trenches during the first world…
Death of an imperial survivor
I was praying for a miracle, but it seemed unlikely. There had been one already: the bottle’s very survival. A…
Death of an imperial survivor
I was praying for a miracle, but it seemed unlikely. There had been one already: the bottle’s very survival. A…
The patriarch of wines
Marcher country, the Jura lies to the east of Burgundy and the contrast is marked. Burgundy: the very name is…
The patriarch of wines
Marcher country, the Jura lies to the east of Burgundy and the contrast is marked. Burgundy: the very name is…
