Drink
Should you really pair Pimm’s with oysters?
Imagine a camel train, crossing the great desert. The remaining water is rancid; the beasts’ humps are shrunken. Death looms.…
Think pink: there’s no shame in quaffing rosé in England
In the battle of ideas, it is sometimes necessary to make a tactical withdrawal. That is now the case over…
My memorable night at the Carlton Club
‘Club’ is a four-letter word. Whenever a club is mentioned in the press, it will inevitably be portrayed as a…
A voyage through fine wine off Sardinia
One could get used to this. I come from seafaring stock, albeit distant. ‘Anderson’ suggests Viking antecedents, especially as my…
A claret to toast the Queen – and forget the Prime Minister
It was an extraordinary weekend. The various spectacles had something for all tastes: pageantry on Horse Guards; solemnity in St…
The perfect pairing of books and wine
In the West End of London there is an alley which insinuates its way between the Charing Cross Road and…
The horror of gluten-free beer
I was reminded of the worst liquid that I have ever consumed. It was the last occasion on which I…
A taste of la dolce vita in Tuscany
Amid the grandeur of old Edinburgh, in the lee of the castle, is one of the finest buildings in Scotland:…
The wine of the Wild Geese
The Irish rarely understate their achievements. Yet there is one exception. Over the centuries, the links between Catholic Ireland and…
War, wine and the brilliance of Beychevelle
If only toasts and good wishes were weapons of war. At every serious repast I have attended since the invasion…
A toast to the platonic ideal of diplomatic intellect
My dear friend Richard Stow is a most congenial fellow. A serious financial entrepreneur, he is also a clubman and…
The story of Tuscany’s all-female winery
The inhabitants of Tuscany and Umbria can claim to be the most civilised beings on the planet, even exceeding the…
A toast to Victorian Britain
Across oceans and continents, less favoured nations produce more history than they can consume. In these islands, the English —…
Why Sardinian wine is one to watch
The larger islands of the Mediterranean all have their glories. Fought over for millennia, they now seem to have attained…
A magnificent malt worthy of Burns
The bleak midwinter. Actually, since I wallowed in curmudgeonly complaints about dreich days, everything has improved. Clear blue skies, pleasing…
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…
