Wine
Surrender to the Super Tuscans
At the beginning of the month, the cellars of Marchesi Antinori in Tuscany were breached in spectacular fashion. Over the…
In praise of Piedmontese wines
Unlike many of Europe’s wine-producing regions, Piedmont is currently awash with money, with Barolo and Barbaresco highly prized
Memories of Mijanou, the oenophile’s delight
Où sont les bouteilles d’antan? Or proprietors. The other day, some of us were reminiscing about Mijanou, in its day…
The wine industry gives me hope
Nostalgia grows with age. Inevitably so: years lengthen and with them memories, sometimes, alas, involving departed friends. In my case,…
Let them eat grouse
Over the weekend, although I hope that I was not committing blasphemy, it occurred to me that two splendid festivals…
Won’t someone please think of the French wine?
There was something surreal about my visit to La Cité du Vin, Bordeaux’s wine museum, last Saturday. From the top…
A toast to my good health
Rachel Johnson’s raillery is reminiscent of Beatrice and Benedick, in the early phase, but with no danger of a predestinate…
MPs don’t drink enough
The heatwave no sooner ended than it was replaced by the Mandywave. Over the next few days, it may be…
‘It’s all small plates because the girls are the main course’: Rhino at The Windmill reviewed
You don’t go to a strip club expecting to put something in your mouth unless you’re an incorrigible roué. So…
Resist the cult of ‘picky bits’
We are, according to Marks & Spencer, in ‘picky bits’ season. I cannot bear the tweeness of it all. M&S…
White port is the new G&T
Spring is here and, as the garden blooms, readers might find themselves reaching for the Pink Diesel to enjoy in…
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.…
Hell is Dry January
‘Earth has not anything to show more fair.’ I have always believed that the notion of a Dry January must…
Gripping: Amazon Prime’s The Tank reviewed
I don’t know how it got past the increasingly powerful ‘All Germans were evil Nazis’ censors but Amazon has released…
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.…
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…
Sebastian Faulks looks back on youth and lost idealism
The novelist describes key moments in his life from boarding school onwards in essays originally intended to discuss ‘the things that have meant the most to me’
Is God a Thatcherite?
Autumn: surely one of the most beautiful words in the language. All the other seasons are expressive, almost even onomatopoeic,…
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…
