Standing in his sun-drenched hallway, my friend and I stood before the newly-hung painting that he bought not long ago. “With a bit of luck, it might even go up...
Read More
News from the Court of Natural Sommeliers
The Court of Natural Sommeliers is pleased to announce that it is now accepting applications from qualified people in the wine trade who wish to pursue their N.S. There are...
Read More
Is food and wine matching an art?
At the height of her fame as a Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Fit Club contestant, the ex-Tory MP Ann Widdecombe was asked to write a book about how to...
Read More
South America’s march on the future
This year is the 200th anniversary of one of the key events in Latin American history. In January 1817, the Army of the Andes set off from Mendoza, determined to...
Read More
The Tyranny of Travel
If you’re of a certain age you may remember a routine by Ben Elton. He described his anxiety about getting on a train or a bus and how you “...
Read More
Sam Euthanasia, the World’s Oldest Wine Critic, rates the 2016 Bordeaux
While other critics try to be the first to publish scores of a new Bordeaux vintage, Sam Euthanasia, who, at 95, is the World’s Oldest Wine Critic, as well as...
Read More
The chef that writes wine lists
Which comes first: the celebrity chef’s animated persona or their success in television? Martin Lam has largely eschewed the media over his 45 years in the restaurant business. Perhaps it’s...
Read More
Where have all the wine merchants gone?
What makes a good wine merchant? As a significant chunk of the UK trade returns from Bordeaux, having tasted their way through a few hundred samples of youthful, unfinished claret...
Read More
Crapaholics Anonymous
Hello, my name is Ronald. And I’m a Crapaholic. Hello, Ronald! This is my first time speaking at a Crapaholics Anonymous meeting, but I’ve been thinking a lot about the...
Read More
Ignoring the wine snobs
When I was a music student back in the 1990s, a bomb went off in classical music. The world’s three greatest tenors – Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras...
Read More
Rock n’ roll excess
When I listen to electro I crave Riesling. The precise polished perfection of the sound somehow recalls the technicolour citrus acidity of the wine. Châteauneuf-du-Pape however suggests the gothic aesthetic,...
Read More
Is meat really made for Malbec?
The wine trade loves a good shibboleth. Sauternes is the best match for foie gras, for instance. (Wrong, unless you’re into having your palate clagged up by an unctuous sweet...
Read More