When La Tour d’Argent lost its second Michelin star a few years ago, continuing its slide down the ranking of top French restaurants, television crews were camped outside for days....
Read MoreWolf Blass and his wines
There are so many stories about Wolf Blass that it’s hard to know when fact shades into fiction. Did he really page himself at airports so that other people would...
Read MoreAussie wines and The Ashes
How good was that? For an Englishman who’s passionate about sport, nothing compares with beating the Aussies at cricket, not even a win on penalties against the Germans or a...
Read MoreSideways look
The Hitching Post in Buellton has got used to the attention by now. Five years after the hit movie Sideways featured two scenes filmed at its friendly, no frills bar,...
Read MoreYoungest First
I’ve never been to a Tupperware party, let alone an Ann Summers get-together, but I have a feeling that’s where the people behind i-wine (i-wine.tv) found their inspiration. Billed as...
Read MoreEurope’s new legislative dawn
The European wine sector took a step into the 21st century earlier this month. Given that many of its practices were mired in the 1930s, it was a stride that...
Read MoreOff licences in a recession
One of my favourite websites is worst-jobs.com. Whenever friends moan about their lot, I show them what others have to do to earn a stale crust: worm taster, porn theatre...
Read MoreCalifornia dreaming in the UK
If location, location, location is the key to the property market, explaining why a sock drawer in Knightsbridge costs more than a palace in Kabul, it also tells you a...
Read MoreWith this wine…
Pressure, what pressure? I’m getting married this week and I’ve been agonising over the wines for the wedding lunch and party for months. If you write about booze for a...
Read MoreWine, science and, er, sperm
It was enough to make me splutter into my muesli. The news that scientists at the North East England Stem Cell Institute claim to have created “fully mature, functional” human...
Read MoreComing of Age
Heaven knows who came up with the statistic, but the word in the booze business is that 9 out of 10 wines are drunk within 48 hours of purchase. Do...
Read MoreAffordable wines to lay down
Heaven knows who came up with the statistic, but the word in the booze business is that 9 out of 10 wines are drunk within 48 hours of purchase. Do...
Read More