Cheese and wine are perfect partners and the right combination can add to the enjoyment of both. During the time I owned Paxton & Whitfield Ltd, the cheesemongers, I conducted...
If you’re serious about developing a wine collection, don’t overlook the UK’s splendid array of independent wine merchants. These companies aren’t the cheapest places to buy a bottle of basic...
One of my favourite cartoons, published by the Pacific Wine Company, depicts a vintage bore surrounded by people who’ve hanged themselves out of tedium: ‘I’ve just started drinking the 1982s,...
Part salesman, part winemaker, part impresario, Serge Hochar is standing on the steps of Château Musar, arms extended in greeting. Hochar gives “good quote”, as we journalists like to say,...
If you’re fond of trains, the 110 mile trip from Oporto to Pocinho, close to the Spanish border, is one of the most beautiful railway journeys in the world. For...
The 24th of August 1973 was a significant date in the history of New Zealand. It was equally significant in the history of wine. If that sounds a little over-dramatic...
The best restaurants understand that what you drink and how it’s served will make a big difference to how much you enjoy your visit. It doesn’t matter how good the...
Cenicero is one of the nicest towns in Rioja, with a picturesque central square, narrow streets of white-walled houses and an elevated walkway full of old-timers in black berets philosophically...
I’ve always considered it neatly ironic that Shiraz, one of the world’s greatest red grape varieties, takes its name from a town in Iran. Ironic because Iran is not exactly...
Jacques Reynaud, the late owner of Château Rayas, was notorious for playing tricks on journalists. A friend of mine once told me a story about turning up for a pre-arranged...
If grape varieties were football teams – bear with me for a second if you’d rather eat iron filings than hear about our beleaguered national sport – then Cabernet Sauvignon...
As a kid, I was a great fan of a cartoon show called Secret Squirrel. (Yes, I am that old.) The furtive rodent was a master of disguise. I don’t...