Over the past 20 years investors have lost in excess of £250 million to drinks investment and associated scams. Here are ten gold rules to help you avoid giving your...
A South American friend of mine once paid an unannounced visit to Château Pétrus. He’s not a naive person by nature, but on this occasion he was being rather optimistic....
‘No wimpy wines’ reads the sign outside Ravenswood, Joel Peterston’s eccentric base in the Sonoma Valley. Or, for Spanish-speakers, ‘No vinos sin huevos’ (no wines without balls!). Peterson specialises in...
‘Welcome to the home of the fiasco,’ said the sharply suited Italian. Strange things have happened to me in wineries over the years – my favourite was a board outside...
Wine writers knowingly run the risk of an appearance in Private Eye‘s Pseuds’ Corner every time they describe a wine. The vocabulary of taste, surely the most intimate of our...
If you’ve ever seen the film “Alive” – and I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re about to tuck into steak tartare – then you’ll know that the Andes are a...
With its Cape Dutch architecture, mountain-fringed setting, famous university and a line-up of wineries that reads like a who’s who of the South African industry, Stellenbosch is one of the...
‘Hello, sir, and welcome to the Chardonnay country club.’ I’ve heard some silly things in my time, but naming a Napa Valley golf and tennis complex after a grape variety...
If patience is a virtue, as the old saw would have it, then it’s a virtue that’s deeply unfashionable. We live in a world dominated by immediacy, instant gratification, attention...
The legendary jazzman and humorist Ronnie Scott once introduced a concert at his London club with the following words: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, the last time this person played in London,...
New York crushes wine. This metropolis loves great wine lists. And, we want to enjoy them with excellent food and good service. So, this year’s “Best List” takes into account...
The first time I visited the Barossa Valley in South Australia, someone gave me a cassette. (It was so long ago, that iTunes didn’t exist.) The music was a collection...