Lifestyle

One of the books that I used in preparation for the recent WSET exams was called “Understanding the Label” that explained just that – the theory being that you could get an idea of what the wine would be like before you actually reached for the corkscrew. The French wine labels I’m now more than […]

If I had a pound for everybody who told me that they would like my job I wouldn’t need a sodding job and I could fulfil my destiny of becoming an international playboy – a role for which my forebears, rather short-sightedly, failed to provide adequate funds. Members of the general public naïvely assume that […]

The recent Natural Wine Fair at Borough Market provided a wonderful opportunity, not only for a day out of the office, but also for a chance to meet up with several of our winemakers and taste their latest vintages. In particular, my first opportunity to meet Ron and Elva Laughton, who, along with their daughters […]

We Brits do love our wine but why must we serve our whites too cold and our reds too warm? Whatever the weather this August, and if our English summer is true to form it will probably be tipping down, we do ourselves a disservice in this country by drinking most of our wine at […]

Last Saturday evening the Yapp Brothers’ workforce and assorted partners (less two colleagues on holiday and one on paternity leave*) gathered at our Mere premises to enjoy a barbecue and some time off duty together. As we spend most of our time recommending drinks to other people it seems only fair to record what we […]

I'd planned a cycling jaunt to the Alps with some friends for a bit of R&R after a busy few months chez Yapp and a stressful flat move. As we packed the bikes into the van under the clear blue London skies at 5.00AM on Tuesday morning we harboured high hopes of sun on our […]

Exams. Probably enough said already and it’s been a while since my first lot (anyone of a certain age may recognise the quote in the Title, from around the time of my first public exams) - after each set of exams I’ve always thought enough’s enough, but there always seem to be some more that […]

In a time when the successful super-injunction may become a thing of the past, I have decided to out myself as a founding member of a secretive event that is South East London Egg Day (aka SELED). SELED  has been running for the past 6 years in various secret locations. Originally founded by two yolk […]

It is fair to say that the team at Yapp Brothers are anticipating the imminent royal nuptials with varying degrees of enthusiasm but all of us are looking forward to yet more time off work to spend with family and friends and we are hoping that the recent sunny spell continues. Tom will be close […]

(This article first appeared in Spectator Scoff, April 2011) I have several items to declare: bags of prejudice, a heap of self-interest, a smidgen of latent snobbery and chips on both shoulders. But even accounting for all of the above it can’t just be me who finds buying wine in a supermarket a joyless, soulless […]