Lifestyle

Readers of this blog may remember past musings around the Great Chalfield Ball – a local bash held in the grounds of our local National Trust Stately home. It’s a bit of a ruse really when you’re asked to cough up £25 per head – but then take your own wine and food for your […]

I am often asked what wine people should cook with and there are many schools of thought on this topic.     The late, great cookery writer Robert Carrier had pretty strong feelings on the subject averring that: “To attempt wine cookery with poor wine is more than just a mistake, it is pure heresy.’ […]

At Yapp Brothers we don’t take ourselves overly seriously, so we were delighted to recently discover that our most-read blog ever was a posting on border terriers. In an effort to keep up the good work and possibly pick up an award for ‘wine blog least likely to feature wine’, here are some musings on […]

Long-standing followers of these musings may recall that I was delighted when our beloved Border Terrier, Martha, gave birth to a litter of 5 healthy puppies on Boxing Day back in 2010.     As novice dog-breeders we had read alarming stories about puppy mortality so my family was relieved to find good homes for […]

Having worked in the wine trade for most of my adult life I have been constantly surrounded by wine labels in which I have developed a keen (some might say obsessional) interest. Here are 10 of my favourites: 1. Saumur Blanc: Cave de Saumur     I commissioned this wonderful design from Pippa Goldfinger in […]

By popular demand Jason Yapp continues his inimitable guide for the modern, metrosexual man-about-town.     1. www.airbnb.co.uk London, Paris, New York, Skegness – the world’s your oyster with this ground-breaking accommodation website. You can visit any of these hip and happening cool conurbations without suffering the ignominy of check-in. It’s like staying with well-appointed […]

Our founder Robin Yapp is well known for having original ideas and putting them into practice. I wouldn’t say he was impetuous but he certainly has the courage of his convictions and is capable of taking quite a long-range outlook. Thus it was in the early 1970s when he decided our courtyard was lacking a […]

As various digital calendars and mobiles start beeping with various messages (mine has been firing off various reminders about the end of school term, Easter eggs and paying caravan site fees) there’s clearly no avoiding the fact Easter will be with us sooner rather than later. Well, later this year with the actual main event […]

Last Sunday, all the normal Yapp signage had a bit of a makeover, with 'High Visibility Yellow" taking pride of place. As with many things, momentum does seem to take hold when certain moons align – in this case the winning combination was 1,400 cyclists, Yapp HQ, and Côtes de Thongue: Tradition 2013.     […]

I first became acquainted with the work of Glen Baxter as an impoverished, young graduate when I secured (not very) gainful employment distributing incoming faxes around the labyrinth offices of Arthur Andersen’s Management Consultancy at the Temple, London WC2. My lowly position provided ample time to moon about the corridors admiring the magnificent modern art […]