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 […]

As I mentioned back in November I’m a sucker for a ‘soft’ restaurant opening because there is a wonderful feeling of dining before the critics descend and pronounce the received view of an establishment, of virgin piste if you like, and, even better, you tend to get a benign bill when it’s time to call […]

The final leg of our buying trip begins in Faugères, an up and coming AOC that sits atop an impressive bedrock of schist, north of Beziers. Château des Estanilles is an estate that has recently changed hands and the good news is that the pioneering work of Michel Louison is being augmented by Julien Seydoux, an […]

It is a testament to how busy we have been over the past twelve months that the night for our staff Christmas Party appeared to come round again so quickly after last year’s great evening at the Museum Inn, Farnham. This time our Yapp car convoy was heading into Frome and the newly-opened Archangel. It […]

We’ve been hosting Autumn wine tastings for the Oxford and Cambridge colleges for many moons. On my very first venture to Oxford 10 years ago with Robin (Yapp), no sooner had we set up the tasting in preparation for the arrival of the dons than he rushed me off to the Covered Market to seek out […]

There are few wine tasting venues that can match the regal splendour of Vintners’ Hall in the City of London and we are inordinately grateful to the Vintners’ Company for allowing us to visit periodically. Bedecked in oak panelling and dazzling with silverware amassed over 6 centuries this is a great setting for a wine […]