1. Temperature Control
    Posted On: August 9th, 2011

    Temperature Control

    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 […]
  2. Holiday Packing
    Posted On: August 3rd, 2011

    Holiday Packing

    Today is my last day in the office before I head off for the habitual family two weeks away up in the wilds of North Wales, so last night I started to scribble down my list of holiday essentials. Times have certainly changed, my children are now a little older (as we all are) and […]
  3. Ask the Expert - Wines to Accompany Asparagus
    Posted On: May 10th, 2011

    Ask the Expert - Wines to Accompany Asparagus

    I was fortunate enough to spend last Thursday lunchtime at Le Gavroche selecting the wines for our forthcoming Spring lunch. I took the opportunity to buttonhole the head sommelier David Galetti, who presides over a list of biblical proportions, about his personal recommendations of wines to accompany asparagus. When English asparagus is in season, as […]
  4. Chabrot – Bistro d’Amis
    Posted On: February 9th, 2011

    Chabrot – Bistro d’Amis

    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 […]
  5. En Conversion!
    Posted On: February 7th, 2011

    En Conversion!

    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 […]
  6. Autumnal Traditions
    Posted On: December 1st, 2010

    Autumnal Traditions

    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 […]
  7. Wine Growers’ Tasting at Vintners’ Hall
    Posted On: November 17th, 2010

    Wine Growers’ Tasting at Vintners’ Hall

    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 […]

7 Item(s)