It is a day of minor celebration in the Yapp household today (and you can’t have too many of those on Mondays in January) as Martha’s litter of puppies have passed the crucial 2 week milestone which, according to The Book of the Bitch is the time when they are most vulnerable to myriad potentially […]

Our much-loved Border Terrier, Martha, gave birth to a litter of 5 puppies on the night of Boxing Day which made for an interesting festive break. Martha eschewed the ‘whelping box’ which I had lovingly-crafted out of Yapp Brothers’ wine cartons and gaffer tape favouring our 9 year-old son William’s bed as the destination to […]

Serving liqueurs to guests might seem rather old-fashioned, but we’re backing them for a comeback. Rather like cardigan-wearing, you’ve got to get it just right to avoid looking like you’ve just stepped off the set of ‘Ashes to Ashes’ but, done well, they’re deliciously enjoyable. So out with the Blue Bols and cheese footballs, in with […]

A straw poll around the office generated lively discussion as to what colleagues will be drinking once we have closed our doors on Christmas Eve. We hope that our selections inspire your Festive food matching! While there was unanimous agreement that any of the excellent J. Dumangin Fils Champagne would feature strongly over both Christmas […]

A recent reunion of an unofficial lunch club saw me dropping in on old friends at a new venue. Michelin-starred chef, Alexis Gauthier and sommelier supreme, Roberto Della Pietra (ably assisted by Damian Sanchez) have opened Gauthier Soho in the attractive town house formerly frequented by Richard Corrigan. The layout over four floors and steep stairs is […]

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 […]

It’s our final day in the Rhône valley and we are beginning to flag a little as we wend our way out of Orange once again at 8.30am. We’ve long since given up trying to convince friends and family that tasting wine is an arduous task, but you can have too much of a good thing. We […]

Fortified by a superb dinner at Guy Julien’s truffle-orientated restaurant ‘Le Beaugravière’ in Montdragon (which has a legendary Rhône wine list) we arrived in Châteauneuf-du-Pape on Wednesday morning greeted by a blue sky and southern sunshine. At Le Vieux Donjon Marie-José Michel and her daughter Claire gave us a warm welcome and the happy news […]

(Continuing the voyage down the Rhône valley this week, to catch up with vigneron friends and get an insight into the Rhône 2009 vintage). Domaine Jean-Louis Chave is a key reference point for the entire Rhône valley, and securing an audience with Jean-Louis himself is never easy. Space precludes going into too much detail here, but […]