Drink
The secret kinship of good wine and good cricket
A high proportion of wine-lovers also enjoy cricket, and vice versa. This might seem natural. Anyone with an aesthetic temperament…
The willow and the vine
A high proportion of wine-lovers also enjoy cricket, and vice versa. This might seem natural. Anyone with an aesthetic temperament…
Proof that the Japanese know how to make great Bordeaux
Château Lagrange, a St Julien third growth, has the largest acreage of any Bordeaux classed growth. For much of the…
In praise of Japanese Bordeaux
Château Lagrange, a St Julien third growth, has the largest acreage of any Bordeaux classed growth. For much of the…
In praise of the Loire - cradle of civilisation, and wonderful wines
Rivers are the cradles of civilisation and the Loire is an outstanding example. It is one of the head-waters of…
For the love of the Loire
Rivers are the cradles of civilisation and the Loire is an outstanding example. It is one of the head-waters of…
The Society of Odd Bottles and the Sisterhood of the Black Pudding
The Honourable Society of Odd Bottles has been mentioned in this column before. I can report that the membership is…
Three sisterhoods
The Honourable Society of Odd Bottles has been mentioned in this column before. I can report that the membership is…
Horse racing, Sancerre and escaped lobsters
A stint in dry dock — the ‘dry’ literally — has one advantage. There is time for lots of long…
From horses to glasses
A stint in dry dock — the ‘dry’ literally — has one advantage. There is time for lots of long…
Visiting Burgundy from my hospital bed
There have been some splendid rumours about my health. According to the most exotic, I was cas-evacked from a hill…
Escape to Burgundy
There have been some splendid rumours about my health. According to the most exotic, I was cas-evacked from a hill…
From Glyndebourne to St Thomas's Hospital
‘Don’t you think you’re drinking too much?’ said the nurse, contemplating the array of bottles. ‘But I feel so thirsty,’…
Bedside manners
‘Don’t you think you’re drinking too much?’ said the nurse, contemplating the array of bottles. ‘But I feel so thirsty,’…
A toast to all bottles
Where two or three British males are gathered together, the agenda often includes a glass or two. One thing can…
A toast to all bottles
Where two or three British males are gathered together, the agenda often includes a glass or two. One thing can…
Measuring out an elegy in Burgundy
It was a sort of wake. An old friend’s father had died, and some of us were helping him and…
An elegy in Burgundy
It was a sort of wake. An old friend’s father had died, and some of us were helping him and…
The joy of Glenmorangie
Glenmorangie is the most accessible of malt whiskies. It is a gentle, almost feminine creature, with hints of spring flowers,…
The joy of Glenmorangie
Glenmorangie is the most accessible of malt whiskies. It is a gentle, almost feminine creature, with hints of spring flowers,…
The soul of a lurcher and the secret of a capon
A county, a house, a dog — and a bottle. Somerset: men have delved and farmed and built here for…
Cutting the capon
A county, a house, a dog — and a bottle. Somerset: men have delved and farmed and built here for…
Some consumer advice: do not sell your daughter for a bottle of 90-year-old port
Port, or Hermitage? This does not refer to personal consumption. I was trying to remember Meredith’s Egoist, in which one…
Port and daughters
Port, or Hermitage? This does not refer to personal consumption. I was trying to remember Meredith’s Egoist, in which one…
A military funeral for a heroic vintage
Alas, the ’63 ports are beginning to fade. I came to that conclusion the last time I tasted a Warre’s,…
