Drink
How Argentina conquered Malbec
When Napoleon III proclaimed himself Emperor of France in 1852, he unwittingly kickstarted quality wine production in Chile and Argentina.…
Lockdown means it’s time to drink your most prized bottles of wine
Losing your sense of smell due to Covid is no joke when you make a living in food and wine.…
The beauty and tragedy of Lebanon
I was thinking about tragedy. Could one use the term ‘chronically tragic’? My first instinct is against. Tragedy is the…
Why you can’t trust supermarket cheese
We were celebrating the end of lockdown by talking about war and deer stalking — over a business lunch, naturally.…
Lockdown might bring the Dickensian Christmas back into fashion
I feel like a prisoner, making daily marks on the cell wall to chart the approach of freedom. But will…
Drinking to the glories of Burns and follies of Boris
At least in London, midwinter spring has not been entirely vanquished, and the trees are still a couple of strong…
A toast to Tim Beardson
I am in an Eliot mood, not a Keatsian one. ‘Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’ is a surprisingly… mellow…
Perry Worsthorne: a man incapable of dullness
I had known Perry Worsthorne for several years before I went to work for him in 1986 (horrifying how time…
The finest Rioja in all of Spain
It had been a long and no doubt fractious sea voyage. The crew would have signed up for a variety…
With good wine, it’s all in the timing
Three bottles, three questions that delivered three different answers. I was in Dorset — cannot keep away — enjoying the…
A perfect luncheon wine
I suspect, though this may be romanticising, that if a French lorry driver with hitherto suppressed culinary tastes won France’s…
Soave, an original sin-free wine
‘The Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day’: surely one of the most beautiful images…
The difference between American and French wine-drinkers
Is it safe to visit the continent? On the one hand, abroad is likely to be less crowded this August…
The hunt for a Test-class claret
In one respect, there has been a reassertion of normality, though this is nothing to do with the virus. Although…
The best wine since incarceration
The woodpecker jinked across the lawn like an especially cunning partridge. Its goal was a skilfully constructed bird table with…
Two bottles to help eradicate cabin fever
The virus is in retreat, the lock-down is crumbling, the sherbet dispensaries will shortly reopen and there is a second…
Recollections of Burgundy
More than two months: who would have thought it possible? Before the great closure, I had been trying to decide…
Bitter memories: my craving for a pint
It is enough to drive a man to drink. The most glorious weather, so suitable for white Burgundy on a…
The best New Zealand wine I’ve come across
I was once invited to the Cheltenham races and found the experience underwhelming. Everything was too respectable: not nearly Hibernian…
Clarets to see in the summer
This April was indeed the cruellest month, at least for those of us banged up in cities. From the country…
I’m drinking half as much as usual – with no ill-effects
I cannot remember a prettier Easter, or a more frustrating one. This was no time to be in town. But…
Drinking in isolation is far less appealing
Spring sense, caressing sunshine: last week, London enjoyed village cricket weather. Even in normal circumstances, the season would not have…
If we can’t go to the Veneto, we’ll drink to it
We live in a world where yesterday’s inconceivable becomes today’s commonplace, but even so. I never thought that the day…
The Spanish winemakers with a missionary zeal
It is time to begin with an apology, and hope. In the course of these columns, I have already admitted…
Which water goes best with whisky?
Peaty water ought to be classed as a luxury. You have spent a day on the hill, a’chasing the deer.…
