Wine
How violence in France led to the creation of London’s Courtauld Gallery
Darkness, but not the blanket of the dark. This was a sinister darkness, beset by smoke and flames, by the…
Searching for God in the twilight on the Aegean Sea
My friend Jonathan Gaisman recently gave rise to a profound philosophical question concerning wine. Jonathan is formidably clever. He has…
Is it possible to talk about wine without sounding like a prat?
There are only two British television wine presenters taxi drivers have heard of, Jilly Goolden and Oz Clarke. Who can…
Stockbridge, Hampshire: an unexpected gastronomical haven
‘The doors clap to, the pane is blind with showers / Pass me the bottle, old lad, there’s an end of summer.’…
How blind tastings led to wine’s identity crisis
Blind tastings have baffled since ‘the Judgment of Paris’
My host’s reciprocity was almost embarrassingly generous
Peace came dropping slow. I have never regarded west Flanders as part of la France profonde, but here we were,…
Letters: The mishandled burka outrage has made it more likely that Boris will be PM
Boris mishandled Sir: Your editorial ‘Bravo Boris’ (11 August) suggests that the treatment meted out to Boris Johnson by the Prime…
Weak but stable, Theresa May is the opposite of a good claret
It is enough to make a man turn to drink. On a distinctly non-abstemious day, I was sitting in one…
Farewell to a bottle and a half per day – I have finally embarked on a diet
Are there still travelling fairs? In many villages, they used to be part of the annual round. For weeks, the…
Put your trust in Hungarian wine (yes, really)
The wines of Tokaji run like a golden thread through Hungarian history. There are references to their nectar-like quality in…
With wines as good as this, George Clooney’s house didn’t get a look in
After the Villa d’Este in Italy, other wine events seem tame
When it comes to food and wine, there’s no place like Rhône
As often, a good glass stimulated good talk. We were drinking some promising young Rhônes and the discussion ranged wide,…
The night I drank century-old champagne from a shipwreck
The night I drank century-old champagne from a shipwreck
I’m grateful for my grateful drinking friend
The phone rang. ‘You are the last person in the world I should be talking to’, proclaimed an old friend…
Is the great vintage of 2015 retreating into itself
We were pondering the relationship between military history and wine vintages. It is extraordinary to think that the French managed…
How Christmas lunch became Christmas dinner
It was a culinary triumph. My hosts do not spend much time in the UK, and are determined to entertain…
Found in a friend’s cellar — the wines of a lifetime
In longevity, great wine can march with human life. Creating (better still, maintaining) a fine cellar really is a compact…
Gender comes in fluid form
I have lost faith in British boyhood. In mixed schools, young males have failed to seize an opportunity that previous…
All’s fair in love, Waugh and wine
I was reminded of Wild West films from boyhood. Then, the beleaguered garrison scanned the horizon; would the US cavalry…
The best Rioja has lost the right to its name – thankfully
The best Rioja has lost the right to its name – thankfully
Thank Evans for Quintessentially good wine
There was an entirely forgotten leftist called Allen Ginsberg, a so-called beat poet (surely an oxymoron) who once produced a…
The best way to celebrate the past? Uncork it
I have been thinking about the Dark Ages. This has nothing to do with Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn. A…
A New World to discover
The astonishing Aussie ‘Noirs’ that rival premier cru Burgundy
The best way to view Jeremy Corbyn? Through rosé-tinted glasses
It was a typical bank holiday. Usual English weather: glorious, until you leave home without a brolly. Then fickleness supervenes…
Dear Mary: how do you excuse yourself from a dull conversation?
Q. My mother always told me that only boring people are bored. However she never got stuck at a drinks…
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