Jonathan Ray is The Spectator’s drinks editor.
Join us for an intimate and exclusive Spectator lunch at Chapel Down’s vineyards and winery in Kent. On your visit you will be accompanied by Chapel Down’s head winemaker, Josh Donaghay-Spire, and The Spectator’s drinks editor, Jonathan Ray. Chapel Down is England’s leading wine producer, offering a world-class range of sparkling and still wines, together
Join us in the Spectator boardroom on Tuesday 12 April for the next in this year’s series of Spectator Winemaker lunches with Beltrán Domecq, President of the Consejo Regulador de D.O. Jerez/Sherry. Sherry is undergoing a remarkable resurgence and is as popular in the trendiest of Britain’s cocktail bars as it is in the new Spanish restaurants, tapas bars and
If the daffs outside my window are anything to go by and the robin busily building its nest in the ivy, spring is almost here. And thanks to Private Cellar, we have the perfect wines with which to greet it. At great prices too, with up to £2 a bottle lopped off. Not only that,
I’m one of those sad folk who rather likes airline food. On those rare occasions I get to turn left, of course, never when I get to turn right. Don’t be daft. And now that they are finally taking it seriously, I rather like airline wine. Food and drink might only be ninth or tenth
Q. What does méthode traditionelle mean on a wine label? It is the process (sometimes known as Méthode Champenoise) by which champagne and other top-quality sparkling wines are made, the bubbles being caused by a secondary fermentation in bottle. It distinguishes such wines from those sparklers such as Prosecco made by other cheaper methods. Q. It’s
We had a fine Spectator Winemaker Dinner just before Christmas, hosted by the inimitable Richard Geoffroy, Chef de Cave at the equally inimitable Dom Pérignon. Richard brought with him ample amounts of his spectacular fizz: the 2005, the 2004 Rosé and the P2 1998. We ate and drank royally and there wasn’t a person there
Ok, so first things first. Jeremy Clark didn’t fall overboard after all. He did, though, dance all night every night (almost), have everyone in stitches and host a rip-roaring High Life vs Low Life pub quiz. He even wore a fez with unexpected aplomb. Taki forwent the delights of his own High Life to join
Peter Gago, the exuberant head winemaker at Penfolds, producer of Australia’s most celebrated and garlanded wine, Grange, was in fine form at our recent Spectator Winemaker Dinner held at the Marylebone Hotel. Peter was generosity itself, too, bringing with him a spectacular array of Penfolds wines, including Bin 51 Eden Valley Riesling, Yattarna Chardonnay, Bin
The disarming thing about Jason Yapp is that he’s always on such good form. I can’t remember meeting anyone who loves his job so much and who brims with quite so much bonhomie. We tasted the wines for this offer a few days before he headed to Vinisud, the vast Languedoc-Roussillon wine fair held each
Berry Bros & Rudd is the grand old man of St. James’s, family-owned and still trading from the very spot it in which it was established in 1698. Berrys’ has the most innovative and informative website of any wine merchant, anywhere in the world, and boasts an unrivalled seven Masters of Wine. Corney & Barrow
Buying wine in a restaurant can be both an uplifting and a dispiriting experience. Uplifting because you are very likely to come across wonderful wines you just won’t find anywhere else, wines chosen specifically to suit the style and food of the chef, with a highly trained sommelier on hand to proffer genuine and useful
Mrs Ray and I took the train the other day. All the way from Ashford to Marseille – direct. And it was absolute bliss. I booked it on a whim, Eurostar having recently launched their new direct route from St Pancras to the Côte d’Azur, just to see whether we could fall in love with
When I was last in Perth – more than ten years ago – it was well and truly shut. There was nobody around, nothing to see and nothing to do. I was bored to screams and couldn’t wait to leave. Back then, Perth used to bang on proudly not only about its 19 beaches and
They’re a crafty bunch at FromVineyardsDirect.com and no mistake. One of their smartest wheezes is to ferret out, very discreetly, small parcels of surplus production from the top — and I mean the top — châteaux of Bordeaux and sell them on to their customers at extremely reasonable prices. These ‘defrocked’ wines (as they like to call them) are made from
Well, that’s January done and dusted. Phew! An immense relief, I’m sure, for all those clinging to the wagon by their fingertips. But pity the poor souls about to give up booze for Lent; it starts this coming Wednesday (10 February) and goes on all the way till 24 March. Best get some decent wine
Once in a while, you stumble upon a restaurant that unexpectedly hits the spot perfectly. It’s unlikely to be pricey or smart, and very likely to be cheap and cheerful. It might be well-known to everyone except you or – much more likely – the well-kept secret of a select few. It probably doesn’t look that
Well, that’s January done and dusted. Phew! An immense relief, I’m sure, for all those clinging to the wagon by their fingertips. But pity the poor souls about to give up booze for Lent; it starts this coming Wednesday (10 February) and goes on all the way till 24 March. Best get some decent wine
I don’t know about you, but I was rather crushed when the Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies, declared that none of us should be drinking more than 14 units of alcohol a week. It was only a few days ago that we chaps were permitted 21. I can’t say that I’ve exactly taken Dame
Much has already been written about The Spectator’s notorious spin around the Med this summer on board Cunard’s Queen Victoria, and there’s nothing much I can add except to confirm that, yes, we did indeed have a complete and utter hoot. In fact such a complete and utter hoot was it that once we’re
It’s already started — the festive flood of shoddy champagne on BOGOF deals in the supermarkets. Well, BOGOF indeed. Such fizz might bear the magical name of champagne, but all too often these wines will have been made from the second or even third pressing of inferior fruit from the less good plots, and aged
