Yesterday’s lunch at Kew’s Glasshouse restaurant was everything a fine dining experience should be. One of the problems I have in assessing restaurants is that most of the time I’m…
The Natural Wine Fair in London
A last minute plug for the Natural Wine Fair, which is coming to London from Sunday to Tuesday. This is a brilliant opportunity to try some fabulously diverse and interesting…
Lunch with Frank Cornelissen and his fabulous Etna wines
Yesterday’s lunch was special. It was a chance to catch up with Frank Cornelissen (above), a winegrower from Sicily’s Mount Etna, over lunch at Hibiscus. Frank works as naturally as…
Video: Benoit Gouez introduces Moet & Chandon’s new Ice Imperial
I caught up with Moet & Chandon’s chef du cave Benoit Gouez, who was in town to launch a new Champagne. It’s Ice Imperial, a Champagne made with the intention…
Natural wines with Doug at Brawn
Had a tremendous evening last night with Doug Wregg at Brawn, out in the wilds of E2 (near Bethnal Green and Hoxton). It was my first visit to Brawn, which,…
Video: on the Hermitage hill
Here’s a short film of the wonderful hill of Hermitage: a relatively small appellation of 123 hectares, of which 25 are white grapes (mainly Marsanne), the remainder Syrah. It’s amazing…
Port: why the Symingtons didn’t declare in 2009
Following up from my write-up of the 2009 Vintage Port declaration, Paul Symington contacted me to explain why the Symingtons didn’t make a widespread declaration of the 2009s, which I’m…
Ponce’s Pino: a wonderful natural Bobal
I’m really impressed by the portfolio of Spanish wines that UK agency business Indigo Wine has put together. Agents like this, who are run by people who love wine, are…
The 2009 Vintage Ports from Fonseca, Taylor’s and Croft
Went to a very interesting tasting this morning. It was the declaration tasting of the Vintage Ports from the Fladgate Group: Taylor’s, Fonseca and Croft. I really liked them. These…