Recent Posts
Earlier this month, Perrier Jouet was in town to launch their 2005 Belle Epoque Rose Limited Edition bottle by Vik Muniz. The launch was at one of my favourite venues in London, The Gherkin. No matter how many times I’ve been to the top, it never fails to impress me. There may be taller buildings in London but the tip top of...
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The last days of summer are upon us but that doesn’t mean you have to automatically switch to red wine. As they say, it’s ok to drink white after Labor Day (well, that’s what they say in the States). Earlier this summer I visited the Vinho Verde region in the north east of Portugal where they make great wines,...
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I know a place just a few minutes walk from Earls Court tube station that is a quiet haven in this traffic chocked, pedestrian clogged part of London. It doesn’t seem to matter what time of day or even what day, but there always seems to be masses of people in and around Earls Court. Which is why it was such a surprise as...
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Recently I had lunch with Humberto Jardim, the managing director of Henriques & Henriques, one of the oldest producers of Madeira, the house being founded in 1850. Madeira has a long and distinguished history but nowadays consumers only consider it when they are cooking which is a shame as there is so much more to Madeira. Over...
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When one thinks of premium Bordeaux, the discount supermarket Lidl does not spring to mind. But Lidl is working hard to change that perception with the launch this Autumn of their ‘premium’ range of wines. The range will not only include Bordeaux wines but also wines from other prestigious French wine regions. Lidl are...
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You know the old saying, ‘I love cooking with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food’? Well, that was kinda what a recent cooking lesson with Babich Wines at the Underground Cookery School was like recently! It was great fun and I managed to leave the event with all my fingers intact despite the fact that I was...
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Champagne just seems to be coming out of my ears at the moment (not a bad thing in my opinion). Earlier this week I attended an informal tasting with Frederic Panaiotis, cellar master of the house. It was the first tasting of the 2004 Dom Ruinart Blanc de blanc in the UK so we all felt very priviledged. Fred came bounding into the...
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Last night I became a Chevalier sabreur. You might be wondering what that is? Basically I can now perform sabrage or decapitate a bottle of champagne with a sabre. I don’t usually carry a sabre around but you never know… The bottle decapitations or “sabrage” as it’s formally known dates back to...
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Rosé always make me think of beachy holidays but you don’t have to jump on a plane to get that holiday feeling. Rosé d’Anjou might not be as well known as its cousin to the south, Provence, but it’s an excellent and delicious summer time wine. Although it can be off-dry in flavour not all rosé d’Anjou is, as...
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I was recently invited to a Sake and Spice dinner at Moti Mahal in Covent Garden. I was intrigued by the whole concept of sake with Indian cuisine because when I think of curry, sake does not immediately spring to mind. However, the dinner was a real eye opener. Below is the menu: ...
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