Last year, in an attempt to channel my inner Neal Martin, I gave the world The Vine Inspiration Wine and Music awards – sales of promotional stickers were surprisingly slow (that’s how these… Continue reading
If sheer contentment is a measure of quality, recent meals in Brawn stand head and shoulders above every other restaurant visit this year. Faye Maschler once suggested that if she could, she would… Continue reading
I’m a little obsessed with suitcase wine – wine that you stuff into your Samsonite swaddled with socks to ensure safe passage home from your travels. This isn’t about saving a few quid; oddities… Continue reading
There have been two constants in my life over the past fortnight – COS Frappato and Jamie XX’s new album: In Colour. And both will make your summer immeasurably better! For some reason, COS… Continue reading
It’s ingrained on every Irish kid’s memory – the smoked Irish salmon stuffed in your suitcase as a present to your host family in Europe during a cultural exchange. When the French kids… Continue reading
In what must surely rank as the most overdue blog post of all time, I’m finally getting around to writing about a last year’s Monteraponi wine dinner in Il Vicoletto, Temple Bar, Dublin. The… Continue reading
People often quip that I’m a bit of a ‘supermarket wine basher’. I’m searching for exciting and delicious wines and, with few exceptions, I’ve yet to find these in a supermarket. Complexity is… Continue reading
I have Barolo tastes but beer pockets. It’s a big problem, particularly for the 2010 vintage, whose long cool growing season has critics salivating over its classic wines. Indeed, Antonio Galloni of Vinous has described 2010 as… Continue reading
Earlier this year I read a very interesting series of articles from Alfonso Cevola on his blog “On The Wine Trail In Italy” about his own personal strategies for collecting Italian wine. Ostensibly… Continue reading
If you are a regular reader you’ll already know my love for all things Castello di Potentino. For some unknown reason though, 2014 hasn’t seen much Potentino action in my house, a fact… Continue reading
