Lessons in wine: Your plonk smells off? Don’t blame the cork October 6, 2015 "This wine is corked" is a statement I hear a lot, used pejoratively to describe any wine with a fault. It’s usually an unfounded accusation. There are several innocent non-faults that are considered signs of corkage, including: • Cloudy wine, generally found in mature wine once sediment has been disrupted. • Bubbles in red wines, [...]
Restaurant review: Sauterelle is elaborate, confident and fun October 6, 2015 Sauterelle Royal Exchange, EC3V 3LR FOOD ★★★★☆ VALUE ★★★☆☆ ATMOSPHERE ★★★☆☆ Cost for two with wine: £180 October is the month that most of us turn our central heating back on. I heard this on a news bulletin last week and thought: good on you for squeezing such a banal piece of information onto a national radio broadcast. [...]
Coffee psychology: how everything from the colour of the cup to the sounds of the café can affect how your coffee tastes October 6, 2015 Want a better tasting coffee? Just whip the lid off, stick your beak in and have a smell. Because whether you’re drinking in Costa Rica or in Costa Coffee, you’re tasting your coffee long before it ever touches your lips. Everything from smells, colours, shapes and sounds can affect how you perceive what’s sloshing around [...]
Querciabella: The Super Tuscan wine that caused a diplomatic stir October 1, 2015 Querciabella has a special place in the hearts of wine lovers, yet its wines are a matter of vexation for French ambassadors and with good reason. The award-winning winery makes a range of seven distinct wines that reflect the rich diversity of Tuscan terroir, including its flagship red wine Camartina, which, as a Super Tuscan [...]
Working Lunch: One Sixty City September 30, 2015 Melissa York on the best places to eat during office hours in the City and Canary Wharf One Sixty City 9 Stoney lane, E1 WHAT? A slick American smokehouse for suits who love to eat meat. And we mean a lot of meat. Ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork and steak is the order [...]
The British love affair with Bordeaux is here to stay September 26, 2015 The UK has traditionally been a nation of claret-lovers, dating as far back as the 12th century when Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry Plantagenet. Eager to please his French subjects, King Henry II decreed that any ship sailing from Bordeaux would be exempt from export tax. By the 14th century, England, Scotland and Ireland were [...]
Lessons in wine: A leisurely stroll through the sublime Medoc region September 22, 2015 Those who love Bordeaux will know that the Left Bank is Cabernet Sauvignon territory while the Right Bank is dominated by Merlot. My apologies to readers who are loyal to the wines of the Right, but today I want to delve further into the wines of the Left. The likes of Petrus and Cheval Blanc [...]
Chutney Mary restaurant review September 22, 2015 Chutney Mary 73 St James’s St, SW1A 1PH FOOD ★★★★☆ VALUE ★★☆☆☆ ATMOSPHERE ★★★★☆ Cost for two with wine: £210 All over the country, people are eating. They’re putting food in their mouths and grinding it into a paste for their digestive tracts to deal with at a later date. In lots of cases, they’re not even preparing [...]
Behold: the City finally has a mixologists’ bar September 22, 2015 I hate to be the one to break it to you, but the Square Mile isn’t a great place for cocktails. Sure, you can now get them in most bars (and even some pubs), but most aren’t worth the lemon they’re garnished with. I think it’s a supply and demand thing. Perhaps understandably, the City [...]
Working Lunch: Le Restaurant de Paul at Tower 42 September 22, 2015 WHAT? The name might bring take-out paninis to mind, but Le Restaurant de Paul is actually the celebrated boulangerie’s second expansion into breakfast, lunch and evening dining. A roomy wine and cocktail bar separates the café from the dining room, the final clue that you’re in no ordinary Paul. WHERE? Paul takes pride of place [...]