Why Tasmania is Australia’s overlooked wine destination February 26, 2025 It was only four years ago I was served a glass of House of Arras, an exceptional sparkling wine, full of crystalline precision and refined fizz. I was surprised to hear it was from Tasmania. Before then, I knew very little about wines from this region. London is the most exciting marketplace for wine in [...]
Why The Gallivant is a wine-lover’s happy place February 25, 2025 Oh, The Gallivant, how I love you. I would say “let me count the ways” but there would be too many for this column’s wordcount. Despite my loving almost any excuse for a celebration, Valentines Day has not cut the proverbial mustard enough times and it has lost its lustre. Going out means sitting elbow [...]
When drinking wine can actually be good for you February 18, 2025 At a recent event, a gentleman humbly recounted a story to me. He had been boasting of his impressive collection of Chateauneuf du Pape to a wine merchant, but upon revealing the vintages, he was dismayed to be told that all these prized bottles would now be past their best and he should have drunk [...]
Dancing the Brave Goose to Britney February 12, 2025 MY FRIEND Lela is wild, heaps of fun and always seems to be doing something exciting with her time. One evening I casually liked her Instagram story in which she was strutting her stuff at a dance class, and found myself agreeing to join her for the next one. SOS Dance pitch themselves as “The [...]
The Best Wine List in London February 11, 2025 STOP the press! I have found it! The golden fleece of gastronomy. This is the best wine list in London. Now, admittedly, I have not tried every single wine list in our sprawling capital but given my proclivities, I have tried a great many – and rarely, if ever, have I found one as beguiling, [...]
From Rapid Tapping to mindful drinking with Poppy Delbridge February 5, 2025 I AM ALWAYS looking for ways to balance wine and wellness, to discover new ways to embrace a healthy lifestyle while enjoying a tipple. So when Poppy Delbridge invited me to her Rapid Tapping session at the refurbished Kensington Roof Gardens, I jumped at the chance. Rapid Tapping is nothing to do with getting your [...]
BEST PINK FIZZ TO SHOW YOUR LOVE TO YOUR VALENTINE February 4, 2025 VALENTINES’ Day approaches, so which bottle are you going to whip out for your partner, lover, or friend-with-benefits? There is something classically romantic about a pink sparkling wine and those two qualities just happen to be undergoing a rise in popularity in the UK. Rosé Champagne dates back to the late 18th Century, though there [...]
Libby’s Naked Diary: How I created a limited edition wine with amazing artist Nigel Stefani January 29, 2025 MY FRIEND, Nigel Stefani, is the least likely looking ‘Nigel’ you could meet. A muscular, tattooed, shaven-headed chap, invariably dressed in all-black with smoky black eyeliner and a dusky melodic voice. I picked him up at The Bike Shed, a biker bar in Shoreditch, one New Year’s Eve. Platonically that is, though my opening line [...]
What you should be pouring in time for the Six Nations January 28, 2025 IT SEEMS like every retired Rugby player has a keen interest in wine. Former England player Andrew Sheridan achieved a wine Diploma and filmed a series with me in the Rhone; Brian Moore became a wine writer and critic; Mike Tindall launched The Rugby Wine Club; and Joe Marler had me on his podcast, Things [...]
Libby’s Naked Diary: The joy of a Burns Night Highland fling January 22, 2025 IT IS Burns Night this Saturday, the annual celebration of the life, poetry and birthday of Scottish superstar Robert Burns, when even the most tenuous links to Scottish ancestry are upheld with haggis, bagpipes and whisky. I can claim a grandfather from the Highlands and am therefore preparing to party with all three. What, however, [...]