Dining Diary: Whitcomb’s at The Londoner February 25, 2022 Typically associated with gaudy tourist traps, Leicester Square is now home to the bone-achingly cool The Londoner, a hotel which is saved from being intimidatingly chic by the excellence of its warmly welcoming staff. Attention to detail is the name of the game here from the witty selection of art to the Italian Murano glass [...]
British wine is flying high: Here are some of the best November 3, 2021 It is time to drink patriotically because business is booming for British wines. The pandemic did little to slow the growth; in fact wine sales went up by 30 per cent and last year we planted 1.4m new vines. This green, little island of ours now boasts around 800 vineyards and 178 wineries, though England [...]
Harlot: The inside story of England’s most controversial new wine August 24, 2021 Harlot. Whatever that word brings to mind, it’s probably not an English sparkling wine recently launched by MDCV, which is causing consternation among wine circles. Harlot’s “playful branding” involves sticking “two fingers up at the status quo” and “refus[ing] to conform”. So is this the Pussy Riot of the wine world? Not according to those [...]
One of the world’s finest wines is Kent’s Squerryes 2011 Brut August 16, 2021 Get ready for something seriously tasty to tickle your tastebuds. Over 18,000 wines were blind-tasted at the largest, most renowned wine competition internationally, The Decanter Awards. The Judges then allocated the select few winners Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum medals, but this is not the pinnacle. Get ready to feel patriotic. Of those 18,000 wines, [...]
Bringing these wines will make you the perfect dinner party guest August 3, 2021 “Freedom Day” has come and gone and invitations to dinner parties, garden gatherings and long luncheons have come flooding in. It is the “done thing” to bring a bottle for your dinner party host but this can be tricky when you have no idea what is on the menu. If you cannot pair the wine [...]
Winemaker Gusbourne necks strong revenue despite hospitality restrictions June 7, 2021 Winemaker Gusbourne has reaped the benefits of lockdown wine nights this past year, despite the hospitality group battling lower trading sales. The group’s net revenue rose by 28 per cent to £2.11m, up from £1.65m the year before the pandemic pushed people’s social lives to their sofas. The winemaker’s share’s lifted 1.22 per cent in [...]
Rosé-all-day : Why it’s time to get serious about this fun wine May 7, 2021 Spring is in the air, terraces have opened up and despite what the rain gods may think, rosé season is upon us! But what is a rosé? And why are red and white wines defined by grape or region like Cabernet Sauvignons or Chablis, yet we lump all rosés together under that one umbrella term? [...]
The age of the staycation: Why you should visit… Guildford May 4, 2021 Welcome to the golden age of the staycation. Last week rail bookings trebled, with the most popular getaway destinations being Margate, Weymouth, Brighton, Inverness, Cambridge, Bournemouth and Guildford. The latter can be reached in little over half an hour from Waterloo. But what is the secret to Guildford’s popularity? The County town of Surrey and [...]
The best of wine tourism within day-trip distance of London April 15, 2021 The warm sun on my back, I sip a delicious glass of wine looking across a sweeping vista of vines with the rolling green countryside stretched out before me towards – yes, could that possibly be? – the distant sparkle of the sea and a blue-sky horizon. Have I thrown lockdown travel precautions to the [...]
Wines to swap for your Euro faves when No Deal Brexit bites October 28, 2020 With Brexit talks coming to a head, the Great British wine drinking prowess may prove to be a key negotiating tool. Winemakers are lobbying leaders across the Block to soften their stance in face of serious hurdles getting their plonk into our glasses. Currently over £2.2bn of wine is imported into the UK from the [...]