Dave’s Wine Bar: Why I think it’s a Toast the City star Toast the City Dave’s Wine Bar is one of our Toast the City finalists. Libby Brodie visits to find out what makes it such a special drinking den Dave’s Wine Bar is tucked up St James Passage, a handily central space for a glass of great wine in the City. Named for David Howden, the CEO of Howden [...]
Two of my favourite hotels for celebrating English wine Life&Style While English wine tourism continues to blossom, not every vineyard has its own accommodation. These places offer luxury lovers somewhere to stay while indulging in local wines. Chilston Park HotelAn historic estate of over 900 years, this Grade I listed, red brick country house hotel comes with 77 acres of parkland and a private lake. [...]
Wine to buy this week: The very best Pinot Noir on the shelves Life&Style Last week it was Pinot Noir Day and, though I am sorry not to have forewarned you, I can reassure you that I thoroughly celebrated and am able to recommend the best to buy right now. Pinot Noir is known as the ‘Heartbreak Grape’. It is stubborn, unpredictable, sensitive and tantrum-inducingly difficult to grow. Yet [...]
We take a food and drink Odyssey through the Square Mile August 17, 2026 As voting for the Toast the City Awards enters its final week, we sent our wine columnist Libby Brodie on a wine Odyssey through the City’s finest bars and restaurants. Vote for your favourites on our website here. As The Odyssey continues to smash records – it’s now Christopher Nolan’s highest ever grossing film – [...]
A tribute to wine legend Matthew Jukes by his friend Libby Brodie August 7, 2026 The wine writer and entrepreneur Matthew Jukes died suddenly this week aged just 58 years old. Our wine writer and his close friend Libby Brodie remembers a legend of the wine industry and beyond Matthew Jukes was one of the very best people I met in my career in wine. Scratch that, he was one [...]
Humble Grape is a wine bar like no other: Here’s its origin story August 4, 2026 Is a bar only as good as its origin story? The calibre of the drinks and service are of, of course, of vital importance but it’s the mythos of a place that gives it that je nais se quoi. Humble Grape, one of our Toast the City Awards 2026 Finalists, has one of the best [...]
For Albarino in the City, head to Humble Grape July 29, 2026 Not satisfied with one isolated national grape day, Albarino (or Alvarinho in Portugal) is about to kick off a week’s worth of celebrations from 1 August. This annual event began in the 1950s in Spain as a wine-tasting competition between local winemakers and was later made official, spreading internationally to highlight what makes this grape [...]
Greek wine perfectly suits summer. These 5 bottles are the best July 22, 2026 Get me to the Greek! My top bottles from a country that’s been a 6,000-year wine secret. Greek wine has been a local hit since around 4,500BC but it hasn’t always been a mainstay on UK wine lists. Thankfully that seems to have changed, with fresh, saline Assyrtiko and robust red Xinomavro being so de [...]
Why lighter, chilled Claret is causing a stir July 16, 2026 Bet on Claret – but the Brit fave is changing Wine has a habit of making things more complicated than they need to be. The terminology, the labelling, the annoying communicators warbling on about “mouthfeel” and describing perfectly enjoyable bottles as tasting of “tar”, “tennis balls” and that Sauvignon Blanc classic “cat’s pee”. (Sorry about [...]
Humble Grape is up for two Toast the City Awards: Here’s why July 14, 2026 We have launched the Toast the City awards 2026 and throughout the year we’ll be speaking to some of our amazing Finalists – today it’s Enya Buchenau, marketing manager at Humble Grape and Vivat Bacchus. To vote for your favourite Square Mile spots for the 2026 awards, from bars and restaurants to galleries and green [...]