Chelsea Vintners founder on sourcing £37K wine for London clients September 21, 2023 Following a successful international career, Cecily Chappel heads up Chelsea Vintners, wine merchants serving private clients looking to build the best wine collection they can. WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO WINE? The first photo of me is at my Christening with a bottle of Bollinger. My father was keen on Bordeaux and Burgundy. Every Sunday lunch [...]
‘Like a Burgundy that’s hit the gym’: Rugby World Cup players on their favourite wine September 20, 2023 The Rugby World Cup is in full swing and though wine pairs with almost everything, it is especially good with rugby. In my wine career I have been surprised by how many professional rugby players love it, collect it, and even get into the wine industry themselves. When filming a series in the Rhone one [...]
Top London bars to drink organic wine September 5, 2023 September has been deemed Organic Month, so it seems only fitting to talk about the trend for organic wines. The idea of organic wine used to be met with suspicion – but those funky tasting bottles are thankfully a thing of the past. Now we have widely available, quality organic, biodynamic and natural wines, although [...]
Best places in London to drink wine by the glass August 26, 2023 There have been many reports about the trend for reducing alcohol in-take, particularly among Gen Z and younger. As a wine lover and professional I can never fully support tee-totalism (unless for medical reasons) but what I can get on board with is the ethos of drinking less but drinking better. Gone are the days [...]
Jersey: the UK island an hour’s flight from London that feels totally foreign August 14, 2023 Jersey, an hour’s flight away, feels like a true escape, finds Libby Brodie THE WEEKEND: Famed for its blue waters and creamy fudge, Jersey is the charming British island only an hour’s flight from London. It’s popular with families, foodies and anyone craving sun and sea on their staycation. Only being 14 miles away, [...]
Five amazing wines to buy this August August 9, 2023 CANDOVER BROOK BRUT £37 CANDOVERBROOK.CO.UKBursting onto the English wine scene with a gold medal from the International Wine Challenge and Best Newcomer at the Wine GB Awards, Candover Brook is one to watch. This sparkling Brut is beautifully balanced with a delicate fruity, floral finesse. ISOLE E OLENA CEPPARELLO 2020 £80 BERRY BROS & RUDDAn [...]
Humble Grape’s founder on the best London restaurants to book now August 9, 2023 Arriving in the UK from South Africa with £50 in his pocket, James Dawson spent three nights sleeping rough on a park bench after his planned job in social work was cancelled. Now he is the founder and owner of Humble Grape with six locations across London and last year purchased the South African restaurant [...]
The best party wines, from Ibiza to St Tropez and Santorini August 7, 2023 Each summer certain places draw epicureans and hedonists like a magnet. Crystalline waters, blue skies and beaming sunshine are all very well but as the beautiful people recline upon their beach beds, dance under the stars and dine under glorious sunsets, what I want to know is: what wine are they drinking? St Tropez held [...]
Carmen Stevens on philanthropy, wine and South Africa July 26, 2023 The first black South African to study winemaking in South Africa, Carmen Stevens owns the first black-owned winery in the country and, aided by her partnership with Naked Wines in the UK, provides meals to 25,000 hungry school children in Stellenbosch each year through ‘Carmen’s Kids’. WHAT GOT YOU INTO WINE? Wine has a lot [...]
Secret cheese and wine pairings to amaze dinner party guests July 26, 2023 You will all, I assume, have yesterday been celebrating one of the highlights of the British calendar: National Cheese and Wine Day. Other than being an amazing excuse to eat loads of cheese and drink loads of wine, the day was also the perfect opportunity to ask my cheesemonger friend about the secrets behind the [...]