Month: December, 2013

Lightweight wines and heavyweight oxen go head to head in Piedmont

Forget mince pies and mulled wine. In the Piedmontese town of Carrù, ’tis the season for berry-bright Dolcetto and tripe, finds David Berry Green What’s the link between an overweight ox, il bue grasso, celebrated annually by the Piedmontese town of Carrù, and the slender (dare I say lightweight?) Dolcetto wine made by our newest […]

Rhône 2012: an Audrey Hepburn of a vintage

Much has changed since Simon Field MW, our Rhône buyer, first started to select the region’s wines for our list. Here he reports on 2012 – a vintage that’s more Audrey than Marilyn Monroe, he says. Our annual Autumnal pilgrimage to the Rhône Valley used to be quite a modest affair; we would arrive in […]

Christmas markets fit for a king

If you’re heading to Europe’s Christmas markets this year, our spirits specialist Ronnie Cox has an essential item for your packing list… As I wandered with some local friends through the Christmas Market in Frankfurt last weekend,marvelling at the delights of the Christmas produce, I recalled that John Knox was once sent here on the […]

We have lift off!

Food critic Giles Coren loved it. The Telegraph’s Charles Spencer loathed it. With an open mind and a healthy appetite, Ellie Foulkes takes on the Royal Court Theatre’s sell-out culinary adventure, Gastronauts It’s a Tuesday evening and I’m standing with 59 people in a low-lit room, surrounded by flashing lights and ghostly voices. Through a […]