IN MY little black book of drinks . . . picnics, garden parties and casual cook-outs are a fusion of one magical ingredient – a refreshing bottle for everyday drinking that's food-friendly and engaging.Read
I HAVEN’T been overwhelmed with the year so far. The nation seems to be in the melancholic grip of an inevitable dystopia, exacerbated by this unruly, terrifying cold. Read
SO, THERE you have it. Gone. Quicker than Michael Knight off on another lonely crusade, our petulant summer has finally stopped teasing us, put on its Burberry coat and flown the coop.Read
TO QUOTE a friend of mine – “What's that big yellow ball in the sky? Stone me, it's the sun . . . in summer . . . brilliant!” Yes, folks, my years of burning old fridges and driving to work on an aerosol-propelled, 18-wheeled, 30-ton, lizard-shaped juggernaut have finally paid off – my name is summer, and I am funky.Read
THE sun is shining. Unbelievable; I have barely managed to recover from some serious winter debauchery and I'm having to deal with outrageous bank holiday madness. It is a tough and thankless task that I have undertaken this year, venturing into previously uncharted territories in search of the most splendid plonk known to mankind.Read
I DON’T like change. I don’t like change and I particularly despise change that might be good for me, my fellow earthlings or the universe as a whole.Read
AS WINTER becomes spring, death into life and all that, your intrepid sommelier has come over feeling all phoenix – Simon Phoenix that is, the baddie in Demolition Man.Read
A NEW year and all of my resolutions are still intact. That said, the only one that you, my fellow wine aficionados, need to be concerned about is that, this year, I shall be embarking on a journey to seek out new wines, to discover new civilised libations, to bawdily go where no one has been for at least a week or two.Read
I’M NOT sure if it’s an autumn thing but I’ve been feeling very philosophical of late. Us wine chappies have a penchant for flowery introspection from time to time, but these past few weeks I’ve been a lot more concerned with the workings of the cosmos than one would normally expect from such a belly button ponderer (sic) as myself.Read
IT’S A hard life – scouring the world, seeking out new wines, new civilisations, boldly going where no Sloane has gone before. Occasionally, this arduous and thankless task is made easier by thoughtful types who bully a load of wine merchants to gather under one, nearby roof and make them give us gallons of wine to taste.Read
THE North. A terrifying place frequented by stag parties, hen parties, Viking marauders, rabid dogs, drunken Wags and other nightmare-inducing characters that would sooner eat you alive and pimp out your grandmother than share a nice glass of wine over a decent dinner – or so I’m told by herbal tea- drinking types busy worrying about the rainforests while holding on to the monstrous Saturday edition of their favourite newspaper.Read
I’M STARTING to feel that this summer couldn’t get any worse. Gladiators is back on our screens, Big Brother seems to get longer every year, the "credit crunch" has left most of my clients with a face that could sink a thousand tall ships, and if I see the "c" word – the one that rhymes with vulture – pinned onto another irrelevant and cynical venture, I’m liable to explode in a tirade of long-lost expletives that could curdle cement and seriously upset my butler.Read
DERREN BROWN - you’ve got to love the guy. Any geezer who looks like a cross between Penfold, Michael Keaton and my mate Dave, yet has the power to convince some fat bloke from Nuneaton he has the combined mental power of Stephen Hawking, all of the Eggheads and that wily old mathematrix Carol Vorderman, must be worth hanging around with for a few days.Read
THERE is trouble afoot. Slipping in under the radar which protects everything I hold sacred is a clandestine movement of heretics, haphazardly dashing about in dodgy anoraks proclaiming a new dawn, a new way of life, a changing of the guard.Read
THE sun has been shining, our bars and cafes have been breaking out the nasty silver chairs, it's time to pretend we're European for a bit and break out the summer plonk.Read
SPRING. Yeah, right. I was going to furnish you with some smart tipple to kick off the barbecue season, but I don't think a delicate bottle of Riesling is going to be fend off the apocalyptic weather that is doing its utmost best to tear apart our soon to be beautiful city with all the fervour and intent of a last-ditch Carragher tackle.Read
SPRING – it’s pretty much here. Amid the earthquakes, gale-force winds and apocalyptic downpours, I’ve spied a few slivers of sunshine fighting their way through the steel and concrete jungle of our ever-growing city centre.Read
TO ALL you fellas out there, planning NOT to do anything for Valentine’s Day, allow me to paint a picture to you of a sorry day that I’m hoping to help you to avoid.Read
HAPPY New Year! And for those of you who have been slaving away making Christmas happen for other people, or picking up the pieces of their annual debauchery – welcome to January, I’m sure you’ve earned it.Read
TALK about a hectic month! I don't think I've ever endured such a fantastic quaffing schedule, some very, very good wines have been sampled by your selfless sommelier, in my never-ending quest to unearth "the finest wines known to humanity".Read
