Rules for entertaining with Laurent Perrier
The Christmas season is definitely upon us with snow descending across the country and the opening of advent calendars. To ease us into the party season, Laurent-Perrier held a little class on the art...
View ArticleDesserts and wines with Nancy Gilchrist MW
Leiths School of Food and Wine, famed for training professional and amateur chefs alike, has recently launched a new series of evening tasting classes. I went to its West London kitchen classroom to...
View ArticleLaurent-Perrier Tous Les Sens: A Preview
Flowers aren’t my thing. It’s all that pollen irritating my hayfever. And all that floral femininity making me feel like I have to be all girly. But flowers on a plate, it just makes me all weak at the...
View ArticleJapanese food, French wines: an evening with Luiz Hara and Bordeaux wines
French wine and Japanese food, why wouldn’t you? After all, there are some surprising similarities between French and Japanese food. Stock, for example, features prominently in both cuisines, albeit...
View ArticleDuval-Leroy at The Greenhouse Mayfair
When we think of champagne, we inevitably think of canapés; indeed, this is the most frequent mode of delivery. At a stretch, perhaps, we think of demi-sec or sec with desserts. But outside of...
View ArticleGrower Champagne, fromage and French Bubbles
It’s fast approaching Christmas and there’s one word on everyone’s minds – celebration. And nothing says celebration quite like champagne. Most of the champagnes that I’ve been drinking this year have...
View ArticleThe Chinese Wine Market: an update from Château d’Anglés
Not long ago, I attended a tasting and dinner at Ampersand Hotel focusing on Languedoc AOC in the South of France. Specifically, we tasted a selection of wines from Corbières Boutenac AOC, La Clape...
View ArticleSpotlight on: Languedoc-Roussillon
Earlier this year I went to the Languedoc-Roussillon for a tour around an eclectic mix of vineyards and wineries. Although I had written about wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon before on here and...
View ArticleAbbaye de Fontfroide, Narbonne
This is a post in the Spotlight on: Languedoc-Roussillon series The Abbaye de Fontfroid is an abbey near Narbonne that can trace its roots back to the Cistercian order. It was during the Cistercian...
View ArticleAbbaye de Valmagne, Villeveyrac
This is a post in the Spotlight on: Languedoc-Roussillon series Abbaye de Valmagne can trace its history all the way back to the 12th Century when it was founded under the Benedictine order before its...
View ArticleDomaine Cazes, Rivesaltes
This is a post in the Spotlight on: Languedoc-Roussillon series Domaine Cazes is a bridge between history and modernity in many respects. The family owned wine company can trace its history back to...
View ArticleChâteau de Flaugergues, Montpellier
This is a post in the Spotlight on: Languedoc-Roussillon series Château de Flaugergues is more grand palatial home than working winery. The first thing to welcome you on site is the courtyard with a...
View ArticleChâteau de Lastours, Portel-des-Corbières
This is a post in the Spotlight on: Languedoc-Roussillon series Château de Lastours is in a state of development. And with some 800 hectares of land, it has a lot of developing to do. That’s one of the...
View ArticleA short tasting of Charles Heidsieck
This is part two of two on Charles Heidsieck and the art of sabrage. If sabrage is your way of introduction to the Champagnes of Charles Heidsieck, then you’re already off to a good start. Even better...
View ArticleLouis XIII and cigars
As far as cognac goes, Louis XIII de Rémy Martin is pretty iconic. I’m not just saying that because they retail to the tune of £2,000 a bottle, though they do, but because it’s one of those cognacs...
View ArticleChâteau de l’Hospitalet, Narbonne
This is a post in the Spotlight on: Languedoc-Roussillon series Château de l’Hospitalet is just one of the seven wine estates owned by former French rugby player Gérard Bertrand. If you’re not a rugby...
View ArticleChâteau Les Carrasses, Quarante
This is a post in the Spotlight on: Languedoc-Roussillon series Château Les Carrasses was a 19th Century wine domaine. I say was because although the main château has been fairly faithfully restored,...
View ArticleChâteau Mourgues du Grès, Beaucaire
This is a post in the Spotlight on: Languedoc-Roussillon series If you’ve ever ridden a train from Nîmes to Beaucaire, the chances are the vineyards that you’ve spotted along the way belonged to...
View ArticleSpotlight on: Bergerac
With the success of the, still on-going, Spotlight on: Languedoc-Roussillon series, I thought I would expand that into some of the other wine regions I’ve visited. Most recently, that was Bergerac....
View ArticleChâteau de Pennautier, Pennautier
This is a post in the Spotlight on: Languedoc-Roussillon series As with many grand houses that began in the Middle Ages, building of the house of Château de Pennautier happened in several stages. Given...
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