Les Crêtes – Petite Arvine – An Ode to Joy You could be forgiven for assuming that the Les Crêtes winery, run by the Charrère family, is French. In fact, this is an Italian producer based in the Valle d’Aosta, the autonomous Italian region bordering France and Switzerland. For many, the Aosta Valley provides the first experience of Italy when …
Garda is evolving – What’s new in Garda DOC?
Garda is evolving – What’s new in Garda DOC? Regular readers of these pages will recall that I visited Lake Garda last year. This was to explore the Garda DOC appellation at their annual Garda Wine Stories event. You can read about this in a two-part article here and here. Part 1 was about Lake Garda and the role of …
Parusso 100 Mesi Extra Brut – Ancient Yet Contemporary
Parusso 100 Mesi Extra Brut – Ancient Yet Contemporary The Parusso estate is at Monforte d’Alba, with a stellar reputation for great Barolo DOCG, one of the world’s greatest red wines. Meanwhile, Monforte d’Alba is one of the major wine villages of the Barolo DOCG. It has previously featured on these pages several times, and is one of my favourite …
Ronchi di Castelluccio in Romagna
Ronchi di Castelluccio in Romagna Ronchi di Castelluccio is a boutique winery at Modigliana, on the hillsides of Romagna in Italy. When the opportunity to try their flagship wines arose, no further encouragement was necessary. This wasn’t just because of high-quality or because the wines of Romagna deserve better recognition abroad. In fact, it was a way to revisit this …
Vegetarian Haggis – It’s Not so Offal
Vegetarian Haggis – It’s Not so Offal Vegetarian Haggis? A contradiction in terms. Hold on, not so fast. In the early 1990s, while staying in the Bruntsfield area of Edinburgh, we happened by chance on Macsween’s butcher’s shop. It was there that the late John Macsween built his reputation as a premier Haggis maker. On entering, we discovered his Vegetarian …
Ben Ryé Meets Westmorland Pepper Cake for WOTY 25
Ben Ryé Meets Westmorland Pepper Cake for WOTY 2025 Welcome to the Wine Alchemy Wine of the Year (WOTY) award for 2025. This year, it is also part of the occasional series that pairs Wine with Cake. This year’s WOTY is Ben Ryé, one of the world’s greatest sweet wines, and a true masterpiece. Here it pairs with Westmorland Pepper …
Peace for Christmas 2025
Peace for Christmas 2025 An alternative Christmas Carol wishing you Peace for Christmas 2025 As I walk through this wicked world Searching for light in the darkness of insanity I ask myself, is all hope lost? Is there only pain and hatred and misery? And each time I feel like this inside There’s one thing I wanna know What’s …
Rosé Champagne for summer drinking
Rosé Champagne for summer drinking In his book, The Pleasures of Life, Sir John Lubbock wrote this. “Rest is not idleness, and to sometimes lie on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time,” To which I …
Marmite Brussels Sprouts Recipe
Marmite Brussels Sprouts Recipe Following quickly on from the recently republished memoir on Brussels Sprouts, it was high time they returned in a new article. This time, they feature in a simple, quick recipe combined with Marmite. Wow, two favourite food items together at last! Marmite Brussels Sprouts is a wonderful festive combination of two ingredients that people either love …
Brussels sprouts – my melancholy memoir
Brussels sprouts – my melancholy memoir Given that it’s Christmas-tide, it’s time to visit Brussels sprouts. Their incredible history intertwines with mine. On arrival We arrived late one autumn Sunday afternoon after a seemingly interminable journey. As we got out of the car in Potton market square, we were assaulted by a pervasive sulphurous stench. Later, I would come to recognise …