Tag Archives: Champagne

What next for English wine?

Posted on 27/06/2020 by Henry

It’s English Wine Week so as good a time as any to post this thing that I wrote for the Observer earlier this year for an advertorial spot sponsored by Tesco. Don’t let that put you off, as they pretty … Continue reading →

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World of Booze returns

Posted on 28/12/2019 by Henry

Merry Christmas! Here’s a picture of what I drank over the festive period. Obviously, we drank a lot more than this but these were the highlights: But I’m not writing to show off the fine booze consumed. Well, I am … Continue reading →

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This Week I’m Drinking. . . . Chalkdown Sparkling Cider

Posted on 11/10/2017 by Henry

This is the cider I’ve been waiting for. I’ve been interested in cider (or cyder perhaps) since 2010 when I started reading about how high quality high strength sparkling ciders were made in the 17th century by men such as … Continue reading →

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Waiter, these carrots are corked!

Posted on 16/08/2017 by Henry

Checking a wine for faults using the Plumpton-prescribed one nostril technique. Whenever wine professionals get together rather than enjoy the wine, they are thrown into a state of anxiety that there may be something wrong with it that they haven’t … Continue reading →

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There’s something oddly egalitarian about champagne

Posted on 24/10/2016 by Henry

This article originally appeared in the Spectator The British are notoriously cheap when it comes to wine; the average bottle price is around £6. On one wine, however, we’re happy to spend five times that: champagne. We love champagne, and … Continue reading →

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Bloomsbury old and new – Noble Rot and Ciao Bella

Posted on 29/11/2015 by Henry

I’ve just written something for the Financial Times Hidden Cities supplement on London wine bars. The hook was that the Vats, a great stalwart of Lambs Conduit Street, has been taken over by the team behind Noble Rot magazine. I’m a … Continue reading →

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Christmas drinks at the Lady

Posted on 16/12/2013 by Henry

This is my Lady Christmas wine article that appeared in December’s bumper magazine. You can read their version of it here. If you enjoy it, please write to the Lady’s editor saying that I deserve a pay rise and more … Continue reading →

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The Lost World of the Cider Lords

Posted on 19/09/2013 by Henry

It has become a commonplace fact, beloved of pub quizzes, that an Englishman, Christopher Merret, invented Champagne. There is even an element of truth to it: Merret gave a paper to the Royal Society in 1672 outlining how to make … Continue reading →

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This champagne smells of custard.

Posted on 10/12/2011 by Henry

Yesterday my father came over to celebrate the birth of our baby. One of the things I share with my father which I hope to pass on to my daughter is a certain curmudgeonliness when it comes to champagne. Our … Continue reading →

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