From the notebook
Wine guides
Plain-English buying guides, food pairings and the odd strong opinion. Written for people who like wine, not wine bores.
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The best wines for Easter: lamb, ham, salmon and chocolate pairings
What to drink with Easter lunch, from roast lamb and glazed ham to salmon and chocolate eggs, plus a spring…
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The best Valentine’s Day drinks: romantic wines, fizz and cocktails
Pink Champagne, silky reds, chocolate wines and easy cocktails. The best drinks for a romantic night in on Valentine’s Day.
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The best temperature to serve wine: a simple guide for every style
Most of us serve whites too cold and reds too warm. The ideal temperature for every style of wine, and…
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How to serve Champagne: chilling, opening, pouring and glasses
How to chill, open and pour Champagne and sparkling wine properly, which glass to use and how to keep leftover…
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How and when to decant wine (and when not to bother)
Why decanting helps some wines, which ones benefit, how long to decant for and how to do it without a…
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How to store wine at home: bottles, opened wine and how long it keeps
Where to keep wine at home, how to store opened bottles, and how long each style lasts once opened.
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What is fortified wine? Port, sherry, Madeira and more explained
How fortified wine is made and the main styles to know, from fino sherry to tawny port, with the bottles…
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The best Austrian wines: Grüner Veltliner, Zweigelt and more
Austria makes some of Europe’s most food-friendly wines. Meet Grüner Veltliner and Zweigelt, and the bottles we’d buy.
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The best German wines: why Riesling deserves a place in your glass
Forget the sweet stereotypes. Here’s a plain-English guide to German wine, from crisp dry Riesling to delicate Mosel classics.
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The best American wines: a guide to California and beyond
Napa Cabernet, Zinfandel and easy-going California reds. A guide to American wine and the bottles worth buying.
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The wine regions of France: a simple guide to where your wine comes from
Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, the Loire and more. A region-by-region guide to French wine, what each makes and what to try.
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What makes a fine wine? The signs of a truly great bottle
Balance, length, complexity and a sense of place. What separates a fine wine from an everyday one, and a few…
