April 2026

​LiveWire is a premium all-electric motorcycle brand. It originally began as "Project LiveWire," an initiative by Harley-Davidson to explore the electric vehicle space. In 2019, Harley-Davidson released its first production electric motorcycle under the LiveWire name.

​Recognising the distinct market for electric motorcycles, Harley-Davidson spun LiveWire out into its own standalone company in 2021, to give it the freedom to act more like a tech startup. Harley-Davidson remains the majority shareholder.

On a gloomy, damp Friday morning, I was dropped off at the BMW HQ building in Farnborough, with its contemporary design, prominent glass towers and landscaped grounds, ready to pick up the eagerly awaited R 12 nineT tracker.

First impressions were that it was a good-looking bike with striking flat track styling and a great eye-catching colour combination. It was mean, aggressive and charismatic. 

Royal Enfield holds the distinction of being the oldest global motorcycle brand in continuous production. Its journey from a needle manufacturer to a cult icon is a fascinating blend of British engineering and Indian industrial heritage.

It all started in ​1891, when Bob Walker Smith and Albert Eadie purchased the Townsend Cycle Company. They began supplying precision parts to the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield, and to celebrate this connection, they created the Royal Enfield brand name.

There are moments in the wine world that remind you just how much remains undiscovered. This April, Coravin leans into that very idea with its Curiosity By-the-Glass campaign—an initiative designed to challenge familiarity and celebrate exploration, one glass at a time.

I experienced this firsthand at Frog by Adam Handling, in the company of Wine Director Kelvin McCabe (no relation), whose thoughtful curation brought the campaign vividly to life.

Ariel Motor Company has revealed the new Atom 4RR, a limited-run, track-focused but road-legal machine that marks 25 years of the Atom and takes the minimalist British performance car to an even more uncompromising level. Built to order and developed as the most focused Ariel yet, the 4RR becomes the quickest and most powerful Atom the company has ever produced.

The marketing blurb of the Volkswagen Grand California promises freedom, flexibility and a ‘Teutonic’ level of competence – sounds lovely. But I think what it actually delivers over a four day trip from Hampshire to the Lakes and back was a family holiday with just enough chaos and adventure to be utterly memorable.

As part of our Mazda Tour, we paid a stylish detour to The Sloane Club to shop, sip, and savour Chelsea’s charms.

There are plenty of wine podcasts. There are plenty of political interviews. But never have I seen them combined. ‘Vintage Politics’, hosted by Abbie Bennington, does exactly that.

The premise is simple but effective. Conversations with some of the UK’s most recognisable political voices (and a comedian), paired with wines that reflect moments in their lives. Guests include Jon Sopel, Anna Foster, and Nick Robinson, alongside figures such as Guto Harri, Dom Joly and Jo Coburn.

While the forever upmarket district of Kensington in West London remains a magnet for the wealthy and famous, with Kensington Palace Gardens still one of Britain's most expensive residential streets, housing properties owned by billionaires like Lakshmi Mittal and Roman Abramovich, not many people know of the area’s longstanding cultural history, and links with some of the greatest writers in English literature.

Easter is one of my favourite moments in the wine calendar. The menus are generous, the pace a little slower, and the table often stretches from lunch into the evening. From celebratory bubbles to reds worthy of roast lamb and long conversations, these are bottles that rise to the occasion.

Taittinger Nocturne NV

RRP £45 | Waitrose, Tesco, Laithwaites, Hedonism, Amps Wine Merchants