Food & Drink

One of the things I love most about wine is how it refuses to sit still. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, along comes a bottle that’s been resting in a river two hundred metres underground, or a grape variety you thought had vanished, suddenly shining again in a glass. In this issue I’ve been tasting wines with stories of rescue and resilience, growers saving old vines from the axe, families bringing abandoned plots back to life, and cooperatives keeping traditions alive against the odds. They’re reminders that wine is never just about flavour.

White Peak Distillery’s Necessary Evil Returns

Turn off the A6 and into the Derwent Valley and you’re in another world. The old Johnson & Nephew wire works loom over the river, relics of a time when men clocked in for twelve-hour shifts and left coated in soot and metal dust. Today part of that site is White Peak Distillery, founded in 2016 by Max and Claire Vaughan. What could easily have been left to crumble has instead become Derbyshire’s first whisky distillery, with a still house that feels as much cathedral as factory.

It’s not often that a whisky takes you from the Highlands of Scotland to the forests of northern Japan, all while sitting in Leicester Square. Yet that was the atmosphere at 8 at The Londoner Hotel, where Glengoyne unveiled its latest limited edition: the Mizunara Oak 16 Year Old. I love these tastings, as I got to see my friends, enjoy plates of Japanese inspired finger food, and have wonderful whisky and cocktails. I have been so busy recently that I almost pulled out, but am very pleased that I didn’t.

Unearthing Wine, Wonder, and the Heart of the Rhône

The sun rises over the vineyards of southern France, scattering gold across a landscape steeped in centuries of viticultural tradition. As we continue our journey through the Côte du Rhône, we delve deeper into the region’s enchanting terroir, unearthing not only exceptional wines but also the stories, people, and natural marvels that make this corner of France so captivating.

Early this summer I had the pleasure of spending 4 days in Avignon exploring what the Côtes du Rhône region has on offers when it comes to Wine Tourism.  I went with quite a few pre-conceptions, mainly that all the wines would be red, very heavy with high levels of alcohol that would blow my head off and the quality would be questionable!  But my experience was far from those pre-conceptions and I learnt so much more about the wines of Côtes du Rhône, the people and the wide range of activities (including family friendly) you could take part in from a ble

Audi Q8 Cotswolds Tour

Gliding through the rolling hills of the Cotswolds in the supremely comfortable Audi Q8, one is lulled into a sense of pastoral ease—honeyed stone cottages, gently meandering rivers, and villages so pretty they look airbrushed.

As Part of Our Audi Q8 50 TDI Quattro Tour

September shimmers on the cusp of two seasons—when summer’s abundance still lingers in the market, yet the first golden leaves suggest autumn’s approach. For wine lovers, it’s a time to celebrate both the last al fresco evenings and the promise of richer, contemplative sips as nights grow cooler. In this week’s WINE TIMES column, I have chosen four bottles that reflect the spirit of September: refined sparkling to toast the transitions, a blushing rosé that evokes sun-drenched terraces, and a classic, oak-kissed red for autumn’s return to the table.

Rosé and red are increasingly sharing the spotlight, with traditional regions producing styles that sit comfortably in a global market that prizes freshness and accessibility. Clarendelle Bordeaux Rosé is a good example. As the first official rosé in the history of Domaine Clarence Dillon, the family behind Haut-Brion. It marks a small shift in their outlook.

Nestled on the ever-vibrant 100 Wardour Street, Freak Scene Wardour Soho beckons with neon signage, eclectic beats, and a promise of gastronomic adventure. It’s a pop up restaurant that wears its name with pride—a place where boundaries between cuisines blur, traditions are gently subverted, and every dish tells a story of creative rebellion. Freak Scene captures the dynamic spirit of Soho: irreverent, artistic, and unapologetically bold.

The Visionary Behind the Mayhem: Scott Hallsworth