David Chandler: "Following on from last episode's climate-conscious look at wines grown beside the seaside, Jason assembles a flight (pun intended) of six wines that hale from high places, where cool air and steep, free-draining slopes go some way towards mitigating the higher temperatures that otherwise put way too much bang in your Bourboulenc and vavavoom in your Viognier... First up; it's creamy, it's toasty and it's a big deal in the Big Apple... it's Crémant de Jura from the Tissot vineyard at Arbois. Pure Chardonnay and bottle-fermented. You want high? The mousse alone wi ..read more

Cracking Crustacea I adore all kinds of seafood, but I am particularly partial to shellfish, especially during the Summer season, when they can be paired with nervy, unoaked, dry white and rosé wines. In my miss-spent youth I worked in a winery in Bandol, on the cusp of the Côte d'Azur, and I think that combination of plentiful sunshine and freshly-caught fish cemented an enduring appreciation. Here are some of my favourites, some of which, like oysters and scallops, require no cooking at all, whilst others merit steaming in salted water, frying or grilling over hot coals. 1. Crayfish with sal ..read more

Something Fishy Due to a combination of more considered home economics and the availability of better offerings, that staple of 1970s picnics and kitchen lunches, tinned fish, is gaining in popularity and is being deployed in ever more inventive ways. I need little persuasion to embrace this trend because tinned fish is healthy, tasty and (caviar excepted) inexpensive. Furthermore, it keeps forever in un-chilled storage, so there is no excuse not to rustle up some piscine pick-me-up when you get back from the office, parents meeting or domestic arbitration review.   Tuna and anchovies ha ..read more

Moving information and Big Bin End Sale   Our contractors have been busy refurbishing and refitting our new home in Sparkford, and we are sufficiently confident of their progress to announce a moving date of Saturday 15th June. That's when we will be closing for a few days in order to move lock, stock and many pallets of wine down the A303 to re-open on Wednesday 19th June. Here are a few pictures of our new digs to give you a flavour!   Of course, this epic endeavour creates an opportunity for a Bin End Sale to end all Bin End Sales. So, over Thursday 23rd, Friday 24th and Saturday ..read more

Roasted Potato Gnocchi with Asparagus Almond Spread and Hazelnuts Our younger son is back home, after 18 months working and travelling in Australasia and South-East Asia, which is a great pleasure for us. He is vegan, which means that we have to adjust our culinary repertoire accordingly. As British asparagus is in season, and we all love it, I devised the recipe below for a simple mid-week supper.   Ingredients: (Serves 3 to 4 Adults) Gnocchi x 600g (Make sure to buy dairy free gnocchi if catering for any vegans as much of it contains powdered milk as a bulking agent). Fresh asparagus x ..read more

    David Chandler: "In this episode, Jason and David must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all they ask is a flight of fine wines and a corkscrew to open them by... With ABV's on the increase and the prospect of even warmer weather to come, Jason has gone coastal and lined up a half dozen wines that reflect the benign influence of the sea and upon which, you can rely for years to come, even if your hair catches fire. 1) A zingy, sharp as a razor clam, Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine from Jean-François Baron. 2) Napier vineyard's Klein Louis Darling Sauvignon ..read more

Top Tips For Your Next City Break – Sydney   Why? The Harbour City (Australia's largest with a population of over 4,600,000 people) enjoys a breathtaking oceanic location, a warm and sunny maritime climate, a wealth of great museums and galleries, a fantastic and inexpensive public transport system and offers diverse world class cuisine and wines at competitive prices.   When? The Australian summer runs roughly from November through to March and, provided you are diligent in wearing sunscreen and seeking shade, it is a great time to visit a vibrant and welcoming metropolis. Backgrou ..read more

Lamb Boulangère As the days lengthen and crocuses start to appear and blossom adorns the trees, I take solace in the fact that the season is turning and, let's face it, things are going to improve. One of my favourite traditional French recipes is lamb boulangère. This harks back to the days when people heading off to church on a Sunday would give a prepped up baking tray of the dish to the local baker who would put it in their cooling oven for the duration of the service. They could then repatriate it, wonderfully slow-cooked, on their way back from church and serve a tasty family lunch. I'm ..read more

    David Chandler: "In an absolute first for this podcast, our wine-loving friends spend several minutes drinking something that isn't actually wine. This deviation from tradition, though unthinkable under normal circumstances, is rendered unavoidable by the fact that Jason has decided to answer a question that David wasn't even aware needed to be asked - unless in a past life, his name had been Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie (i.e. Napoleon Bonaparte's wife) and the question that bothered his pretty, little head had been, "Whatever would mon petit chou like to drink, ce s ..read more

Shakshuka Shakshuka is a restorative North African dish believed to be of Tunisian origin. It is quite quickly and easily prepared and makes for a tasty lunch or light supper dish. There are numerous different twists one can deploy in its preparation so I have deliberately not looked for a recipe online as I didn’t want to get drawn in to an alternative methodology.   Ingredients: (Serves 2 Adults) Chopped Tomatoes 1 x 400g can. Medium Sized Spanish Onions x 2 Red or Green Bell Pepper x 1 Large Garlic Cloves x 4 Medium Sized Free-Range Hens Eggs x 4 Sweet Paprika x half a teaspoon Cayenn ..read more