This article was originally published in Issue 17 of root + bone magazine, in March 2018. 

Illustration courtesy of the very talented Ellis van der Does

The concept of abstinence is fine for things you feel morally against, like wearing fur coats or eating dogs. But when someone suggests abstaining from your passion, the thing you love the most in life, then that is a different ball game.

When my wife was pregnant with our first child I continued to drink wine whilst she abstained for the good of...

This article was originally published in Issue 16 of Root + Bone magazine.

Illustration by Ellis Van Der Does 

When writing about Sicily one must do so with caution. I don’t know how many mafiosos read Root + Bone but one loose word from me that inadvertently disrespects the family could see a body part being posted through my letter box.

However, some of the wines coming out of Sicily just now are so exciting that I’m willing to put myself in the firing line to aide your vinous pleasure.

Sicily’s...

If you read last week’s whistle stop tour around Wineloon’s tips to the best value fizz and whites you have probably since been to Sainsbury’s to bag some cheap booze and hopefully made some online acquisitions, or even better visited some of the independent wine shops I mentioned.

Whatever happened, I trust you now have enough champagne and white wine to drown a turkey.

With that in hand, you now need to think about some reds and something sweet or fortified for the Christmas pud, cheeseboard an...

When does something become annual? I wrote a Wineloon’s wines for Christmas this time last year and I am writing one now. Is this an annual occurrence or have I just done it twice?

If I do it next year it will definitely be annual, but the jury is out on this year.

The jury is also bored shitless of this tedious, drawn out introduction and wants to hear what they should be buying to drink with their turkey this year.

Right, here goes…

Fizz

If you don’t drink Champagne for breakfast on Christmas Day...

This article was originally published in Issue 15 of Root + Bone

I realise that beauty is only skin deep and you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but here at root + bone we're suckers for a bit of label porn.

London has long been the world's biggest wine marketplace, boasting the widest variety from around the world of wine. The explosion of interest in natural wine has seen that variety grow even more. Producers are on the case, doing everything they can to stand out, desperate to m...

Earlier this year I discovered I had been shortlisted for a "Roederers" award in the emerging writers category. Cue middle aged man doing knee slides and swearing lots. To say I was pleased is an understatement. I didn't win but that wasn't really the point. Being shortlisted was like winning for me. 

Here's a pic of me with the other finalists, and the deserved winner Morgan Dunn, who writes for The Australian newspaper. Check out his writing, its great. He's the jammy git with t...

For me, nothing beats speaking to a wine maker about their wines (and tasting them of course) on their own patch. 

As a part-time wine writer with a day job and a young family I have to be creative with my holiday plans to allow me to do this on a regular basis. I typically tag on a vineyard visit to most holidays, if the geography allows it.

On family trips it normally involves a negotiation with Mrs Wineloon, resulting in her spending a morning in an expensive spa, while I take c...

I was recently invited to a dinner at the very grand London Edition hotel for a Loire Valley themed night of wine tasting and dinner to celebrate the start of the London Wine Week. The evening was hosted by the Evening Standard's wine scribe, Douglas Blyde and Loire Valley wine officianado (my words not her's) Lindsay Oram.

I met Douglas about a month prior when he and I ended up seated together at a very long lunch at a vineyard in Surrey. We drank lots of South African wine out...

This article was originally published on JancisRobinson.com on Wednesday 23rd May, 2017

On a recent trip to Oslo it occurred to me that over a three day break I drank the same Riesling by the glass in three of the six restaurants I dined in. This is not the sort of thing I would usually do. Whether I am drinking in a restaurant or at home, I actively seek to try as many different wines as I can. Not only does it make articles such as this a lot less dull and repetitive, but the variety that wine...