I’m one of the half dozen or so local wine providers to The Old Bank, a new restaurant in Brighton’s Kemp Town on a site that’s seen a few incarnations over recent years. They let us come down on the opening day and were about half-full at 4pm on a Saturday which is good going. [...]
Tags: Brighton, Eating out, Henry Butler, Hove, Kemp Town, Pol Roger Champagne, Restaurant
When you go out in a group and someone says “choose the wine” it seems the safest bet, the way to a crowd pleaser, is to pick the Rioja. Job done. But you might be missing out. Rioja is a great region (its a place in Northern Spain, not a grape) and they produce lots [...]
Tags: Campo Vijeo wine, Henry Butler, How to choose a Rioja, Red wine, Rioja, Spanish wine
We popped over to The Swan in Brighton’s Kemp Town for two reasons: Firstly so few people seem to have heard of it, and if you’re in the thick of the city centre for a weekend, you might want a haven a short walk left along the seafront to find a chair and a drink. [...]
Tags: Henry Butler, The Swan, Wine, Wine list review
While at The Glynde Food Festival I took a break with the chief organiser Lord Frankie, in whose family grounds the festival takes place. I gave him a slurp of three wines I was touting on my stand, each of which has a pleasant story behind it, and so I thought that might be of [...]
Tags: Australia, Chile, Ethical trading, Fairtrade wine, Henry Butler, Portugal, Red wine, Wine
I was on the organising committee of the Glynde Food and Drink Festival behind the South Downs next to Glyndebourne (where they belt out the opera). It’s a lovely part of the world and within a sprint of The Ram in Firle and the Jolly Sportsman in East Chiltington – both highly recommended. I’ve picked [...]
Tags: Fiano, Food and drink festival, Glynde, Henry Butler, Italian wine award, Plumpton, White wine
This week the industry, and the south east, is a buzz with the news from the Decanter Wine Awards which awarded a Gold to the Grosvenor Sparkling Chardonnay from the Ridgeview vineyard in Ditchling, Sussex. Cue The Daily Mail to blow the dust off their stories that “English Wine is better than French” which come [...]
Tags: blanc de blancs, Champagne, Decanter wine awards, English sparkling wine, Grosvenor Ridgeview, Henry Butler
Going to the Dyke was a bit of a trip down memory lane: I used to play pool here and swig snakebite before I was legally allowed to. The group behind the Connaught and Stoneham in Hove have done such a fabulous job of rennovating this hellhole. They are getting busy, but if you hadn’t [...]
Tags: Brighton, Favourite, Henry Butler, Restaurant
Everyone seems to think that an organic wine wont give you a hangover. Unlucky. Its alcohol that gives you a bastard behind the eyes, and organic wine contains just as much alcohol as a non-organic wine. And don’t ask me about sulphites. We’ll save that for an expert in a later show. However, if you [...]
Tags: Hangovers, Henry Butler, Organic wine
The Chilli Pickle in Brighton’s lanes is a serious contender for the best restaurant in town. Alan and Dawn have built a little oasis that incredibly some locals still don’t know about. Alan worked at London’s renowned Cinnamon Club and has transplanted that learning to a lovely, intimate venue by the sea. The food isn’t [...]
Tags: Brighton, Chilli, Henry Butler, Restaurant, Spicy food, Wine
Someone was moaning to me the other day that a restaurant served his red wine from the fridge, and I had to politely explain that this was okay, in fact the right thing to do in some cases. Beaujolais works well – and the current vintage doing the rounds (2009) is meant to be the [...]
Tags: Beaujolais, Henry Butler, Lambrusco, Wine-temperature
