Much of the talk this Earth Day is about what you can do to save the planet, and when it comes to liquor there are actually some eco-friendly (and tasty) options.

We squeezed into our booth in the already-crowded back room at the Brasserie de la Gare. The restaurant was heaving; it is a popular venue, and this being the week of the Salon des Vins de la Loire it was busier than ever, and this allowed for a little Loire star-spotting.

When it comes to weather, April is perhaps the cruelest month. Some days, you get a taste of summer complete with warm temperatures, the music of chirping birds and the sweet perfume of blooming flowers

Having lived in Scotland for a few years now I have become accustomed to, on occasion, waking up to find a blanket of snow thrown across the world outside my window.

The story of Bordeaux through the early years of the 20th century is littered with failing châteaux, any suggestion of success always punctuated and tempered by the twin insults of war and economic depression. Towards the end of the century, however, the region was most certainly making an about turn

It’s been too long since I last reported on the wines of Jean-Pierre Chevallier, and in fact it might be said that it is too long since I last reported on any wines at all from the Saumur and Saumur-Champigny appellations. This region of the Loire is too easy to overlook, its wines often good but rarely the best; the white wines are often eclipsed by more focused and complex styles from Vouvray and these days Montlouis, the reds frequently paling into insignificance behind those from Chinon or even Bourgueil

This hot tequila-and-cider concoction will warm you head to toe.

Have you ever felt behind the loop on something? You know what I mean; the realisation that although you have finally reached a target or discovered some truth, and should be filled with a sense of achievement and satisfaction, you’re actually only doing what everybody else was doing last month, or even last year?

This week an old friend on Winedoctor, in a new vintage of course. I loved the 2009 Clos des Briords, which I wrote about only last August, but that shouldn’t stop me waxing on about the 2010 today. Every new vintage deserves appropriate consideration after all, and in addition I could always put forward the irrefutable argument that you can’t have too much Pépière (I think it was Oscar Wilde who said that, but do correct me if you know different) as my reason for opening yet another bottle.