2018-05-03 14:27
“Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!” This irritating yet strangely unforgettable refrain allegedly originates from the Las Vegas strip in the 1970s when a standard bet was $2, which w… Read More
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Yapp Brothers Wine Blog
yapp.co.uk/blog
Yapp Brothers Wine Merchants - News, updates and musings from the world of french wine. Yapp Brothers are award-winning UK wine merchants with over 40 years
2018-04-27 15:04
We’ve had great fun collaborating with our good friend and ‘artist in residence’ David Chandler over the last few months as he has been working on the illustrations for our… Read More
2018-04-17 10:13
1. You started your career in academia. What sparked your interest in wine? I grew bored of dinosaurs. And it happened a long time before I became an academic. I […] Read More
2018-03-29 12:32
With Spring officially underway and Easter approaching my thoughts turn to new season’s lamb for entertaining family and friends. My default dish is lamb ‘boulangère&lsquo&hell…Read More
2018-03-15 14:46
Why? France’s second most populous city has a rich and ancient history dating back to its origins as the strategic Greek port of Massalia. It retains an otherness and aloofness [&helli&hell…Read More
2018-03-01 17:16
A consummate master of self-reinvention Jamie Oliver’s magnificently minimalist ‘5 Ingredients – Quick and Easy Food’ topped the best-sellers list in the UK last year… Read More
2018-03-01 14:16
We’ve had great fun collaborating with our good friend and ‘artist in residence’ David Chandler over the last few months as he has been working on the illustrations for our… Read More
2018-02-15 11:03
In the teeth of a British winter I like nothing more than to lose myself in some ‘European Noir’ drifting off to continental climes and landscapes as the rain lashes […] Read More
2018-01-31 16:43
If I am blessed with some down time at the weekend I like nothing more than tuning in to the inexhaustible ‘Desert Island Discs’ podcast archive and faffing around in […] Read More
2018-01-26 12:32
1. As a proud Frenchman does your palate lean towards your homeland or do you have a more global outlook? I like all good wines it doesn’t matter where they […] Read More
2018-01-16 12:45
Back in the Summer months, Bryan Webb and I managed to agree a date for a Winter Warmer Dinner at his Michelin-starred Tyddyn Llan restaurant with rooms, in Llandrillo, North […] Read More
2018-01-03 10:01
After the Christmas festivities and New Year celebrations January can seem an awfully cold, long and cheerless month. To that end I try and cook some warming, restorative dishes that [&helli&hell…Read More
2017-12-20 12:05
The London restaurant scene has noticed an increasing popularity for wines from Tenerife and Sicily in the past couple of years. Corsica on the other hand, is still very unknown […] Read More
2017-12-07 15:53
There will be 15 of us dining chez Yapp on Christmas Day so I am not banking on having sufficient left-overs for our traditional Boxing Day repast of ‘Pulled and […] Read More
2017-11-30 17:24
1. What was your first comission as a wine writer? I got a job as an editorial assistant on Wine & Spirit magazine in 1985, but I’m not sure what […] Read More
2017-11-27 17:07
We’ve had great fun collaborating with our good friend and ‘artist in residence’ David Chandler over the last few months as he has been working on the illustrations for our… Read More
2017-11-23 11:28
In our Monday morning planning meeting we were, of course, talking about Christmas – and the two-day Christmas Tasting and Sale at Yapp HQ this weekend. It was noted that […] Read More
2017-11-16 18:19
To: Bordeaux Why? Spread along the twin banks of the mighty Garonne river Bordeaux is the quintessential smart French city with its’ elegant 18th century waterfront, tree… Read More
2017-11-08 18:08
Just had a wonderful tasting Chez Yapp from our new Australian winemaker Guy Lyons at Forest Hill Vineyards, who came over especially as he happened to be passing nearby. Well, […] Read More
2017-11-01 11:24
As a father of teenage sons, who are both over 6 foot tall, and can wolf down quite extraordinary volumes of food in a single sitting it is imperative that […] Read More
2017-10-25 13:43
Field work is invaluable. A two-day visit to the Rhône valley last week reminded me of this fact. Sure, we knew that the 2016 vintage had been excellent in the […] Read More
2017-10-17 17:42
We’ve had great fun collaborating with our good friend and ‘artist in residence’ David Chandler over the last few months as he has been working on the illustrations for our… Read More
2017-10-10 14:19
As a keen oenophile I like nothing more than stashing bottles away with the thought of revisiting them at some, as yet undecided, future date. While many wines will age […] Read More
2017-10-02 16:36
As leaves start to change colour and the evenings draw in the picnics and barbecues of Summer seem a distant memory and we can now focus on the news season’s […] Read More
2017-09-18 17:58
1. What was the first wine that really captured your attention and where were you at the time? The first wine that really captured my attention was Picpoul de Pinet […] Read More
2017-09-08 15:58
A Yapp Brothers catch up in London after our Summer holidays usually involves visiting a new restaurant, tasting a few wines and sharing a few anecdotes about recent vinous discoveries. [&he&hell…Read More
2017-09-04 08:39
It fell upon me to host my book group’s most recent meeting and thankfully my book choice of ‘Dodgers’ by Bill Beverly was extremely well-received. Beverly’s debut no… Read More
2017-08-18 10:18
In the teeth of a British Winter nobody enjoys a chest-thumping red wine more than I do. Rich, spicy Rhônes and Mediterranean blends make a marvellous accompaniment (and addition) to [… Read More
2017-08-01 13:37
Les Grandes Vacances Every August la famille Yapp decamps to the Dordogne in an estate car packed with tents, bikes, dogs and disaffected youth. The southward journey is horrendous but [&hel&hell…Read More
2017-07-26 09:10
1. You’ve been advising people about wine and writing about wine for a long time now. How did you first get drawn in to it? My mother taught at Leith’s […] Read More
2017-07-10 14:04
The UK’s annual wine equivalent of the BAFTAs took place on a sweltering evening last Thursday (6th July). With the temperature more suited to flip flops and shorts than black [&hellip&hell…Read More
2017-07-06 16:04
Twenty years ago I celebrated by thirtieth birthday with my friends the wine journalist Matthew Jukes and restaurateur Clive Greenhalgh who share my inglorious birth year. We dined at Leith… Read More
2017-06-30 15:17
Those looking for a mid-summer West Country picnic spot could do far worse than visit our courtyard here in Mere where our prized agapanthus are in bloom and you can […] Read More
2017-06-15 16:11
1. What was the first wine that really piqued your interest and inspired you to find out more about it? Oddly it wasn’t anything grand. It was a muscadel from […] Read More
2017-06-13 16:19
We’ve had great fun collaborating with our good friend and ‘artist in residence’ David Chandler over the last few months as he has been working on the illustrations for our… Read More
2017-06-07 17:00
I celebrated my fiftieth birthday last weekend and, as someone who spends much of their time advising other people what they should be drinking, I thought it only fair share […] Read More
2017-06-01 09:50
If I am entertaining at home I always favour dishes that can be prepared in advance so I can give guests my full attention without the distraction of wondering whether […] Read More
2017-05-26 11:34
Take a stroll through historic Mere, and you would think that the closest this sleepy town came to Brutalist architecture would be the controversial use of UPVC for a conservatory, […… Read More
2017-05-17 16:41
“Northern Rhône white wines”, a combination of words that would excite any wine amateur or professional I know. At Yapp Brothers, we’ve been importing these rare wine… Read More
2017-05-11 15:32
1. You hail from Indiana which isn’t well known wine country. What sparked your interest in wine? The wine bug bit me in college when I worked and travelled through […] Read More
2017-05-05 09:05
Following on from a very enjoyable shop tasting in April we’re now looking forward to the next event on Thursday 25th May when our Retail Team – under the impeccable […] Read More
2017-04-28 09:45
Aspire to Asparagus The British asparagus season runs from the end of April until June and is a cause for celebration. Having eschewed inferior imports since the end of last […] Read More
2017-04-20 16:40
1. Did you ever have a wine epiphany when you tasted something that completely changed your critical horizons? Having had a pretty good innings so far, of which well over […] Read More
2017-04-20 10:27
We’ve had great fun collaborating with our good friend and ‘artist in residence’ David Chandler over the last few months as he has been working on the illustrations for our… Read More
2017-04-10 09:30
As one of the most underrated regions in France, the Loire valley still attracts many wine lovers. At Yapp Brothers, we never had a doubt of its full potential as […] Read More
2017-03-31 10:57
In an effort to ensure we eat healthily and to divert some of our household expenditure from the supermarkets we are weekly recipients of an organic veg box chez Yapp. […] Read More
2017-03-15 13:06
Following a memorable lunch at Portland in Marylebone last summer catching up with an old friend from Germany, I could not resist for long when I heard that Will Lander […] Read More
2017-03-08 15:00
Here at Yapp Brothers we believe there is a strong affinity between art and wine and we have a long and proud history of commissioning original artwork to illustrate our […] Read More
2017-03-01 10:21
When in need of culinary inspiration, I regularly find myself turning to Elizabeth David’s range of cookery books handed down to me by my late father (each inscribed by him […] Read More
2017-02-22 10:35
1. What was the first wine that really stopped you in your tracks and made you realise you’d experienced something out of the ordinary? Two wines. 1961 Haut Brion when […] Read More
2017-02-09 10:45
1. Did you ever have a formative wine tasting moment when clouds parted and you suddenly appreciated something with crystal clarity? My first ever, of Ontario wines in 1976, when […] Read More
2017-02-01 10:07
While January is a strong contender for my least favourite month February runs it a close second. We are in the midst of the ‘hunger gap’ when there is a […] Read More
2017-01-25 10:39
I don’t think my farming friends quite believe me when I say that agricultural land in France can change hands for £2m per acre, but it is certainly now the […] Read More
2017-01-19 17:16
1. Can you tell us what your first wine revelation was? That life always looks rosier with a decent glass of wine at hand and the promise of more in […] Read More
2017-01-12 17:49
We’ve had great fun collaborating with our good friend and ‘artist in residence’ David Chandler over the last few months as he has been working on the illustrations for our… Read More
2017-01-03 12:14
At the time of writing I very much hope that Father Christmas or my mother (I sent both the link) will furnish me with a 6.7 litre, matt black Le […] Read More
2016-12-28 10:30
1. Have you ever had a wine epiphany? I think I’ve probably had several! The very first one happened when doing research for my final university year’s thesis (on the […] Read More
2016-12-19 16:52
Perhaps unsurprisingly the team here at Yapp Brothers are enthusiastic about planning their Christmas celebrations and there is much discussion in house about what wine and food we are all [… Read More
2016-12-09 14:52
1. What was your first wine revelation? It was being taken out for dinner by a university boyfriend and realizing that wine didn’t have to taste as hideous as the […] Read More
2016-12-01 10:34
I am something of a creature of habit, formerly dubbed ‘Rain Man’ by my meaner siblings, so I know that a Norfolk Bronze Turkey from Stourhead Farm Shop is going […] Read More
2016-11-28 16:26
As the cognoscenti of Social Media may recall our beloved 1979 Citroën ‘H-van’ was set upon by a would be ‘road warrior’ last September who stripped it of parts… Read More
2016-11-21 17:31
Outside the worlds of wine and family I spend what time I can playing guitar in the village band, and as a good indicator of what season we’re heading […] Read More
2016-11-02 11:04
The final leg of our Rhône 2015 trip featured the South. The degrees always seem to climb and the sunglasses come out once one passes Valence and a flatter, warmer […] Read More
2016-10-31 13:21
As the days shorten and the temperature starts to drop there is much culinary pleasure to be had in baking and roasting vegetables to provide healthy and hearty dishes on […] Read More
2016-10-24 15:49
Our tasting tour continued in style on our second day with a coveted appointment at Domaine Jean-Louis Chave where the eponymous patron gave us a warm welcome in the autumn […] Read More
2016-10-19 09:24
I understand the concept of modern air travel, but still find it slightly unsettling that one can turn off a spur of the M4 at 5.00am and be tasting Côte […] Read More
2016-10-10 15:26
Like many French people living in London all I dream about when it comes to good food is simplicity, authenticity and charcuterie! After a few years working with French wines […] Read More
2016-10-03 17:07
The fabulous riches of the Autumn larder are nature’s compensation for Summer’s parting and as I reacclimatise to muddy, misty dog walks, stacking firewood and washing school uni… Read More
2016-09-29 09:19
With the kids back at school, summer tans fading and Quality Street tins starting to re-appear in our supermarkets, it can only mean one thing – Autumn is round the […] Read More
2016-09-19 15:17
Rhône wines continue to offer outstanding value across the board. OK, we declare our partiality at the outset of this piece. We are Rhône lovers, Rhône merchants and, for t… Read More
2016-09-01 04:00
My mantra in the kitchen is ‘keep it simple’ but this month’s late summer recipe is the exception that proves the rule as it is quite an ordeal to prepare. […] Read More
2016-08-14 10:49
The T-shirt in the photograph is a fake. I am certain of this as I printed it myself to see if I could create a print that would ‘pass’ as […] Read More
2016-08-01 11:15
I come from a generation of unsophisticated British males for whom the word ‘salad’ is an anathema recalling school day servings of wilted lettuce and unripe tomatoes. Consequent… Read More
2016-07-26 14:33
I was taught how to make screen prints by a fellow inmate as a teenager when I was incarcerated at Sexey’s School in Bruton in the late 1970s. It is […] Read More
2016-07-15 15:49
One of the frustrating things about a career in the wine trade is that my family and friends are convinced that I spend most of my waking hours discoursing over […] Read More
2016-07-01 16:20
In high Summer it is great fun to pack up a picnic and head off to an isolated spot of countryside, preferably not too far from a body of water, […] Read More
2016-06-29 13:45
It was back in 2005 that Jason and I made our first foray over to the magical isle of Corsica, resulting in us shipping wines from Domaines Pieretti, Saparale and […] Read More
2016-06-23 14:59
To the famous Royal Native Oyster Stores in Kent yesterday for a staff training session followed by a highly convivial dinner with the management team lead by their inexhaustible hostess [&h&hell…Read More
2016-06-13 13:20
“There are two seasons in Scotland: June and Winter.” Billy Connolly. Whilst we have been enjoying the ‘Scottish Summer’ at Yapp HQ, we have checked through all the n… Read More
2016-06-01 10:00
Like many Alpha males Mr Yapp senior has always been an enthusiastic al fresco chef and unlike many he is a competent one. The only problem being that he has […] Read More
2016-05-27 15:38
The brilliant baroque basement of Otto’s restaurant, on the border of Bloomsbury, was the sumptuous setting for a highly-convivial wine dinner with Antoine Graillot last night. Otto an… Read More
2016-05-23 13:42
We often get enquiries at Yapp HQ for vintage bottles of wine to celebrate anniversaries and birthdays and the such like, and today we had a question about ‘what was […] Read More
2016-05-09 10:52
Art, food and wine (the good things in life) are all linked and the interplay between them is fascinating. There were two events of interest in our neck of the […] Read More
2016-05-03 10:07
Having done untold damage to my left knee in an infinitely regrettable skiing mishap in March I have been even grumpier than usual as I contemplate limping through middle age. […] Read More
2016-04-22 13:29
To Durslade Farm in Bruton for the Roth Bar and Grill’s inaugural Wine Festival organised by Austrian wine producer Rainer Garger in conjunction with Master Of Wine Anna Krebiehl and [… Read More
2016-04-18 11:14
The clocks go forward, the clocks go back, year in and year out. As we fall into B.S.T. we inevitably see biblical swarms of lycra-clad cyclists (mainly men, it has […] Read More
2016-04-06 14:34
We have been tracking the rising interest in Jura wines for some time, tasting them whenever we could and awaiting an opportunity to visit this unspoilt region on France’s eastern [&he&hell…Read More
2016-03-30 14:19
In today’s world of convenience foods and year round availability of all manner of produce it is hard to imagine the constraints of the ‘hunger gap’ our ancestors endured w… Read More
2016-03-22 17:40
To Burgundy for ‘Les Grands Jours de Bourgogne’ a brilliant, bi-annual, Behemoth wine tasting which starts in Chablis on Monday morning and trails its way southwards across the w… Read More
2016-03-16 12:28
I find that the prospect of another long, wet UK winter is mitigated by the advent of the Game season. Darkness descending at 5pm in October can be endured with […] Read More
2016-03-09 15:32
Our new 2016 wine list is hot off the press and after months of planning and preparation we are delighted with the results – so do let us know if […] Read More
2016-03-01 14:51
Easter is our biggest national holiday after Christmas, with many of us entertaining family and friends. The last thing you want to be doing is faffing around in the kitchen, […] Read More
2016-02-24 11:43
The cave personelle is going to take a hit this year as my partner, Pippa, racks up her half century in September and our eldest son, Alfred, turns 18 in […] Read More
2016-02-11 12:30
Music may be the food of love but wine has helped fuel romance since biblical times which leads us to the critical question: What wine to serve this Sunday […] Read More
2016-02-01 16:50
Welcome to February, the Roman name for which was “Februarius” after the Latin term februum, meaning purification, so named because of the purification ritual “Februa&rdquo&hell…Read More
2016-01-25 09:41
“2014 should have a place in cellars thanks to the delightful pleasure they can supply, both in the Northern and the Southern Rhône.” John Livingstone-Learmonth, drinkrhone… Read More
2016-01-18 12:20
Those who follow Yapp Brothers on Social Media may have seen various team members not looking exactly as they should recently. December is always a busy time for any reputable […] Read More
2016-01-04 14:18
A couple of days before Christmas, I managed to find a few hours to meet up with two old friends and visit Bellanger, the most recent opening from the consummate […] Read More
2015-12-17 10:24
As we spend a great deal of time advising people about pairing wines with specific dishes we thought we should let you know what some of the team here at […] Read More
2015-12-08 17:33
I have a Scrooge-like aversion to carols and candy canes in mid-November but now that we are into December I feel it is permissible to use the C-word – ‘Christmas’. [&helli&hell…Read More
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