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WINE & TRAVEL.
I’m a wine specialist with a love for the places, flavours, and experiences that bring wine to life. From London’s hidden wine bars and restaurants to the rolling hills of Tuscany, I focus on stories that connect people, food, and wine — whether it’s pairing a local dish with the perfect bottle, exploring a destination vineyard, or uncovering the magic of a Champagne house.
Whether you’re in the city of London, have hopped on a plane to Europe, or are exploring the rest of the world of wine across the globe, I guide audiences, from curious wine lovers to seasoned travellers, in discovering the full richness of wine as part of lifestyle, travel, and culinary adventures, through writing, tastings, and curated experiences.
“Travel and wine are inseparable... The best experiences always combine place, plate, and glass. From a sunlit vineyard in Tuscany to a hidden wine bar in London, it’s the food, the people, and the wine together that make an experience truly unforgettable.”
— Elizabeth Hawthornthwaite
I Found a Historic Wine Window in Florence & It Was Every Bit as Magical as I Hoped
Certain travel experiences feel quintessentially Italian. Drinking espresso standing at a bar. Wandering sun-drenched piazzas at golden hour.
Ordering a plate of pasta so good that you immediately start planning your next trip back.
And then there’s discovering a wine window in Florence.
Tucked into the walls of historic palazzos across the city, Florence’s famous wine windows, known locally as buchette del vino, are one of Tuscany’s most charming traditions. I finally f
Wine News: The 2025s Have Landed
It's the moment of the year I love when the new vintage starts arriving on shelves and the spring has sprung. The 2025s are here, and there is a lot to get excited about.
Provence rosé is back in force. Two of my favourites have just landed: the new Mirabeau, which keeps getting more refined year on year, and Château Léoube — quietly one of the most beautifully made rosés in Provence, organic, coastal, and a long way from the supermarket pink shelf. If you've been buying t
The oldest wine I’ve ever tasted… and one of the best.
The oldest wine I’ve ever tasted was a 1996 Vorberg from Cantina Terlan, nearly 30 years old, and it was, without exaggeration, one of the most remarkable white wines I’ve ever experienced.
Still incredibly alive. Still vibrant. Still completely compelling.
Taste:
Textural, nutty, melon, honeydew.
Voluptuous, layered, and bright.
The kind of wine that makes you stop mid-sip.
Sake Cocktails in London | Why Wine Lovers Should Try Sake at Sticks’n’Sushi
If you love wine, you need to try sake like this.
Sake cocktails in London are one of those experiences that completely change how you think about sake. If you are used to wine, this is an easy and exciting step into something lighter, more aromatic, and unexpectedly elegant.
At Sticks'n'Sushi, sake is treated with the same care as wine. The result is sake cocktails that are crisp, floral, lifted, and beautifully balanced. They are not heavy or overpowering, instead they
Kolae Borough Market Review | Best Thai Restaurant in London for Bold Southern Thai Food
This is the kind of restaurant you tell your friends about immediately, especially if you love bold flavours, Thai food in London, and standout Borough Market restaurants.
Tucked into the heart of Borough Market, Kolae brings the fire and intensity of Southern Thailand to London in the most unforgettable way. This is not subtle dining; it is food with confidence, heat, and personality in every single dish.
Two Women. Two Tuscan Wine Stories | A Journey Through Val d’Orcia & Montalcino
One of the things I’ve learnt travelling through Tuscany is that the most interesting stories are rarely the loudest ones.They sit slightly to the side.Just beyond the well-known names.
In Val d’Orcia, between Brunello di Montalcino and Montepulciano, that’s exactly where I found them.
This part of southern Tuscany is everything you imagine it to be, rolling hills, cypress-lined roads, soft winter light, but it’s also where a quieter shift is happening.Less about prestige.
The Best Restaurants in the Dolomites | A Ski Food Guide for Alto Badia
Skiing the Dolomites isn’t just about the slopes, it’s about where you eat, drink, and soak up the mountain atmosphere. The food scene in the Dolomites is just as memorable as the skiing itself, with everything from high-altitude fine dining to lively après-ski spots that turn into late afternoon parties.
Here is my ultimate dining guide for eating and drinking in the Dolomites and Alto Badia.
Tuscany’s Most Underrated DOCG White Wine
One of the most underrated white wines in Italy — and a personal favourite of mine- is Vernaccia di San Gimignano. In a region globally celebrated for powerful reds, this historic Tuscan white quietly holds its own, offering depth, texture and remarkable ageing potential. If you’re searching for the best white wines of Tuscany, this is where I’d start.
Expect aromas of lemon peel, ripe pear, crushed almonds and wild Mediterranean herbs. On the palate, it’s dry, structured
19 Reasons to Visit Tuscany in Winter (And Why It Might Be the Best Time to Go)
Think Tuscany is only for sun-soaked summers and golden wheat fields? Think again. A winter trip to Val d’Orcia reveals a quieter, moodier, more cinematic side of the region, one that feels deeply authentic, atmospheric and wonderfully unhurried.
This UNESCO World Heritage landscape, famous for its rolling hills, cypress-lined roads and storybook hill towns, transforms in winter. Morning mist settles in the valleys, olive groves shimmer silver in low light, and sunset turn
Winter in Montalcino & Montepulciano – What’s It Really Like?
Winter in Montalcino and Montepulciano is a different kind of magic, softer, slower, and infinitely more atmospheric. If you’re considering a winter trip to southern Tuscany, particularly in the weeks leading up to Christmas, expect fewer crowds, mist-laced mornings and that low golden light photographers dream about. The medieval streets feel almost cinematic, with wood smoke curling into the cool air and church bells echoing across nearly empty piazzas.
Oriana Golden Spur X Clarette
Weyborne’s new Oriana Golden Spur is all about precision, place, and a little bit of magic and it was a privilege to be at the launch at Clarette restaurant last week, hearing Ben Abric and William Sharpley lift the veil on how this wine is made.
£45 · weyborne.com
Also at Hawkins Bros, Wine & Earth, Farr Vintners and Bibendum.
What makes Oriana Golden Spur stand out?• Highest point of the South Downs National Park – a 25-acre single estate, entirely grown and made on th
Laurent-Perrier - 10am Champagne on a Monday
10am Champagne on a Monday isn’t my usual start to the week… but for Laurent-Perrier, I’ll make an exception. 🍾
The tasting at 67 Pall Mall reminded me why this house remains one of Champagne’s most respected names — prestige without pretence.Four wines, all under £90, all excellent quality and widely available, which really surprised me!
Constance Delaire, Laurent-Perrier’s talented oenologist from Bordeaux, led the session with warmth and passion– bringing to life the p
The Best Wine l've Ever Had
Taste - Clotted cream, orange blossom, almonds, white pepper. Very full, rounded and flavour lasts forever.Where is it from? Bâtard-Montrachet is a great white Grand Cru in Burgundy's Côte D'or, France. Its vineyards are located on the slope beneath Le Montrachet, in the Côte de Beaune. Bâtard-Montrachet's soils are heavier than those surrounding it, made up of brown limestone and gravel, which pave the way for rich, nutty, honeyed and heady wines with good structure.
Have yo
Lobster Rolls, Negronis & Wine Bars Worth Visiting in Soho
Lobster rolls and Negronis in Soho. Moi is high-energy, stylish restaurant restaurant with a cool vibe.
Upstairs, an open kitchen and wood-fired grill set the scene. Downstairs, the Listening Room shifts the mood with low light and music-led energy (soon to open).
The food is knockout: Sicilian prawns, lobster rolls, melt-in-your-mouth pork. Japanese precision meets the best of British produce, every plate built on quality and flavour.
The cocktail list is playful, t
Angelina, Dalston: Why Everyone’s Talking About This Wine-Led Restaurant
The talk of the town… Angelina on Dalston Lane where Italian flavours meet Japanese precision, led by Head Chef Daniele Cotugno.
Order the smoked Negroni, then enjoy Sicilian prawns, tomato salad, fried courgettes, a whole fish for two (£34) and the best tortellini in London. The wine list leans confidently Italian, which I love and enjoy Pinot Bianco from Alto Adige.
Service is spot on — I’ve never had a menu explained so clearly, right down to how many dishes to order.
Would You Pay €550 to Eat Mould? Inside the World of Mugaritz
For €550pp, would you EAT MOULD? 2 Michelin stars… but you’re eating with your BODY PARTS?! Yup. Fine dining, but definitely not as you know it.
This is Mugaritz — where finger food takes on a whole new meaning and body parts might just be part of the cutlery. This is not your candlelit, foie-gras-and-fine-silver affair. Mugaritz is deliberately disorienting. It’s part performance, part philosophy, part “wait… did I just eat mould?” Expect dishes that ask questions, not jus
A Modern Classic: Dining at Kentish Town’s Parakeet
The Parakeet is an open-fire fuelled beauty of a pub in Kentish Town with ex-Brat chef Ben Allen at the coals.
Kentish Town is food critic Giles Coren’s local ‘hood, so you need to be on your game to succeed here.
The Parakeet opened a couple of years ago and it became something of an instant classic.
The building is split into two very distinct sections - the pub for drinks and the dining room for food. I loved the art in the dining room and the use of greens and moody
3 Places You Need to Visit in London for Great Food and Wine
Brutto35–37 Greenhill Rents, Clerkenwell, EC1M 6BNThe last restaurant created by the legend Russel Norman and it’s a masterpiece. It’s a relaxed Italian trattoria meets New York City dark moody lighting! With insanely good food from light snacks, pasta and T-bone steaks, very cool vibes with a bar when you want to leave the table and epic £5 Negroni’s.
Tollingtons Fish Bar365 Tollington Road, Finsbury Park, N7 6DNA transformed old fish and chip shop into a Spanish-sty
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