The Winery Jean Claude Moniot of Champagne

What to drink now… Mimosa Perfect for spring brunch, the Mimosa is a mix of equal parts Champagne and orange juice. The cocktail is attributed to Frank Meier, head bartender at the Paris Ritz, who served the first Mimosa in 1925, though the recipe appeared elsewhere in France at the same time. Either way, it’s a twist on the British Buck’s Fizz, invented in 1921 at the Buck’s Club in London, which used more Champagne and could include gin. Avoid vintage fizzes or special cuvées: a classic ...

According to lifestyle and happiness guru Gretchen Rubin, you ‘bring your own weather to a picnic’. Ms Rubin, I’d suggest, has never shivered under a tree watching raindrops turn her fish-paste sandwich to mush because the weather forecast was wrong. There are, it’s safe to say, picnics and Picnics. It’s a term that takes in everything from a rubber baguette in a French ‘Aire’ off the Autoroute du Soleil to a four-course spread while listening to opera at Glyndebourne. What’s definitely true is ...

Traditionally the wine auction market took the summer off. Although the season has lengthened recently, summer is usually a fallow period. This year, speculation was rampant – will the market (and the prices) continue their upward spiral? The first fall sales have now been conducted, and if prospects for the wine market remain strong, a few clouds linger on the horizon. Wine auction results in 2021 broke all previous records and set a new benchmark. With sales in major auctions of over £500m, th ...