Two Rhone whites: Lovely ripe waxy Chevalier d’Anthelme; Biodynamic Fleur de Lune quite the revelation: Matt Walls Stone, Vine & Sun Vignobles de la Vallée du Rhône RhoneValleyVineyards medium.com/@tomsk71/two-c…

#1 child tells me she missed cider in Japan and wonders if you can get it in Belgium (where we go next week). I only know about the local beers and occasional wine. Any advice / recommendations The WineSmacker?

Re-publishing this piece on a controversially inexpensive cava from Lidl cc D.O. Cava UK @LidlGB Richard Bampfield wine thinker (wine_thinker on Thre@ds) Dave Cronin ADHalliwell Philip Reedman Spanish Wine Collective Spanish Wine Lover FoodWineSpain Shawn Hennessey ☀️🍷 medium.com/@tomsk71/arest…

Walking under the giant trees at Padley Gorge never lose its magic, that little thrill of hearing nothing more than the brook and your footsteps and the steady drip-drip-drip from the leaves. It feels as if Nature is holding her breath, watching with you, admiring the morning.

An Old World / New World SB-off with: - Bordeaux Wines UK Château de Cérons vs - New Zealand Wine Europe's Villa Maria cc Majestic Wine, Lea & Sandeman, R&R Teamwork Hatch Mansfield medium.com/@tomsk71/the-c…

Is it me or has Godello gone from obscure to mainstream in just a few years? Enjoyed this one in any case. @cvne Hatch Mansfield Spanish Wine Lover Spanish Wine Collective ADHalliwell Dave Cronin Phil Mugford Andy McLeod 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇪🇸🍷 Shawn Hennessey ☀️🍷 SolicitingFlavours Erik Burgess 🇳🇿🍷🥂 medium.com/@tomsk71/val-d…

Keeping it Belgian 🇧🇪 this evening. Family beer tasting and some Ardennes pate.

Antwerp at night

Lunch at La Ferroniere, Bouillon - as lovely as it was 17 years ago. With a mature Luxemburg Pinot Gris. Followed by a walk.

Less-but-better: my downsized, upscaled haul this year from Auchan Calais (normally bring back a lot more) - reds from GCC down to Bdx via Les Crus Bourgeois - AlsaceWines whites - Loire Valley Wines Coteaux du Layon - sweet wines from Bordeaux Wines Plus Belgian beers.

Such a quiet time of year, this teetering between summer and autumn. The trees are streaked with gold in the green, the air is thickening, the birds pausing before their journeys. As I stood here, the only movement was the bubbling water and the occasional leaf spiralling down.

The little clapper bridge over Malham Beck. Malham Cove this beautiful morning. Yorkshire Dales NP

Three late-summer pinks from Vins de Provence UK & Pays d'Oc IGP Wines at Co-op Now we just need the weather for it: medium.com/@tomsk71/three…

Did a 3-way Riesling-off for #1 child: - mature Mosel - young Mosel - young Australia medium.com/@tomsk71/anoth…

Afternoon punting with #1 child

Three dinner-party wines: Loire Valley Wines fizz from Bouvet Ladubay Vignobles de la Vallée du Rhône pink from Vidal Fleury Wines of Provence Pinot Noir from Maison Louis Latour / LouisLatourAgencies cc Limm Communications medium.com/@tomsk71/dinne…

The final wash of purple on the #peakdistrict moors is now fading. The heather lasts for such a short time, but that's why it's so anticipated, so appreciated, and then so missed. Happily the gates stay, and the weather-beaten trees, and the twisty paths into the sunset.

Doesn't September have the most perfect mornings?! Hushed and still, with low mists hugging the rivers and the treetops just turning gold where the sun has lingered longest. It feels as if Nature is gathering her breath now after the rush of Summer and before the blaze of Autumn.

An elegant Beaujolais cru with a bit of age Vins du Beaujolais medium.com/@tomsk71/rober…

Catching up with wine friends over some lovely Georgian wines presented by Sarah Abbott MW for GeorgianWineUK