The Friday 5 #105

3 great finds in Suffolk + the ultimate destination for a big birthday lunch (especially if the birthday boy/girl is a winelover)

I’ve been ALL OVER THE PLACE this week - Essex, Kent, London and, as you can see, a very stormy Southwold which means I can barely remember where I am let alone what day of the week it is.

Not much wine tasting, I admit, except at the stellar Danbury Ridge on the way back from Suffolk - the winery John Atkinson who came to our recent English wine tasting represents.

I hadn’t visited since 2019 so it was good to catch up. Here’s the winemaker Liam Idzikowski talking me through the different soils in their vineyards.

I know their wines are expensive but they’re much sought after and if you like the idea of bamboozling a pinot lover with a bottle from Essex, which I confess rather appeals to me, buy some now. They’re not going to get any cheaper. (Hennings has the 2021 pinot for £42.50 for instance.)

We were in Norfolk to see my brother who had a bad fall a couple of weeks ago from which he had finally been discharged back home, frail but in good spirits.

We stayed nearby on the coast at Southwold so there are a couple of good recommendations from there. 

Finally I ended up in London for one of the final judging sessions of the Great Taste Awards about which more soon, the most decadent lunch ever and a natural wine tasting at my London home from home, The Pilgrm.

PS speaking of natural wine, a heads-up that my friend Ruth Spivey is organising one of her amazing Car Boot Sale wine events next Saturday (20th) at Coal Drops Yard near Kings Cross which will give you a chance to try and buy a wide range of natural wines. More details here

On to this week’s top tips - 3 from in and around stormy Southwold . . .