On Wine
On the Proper Temperature of Red Wine
Room temperature was invented in a colder room than yours.
Read the Full DecreeOfficial Publication of the Estate
The Delicacies Gazette
Vol. IPublished at His Excellence's LeisurePrice: One's AttentionTWENTY THREE Decrees in Circulation
On Cheese
Against the Cheese Board Assembled in Haste
Six items, one hour of warming, and no cubes. That is the entire law.
Read the Full DecreeOn the Estate
The State of the Royal Library
The series roadmap and the Duke's suffering during research.
Read the Full DecreeOn Whiskey
On Ice, and When It Is Permitted
Permitted more often than the purists claim. Denied more often than you would like.
Read the Full DecreeTHE REGISTER OF DECREES
On the Table
Concerning the Word "Artisanal"
A word that once meant something, now applied to sandwiches at petrol stations.
On Wine
On the Correct Response to a Corked Bottle
Say something. The wine is not your fault and neither is the silence.
On the Estate
On the Correct Use of the Logbook
How to actually use the log pages, lest you ruin them with careless scribbles.
On Chocolate
Upon the Subject of Chocolate Percentages
The number tells you less than you think, and nothing at all about quality.
On Wine
A Ruling on Champagne Flutes
Elegant, traditional, and actively working against the wine inside them.
On Caviar
On Storing Caviar, and the Metal Spoon
The coldest part of the refrigerator, and never, ever silver.
On the Estate
A Decree Upon the Occasion of Our Founding
The Duke announces, with great reluctance, that the estate is now online.
On Wine
Against Tasting Notes That Describe Rocks
Nobody has licked a wet stone. Say what you actually taste.
On Cheese
On the Cheese Course, and Where It Belongs
Before pudding on one side of the Channel, after it on the other. Both are defensible.
On Whiskey
Concerning Whiskey and the Question of Water
A few drops open the dram. A splash drowns it. The difference is real.
On Wine
On Decanting, and Whether It Is Theatre
Sometimes essential, often useful, occasionally pure performance. Know which.
On Wine
A Decree Regarding Vintage Charts
Useful in aggregate, useless for the bottle actually in front of you.
On the Table
On the Correct Number of Glasses
Two shapes will serve you for life. The rest is cabinetry.
On the Table
Against the Tasting Menu of Nineteen Courses
Somewhere past the ninth course, dinner becomes an examination.
On the Table
Upon Salt, and the Fear of It
Under-seasoning is the most common fault in domestic cooking, and the most fixable.
On Whiskey
On Drinking Alone
The Duke's position, which may surprise those who know only his public one.
On Chocolate
Concerning the Pairing of Chocolate and Wine
Frequently attempted, rarely successful, and the reason is arithmetic.
On Whiskey
A Decree on Aged Things, and the Cult Thereof
Age is a number on a label, not a virtue, and the distinction costs people money.
On the Estate
On What All of This Is Actually For
The Duke sets down the monocle for one paragraph. It will be back next time.