De Bortoli wines from Australia

De Bortoli Wines is a third generation family company established in Australia back in 1928 after Vittorio and Guiseppina De Bortoli emigrated there from Northern Italy. The family continue to produce some wines that were made when the winery started up all those years ago, whilst developing new varieties through the generations. We tried three of the De Bortoli range recently and excellent wines they were too.

Indian Zing, Hammersmith

I’ve been banging on about Indian Zing since I first popped its roasted gram flour and cumin poppadoms into my greedy mouth three years ago. This is contemporary Indian cuisine at its very best – stylish but unpretentious, high class but reasonably priced and served with friendly warmth and knowledge.

Vagabond sets up home in Fulham

It has been suggested that I would go to the opening of a bottle and well, it’s sort of true, in this event anyway. Vagabond, a new wine merchant, opened to the public recently and I was asked along to their official launch. How could I turn down such an invitation?

Nielsen-Massey vanilla Baking Week recipe

So, it’s almost the end of National Baking Week but there’s still time left to bake up a lovely cake to please your friends and family. If you’ve not quite settled on what cake you want to make for National Baking Week, have a look at these two recipes using Nielsen-Massey vanilla and see if they take your fancy!

Leasingham Magnus Riesling 2009

This is an excellent, very pale, white that’s great to drink either on its own or with food. As you pour the wine and lift it to your nose you get clean grassy and delicate floral notes, giving the impression that it’s quite light, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Patten for life

A living legend, Marguerite Patten has influenced generations of home cooks through her TV and radio programmes, books and cookery demos during her 94 years. Her practical advice and endless creativity has seen the nation through war time rationing and several recessions and she is currently championing the resurgence of home baking, in partnership with Stork margarine. She talked to Caroline Sargent from her home in Brighton.