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Awkward barrel samples. Weary vignerons. Fully booked hotels. Missed tables. The wine traveller’s path is rarely lined with sunshine and perfectly chilled glasses.
Which is whyIssue 40 of Noble Rotis aboutgood timing and giving yourself a fighting chance.
InTheWine Traveller’s Guideto Getting It Right, our man in New York,Levi Dalton, explains when not to visit wine regions, revealing how arriving at the wrong moment can distort your experience of young wines and quietly sabotage tastings before you realise what’s happening. He decodes the rhythms of the cellar, argues for visiting Burgundy in November rather than June (“a rookie mistake”), and shares insider intelligencefrom Santorini’s grape harvest colliding disastrously with peak tourist season, to the joys of Piemonte’s porcini season. Along the way, top winemakers, restaurateurs and critics reveal their favourite local places to eat and drink.
Elsewhere,Simon J Woolfoffers survival strategies for the awful wines served on long-haul flights, whiteAlice Feiringreveals the lengths she’d go to secure a decent glass in a restaurant cursed with a truly terrible wine list.
Talking of good timing, it’s given us Nebuchadnezzars of pleasure to see Pulp return with a new number-one album and one of last year’s genuinely great singles, Spike Island. Which makes it a particular delight to welcome Jarvis Cocker as this issue’s very special interviewee. That he arrived at Noble Rot Mayfair amid rumours of having no intention of drinking was an intriguing beginningone that, happily, did not last long. This is another vintage Rotter Towers extended-lunch interview.
Elsewhere in Issue 40’s celebration of everyday miracles:
- Jesse Armstrong, creator ofSuccession, writes about the cheese sandwich he considers hisGreatest Meal.
- Marina O’Loughlinmeets the chefs behindFallow, who have built one of the UK’s most successful hospitality operations and 1.4 million Instagram followers from scratch.
- Dan Keelingattends a tasting of Burgundy’sClos de Tartspanning 136 years, and reviews what may be the greatest-value red appellation in the world:Langhe Nebbiolo.
- Diana Henrydishes the dirt on choosing the right restaurant for famous guests, drawing on her former life as a TV researcher.
- Brian McGinn, co-creator ofChef’s Table, explains why it’s extremely unlikely he’ll ever commission a wine version.
Plus stories and recipes celebratingAutogrill,breakfast drinking,choucroute garnie l’asacienne, and how authentic Indian food is finally having its moment in New York City among much more.
March 2026
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