Peter Stafford-Bow

Did you order haggis with your scotch?

Plump, ripe Grenache grapes hang beneath a leafy vine in Roussillon

A little story of my visit to the Agly Valley in Roussillon, where I picked pert bunches of Grenache and trod upon them.
(Substack link in bio)

🇲🇩 Moldova, you’ve done it again.

No attempt to sow fear or division could break your resolve.

You made your choice clear:

Europe. Democracy. Freedom.

Our door is open. And we will stand with you every step of the way.

The future is yours.

Wild lettuce secretes a milky substance that was used in the 19th century as a sedative. It is sometimes known as “opium lettuce.”

And that’s why salads for lunch are dangerous.

One is a Vineyard Or, how I became a peasant.

My latest Substack (free to read!) is a tear-jerking story of suffering and pigeon persecution amongst the vineyards of London’s Zone Two. 🐦🍇

open.substack.com/pub/petersta...

A Bracing Aperitif Welcome to my wine-scented newsletter

open.substack.com/pub/petersta...

Batman punching Cesar Romero Joker with the word "Schlitz!" in pink at a jaunty angle

Batman punching the Penguin with the word "Pabst!" in light blue at a jaunty angle

Robin punching some henchman in a red and grey striped shirt with the word "Stroh!!!" in orange/red at a jaunty angle

Batman punching some henchman in a blue and grey striped shirt in front of a shelf of books about the Incas with the word "Blatz!" in bright green at a jaunty angle

replacing Batman fight onomatopoeiae with old midwestern brewery names

Sir, are you on fentanyl?

Zeller Schwarze Katz (Black Cat) is a German vineyard region near Zell/Mosel. Legend says in 1863, when Aachen wine merchants couldn't choose between three barrels of winemaker Peter Anton, a black cat jumped on one and defended it fiercely. They bought that barrel.

When on the train from Bucharest to Istanbul, it’s important to take provisions and all necessary medication…

59/ Luxembourg has a minister of wine, due to the industry's importance to the economy. It is, however, the norm for Luxembourg cabinet ministers to hold multiple posts at once.

The image shows the 17th century painting “Landscape with Windmills near Haarlem” by the Dutch painter Jacob van Ruisdael.

Disgusted to see this beautiful landscape ruined by wind turbines.

Nice little white Corbieres made by the grandson of the adventurer Henry de Montfried...

Boozy theologians:

Pourgustine of Hiccough
John Dramascene
Thomas Aq-wine-as
Karl Barf
Hans Slurs Von Balthasar

I'm blessed to live near a really really really good wine shop that has a little bar in the back. I mean it's north of Bolton so deeply inconvenient for anyone apart from me but I'll give it some love
www.turtonwines.co.uk

All successful beverages, as they become marketer-driven rather than producer-driven, are driven toward blandness in every tangible sense: appearance, aroma, flavour. Driven by corporate management’s technical, intellectual and emotional risk-aversion.

So true - it was all about Spanish, Aussie and Chilean deep pinks, then suddenly everything became pale and ‘lifestyle’

More! More!! More!!! — Katie Mather Writes Oaky Chardonnay’s Rocky Past Originally published in the California issue of Wine52’s magazine Glug, Spring 2025

New on the blog and in my newsletter! A look at buttery Chardonnay's rise and fall, the infinite pendulum swing of fashion trends, malolactic fermentation as status indicator, and OAK.

Originally published in Glug mag for Wine52 in Spring 2025

www.katiematherwrites.com/the-gulp/mor...

I finally made a starter pack.... if you want to find some more wine people to follow on here, maybe it will help.

go.bsky.app/U3ZkLQr

Con Altura — Making Wine and Preserving Culture in Tenerife’s Vineyard Heartland — Pellicle By the edge of Puerto de la Cruz’s tiny harbour in northern Tenerife, a seafood grill operates out of a converted shipping container. Boys fish from the harbour walls, and girls jump into the choppy w...

Did you read my latest wine story yet? It's about winemaking smallholders in Tenerife using sustainable farming methods to reclaim their island.

Con Altura — Making Wine and Preserving Culture in Tenerife’s Vineyard Heartland — Pellicle share.google/0e6B8bDFiL72...

I have all sorts of neuromuscular issues these days, alas, and training grapevines doesn’t exactly bring physical relief. But psychically, it’s just what the doctor ordered.

My favourite bit is that the robot is clearly thinking about the Roman empire

Magazine cover in a tweet by Beau (@DrBeauBeaumont): "Taylor Swift: How did she get to be so huge?" Beau's comment: "I think the photo's just been taken from quite close up, to be honest with you." They're 100% correct, the image is an extreme closeup of Ms. Swift's face.

The article misses much by glossing over rather crucial facts and not coming back to a core question of, why does the English language have the dominance in the world that it does? Money & power.

amtrak’s marketing team gets it

My wife still brings up Wine Eyed Jill whenever we argue. It was 20 years ago!

why is the president the only person testing the limits of his power? everyone should see what they can get away with. what if zookeepers gave helicopters to gorillas? nobody has tried this

Germany would surely welcome any fleeing American rocket scientists associated with the former regime

Pellicle We’re a magazine and podcast devoted to exploring beer, wine, cider, food and travel, and the joy we find within these cultures.

Will you do me a favour and help me tell more people about @pelliclemag.com?

We're an award-winning independent beer, wine, cider and food magazine and we need more support!

www.pelliclemag.com