Douglas Blyde

Charles Davies has made and risked fortunes, built companies, owned an Ibiza nightclub, survived Mozambique and stopped drinking. Now he is betting that alcohol-free can finally grow up.

For International Pinot Noir Day – and perfect, also, with grouse from the Glorious Twelfth onwards – Douglas Blyde asks why the world’s most seductive grape has become a promise its owners are frightened to test

Leaving behind The Bell at Ramsbury, and its paintings depicting unusually cheerful US presidents, I climb into a Defender with Nik Fordham and head for higher ground.

Douglas Blyde visits Luso, the Portuguese restaurant that replaced Nuno Mendes’ Lisboeta on Charlotte Street.

While the British Museum queues for Bayeux, Reading offers space to breathe: a full-scale Victorian version, Norman ruins, grand rooms, and a restaurant far better than expected.

There are, admittedly, more obvious places in which to go looking for William the Conqueror. Bayeux would be one.

Douglas Blyde visits ATLAS James & Maria Close, where a newly opened 36-seat dining room and 7,000 bottle cellar take centre stage.

Champagne’s grapes are ripening earlier, its market is losing some of its sparkle, and its producers are investing in English soil. Ahead of World Champagne Day on 23 October, one question bubbles to the surface: why are we still saving the good bottles for special occasions?

Douglas explores Langosteria London, the elegant seafood restaurant at The OWO, examining its Italian roots, impressive wine list and ambitious dining experience.

At Airelles Palladio, even going to the loo can improve one's appreciation of art. An oil painting hangs within contemplation distance of a heated