14 Oct 2006

14 October 2006

In this issue

Featured articles

A cellar can - and should be - much more than just a cave; if well-designed it can provide a valuable space in which to drink as well as store your wine, says Paul Wyatt in his comprehensive guide to building the perfect wine storeThe great Burgundy producer Henri Jayer used to say that although 80% of his region’s wines were good to start with, only 20% remained so after bottling. Things may be better now. But the loss in quality between the acquisition of a wine and its consumption is frequently still unacceptably high, often as a result of poor storage.

South Africa: not civil war but sad decay

Rian Malan, acclaimed author of My Traitor’s Heart, says that the rise of Jacob Zuma as a serious presidential contender is a terrible symbol of his country’s inexorable decline into disorder, political corruption and maladministrationWhen the winter rains closed in on Cape Town I thought, bugger this, I’m selling up and moving somewhere sunny. To this end, I asked the char, Mrs Primrose Gwayana, to come in and help spruce up the house.

‘Anti-Americanism is a form of fascism’

Narrow nationalism, hatred of Jews, and chauvinism find their meeting place in anti-Americanism, the acclaimed French thinker Bernard-Henri Lévy tells Allister HeathWhat is most unusual about Bernard-Henri Lévy is not that he wears his white shirts open almost all the way down to his bellybutton; one would expect little else of a French philosopher who grew up hooked on the deconstructionist theories of Jacques Derrida.

Keanu Reeves teaches Python magic

Some years ago I was writing a script with John Cleese in Los Angeles and we went for dinner at a buzzy brasserie called Chaya. When the waiter brought our steaks he also brought a $200 bottle of St Francis Cabernet Sauvignon. We hadn’t ordered it; the waiter said it was a gift from some anonymous diners. John suggested to the waiter that they come by our table as they were leaving the restaurant.It turned out to be Keanu Reeves and a couple of chums.

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