Wine for the weekend

Wine for the weekend – Amani Cabernet Franc-Merlot 2007

Wine for the weekend – Amani Cabernet Franc-Merlot 2007

The Arch hotel launched last night; it was an excellent party. Too good in fact. And too much time was spent in the martini lounge. So it’s with aching head in hand that we make this week’s recommendation – Amani: a gutsy kill-or-cure red from Stellenbosch, South Africa. Clocking in at 14.5%, it’s all you would expect from a cab franc/merlot blend: lush red fruits (blackberries and cherries), liquorice and spice. Tannins are smooth and silky, making for a well-balanced mouthful. It’s a high-impact wine for 15 quid, and one that has made us sit up and take notice of this boutique winery. Serve with steak. £14.50 at www.laithwaites.co.uk

Music,Style

Q&A with Miike Snow

Q&A with Miike Snow

You’ve seen the strange jackalope posters, you’ve read the rave live reviews, now meet the two Swedes and one American behind Miike Snow (and no, none of them is called Michael), the most enigmatic and intriguing pop outfit of the minute and stars of our February issue fashion portfolio, alongside Vampire Weekend, Biffy Clyro and others. [Read more...]

The style bloggers: Hynam Kendall

Sibling’s house of horror

Sibling’s house of horror

With Pringle’s Milan unveiling – elaborate, chunky knitwear layering – D&G’s knitted overcoats, and Alexander McQueen’s avant-garde knitted ski-masks, the men’s fashion week shows have taught us to embrace all things wool for 2010. [Read more...]

Bespoke,Style

The bespokesman – investment dressing

The bespokesman – investment dressing

The worlds of tailoring and reality television have surprisingly aligned this week with the news that Deborah Meaden from Dragons’ Den has bought Fox Brothers, the pre-eminent West Country flannel mill. Fox Brothers opened for business in 1772 in Wellington, Somerset and continues to make fine fabrics to this day. We recently featured a suit made with Fox cloth here and this navy pinstripe suit, made by Gieves & Hawkes, is also made from Fox flannel. www.foxflannel.com

The style bloggers: Jason Dike

The next small thing – neckerchiefs

The next small thing – neckerchiefs

Where do you go once you’ve reached the reservoirs of a trend? If you’re a follower of the workwear aesthetic — basically the look of a trendy
farmhand — you go dandy. Which is why we’ve seen every brand worth its weight in goodyear welted boots add at least one handkerchief to their AW10 collection. But whilst boutiques are selling handkerchiefs at extortionate prices, places like Aspinal are still selling them for £12.

The style bloggers: Hynam Kendall

A new style CRUSH

A new style CRUSH

CRUSHfanzine is fast becoming a dominant style speakpiece in the fashion world. The quarterly style publication, recently profiled and heralded in the same month by both The New York Times and Interview magazine, features contribution from the likes of Romain Vallos and Sebastien Meunier, with each issue examining a different obsession. The latest issue, Acting French, profiles the new wave of stylish artists working in French Cinema, from cover boy actor Salim Kechiouche to Arnaud Valois and Édouard Collin, all, of course, decked out in the sharpest attire. CRUSHfanzine is sold in Colette, Gagosian Gallery Bookshop, Printed Matter and Opening Ceremony.

Design,Technology

Welcome to the big Apple

Welcome to the big Apple

In the unlikely event you missed the media frenzy surrounding last night’s launch of the hallowed iPad (all credit to you if you did), here are the basics: it’s going to be big – bigger than the iPhone that is, and a little smaller than a standard laptop – with a 9.7-inch colour screen, up to 10 hours of battery life, WiFi, optional 3G and a virtual bookstore (called iBooks, natch). Read all about it (and the other tablet PCs blazing a digital trail in 2010) in our new eight-page technology section in the April issue of Esquire (on sale 4 March).

Music,What we're listening to

Going to great lengths

Going to great lengths

French producer Danton Eeprom’s debut album is rather difficult to pin down. Yes Is More, released on Fondation Records on 8 March, is an ambitious admixture of techno, rock, electro, disco and funk with a bit of Young Americans-era Bowie thrown in for good measure. [Read more...]