Fellow Wine Lovers,
This week, a rather whiney man wearing a decidedly non-establishment bright blue suit threw his toys out of the pram. It would appear that he didn’t enjoy coming under scrutiny for receiving a gift that he should have declared. We thought we would scrutinise a little ourselves to see what all the fuss is about.
In 2010, Katy Perry bought her then-husband Russell Brand a $200,000 ticket to space aboard the Virgin Galactic for his 35th birthday.
In 2011, Tyler Perry gifted both Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King a lavish $250,000 Bentley car for Christmas.
Also in 2011, Boris Johnson bought Prince William and Kate Middleton a tandem to celebrate their wedding day.
In 2013, Robert Pattinson helped his then-girlfriend Kristen Stewart ring in her 23rd birthday by giving her a $43,000 a limited-edition white-gold Tibaldi Bentley Crewe pen.
In 2014, Angelina Jolie presented her then-husband Brad Pitt with an $18,500 olive tree as a wedding present. They planted the tree at their French estate, Chateau Miraval.
In 2016, Kanye West gave Kim Kardashian a 20-carat emerald-cut diamond ring, valued at $4 million. This ring was tragically stolen during her infamous gunpoint robbery in Paris in 2016.
In 2024, Nigel Farage received a gift of £5 million from ‘crypto-billionaire’ Christopher Harborne (aka Chakrit Sakunkrit). This gift has been flagged to the Parliamentary Standards watchdog. It is also being looked at by the National Crime Agency in relation to potential money laundering, having been flagged by bankers in a Suspicious Activity Report.
In 2026, Stephen Deleonardis (aka Stevewilldoit) gave every single player and member of staff on Mexico team a Rolex watch valued at between $30,000 and $90,000. They all had to return them because they broke the FIFA Code of Ethics.
As we can see, many of these gifts are between spouses, whilst another was returned immediately following a break of the rules. Finally, the hero of our story has been subject of endless speculation, argument and whinging whilst still the subject of several investigations and doesn’t look like it’s going to be returned.
In other news, it would appear there may be a chance Count Binface will be elected in Clacton after he pledged to bring back Ceefax. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister, still Kier Starmer, has suggested there may be a Bank Holiday if the England team win the World Cup. A bit of work to be done before then methinks.
World Cup Quarter Final rounds started last night, with France silencing Morocco, and will continue over the weekend. We’re coming to the pointy end of Wimbledon Tennis whilst in the Rugby Nations Championship it’ll be Scotland’s turn to face South Africa whilst England will be facing Fiji. Other nations are of course available.
Tonight, we have the next edition of the Diamond League Athletics coming at you from Monaco, with Alex Yee competing here for the first time in years. He’s competing in the 5000m but we mostly know him as a triathlete.
That brings me nicely on to proper sports. The Tour de France said goodbye to the Pyrenees yesterday with an incredible performance on the Col de Tourmalet from Tadej Pogačar, who rode into yellow and now has a lead of over 2 minutes ahead of Jonas Vingegaard. Today, we’ll be sprinting into Bordeaux and I think Jasper Philipson may want to reproduce his 2023 performance where he beat Mark Cavendish. This time the Cavendish role could be played by Olav Kooij.
In wine news, Californian members of Congress wrote to the new Premier of Quebec imploring her to reopen trade with US wineries. The claim that American wineries “have no connection” to “underlying trade disputes” follows a California Wine Institute report confirming 2025 as “the most catastrophic single-year trade disruption in the history of US wine exports”. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that Canada’s liquor boards, their largest customer, removed American wine entirely from shelves. He’s big and orange and can’t stop making America great again!
Tasting This Weekend
Given the weather, we thought we’d go with something zingy and fresh, like Southern Dawn Sauvignon Blanc 2025 (£13.99). This is an excellent Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc with all the trademark passionfruit, citrus, nettles, cut grass and hints of capsicum that you would hope for. These aromas light the path to a soft, well rounded palate with a luscious mouth feel and pronounced fruit characters whilst the finish is limey and assertive and more-ish!
We’ll head down to Southern Italy for the red, where they’re used to this weather, and try Cantine Pirovano Beatrice Nero di Troia 2024 (£13.49). Beginning in 1850 with an Osteria serving Southern Italian wines, the Pirovano family business has developed into an Italy-wide producer and bottler of wines. This deep purple coloured red is made using 100% Nero Di Troia grapes from their sun-drenched vineyards. The nose is full of summer berries, blackberry, black currant and even a hint of strawberry jam. On the palate the wine is sumptuously smooth, juicy with ripe berry fruit and very well balanced.