Well I did have my lunch with Paul Symington, as trailed at the end of my piece on Port v. its Australian counterpart. Together with other judges of the annual Symington Award for writing on port, we were giving this year's prize jointly to Neil Beckett for his diligent reporting in Harpers wine trade weekly and to Robyn Lewis for her lively overview of how port might be sold more effectively in bars and restaurants in Harpers' new rival the drinks business (sic).
Paul seemed much less upset by my acknowledgment of Australian answers to port than by my...