On the grapevine

Napoleon’s loss: Napoleon Bonaparte loved the sweet wines of Constantia from South Africa and when he was exiled to St Helena his wine went with him. Around 1,000 litres of Constantia wine were sent to his lonely island every year. But not all the bottles made it to the shipment. There are around 12 bottles of the 1821 vintage still in existence somewhere in the world and one is coming up for auction at the Cape Fine and Rare Wine Auction, on May 22. The reserve price is £5,000 but it is expected to exceed that figure. Generally bottles such as this are bought to be looked at, not enjoyed. However, should you want to drink your purchase you will be pleased to know that the bottle was opened in 2019 when it was recorked by cork producer Amorim, and inspected by wine expert Michael Fridjhon. If you wish to bid for this taste of history, check the website www.capefinerarewine.auction

Ferrari on the podium: There is no family connection between Ferrari cars and Ferrari wine, but for the first time they have met on the podium of Formula 1 in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Italy. Winners of the race traditionally spray the wine over everyone within reach, and now the premium sparkling wine from Ferrari in Trento has become the official “Toast of Formula 1”. Ferrari makes terrific wines in its sparklingly modern winery. So far they haven’t made it to Yorkshire, but I expect they will be racing their way here soon.

Vintage declaration: The Fladgate Partnership, owners of Taylors’, Croft and Fonseca ports, has declared four single-quinta vintage ports from the 2019 vintage from Quinta de Vargellas, Terra Feita, Guimaraens and da Roeda. Port vintages are always declared in the second year after the harvest when there has been time to assess their quality. These ports won’t be ready for drinking for another decade or so, but they will be fabulous.