Noble Rot Edition 30

Are the Sulfur Wars – the exhausting ideological battle over the addition of SO₂ that has polarized the natural and traditionalist wine scenes – finally coming to an end? Judging by the recent softening of rhetoric from previously purist quarters, we dare to hope. Here at Rotter Towers, we've always valued an open mind above generalizations, celebrating the best zero/ low-sulfur wines alongside decidedly unnatural classics from the '70s and '80s. So we're delighted that divisions over one of the most important methods for wine preservation and hygiene are fast giving way to a middle ground. Here, we report on how adding the tiniest amounts of brimstone – the ancient name for sulfur – can mean fewer mousey, oxidized, or otherwise bogging wines.

Also in this issue…

… interview rapper/actorCanoe– AKA Sully from Netflix gangster classicTop Boy– and the TV star who almost single-handedly taught Britain, and almost certainly your mum, to cook:Delia. Fellow culinary legendAngela Hartnetttalks to the icon – for whom, like Pelé just one name suffices – about everything from her days at the BBC to owning Norwich City FC, while Kano waxes lyrical about his burgeoning love of wine.

…travel toSaint Joseph in the Northern Rhône Valley to meetJean-Louis ChaveandJean Gonon, and profileCorsica's Sciaccarellu, France's tiniest domaines,the wine-centric area ofNew York Citythat you shouldnotcallDimes Square,and theold-school Napawineries that are being bought up in their dotage.

Elsewhere,Henry Harrisprofesses his love for fatty foods,Alice Feiringreflects on temporarily losing her smell,Marina O'Loughlinreviews Vasco & Piero's Pavilion, anti-social agony uncleJohn Nivenanswers readers' questions,Brawn's Ed Wilsonkicks off our new series on cooking with wine, Kate Spicer tells us why she can't love any restaurant that doesn't love her dog, andSimon J Woolfreports on howwinegrowersare eschewing the use of new oak. Roll out the barrel!