From urban coastal accommodation made out of shipping containers to ultra-modern spa experiences and architecturally astounding retreats, the world is awash with places for wine lovers to lay their hat.

Pubs will need all the support we can give them when they, hopefully, reopen next month. For now, we have rounded up some of the most inspiring and entertaining stories to have emerged from landlords in lockdown, plus a few more from the history books.

Let’s face it, we could all use a bit of light-hearted entertainment at the minute, and what better way to plug in and tune out for a brief moment than with a podcast?

db’s resident sybarite, Lucy Shaw, heads to Bob Bob Cité in London’s financial heart for sensational snails, lashings of Champagne and an exquisite glass of 1983 Yquem.

We round up the top female sommeliers and wine buyers currently behind the wine lists at some of London’s top restaurants for wine, based on our recently published guide to London’s top 50 most powerful sommeliers.

Argentina’s Catena Zapata has collaborated with Wine Enthusiast on a new wine documentary series called It Starts With Wine, which features an an episode hosted by Dr Laura Catena on Argentine wine.

The Langham Hotel in London is to launch a new cookery school that will be fronted by top chefs including Michel Roux Jr and Chris King, and which promises to reveal “trade secrets” to its students.

Champagne Billecart-Salmon UK has named Chris Crosby as its new vice president with a remit to extend Billecart-Salmon’s network in the London on-trade, as well as members’ clubs and luxury hotels.

The life of Gerard Basset OBE, MS, MW, MBA, MSc (OIV) will be celebrated at a service of thanksgiving in Winchester in June, with all members of the wine trade invited to attend.

The Stafford hotel in London’s St James’ is set to open a new, independent Sicilian-inspired restaurant this summer in partnership with its culinary director Ben Tish.

WLC heads to Atul Kochhar’s new restaurant Kanishka, which promised to showcase cuisine from India’s lesser-known regions, and discovers plates of soft shell crab with peanut and mango chutney, steamed sea bass and a ‘cheeky’ peanut butter and salted caramel parfait adorned with gold leaf.

Following the publication of our guide to the best restaurants in London for wine, we felt it high time we shone a brighter light on those responsible for those lists. Here, we offer a run down of WLC’s Top 10 Most Powerful Sommeliers in London.