Guto Harri, The Savoy, ambition and fine wine collide in this week’s Vintage Politics. The former Downing Street Director of Communications, journalist and strategist spills all over a carefully chosen glass or two or three.

Guto revisits his years alongside Boris Johnson with a sharper edge. Behind the theatre and bravado, he paints a picture of a man he tried to pull back from the brink of Brexit. Warnings issued, the sense that the country was being nudged toward a choice whose consequences would outlast the moment. It didn’t work and that failure lingers between the lines.

But politics, in Harri’s telling, is never entirely separate from the personal. Wine runs through it all. “Wine lubricates life,” he says, and in his case it truly does, from the family lore that he was conceived over a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, to the long, looping conversations that shaped careers and convictions alike.

There are lighter notes, too Krug opened in moments of rare pause, a reflective glass of Rivesaltes, even the occasional midweek Californian Chardonnay — but they sit alongside the heavier vintages. Because then comes Number 10. In the wake of Partygate, Harri found himself not just defending a government, but reckoning with it navigating fallout, loyalty, and doubt.

This is politics uncorked full-bodied, conflicted, and impossible to separate from the life that surrounds it.

Wines featured:

Mid week wine: Bread & Butter Chardonnay, Majestic

Champagne Krug Grande Cuvée 172 ème edition, Ramsay Group / Spritz Marketing / Krug

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Tradition Vignobles Gonnet 2022, Corney & Barrow

Gérard Bertrand Legend Vintage Rivesaltes 1969, Ramsay Group / Gérard Bertrand

Graham's Vintage Port 1966, Ramsay Group / Graham's

This week on Vintage Politics, we’re joined by Jo Coburn a broadcaster whose career has taken her far beyond the Westminster studio. From reporting on a Prime Ministerial Afghanistan visit to travelling with the political press pack during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Jo Coburn has witnessed global politics up close as well as at home.

Alongside reflections on decades of political change, she also shares a lighter side—her fondness for a crisp glass of Albariño or the indulgent sweetness of Pedro Ximénez—proving that even the sharpest political minds appreciate a well-chosen vintage.

Wines featured

Mid week wine: The Guv’nor red (Majestic)

Joseph Perrier Vintage Champagne 2008 (Hedonism)

Martín Códax 'Cantigas' Albariño 2022 (Majestic)

Chateau Cheval Blanc 1967 (Hedonism)

Gonzalez Byass 'Noe' Pedro Ximénez VORS 30 years (Majestic)

This week’s guest is better known for his satirical sketches and Trigger Happy TV than his love of politics. That insight would be wrong! Dom Joly is a lover of both wine and politics, which makes him the perfect guest on the show.

From his self-confessed love of champagne and Lebanese wines to stories that feel almost too surreal to be true — including accidentally breaking David Mellor’s glasses with a football, chasing Peter Mandelson around and his own time working as a diplomat in Prague — Joly has had a front-row seat to the strange theatre of political life.

In this episode, we dive into “Vintage Politics” through his eyes: the larger-than-life personalities, the bizarre moments that history tends to smooth over, and the enduring sense that politics has always been, at least in part, a kind of performance.

Missiles in the sky, stories from the frontline—and a glass of Bekaa Valley red. Anna Foster on reporting, resilience, and wine.

In this episode of Vintage Politics, broadcaster Anna Foster reflects on her time reporting from Lebanon—where the reality of conflict was never far away, and nights could be lit by missiles streaking across the sky.

Amid the intensity of frontline journalism, Anna shares what it means to bear witness to history as it unfolds, and the personal impact of reporting in such volatile environments.

But, as ever with Vintage Politics, there’s another side to the story. From a love of midweek prosecco to discovering the bold reds of Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, Anna reveals how moments of lightness and ritual can exist alongside uncertainty.

A conversation about courage, perspective, and finding balance in extraordinary circumstances.

In this episode of Vintage Politics, veteran broadcaster Nick Robinson reflects on a career spent covering the people and moments that shape modern history—including his encounters with former US President George W. Bush.

With decades of experience at the heart of British political journalism, Nick offers a sharp and thoughtful perspective on power, leadership, and the evolving relationship between politicians and the media.

Alongside the politics, there’s also the pleasure. From a deep appreciation of Margaux to the lighter touch of crémant, Nick shares how wine has been a constant companion throughout his career—marking moments of significance both on and off the record.

Insightful, measured, and quietly revealing—this is Nick Robinson as you’ve rarely heard him before.

In the very first episode of Vintage Politics, broadcaster Jon Sopel—best known for The News Agents and his time as the BBC’s North America Editor—looks back on a career spent at the heart of global power.

From covering the chaos of Trump-era Washington, including his own headline-making clash with the former president, to reporting across Europe, Jon shares what it’s really like to navigate politics on the world stage.

But this isn’t just a story about politics—it’s also about passion. Jon’s love of wine, shaped during his time as Paris Correspondent and refined through the vineyards of Napa Valley, offers a more personal lens on a life lived between pressure-filled press briefings and carefully chosen bottles.

Sharp, insightful, and unexpectedly intimate—this is Jon Sopel uncorked.

Vintage Politics — Coming 26th March.
Uncorking the stories behind the headlines.

Join Abbie Bennington and guests as political storytelling meets exceptional wine. Each week, leading journalists and political insiders revisit the defining moments of their careers — paired with wines from the same vintage.

Featuring Jon Sopel, Nick Robinson, Guto Harri, Dom Joly, Anna Foster, Jo Coburn, John Pienaar and more.