Sophie Mclean

Glasgow

Freelance writer and self-confessed italophile with enthusiasm for all things fun - namely travel, food & wine. Oh, and fast cars. Infrequent cellar rat.

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Articles

In Praise of the Pub: The Unruly Pig

1 week ago | arbuturian.com | Sophie Mclean

The humble pub is celebrated in a series of events this summer, Pub in the Park, the UK’s largest food and music festival tour, showcasing the best of British pubs, restaurants, and chefs. Ahead of its launch, Sophie McLean visited the winner (again) of the UK’s Top Gastropub Award to see what makes this national institution prevail…There’s nothing better than a decent pub. The very best are literally that – a public house.
A Welcome Retreat in Windsor

3 weeks ago | arbuturian.com | Sophie Mclean

A royal blue sky welcomes passengers off the train at Windsor and Eton Riverside on a bright late February afternoon. Clouds like foamy suds in bathwater sweep between the colour as footsteps force gazes to adjust away from the railway lines and onto charcoal chimneys and turrets, and brick upon brick of Bagshot Heath stone. In case visitors need reminding of why they are here, The Royal Windsor pub is the first thing you’ll see upon exiting the station.
Nouveau or bust: Taking part in The Beaujolais Run

2 months ago | decanter.com | Sophie McLean |Sophie Mclean

While I was revising for my final WSET diploma exams, the only way I could commit to memory the 10 crus of Beaujolais was to come up with a mnemonic to prompt each one. In my case I turned this mnemonic into a princely romance, and to this day it still helps me identify the individual sites when needing to recall them.
Bright Lights, Big City at The NYX London

Feb 15, 2025 | arbuturian.com | Sophie Mclean

Snapshots of people of London. Like camera shutters flickering, catching a specific moment in time. The reality is that even with close observation you never really know what’s going on with a person until you step into their shoes. There are so many different London lives lived. Travellers, locals, those rushing around on a business dime. In Holborn you see an ample view of many of these contributors to the capital. Like a reality TV show but witnessed in real time.
La Gemma, Firenze

Oct 7, 2024 | arbuturian.com | Sophie Mclean

Looking out onto a floodlit Duomo, Brunelleschi’s famous dome and arguably the most prominent symbol of Tuscany, streaks of magnificent, curvaceous, white and ochre hues frame a royal blue, warm, October sky. We are on the top floor of recently opened five star La Gemma, a new addition to the last word in luxury accommodation in the beautiful Italian city of Florence.
The Sense, Tuscany

Sep 11, 2024 | arbuturian.com | Sophie Mclean

The problem with Italy is that it makes you feel things. For the last twenty years I have been travelling to this pretty Peninsula and I don’t think I can recall one trip that hasn’t moved me in some way. Even when I’ve sent friends here, unaccompanied or indeed chaperoned, there have often been tears. Not fat, ugly ones, as was recently the case for me, but happy ones too. Emotions here are charmingly, freely entertained.
The Sea Cloud Spirit

Aug 16, 2024 | arbuturian.com | Sophie Mclean

Under Jacaranda trees, dropping pretty purple blossoms that create a sticky residue along the pavements that they mark, our eyes cast further up towards a trio of towering boat masts, grazing bright blue skies with their grandiose presence. Hugging the edges of Malaga’s marina, the Sea Cloud Spirit, a stunning 450 ft long windjammer whose bow is adorned with a golden-eagle, captures open-mouthed imaginations of passengers and onlookers alike.
How Private Equity Is Driving Sustainability in Europe

Jul 17, 2024 | earth.org | Sophie McLean |Sophie Mclean

As long-term owners of portfolio companies spanning numerous sectors, private equity firms are well-positioned to accelerate the transition to net zero and more equitable business models. Earth.Org takes a look at the importance of prioritizing sustainability in the Private Equity (PE) sphere and Europe’s unique role in this challenging process.
BISOL 1542: The Pinnacle of Prosecco

Jun 6, 2024 | arbuturian.com | Sophie Mclean

Having introduced those now ubiquitous bubbles to the UK some 35 years ago, Gianluca Bisol returns with a tour to launch their latest, perhaps greatest, release. Sophie McLean joined him for a dinner in London for the opening night…‘Evening Phil,’ a well-dressed, tall, white-haired man utters as I cross his path descending the staircase to the dining room at Soho’s Bocca di Lupo.
A Bonnie Lassie Did She Go: The Arb in Aberfeldy

May 3, 2024 | arbuturian.com | Sophie Mclean

“Do you want the truth or do you want the story?” asks Daniel Pi, paraphrasing the overarching sentiment of Life of Pi – no relation to himself, yet possibly just as great a philosopher in many other ways. We are sitting around a long wooden table, discussing our favourite films over a highland dinner at the very beautiful Ballintaggart Farm – a private ‘restaurant with rooms’, found in Scotland’s Perthshire.