who is Ant Rose?

my perfect day would begin with…

A cup of hojicha, Japanese roasted green tea. It's soothing and gets me going at the same time and it doesn't need milk or sugar.

the most beautiful wine region I've visited is…

The Roussillon in France's Pyrenean corner: it has the wow! factor. Like the sharp, stegosaurus-back mountains of the Cape winelands, the high Andean vineyards of Cafayate in Argentina's far north, the deep water lakes of Central Otago in New Zealand... Stop me someone.

if I wasn't a wine writer I'd be a…

I'd probably still be the lawyer I once was. Too bad.

the last bottle of wine I drank (not just tasted) was…

Well, that's just it, there never is a last bottle, only the next one.

my favourite restaurant(s) is/are…

Too numerous to mention, but for a start, Enoteca in Putney and Chez Bruce in Wandsworth, outside London, RyuGin in Tokyo, a Japanese Fat Duck, Don Mario in Mendoza, the perfect steak, T Chow in Adelaide, always a treat, Harry's Restaurant in Traben-Trarbach, a gastronomic surprise.

my cellar is mostly composed of…

Bordeaux, largely bought to finance the wines I'd like to drink such as Barolo, Barbaresco, Chianti Classico, White Burgundy, Red Burgundy, Rhône, Rioja, New World pinot noir, shiraz, riesling, Champagne - plus the occasional bottle of Bordeaux.

if you were coming for dinner I'd cook…

whatever took my fancy on the day and to make sure you had a good evening, I'd open a really nice bottle because whatever I cooked, I doubt that you'd complain if we shared a good wine together.

and to drink with it I would serve…

Another nice bottle if feeling generous.

and other dinner party guests would be…

wine resources permitting, the Emperor Probus, Eleanor, the Duchess of Aquitaine, Samuel Pepys, Leonardo da Vinci, Dom Pérignon and Thomas Jefferson for perspective and lively discussion, not to mention Dionysus, Lily Bollinger, Bridget Jones and Falstaff to inject a bit of fun into the proceedings.

my biggest blind-tasting faux pas was…

To the delight of the Qantas airline steward, not being able to tell shiraz from cabernet sauvignon on my first flight to Australia to judge an Australian wine competition.

the blind-tasting moment I would prefer to concentrate on was…

The day I was able to tell shiraz from cabernet sauvignon.

one thing that might surprise you about me is…

That I once took an immigration refugee appeal to the House of Lords − and won.

if I was a winemaker I'd make my wines in…

Concrete vats to preserve the fruit.

other than wine, I have a secret passion for…

Well, you did say it was secret.

my favourite holiday destination is…

My back yard. As a wine writer, I'm spoilt when it comes to travel opportunities, so I love the chance to stay at home, get the barbie going on a summer's day and put my feet up with a book and a glass of wine.

I think restaurant mark-ups on wine are…

A necessary evil. The $64,000 question is how much.

the best movie or TV show of all time is…

Always a personal choice but for TV I would go for Twin Peaks and the German series Heimat. Best films? Tarkovsky's Solaris, Fassbinder's The Marriage of Maria Braun, Kurosawa's Kagemusha, David Lynch's Mulholland Drive and Buñuel's The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.

in Summer in the garden I'd drink…

Riesling, white Burgundy and Champagne.

my favourite piece of music would have to be…

Positively 4th Street, Brahms Requiem, Verdi's Traviata and all the weird stuff on my iPod.

my best bottle of wine ever was probably…

The Isole e Olena Chianti Classico that preceded my successful request for the hand of an Australian photographer which her father agreed I could have as I'd taken all the rest.

And can I add a question 21?

three things I couldn't do without...
Lemon and ginger tea, roast chicken and, er, wine.

Tim Atkin • Tom Cannavan • Jo Simon • Olly Smith