ABOUT PETER STAFFORD-BOW
Peter Stafford-Bow was born into a drinking family in the north of England in the mid-1970s.
A precocious, self-taught imbiber, he dropped out of university to pursue a career in alcohol. After managing several downmarket London wine merchants, he became a supermarket buyer, a role which kindled his life-long love of food, other people’s hospitality, and general gadding about.
After periods living in East Asia and South Africa, Stafford-Bow returned to the UK to pursue a literary career. He has written four successful novels; Corkscrew, Brut Force, Firing Blancs and Eastern Promise.
He lives in London with a wealthy heiress, an extensive wine collection and his pet ferrets, Brett and Corky.
Reviews and interviews
“...incredibly entertaining, lively, fun, and one of the best fiction books I’ve read in a very long time.”
A book review of “Brut Force”
Miquel Hudin
Aug 5, 2020
“Thank goodness for Peter Stafford-Bow, who is currently the only author I know who’s really made this combination not just sing, but positively cavort naked around the room.”
Book review: Peter Stafford-Bow – Firing Blancs
Simon Woolf, The Morning Claret
Jul 13, 2020
“…a drink-splutteringly good read.”
The Wine Tipster Reviews: Firing Blancs by Peter Stafford-Bow
Neil Phillips, The Wine Tipster
Jul 1, 2020
“Honey-traps, blackmail, embezzlement and fine wine? It can only be Felix Hart…”
Nick Breeze, Secret Sommelier.com
Jun 28, 2020
“It’s a fast-paced romp from one amusing set piece to another but, as companies today fall over themselves to demonstrate their ethical credentials, also a timely satire on the cynicism of woke capitalism.”
Booze interview: Peter Stafford-Bow (Firing Blancs)
Henry Jeffreys, Henry's World of Booze
Jun 19, 2020
Who does the fictional author Peter Stafford-Bow think he is?
Richard Siddle, The Buyer
Nov 6, 2018
PETER STAFFORD-BOW HAS BRUT FORCE: WLD #206
We Like Drinking podcast
Dec 21, 2018
Q&A with Brut Force Author Peter Stafford-Bow
Todd Godbout, Wine Compass
Dec 17, 2018
Author Interview: Peter Stafford-Bow of “Corkscrew” and “Brut Force”
Stefani Akins, Stop and Smell the Pages
Dec 14, 2018
Excerpt from Brut Force
The Drinks Business
Nov 15, 2018
Booktrail blog - Corkscrew
Jul 16, 2018
Q&A with Peter Stafford-Bow, author of Corkscrew
Darren Willmott, Vinesight
Jun 13, 2018
CORKSCREW BITES: WLD #116
We Like Drinking podcast
Mar 31, 2017
"Boasting casual storytelling mastery and the sharp-tongued wit of Tom Robbins, Peter Stafford-Bow presents an incredibly amusing and unpredictable tale. For wine lovers or those who simply love a great story, this is a mad ramble through the tangled world of wine, taking readers across two continents and countless adventures of one exceptional character, Felix Hart. Corkscrew is a strange cross between a thriller and a farce, but Stafford-Bow pulls it off with panache – and a self-aware smirk on his face." ★★★★½
​
John Staughton, Self-Publishing Review
October 3, 2016
CORKSCREW
The highly improbable but occasionally true tale of a professional wine buyer
ISBN (paperback) : 978-1-78-608066-0
ASIN (Kindle): B07CCFW82L​
​
'One of the funniest novels I've ever read. I honestly didn't want this book to end.' - The Wine Stalker
"Peter Stafford-Bow’s first novel, CORKSCREW: The Highly Improbable, But Occasionally True, Tale of a Professional Wine Buyer, follows Felix Hart as he rises comically from an ejected prep school student to a major player in the wine industry, narrating his account to a panel of mysterious investigators.
​
But CORKSCREW is more than just a string of eccentric and naughty anecdotes—it’s a chronicle of one man’s undeserving good fortune as he bounces around the world buying wine and climbing up the corporate ladder of retail.
​
CORKSCREW will make the reader squirm, cringe, eye-roll and surely laugh out loud as he travels through the pages of this tale, negotiating, charming, escaping danger, and drinking wine with Felix."
​
Erin Greenhalgh for IndieReader.com
October 5, 2016
"This book gets a big thumbs up from me... this is not for youngsters."
Dave Nershi on Vino-Sphere.com
December 5, 2016
See the full review: 'Top Three Wine Lover Books For Christmas' on Vino-Sphere.com
"...one of the funniest novels I've ever read. I honestly didn't want this book to end."
Joey Casco on The Wine Stalker.net
January 8, 2017
BRUT FORCE
The further, staggering adventures of a professional wine buyer.
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-91-261580-3
ASIN (Kindle): B07CCFW82L
​
​
'It's an insane novel. It's clever ... and brilliantly conceived.'
- Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson.com
"...a humour and swagger that combines elements of Wodehouse and MacDonald Fraser..."
Nick Breeze on Secret Sommelier.com
December 9, 2018
"I freakin' love this book. I love the series."
Joey Casco on The Wine Stalker.net
December 18, 2019
"...a very enjoyable romp... the entertainment value is super."
Peter Donnelly on The Reading Desk.com
March 14, 2019
FIRING BLANCS
​
Release date: 1st June 2020
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-913036-23-2
ASIN (Kindle): B08HD8PGCP
'Fast moving and funny' - Tim Lott
“Honey-traps, blackmail, embezzlement and fine wine? It can only be Felix Hart…”
Nick Breeze on Secret Sommelier.com
June 28, 2020
“Just like its two predecessors, Firing Blancs rattles along as fast as a bullet”
Simon Woolf on The Morning Claret
July 13, 2020
“…this is his best. Shades of Evelyn Waugh here in its humour and satirical thrust."
Tony Aspler
EASTERN PROMISE
​
Release date: 3rd July 2023
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-7393999-0-0
ASIN (Kindle): B0C62CPCXN
“Stafford-Bow’s satires are well-observed, irreverent, ribald and wicked.”
Simon Woolf
​
"I am now more convinced than ever that Stafford-Bow is one of the finest wine writers of our age. It’s not easy to write fiction that simultaneously delivers a rollicking narrative, cocks a snook at the establishment, is uncomfortably accurate and up-to-date, tackles deeply embedded and currently relevant but also contentious issues, and is bitingly funny."
Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson.com
September 26. 2023
​
​
"If there’s one wine book to read this year, this is it."
Miquel Hudin
September 6, 2023