Noble Rot, Director's Cup! - Issue #36 Alien Cover

Noble Rot Issue #36, Director's Cup, Alien cover, is a print magazine of wine, food and culture in one of two collectable jackets.

Two covers were drawn by artist Gary Taxali for this number, one saluting Alien and one Gladiator; this is the Alien jacket, with identical contents inside. The film tribute exists because Ridley Scott gives the cover interview, talking vines, scrambled eggs and artificial intelligence over several glasses — he owns vineyards in Provence and holds firm views on most things. Staying with machines, Hannah Crosbie asks a chatbot to impersonate a quick-witted Lamb's Conduit Street sommelier, with results the trade will find reassuring. Delia Smith picks a greatest meal, Kermit Lynch recalls a Paris wine shop, and Chartreuse gets a look.

Worth choosing on the cover art alone if Alien is the poster you would rather have on the wall. Past the collectors, it suits readers who like wine writing tangled up with film, restaurants and the occasional argument about technology.