Sir, - Catching up on some weekend reading, I encountered the following in Mary Dowey's wine column (Weekend, June 19th): "Stonking is the word for this full-bodied flavoursome wine" (Chateau de Flaugergues). It's a while since I last came across the "S" word, beloved of food and wine writers; clearly a major accolade, it is sparingly used. But what an intriguing epithet!
"Stonk: To bombard with artillery (Shorter OED)."
I should dearly love to know what levels of borborygmus a food or wine must induce in order to qualify for the "stonking" appellation. Can any of the cognoscenti enlighten me? - Yours, etc.,
Desmond Kett, Kilbarrack Gardens, Dublin 5.