From the very first sip, dinner with this issue’s special guest, Ridley Scott, was another trademark Noble Rot interview that ran to more than several glasses and some unearthed little-known insights. Responsible for some of the greatest movies of all time – from Blade Runner and Thelma & Louise to Alien and Gladiator (the latter two of which we pay tribute to with this issue’s special dual covers by Gary Taxoli), Scott is also a wine lover who owns vineyards in Provence, and has a maverick perspective on everything from cooking the perfect scrambled eggs to how AI is changing the world. On the run up to the release of Gladiator II, with many new projects backed up, Noble Rot discovers what drives the 86 year old’s relentless work ethic in ‘Director’s Cup’. And while we’re on the subject of AI, sommeliers may like to hear that they’ve got little to fear from it stealing their jobs – at least if Hannah Crosbie’s conversation with ChatGPT after asking it to mimic a quick-witted Noble Rot Lamb’s Conduit St somm is anything to go by (‘I Drink, Therefore I Am’).