How, faced with the array of bottles in a wine store, do you pick the right one off the shelf? Here are few random but specific suggestions:   Decide on a price bracket and stick to it , but it can be worth spending at the top of that bracket. Remember that in. More...

Wine is quite simply the most delicious, most varied and most complex drink on the planet.  I think.   To me it is almost incredible that the fermented juice of a single fruit, the grape, can offer us so many different styles of liquid. From the tingly, zesty, water-white,. More...

Before wrestling with the cork or other stopper , the wine drinker encounters another illogical barrier to wine enjoyment, the often impenetrable foil or capsule that covers the cork. An increasing number of wine bottles are allowed on to the market without this addition, once useful for. More...

The world's wine producers spend a lot of time asking themselves and each other how to persuade more people to drink wine. And yet they continue to sell the vast majority of their production in such a way that it cannot even be opened, let alone consumed, without a special bit of equipment, great. More...

Organic and biodynamic wines   This is a vast subject growing in importance which has been covered in some depth on the site already. Although an increasing proportion of wine producers follow organic methods, there are no universally agreed rules for organic winemaking,. More...

In Part One , we looked at how much wine, water, and non-alcoholic drink to provide. Here are some specific suggestions as to what sort of wine to serve at which sort of gathering.   Pre-Meal Drinks Party   Wine (plus a non-alcoholic alternative) is. More...

Quantities   A tricky one, this. Individuals' capacity for alcohol varies enormously, as you have doubtless observed yourself. No-one could possibly accuse a host who provided his or her guests with the equivalent of a bottle of wine a head over the course of an. More...

  Factors affecting wine over time   Once it is firmly stoppered in a bottle, wine should be protected from it greatest enemy, the oxygen in the air. If, however, the cork dries out and eventually shrinks so that it no longer acts as an airtight seal, it may start. More...

  Whether to store wine   Wine, like any fresh food, changes with time. But whereas most consumables deteriorate from the moment we buy them, wine is one of the very few things we buy regularly that has the capacity to change for the better. Perhaps the top 10 per cent of. More...

Some people think that because of their age or status, it is somehow not 'done' to bring a bottle. Others would never dream of crossing a friend's threshold without a bottle of wine in hand. I can't see why anyone would resent the gift of a bottle thoughtfully chosen; although anyone who. More...