Introducing wine boffin and all round angel…. Halo:

I spent New Years Eve with five of my oldest and dearest school friends. Well, who better to wave a spirited goodbye to 2009 with? Who better to offer a tipsy welcome to 2010 with and poke a sozzled stick in the eye of January’s smug guilt–tripping mug? Not so, three were pregnant and two were breastfeeding, very bad form indeed! And so it fell to me (and the boys) to raise a glass of something good ‘for the sake of Auld Lang Syne’ (it means ‘Days Gone By’ – hmm, how very appropriate). ………

Introducing Clarky:

With the festive season in full swing the question on the thinking girl’s lips is not so much its time to ditch my YSL’s for Moon boots, but what exactly is the best wine to drink on a hangover?

Granted the notion of hair of the dog is nothing new, but over the past weeks of Christmas parties and lunches I have discovered that certain wines can restore equilibrium to even the most partied out journo and binge drinker, such as myself. Traditionally I am something of a white wine drinker – red’s often leave me with a headache, and the cheaper ones a nasty stain on my teeth. But I have found Red Wine is something of a magic fix when it comes to the hairier of hangovers. ………

Introducing Mrs H:

Now that the heating is on, the winter wardrobe is out and the fridge is stocked with soup I need to seriously start thinking about my wine selection. Since the clocks went back and winter was officially announced the summer spritzers and chilled bottles of rosé are a distant memory; its time to turn my attention to rich reds.

I started this seasonal change when I invited Miss Bouquet and Clarky for dinner to feed their colds. I decided to treat them to some French classics, after the obligatory Champagne aperitif I served Boeuf Bourguignon, which by definition implies copious amounts of red wine. We not only managed to polish off the wine infused meal but several bottles of Miss Bouquet’s finest Bordeaux. Yum. ………