Wine is a vast topic, but over time I will add to this section with observations about fine wines based on my research.  The great trend in the last two decades has been the modernisation of wine-making, pioneered by the Australians and Californians, and this has now led to the expansion of wine industries in New Zealand, Chile, Argentian and a complete revamp of the South African wine industry.  In the UK French wines are the number two sellers after Australia, a seismic shift which has led to some French growers employing Australian wine consultants.

When I started to explore wine I found it hard to know where to start - there is a tremendous amount of jargon, and you seem to be expected to memorise vast numbers of villages and growers in France together with vintage charts before you can make any reasoned decisions.  While there are some excellent books out there, I found the most helpful thing to just go to a lot of wine tastings and make my own mind up about the kinds of wines that I enjoyed. 

This section will be expanded shortly.