The obituary writers have been busy this year and the case is equally true in the wine world.

While the pre-theatre dinner is a great boon to the restaurateurs, The Menu confesses to finding such dining to be overly rushed so is much taken with the Ballyvolane House solution, whereby the theatre comes to the diners.

THE sémillon grape isn’t used to the glare of publicity, but it suddenly popped up last week when a French restaurateur paid a record €85,000 for a bottle of Chateau d’Yquem 1811 — the most expensive bottle of white wine ever sold.