This column is a massive fan of the wines of Spain. In my opinion, Spain currently offers the best value (price versus quality) of any wine-producing nation.

Italy is on my mind this week having recently watched the documentary Natural Resistance at the Grainstore in Ballymaloe about rebel “natural” wine makers in Italy.

New Year Resolutions are usually tedious things such as “visit the gym more than once a week”, “pay off the Visa bill every month” etc. This week I am proposing some pleasurable resolutions which will be no hardship.

I hope you can forgive the increase in prices on the column this week, I promise it is a once-a-year event, and only because I want to talk about Champagne.

APRIL is Real Wine Month which focuses on minimal intervention “natural” wines and also low intervention organic and biodynamic wines.

THERE are few wines more iconic than New Zealand’s Cloudy Bay which was founded in 1985 and whose intense pungent Sauvignon Blanc became a benchmark for the varietal in that country.

From the starter to the main course to dessert, wine columnist Leslie Williams serves up some must-have holiday drinks.