I have a nostalgic theme this week as I was reminded at recent tastings by how much our tastes have changed since I first became interested in wine.

AS YOU may have noticed in recent weeks the autumn seems to be French Wine Sale time in Irish supermarkets.

SHERRY seems to be having a small revival at the moment after many years in the doldrums and my strong advice is that this is one bandwagon you need to join.

WINE is complicated enough for many consumers to get their head around, given the number of foreign words involved, whether they be obscure wine regions or simply grape varieties. It is not surprising that the simple labelling found on the average bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or Chilean Merlot is so welcome to many of us.