Champagne is a drink that works all year round, as welcome on a chilly Christmas morning as on a hot day in June.

From starters to the end-of-the-day movie, Christmas can be a long haul but with the perfect drink in your hand, you won’t want it to end.

THE sad news of the death of Paddy Keogh of Wines Direct was announced recently and this column would like to extend sympathies to his family and work colleagues.