THE last week of November was Rhone Wine Week organised by the ever busy Simon and Emma Tyrrell of Tyrrell and Co. who import a range of wines from the region, including one that Simon himself makes called Les Deux Cols which featured here a few weeks ago.

THERE was a time when around 70% of the wine we bought was from France but those days are long gone.

SEPTEMBER is never a good month money-wise with the summer holidays a distant memory, the children arriving from school with requests for extra books and sports equipment, and the radio programmes beginning their doom-laden countdown to the next austerity Budget.

IF YOU want one example that shows that us folk are pretty weird even at the best of times, just consider how often our choice of wine is based solely on the grape variety in it. It’s nuts.