California has been a hotbed of great wine for many years now, even if somewhat misunderstood. The mass-produced styles of Gallo's Rosé have dominated supermarkets and High St outlets for a long time now, thus giving a poor representation to the true nature of this States wonderful wine.

How would you describe a wine tasting, what goes on? If you've never been to a tasting, what do you think happens? I suppose you could say that it's simple! After all, it's in the title 'Wine Tasting!'

Over the last month or so my wine rack has been dominated by South African wine. This has all stemmed from an event I attended in London to highlight wines and food from South Africa. Since then it's been Africa all the way.

As grape varieties go Pinotage seems to have developed a bit of a Marmite tag, you either love it or hate it. I've never been able to work out why! Maybe it's a lack of understanding; after all, genealogically speaking, it's still a relatively new genus.

One of the things I love about wine is its ability to evoke a memory. It could be from the smallest, most insignificant moment to a major event that has happened in your life. A simple sip will kick start your own personal memory drive. For me, in this case, Shrove Tuesday! You'll see why in a bit.