Father Christmas has a great cellar and always provides a top bottle of wine but sometimes a bit of guidance is all that's needed to ensure the day and the booze, flows smoothly.

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.

What is it about wine that average Joe public are happy to be ignorant about? I'm sure people don't follow the same philosophy when it comes to buying clothes or cars. In my experience consumers go out of their way to have some understanding of these. Why not wine?