It it said that wine reduces the risk of heart diseases because of its alcohol and non alcoholic natural plant compounds also knows as photochemical. Of course that also depends on the amount of wine one drinks. If you drink more than the recommended amount then obviously you take some risks compared to those who drink less. Many people think red wine is more healthier and beneficial than white wine. Drinking a glass of red wine on a daily basis is recommended by many doctors. Many households these days have a wine cellar or at least a few bottles of wine in storage.

Unlike a, champagne glass or a whiskey glass, which is not commonly offered a wine glass is a failrly standard treat when visiting is the most common treat when visiting someone. It seems as if wine has become a modern necessity. Wine drinking is not considered as a negative action in many countries, mainly in Europe and South America. The top-5 benefits of drinking wine are:

1. Good heart health as it thins our blood so there’s less work for the heart

2. Lowers the risk for developing diabetes

3. It lowers the risk for stroke

4. It helps to prevent cataracts

5. Longer life as it is believed that it can lengthen your life

Don’t get me wrong though I am sure in one way this is good for our area. The new store has employed an addtional 250 staff, so at least that will be 250 less people getting benefits each week.

However, there is an awful lot of controversy because Tesco’s have been granted a 24 hour alcohol licence. The new store is in a part of our town where crime is already a major concern. I’m not so sure it is a good idea to grant a 24 hour licence. The scum that already roam the streets at night are just going to be even worse if they can get their hands on alcohol all night.

Don’t get me wrong though I am a lover of alcohol, but is it really necessary to be able to purchase it at 3.00 o’clock in the morning?

I have never felt the desire to still be drinking at this time of the morning and I would think if you are then you have a pretty bad alcohol problem.

The store was due to open at 8 this morning and I would think they have invited some local Dignitary to cut the ribbon and there will be a bit of a do afterwards.

I wonder if the drinks have been provided by Tescos??

Personally my favourite is a glass of red, but I would imagine they have quite a choice. There will probably be German Wine, Italian Wine and maybe even some Portuguese Wine. I bet they haven’t pushed the boat out and provided any Champagne!!

Tesco are reportedly giving a local charity 1,000 Pounds towards building a children’s hospice. Although this sounds like a lot of money, when you consider that their annual pre-tax profits for 2009 were just over 3 billion, personally I think they could have given a little bit more!!!

Wine. This has to be the hands down winner in terms of choice popularity. Some may argue that it is a little boring but just think, no one has ever been unhappy to be given a bottle. You should make your wine slightly more personal though by selecting one that you enjoy yourself or a wine that you picked up on holiday. This will make the gift more interesting and is also a good conversation starter. If the host doesnt like wine, then how about a bottle of whisky and a whisky glass set?

Dinnerware. This is not as common a gift as wine as people sometimes think they will have to buy their host a whole set if they choose dinnerware as a gift. However you dont have to bring a whole set as a gift, there are plenty of individual items that people can use. Why not go for a nice serving plate, champagne cooler or fruit bowl. If youre really struggling then anything crystal glass makes a quality present.

Quirky gifts. If you want to give your host something a little bit different, why not choose a little novelty gift. fun gift are always well received and because they are cheap, it doesn’t matter too much if the receiver does not hang on to them. How about some light-up ice cubes that people can put in their drinks, or alternatively some funky tumblers which that change colour with the temperature of a drink. Whatever you get will be well received by you host though as it really is the thought that counts with these things

Traditional Corkscrew These have been around for a long time now and are still as effective as they ever were. Most people have some form of corkscrew in their home as part of their tableware sets, and if you know how to use one you can get a bottle of wine open in no time. It does take a little bit of effort however and they are not really suitable for people who have limited strength or dexterity in their hands.

Modern device Advancements in technology have thrown up a number of different devices for making bottle opening a great deal easier. Some of these rely on advanced mechanics, like the winemaster corkscrew, that turn a straight forwards movement into a twisting one. Battery powered devices are also becoming quite popular now but some would argue that if you’ve got one of these you might as well just buy screw tops

Saber – If you are the adventurous kind or a bit of a show off then you can saber a bottle of wine open. During the Napoleonic era, victories were often celebrated with a champagne saberage. This requires a bit of skill and essentially involves lopping off the top of a champagne bottle without damaging the rest of it. Just make sure there arent any crystal vases or bowls around when you swing that saber After removing the wire and foil from the head, you also need to ensure the cork is soaked in water and that the neck is struck at an angle with the saber, away from the holder and as cleanly as possible. Simple

All you need now is a couple of wine glasses and some good company, and youre laughing

Firstly and most importantly, you need to match the wine to the meal you are going to eat. Everyone’s opinion is different when it comes to which wine will taste good with different foods, but there are a few basic rules that you can follow if you’re not sure. The easiest way is to match the colour of the wine to the meat, you can’t go wrong. So if you’re eating red meat select a dark red Cabernet or Syrah. For lamb or pork a medium bodied red like a Merlot is less heavy whilst still supplying a rich flavour. Chicken and fish dishes are often overpowered by reds so it’s best to go for a crisp white instead, such as a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. If it’s a special occasion or celebration, you might be better off with a sparkling wine, served in fancy Champagne flutes.

Once you’ve worked out what kind of wine you want, look at where it has come from. Wines from different regions will be hugely different in quality, so it’s best to do a bit of research into the best regions. If you’re not sure, France is always a safe bet and has been producing good quality fine wines for hundreds of years. Italy is another good choice, and Chilean wines are also very popular at the moment, particularly the reds.

Something else worth checking is the vintage of the wines you are choosing from, or the year they were bottled. A real wine buff will know the best vintages for each region, and will buy only vintages which they know came from a particularly good crop. For the rest of us non-experts, it can seem like a lot of guesswork, but if you know the basics you’ll at least be on the right track. That all wines taste better the older they are is a common misconception. It’s true that most red wines improve with a little aging, but most wineries won’t distribute these reds for a couple of years after bottling to give them time to mature. This means by the time they become available to buy they are ready to drink and will taste good. Most white or sparkling wines don’t need any aging, and taste good if drunk straight away.

When choosing a glass try using larger and rounder goblet glass that has a wide rim for the best results. It adds a psychological element by making it seem like an occasion, something special is happening while drinking the wine. This type of glass does have many benefits; it helps the smell of the wine to be released as well as aiding the flavour by the taste bursting in the mouth as soon as the wine is drunk.

The tips I would advice to get the most out of your wine is to make sure you decant it, warm the wine glass you use and eat salty snacks before you drink.

Doing such a simple thing as using decanters can make a serious difference to the taste. Remember to decant the bottle of wine two hours before you want to drink it, this is important and also make sure it remains at room temperature.

Having a warm glass is simple thing but often overlooked. Make sure your glasses are at room temperature the same as your wine. If your glassware is cold you can warm it up by running it under a warm tap for a minute.

Salty snacks can add extra flavour to your wine if you eat them before. Surprising salty snacks are great to prepare your taste buds for wine, so if you’re not serving wine before the meal salty snacks should be used.

You should try and incorporate these tips whenever you serve wine and they are not high resource ideas so can done easily.

We were met at the airport by our host and he swiftly whisked us off to his house so we could unpack. My jaw nearly dropped when I first saw how large his house was – it was huge. He had everything you could ever imagine – a swimming pool, sauna, tennis court, gym and even a home cinema.

Waiting for us in his kitchen was some beautiful Australian wine, nicely chilled in a wine cooler and bottle opener all ready to go.

Our host was a real wine buff and has his own wine racks down in his cellar. He imports a lot of wine from Australia and was explaining that the cellar has to be kept at just the right temperature, which is quite difficult at times. He was saying that if the conditions arent right, then lots of problems can occur. An example he was telling us was that if the humidity is too high in the cellar then this makes the corks dry out and in turn would allow air to get into the bottle and oxidise the wine, which would be disastrous.

After we had finished our drinks we were off for a night in the Temple Bar area. We had a brilliant night and the Irish are so friendly. Nothing was too much trouble and they are such lovely people. Hubby was in his element knocking back his pints of Guinness. I think the next morning through he was wishing he hadn’t drunk quite so much.

We had a brilliant weekend and it is certainly something I would love to do again. I think that if we go again it might be a good idea not to drink quite so much alcohol!

Wine. This is the most obvious gift and a very safe option. There is an argument that it is a little too predictable, but it is very good choice if you do not know the host very well. You should make the wine slightly more personal though by selecting one that you enjoy yourself or a wine and maybe also include wine glasses to make just a little more special. Not only will this spice the present up a bit, but it’s also a nice talking point.

Dinnerware. This is not as common a gift as wine as people sometimes think they will have to buy their host a whole set if they choose dinnerware as a gift. Don’t think you have to buy a whole set however, there are lots of stand-alone items which are very useful. Some good choices are wine coolers, fruit bowls or cheese boards.

Novelty gifts. If you want to give your host something a little bit different, why not choose a little novelty gift. These are often good fun and because they are not expensive, they can be thrown out without too much guilt on their part. How about some light-up ice cubes that people can put in their sherry glasses, or glass marker that people can stick on their drink so that they remember which one is theirs. Its more the gesture that counts with party gifts so whatever you do, don’t spend too much time worrying about it

It’s like the theory that drinking from crystal glass makes wine taste better than regular glasses. It’s true that it is nicer to drink out of a crystal glass, they do feel nice to hold and they make that lovely sound when you tap them, but I’ve yet to see any evidence that it has any effect on the flavour of the drink. A nasty wine will taste nasty whatever you drink it from just think of the familiar grimace on people’s faces when they take a sip from their posh celebratory Champagne flutes, only to be reminded that they’ve always hated Champagne and are only drinking it because it’s what you’re supposed to do. So maybe think about presenting it in posh decanters and wine glasses.

A true wine buff would tell you they can tell the vintage of a good wine and the region where it was bottled just from tasting it. But in the opening episode of BBC4’s recent mini-documentary series entitled simply (and rather inventively, I thought!) Wine, an interesting scenario arose. A group of professional wine experts were offered a taste from an unknown bottle and asked to guess its vintage. Most of them placed it somewhere in the 1980s, with the exception of one French expert who said 1928. It turned out it was from 1870, proving that none of them really had a clue.

So do factors like the age and vintage of a wine really make any difference in terms of a wine’s quality? If even these knowledgable experts can’t tell the difference then it would seem that the answer is no, they probably don’t. Older wines are likely to be more rare, which might go some way to explaining why they cost more, but I bet those experts could have got a whole crate of good 1980s wines for the same price as that one bottle would have cost. And in these times of the credit crunch do people really want to be paying so much more for fancy wines when it’s entirely possible they could get one just as good or maybe even nicer in Threshers for under a tenner?