I'll paint you a word picture; it was the eve of the wife's 30th birthday. I was suffering the pre-giving of gifts nervousness. Had I got her good enough presents? Forget "good" even; had I got her enough presents full stop?

There was of course one aspect of the evening that I was in full control of. The wine choice. Knowing the I had a bottle of this safely stowed away in my wine cooler provided plenty of comfort.

I'll paint you a word picture; it was the eve of the wife's 30th birthday. I was suffering the pre-giving of gifts nervousness. Had I got her good enough presents? Forget "good" even; had I got her enough presents full stop?

There was of course one aspect of the evening that I was in full control of. The wine choice. Knowing the I had a bottle of this safely stowed away in my wine cooler provided plenty of comfort.

I'm a bit on the fence in general about Valentines' Day. I don't like feeling obliged to go out for a ludicrously overpriced meal at a table just 4 inches away from the next table with a host of other couples, most of whom aren't speaking to each other and are only out due to the sheer obligation of it all. I'd much rather get some nice food in and spend some of the money you've saved on a nice bottle of wine. With the wife of course.... I probably should have added that sooner. So, with that in mind I've set out some ideas below:

A great many people these days resort to buying wine in supermarkets. With our ever increasingly hectic lifestyles it's a convenient way of going about wine buying, but it's also easy to fall into the trap of buying wines which are reduced in dubious discounts, or to just end up drinking relatively uninspiring wines produced at a price imposed by the supermarkets and made by winemakers who are not exactly inspired to produce their best work.

There is of course another way; that of the online wine store or online wine clubs. I've set out below some that I'd recommend.

Every wine has a time and a place. I'm not particularly into Rosé wine but every now and then on a hot summer day I end up quite fancying a glass. At this time of year however with the wind battering the door and your car windscreen under an inch of ice there is only one option; a big hearty glass of red!