Paula's Wines of the Week (beginning January 5th 2009)
By Paula Goddard - 06/01/2009
Inevitably some of us will have put on weight over Christmas and, if like me, you not only cooked the food but ate it too - then the waist-band button is probably straining a bit. Obviously one way of dealing with this excess is to reduce the daily intake of calories. Wine contains calories, averaging 85 in every glass, so drinking two fewer glasses a day is the equivalent of removing a slice of cake from this woman's recommended 2000 daily calories (good news for men as you are recommended an extra 500 calories a day on top of this).
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Paula's Christmas tipples
What will you be sipping this tinseltide as you peel the spuds and carve the meat? Our regular wine writer Paula Goddard has this helpful advice for the best bargains out there. And don’t forget that Paula’s column is refreshed every week on our website - telling you which supermarkets to go to in order to bag the very best buys.
Paula's Wines of the Week (8th December 2008)
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For me Baileys IS Christmas. Each December the dumpy brown bottle finds a home alongside Crabbe's Green Ginger Wine and Harveys Bristol Cream sherry. But does Baileys still deserve its place? It does if you like the aroma of milk chocolate and the taste of chocolate fudge. Baileys Irish Cream should be drunk at room temperature from small glasses - but not if the marketing people have their way.
Paula's Wines of the Week (1st December 2008)
December's favourite recipe ingredients of rum soaked raisins, thick almond marzipan and rich royal icing need matching with alcoholic beverages of equally tasty proportions which are capable of standing up to their intense flavours. And port is the wine match of choice for Christmas cake and other seasonal puddings and pastries.
Paula's Wines of the Week (November 24th 2008)
Less wine and more alcoholic beverages are sampled this week as - because I have started baking the Christmas fruity puds and cakes. My whisky-soaked Christmas cake never gets covered in icing. I always intend to but a slice always 'mysteriously' disappears from the raisin-filled fruit cake before I get around to finishing it.
Paula's Wines of the Week (17th - 24th November 2008)
The Queen is cutting back on her wine budgets. Paula Goddard has some helpful advice on great wines at affordable prices - which you might find useful too!
Paula's Wines of the Week - 10th November 2008
Getting at and removing a cork ought to be easy - just insert the corkscrew into the cork and pull. However, more often than not, I see the cork tear and crumble as I heave on the corkscrew. The cork seems out to frustrate our primary goal - drinking the contents of the bottle.
Paula's Wines of the Week, November 3rd 2008
If you find you don't always drink the last drop out of each bottle and you're pretty nimble with a needle and thread - then you might fancy having a go at making a dress out of wine. Researchers at the University of Western Australia have discovered the skin-like layer produced when wine goes ‘off’ and turns to vinegar could be used as a dressmaking material.
Paula's Wines of the Week (27th October 2008)
What's your fave take-away? Paula Goddard loves a Chinese - and here's a super selection of wines to accompany a chop suey, noodles in sesame sauce or tasty spring roll.
Paula's Wines of the Week (October 20th 2008)
Not wine this week but cider as October is National Cider Month according to CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. Late October is when cider apples are at their ripest and are hand picked, pressed and fermented into a fruity beverage that is a real alternative to wine.
Paula's Wines of the Week 13th -20th October
Pretending to be Jilly Goolden while swirling and sniffing the contents of each wine glass is half the fun of wine appreciation. But sometimes, I admit it, I need help identifying a wine’s aromas. Just because someone tells you they smell and taste wines for a living it doesn’t make their judgement infallible.
Paula's Wines of the Week
Cava, Spain's answer to champagne, celebrates its heritage this second week of October. Held every year in the cava-growing region of Catalonia in northern Spain, sparkling wine makers and its fans all get together for a week of dancing, singing and, oh yes, drinking.
Paula's Wines of the Week
The ideal storage conditions for wine is a dark, damp, cool wine cellar. But as few of us have one of these, where’s the best place to store wine?
Paula's Wines of the Week (15th - 22nd September 2008)
Evening classes usually begin at the end of September and many local education authorities offer wine appreciation courses.
Paula's Wines of the Week
Ditch the diet of cold quiche and fresh fruit, comfort food is now required. A good pork sausage and an extremely large dollop of creamy mashed potato should do the trick. But what wines should go with them? Our wine expert points you towards some great value bottles on sale this week.
