FOOD AND DRINK REVIEW

Eating Out - I really don't mind cooking! Providing I've got two hours to spare and I can have sole occupancy of the kitchen. As it is, I rarely get more than half an hour to spare and our kitchen has more traffice than the A60 at rush hour so, when it's my turn to cook, dinner tends to be a fried pork chop and a steamer full of veg. Sound familiar? I guess that's why more people are taking the more convenient option of eating out, whether it's McDonalds or the local pub.

I don't have a favourite restaurant at the moment, but if you have one that you would like to recommend I'll add the details to this website for all to see.

Drinking In - I usually update Warsop Web late at night when I sit down to unwind with a glass of wine, so it seemed quite fitting that there should be a wine review section on the site.

I admire wine-writers such as Jancis Robinson and Oz Clarke, but have never been able to work out how they get the flavours of chocolate, smoke, vanilla etc. from a wine. To me a bottle of wine tastes of grapes and I either like it or I don't, although I've managed to work out the difference between a cheap bottle of plonk and something more expensive. With this in mind I recruited Julie and Tania, who were more than happy to help me out with a bit of tasting.

As a social drink I usually settle for a wine around £3 - £5, but stretch to double that price for a special occasion. For the first review I chose my current social favourite.

Vine Vale - Grenache - Barossa, South Australia - Imported by Peter Lehmann - ASDA - £3.64

The label say's This soft but vibrant wine is made from grapes grown in the famous Barossa Valley of South Australia. The 1999 vintage gave us a wine with soft berry flavours and a satisfying finish that is ideal with most Mediterranean dishes. A 'drink now' wine that can be served slightly chilled if desired Carol say's This one was recommended on TV's Food and Drink. My husband, Paul thought I might like it and he was right. I've tried both the 1999 and 1998 vintage and they are equally as nice. It's an easy to drink, very smooth and fruity wine that compliments strong flavoured foods and is also nice as a social drink. Be careful though, at 14% it's about as strong as red wine gets. We tried Vine Vale at room temperature and all agreed that maybe we did detect a hint of a smooth fudge flavour together with blackberries. Or was it raspberries? After chilling slightly (the wine as well as us) the taste definitely changed to more smokey, yes I got the smoke, and a hint of spice. We all preferred it slightly chilled but gave it the thumbs up both ways.

Out of a possible 10, the Tipsy Trio awarded Vine Vale an overall score of 8. This is a versatile wine that is very affordable. March 2001 - ASDA are now selling the 2000 vintage, which deserves equal space in your wine rack. With the consistent quality of this wine over the past few years, you can buy it as you need it, although it is robust enough to withstand being laid down for a couple of years, if you can bear to keep it for that long. May 2001 - After selling out last month, ASDA have now re-stocked with the 2000 vintage of Vine Vale at £1 dearer, but still well worth it! Have you got a wine that you'd like to recommend? Tell us where you buy it locally, how much it costs and any other comments you'd like to make about it. Similarly if you would like to submit an article about food, whether it's a favourite recipe, a food item, or a pub meal, we'd like to know. E.mail us the details

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