At this time of year when credit cards are Christmaxed-out and we’re cold and weary from parties and shopping, Chez Bouquet I’m looking for a wine that both comforts and tempts but isn’t diametrically opposed to the balance on my bank statement!

Infrequently referred to as a region where luxury and affordability meet, Bordeaux can in fact be just the place to look for that reassuringly priced wine hug that’s perfect for a cold Christmas night in. Dourthe’s Croix des Bouquets 2010 (£10 from Oddbins) not only has a great name but is temptingly affordable and comfortingly different in style.

A classic white Bordeaux blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion its complexity comes from 6 months aging in oak barrels to give an opulent and youthful white wine with fresh apricot and apple aromas. If you’re fed up with hearing that Pinot Noir is the only wine to be seen serving with your turkey then take note; this is the ultimate white replacement.

Stop. Date check. It’s 2011, non? And yet I’m still rarely passed the wine list unless Mr B gestures for the waiter to do so. It makes me wonder when I’m out with my girlfriends how staff decide which one of us looks worthy of being handed the wine list. What qualities do they look for within the group? The one with the largest nose? The one that looks like they earn the most? Wine savvy or not when it’s just us girls they can’t fall back on the usual indicator of what is or is not between our legs….

With this in mind I’m manning up. Not in a stuff my trousers sort of way or by quoting equal rights the next time a wine list is swooped into Mr B’s hands. Non, this month I’m manning up my wines, I’m talking wood, full bodied, oaky wines that stand up and get noticed and can’t fail to be taken seriously. Au revoir light and floral, delicate whites and pinker than pink summer rosés. This season I’m drinking manly wines, wines that won’t pull their punches and are so fantastically complex that you’ll be left in no doubt as to who’s wearing the trousers. ………

Every January London’s streets become a training track for the Christmas over indulgers and crazy London marathon runners. After April the pavements are cut some slack but come May a swathe of women take to the streets. Have you noticed? They’re all a similar age, all desperate to tone up & lose some weight and all sporting a diamond or three on their left hand. Beware the Bridezilla’s!

It’s a horrible term isn’t it? Bridezilla. A cross between a bride and an oversized gorilla, ………

The last of the summer wine…. is it that time of year already? My bikini has yet to see the light of day & my consumption of rosé hasn’t peaked since Christmas, yet the *crunch* of pink screwcaps opening, which has long signalled the sound of the summer wine, has been unusually quiet this season. Surprisingly though I’ve realised I’ve not actually missed it.

Amongst the wine trends I’ve been enjoying over the last few weeks – including a renewed interest in chilling red wine (hands up those that heard me on the radio talking about that one?!) and the rise and rise of the delicious wines of Portugal (more on that next time) – a general nonchalance towards the nations favourite summer wine had passed me by. ………

I cannot get enough of London at the moment! It helps of course that the sunshine makes everything look amazing but it’s not only the capital that’s looking good it’s the people wandering around it that are looking fabulous too. Have you noticed? Take a look when you’re next having a sneaky cappuccino to drink-in. Every other woman I see looks like she’s just stepped out of the pages of a magazine. Floaty floor length skirts, ankle tie sandals, short jumpsuits, long jumpsuits, bold florals, nude shirts, colour blocking minis all of which are complimented by immaculately painted toes. Of course. You’ll see what I mean when you’re next on the tube, glance down long enough to enjoy the rainbow of colours fit to brighten up the dullest of journeys but look away before you home in on fake tan smears! It’s the beginning of June, we’ll have it perfected by July!

The ease at which so many women have embraced this seasons trends is testament to the fantastic job of the high street and online retailers who have made fashion so affordable and accessible that it’s almost impossible to get it wrong. In wine terms however there are very few retailers that manage to communicate this year’s wine trends and simultaneously inspire people to go out there and try them.

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There’s definitely some change a foot in the wine world but I’m yet to put my finger on it. For starters the last two wine events I’ve been to didn’t have a white clothed trestle table in sight. You see! Take Moët and Chandon who this week launched a ‘ground breaking new champagne’. The biggest Champagne brand sold in the UK in terms of volume, loved and loathed in equal measures by the wine trade for its success and longevity as much as for its sheer volume of sales. And it’s now loved and loathed by me for its ability to bring a slice of St Tropez chic to a noisy roof terrace overlooking Hyde Park Corner as much as for its creative use of the term ground breaking. ………