On the grapevine

Pint-sized: A rumour has been flying round that, now we have left the EU, we might revert to buying our Champagne in pint-sized bottles. Winston Churchill favoured this size for his regular drinking, ordering them from Pol

Roger who apparently supplied him with around 42,000 bottles during his lifetime. I really hope this pintsized idea does not happen. Glass manufacturers need standardisation to cut down on waste and making short runs of an odd size, which will be sold only in the UK, is a waste of resources. Cost is another reason. The cost of making an empty glass bottle is much the same, no matter what the size, so there will hardly be any saving on this strange 568ml size. If a bottle is too much for one sitting, use a Champagne saver and open it when you want another taste.

Clear the decks: This is thetimeofyeartohavea rummage in your wine rack and decide what has a reasonable chance of being opened in the upcoming months. Everyone has a few bottles that just never get pulled out. It might be something that is not to your taste, something you won at the school raffle or just a bottle that has missed its drinking window. You can either leave it in the rack, skimming over it every time you are looking for something to go with dinner, or you bring it out and place it in a prominent position to be opened, tasted and either drunk or poured into the gravy.

Accompanying courses: If you want to get some structure into learning about wine, then the Yorkshire Wine School starts a new set of courses this month. There are in-person courses in Leeds, Harrogate, York and Sheffield or online courses, from the foundation level of WSET (Wine and Spirit Education Trust) to advanced levels. Check out www. localwineschool.com or email info@ yorkshirewineschool.com