On the grapevine

Wine and Cheese: For a taste of five cheeses, sourced from the excellent Courtyard Dairy and five wines to match, head along to Martinez Wines, in Bingley and in Ilkley on the first Thursday in the month. For £25 you can taste your way through the various combinations of cheese and wine, with decent sized chunks of cheese and 100ml of each wine. All cheeses and wines are decided in the few days before the event, to make sure they are in perfect condition. Tasting notes are provided but there is no-one standing up and talking, so it makes for a quiet evening of taste discovery.

March 3 is the next date. Ring 01943 600000 for more details.

Health Warning: We have become used to health warnings on cigarette packets and warnings about drinking during pregnancy. Now there is a move to put health warnings about cancer on bottles of alcoholic drink. In a debate in the European Parliament, which will legislate for EU countries exporting their wines, even to us, labels could carry a warning that ‘‘harmful alcohol consumption is a risk factor for many different cancers’’. Initially there was an intention to put a much stronger message on labels about any consumption of alcohol, but the EU seems to have recognised that low levels of wine drinking can form part of a healthy lifestyle.

Hidden Seas: You probably haven’t noticed but in the last 18 months there are 10 million fewer plastic bottles floating in the sea. They have been removed by wine brand The Hidden Sea and recycled into other products. For every case of wine sold, this company removes 10 plastic bottles from the sea.

Hidden Sea wines – Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Rose and Shiraz are all good drinking wines and are available in Asda, Sainsbury and the Co-op, between £7 and £9 depending on offers.