It seems that the world of wine tasting is RIPE with innuendo (or is it just me?)
But there is one thing so commonly MISUNDERSTOOD that it has to be cleared up..
LEGS (as in, the transparent 'slick' left on the glass after you swirl it around) are NOT a sign of QUALITY! I have seen people drool over 'the legs' on a wine (usually men, it has to be said), but really all that this shows is the amount of ALCOHOL or SUGAR (or both) in the wine. Put simply, the thicker and more and more viscous the slick left behind, the higher the alcohol (or sugar) content. 

And for me, that most definitely involves a tipple (or two). After nearly 10 years of wine study and many exams, I feel it only fair to summarise what I've picked up into something more digestible!
There is a whole WORLD of wine out there, and I remember well adopting that rather 'glazed over' look after 20 minutes of weighing up the 'deals' on offer in the wine aisle..
​So, to save time, money, and bad choices, head to grapesmith.co.uk

FOR QUAFFING

​FOR ENTERTAINING

• Southern Italian Reds (Nero D'Avola for instance) or Spanish Garnacha or Tempranillo are cheerful, easy drinking reds, around the £8-12 mark. 

I love Picpoul de Pinet for a party - not like Sauvignon, not like Chardonnay, and not a wine that is going to offend (or worse still, bore!) Unoaked and refreshing with a ripe citrus and sea-sidey character. Always around £10

FOR CHRISTMAS TURKEY

• RED - go classic, go classy, go GOOD red Burgundy. My house favourite at the moment is the ethereal Michel Juliot Mercurey.
  
• If you want a little more muscle, Mas d'Alezon Faugeres is spicy and sexy and warming. Grrr.
  
• WHITE - Pouilly Fume is divine and delicate. Mineral, green fruited, aromatic, and steely. Tres elegant.  If you want a little more in the way of 'guts' then a Chassagne Montrachet should hit should hit the spot. Multifaceted pleasure, and a finish so long you'll still be tasting on Boxing Day! Be prepared to put your hand in your pocket though (well it is Christmas!) 

OTHER NEED-TO-KNOW TIPS

• Nearly £3 on every bottle of wine is TAX. Add shipping cost, bottling, labelling, etc. etc. and it quickly mounts up to a fair figure. As soon as you spend over approx £6 on a bottle of wine, you are getting proportionately better 'wine value' The difference between an £8 bottle and a £10 bottle is probably the best £2 you can spend! If you spend over £12 the 'wine value' doubles again and then you're really on to something...
• The 'Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc' is a saturated market these days.. If nothing else, check the back to see if it was 'Imported and bottled in Guildford (for instance)' - if so, it's not worth the 'half price' offer it claims. Better still, try something from Casablanca Valley or Elqui or Limari (all in Chile.) Amazing wines and great value to be found.
• If you like full bodied, gutsy and fabulous red wines, but need a break from Argentinian Malbec (or Australian Shiraz)! then Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon from the Colchagua region should float your boat. Mid-range Primitivo from Puglia is also a big bear-hug of a wine, and often organic (which is a good thing). Don't forget the Rhone though! Good Cotes du Rhone Villages can offer stunning value. in this style.
• Spanish wines from other regions than 'Rioja' are often very good and just as delicious, for less ££, Try Garnacha from Terra Alta or one of the central regions around Madrid such as Gredos. For something Pinot noir-esque, try Mencia (grape) from northern regions, such Bierzo or Ribera Sacra. These aren't wines you'll find in the supermarket - go visit your local indie wine store. 

...I don't know about you, but I find can no good words to describe this picture...

Fish farms are the factory farms we don't see, and are one of the fastest growing sectors of intensive animal rearing. Around 100 billion farmed fish are being produced each year.
And don't be fooled into thinking we are 'protecting wild stocks' by these practices - far from it.  It takes between 3-5 tonnes of small fish to produce 1 tonne of farmed fish.
Not off-cuts either - most fishmeal is made from highly nutritious small fish that could be (and were being) eaten by people.
These industries are a law unto themselves. Literally plundering the traditional food sources of countries all over the world to feed these grotesque methods of farming.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg..

Ever wondered why we don't have to do that anymore? 

Oh you know? Because it's HOMOGENISED .. 
But do you know what that means for YOU?

Homogenised milk has basically had the fat particles blasted to a tenth of their original size, meaning they stay suspended in the milk, rather than rising to the top. 

It's a boon for supermarkets, because the milk has a longer shelf life, but those fat particles are now small enough to pass through our intestinal walls undigested, meaning they instead build up on arterial walls. TASTY!

In fact, the whole chemical structure of the fat and protein in the milk is altered, meaning we are not getting the best of either, because our bodies essentially don't recognise the particles, and hence, don't assimilate and use them properly.

DUCHY milk is the only non-homgensied milk I can find in a UK supermarket. 
So I'm glad there is a Waitrose near me! 

I consider the few pence extra a worthy health investment - wouldn't you..?

That's the approximate number of products in a big-ass supermarket these days.
(Tesco Extra, I'm looking at you..) 
WHO NEEDS 30,000 products, for Christ's sake?! 

If we consider that around 75% of this figure are the 'food' items (used in the loosest sense) that makes for a hell of of lot of junk food. 
(Try naming 20,000+ actual foods without using a brand name..)

Wouldn't we all be a little better off - in a financial, health, climate & energy sense - if we just got rid of this stuff..?
The only thing that these products really 'feeding' is the wealth of massive corporations. It solves money hunger, not food hunger.

Well yes - if it's wild. If it's FARMED then it's actually GREY and the nice healthy pink colour gets added, to make it still look appetising..

Still fancy Salmon for Supper? 

Shouldn't we be outraged that this is even allowed, let alone not advertised??

Just another example of how good food - and hence, good health, is jeopardised by making the food system a global enterprise, controlled by the hands of a few..

Ever wondered what is most worth the little paying extra for?

PAN UK's worst ten foods for Pesticide residues
flour
potatoes
bread
apples
pears
grapes
strawberries
green beans
tomatoes
cucumber

When you consider the huge percentage of bread and potatoes in our national (and particularly, children's) diet, it's alarming to think of the potential cumulative effect of these residues.. MAKE YOUR DAILY BREAD ORGANIC, or if you can find the time, make your own with organic flour.  Many other things on that list can be home grown. 

You can't afford to buy anything ORGANIC? We all make choices about what we can and can't afford 20 times a day. Think of it as an investment in your health.
Skip one trip to Costa Coffee per week; that should easily cover the difference in price.

There are a few reasons for this, but simply; 
If you WATER FROM THE BOTTOM, not the top, it'll last for months!
Stand the pot in saucer and pour water into that when needed.
Water on top every couple of weeks, to stop soil shrinking in from the edges of the pot, but otherwise, its BOTTOM ALL THE WAY!
And if you're feeling bold...
Pot the whole thing on into a pot one size up and it'll go on even longer!