Chardonnay, the everybody's everthing. A really strong contender for a friend for all. Not too demanding in growing conditions, will take to whatever blending the producer wants, not really fussy where it grows, within certain limits, but all in all a really willing grape that just wants to please. Yet there is more to it. It provides the edge of elegance into a Champagne blend. It can hold its own as a non blended, Chardonnay only Champagne, a Blanc de Blancs. It is also the

Rum, the drink of pirates, drink from the Caribbean and other countries where sugar cane is grown, is a drink that is distilled from either sugar cane or molasses. When it is produced it is a clear liquid with a slightly sweet taste. So is there anything else to it other than that? What's with the name? Why has one brand become so interchangeable with the drink? The word first. It is thought that the short form 'rum' comes from the 17th century English slang word 'rumbullion'

Prosecco is currently the UK's most imported drink. Where's it from? What's it all about and how can you spot a good one? Prosecco is the name of a region in north-east Italy. Prosecco used to be the name of the grape, but they changed that grape's name to Glera. So Glera is the grape that makes the drink Prosecco from the region of Italy called Prosecco. Got that! If any wine wants to be called Prosecco it has to be produced in this region. Prosecco is a sparkling white wine

A year ago I did not know that the word sommelier existed yet alone was something I'd become. Then I did. Was it a plan? Not really. It just seemed to happen, with lots of help from lots of people. Sommeliers, briefly, match food to drinks to get the best out of both, and I am an Italian Sommelier. Throughout the course I realised that nobody ever taught me about drink and drinking. I just experimented sometimes with success, sometimes less so. I'm setting out to try to de-m