Cheesy wotsits
Ever wondered what's the best booze to serve with cheese? Check out Fiona Beckett's new book, Cheese (Ryland, Peters & Small, £8.99), to be published at the beginning of April. As well as including some of the more obvious pairings - for example, Sauvignon Blanc and goats' cheese, or Bordeaux and mature Cheddar, Beckett suggests some more off-the-wall matches, such as Alsace Gewurztraminer and Epoisses, Camembert and Normandy cider, and Amarone with blue cheese. And chefs, listen up: there's also a section on cooking with cheese. Great fun.
A very happy hour
Isola in London's Knightsbridge is offering a magnum of Taittinger to its customers for the same price as a bottle, at £35. The normally £70 magnum is being offered in the bar to those who turn up between 5pm and 7.30pm. Staff are also successfully encouraging drinkers to nibble on bar food to complement the bubbly, suggesting chunks of Parmesan sliced fresh from the wheel, and a selection of cured meats.
Beaujolais boom
According to the latest stats from French food and drink marketing consortium Sopexa, Beaujolais is on a roll, with sales up by 14% last year (AC Nielsen). And it's not just because of Beaujolais Nouveau, which, according to Sopexa, "continues to enjoy its favoured niche". No, we're drinking better Beaujolais, apparently - even Beaujolais cru (there are 10 crus in all). "Today's wine drinkers are becoming more and more disillusioned with robust and heavy wines and these lighter, fruity style of wines fit the bill," suggests Sopexa's Sabine Cleizergues.