There have been a number of occasions recently when I’ve pulled one of these little beauties off the wine rack and thought ‘ooohhh, yes’ in more ways than one. I am, as has been widely documented and probably equally widely witnessed, a bit fond of the red stuff so an opportunity to pull one of these off the rack is always a good start in my opinion, especially as my diet has put paid to opening one every evening!

Another ‘ooohhh yes’ comes from the fact that I reckon (and am in the good company of my best buddy Colin here) that the Spanish make the best wine in Europe. I’ve never been a drinker of French wine – often thin and weedy, even more regularly pompous and inaccessible in my poor proletariat view. I hate the lack of reference to grape varieties included in the wine on bottles especially. I dare say I’ll get a few brick bats thrown at me for that but it’s my view.

I always want to love Italian wine (surely the best holiday destination that exists for a vegetarian – gastronomically speaking) but I am always left feeling that their wine lacks the fullness of Spain’s.

Shame really because although I love the Moorish architecture of Spain, Gaudi’s crazy wildness and my fabulous Spanish colleagues, Juan Jo, Rafa and Berna, I really don’t like Spain much as a place to go. It’s the food you see. Last time I was there on business, I contracted Salmonella poisoning and I heard a stat that made me think a veggie will always be vulnerable to the illness there because something like 70% of their poultry flocks are affected – apparently the EU are trying to get them to work at sorting it out but for now, it’s one of the highest in Europe. DM also got a bad tummy bug (also after eating eggs on a previous occasion) when we were in Madrid last spring.

BUT all of my misgivings aside, put a bottle of half-decent Rioja in my hand and I can’t believe I will be anything other than happy. So, imagine that in a couple of hours time, that is exactly what I will be!

The GPO tower was my last year's subject....it'll never be the BT tower, just like Tower 42 will never be anything other than the Nat West tower to me!