NEWS

• Developing www.provencefoodandwine.com – a website to spread the news about my best gastronomic discoveries in the sunny south of France. Restaurants, hotels/B&Bs, wine producers, food producers, shops, markets and more... they're there because I have visited and enjoyed them. I'm adding a new place every few days, so content is expanding rapidly. Hits are currently running at around 1,500 per day, with readers in over 75 countries already. Please have a look – and send me some feedback!
  
• Leafing through 1000 Great Wines That Won't Cost a Fortune, a brand new book from Dorling Kindersley for which I selected some tasty Southern Rhône wines.

• The Gloss & The Merrion Wine Society completes its fifth year!
  We’ve had an exciting programme of wine dinners throughout 2011 in the Cellar Restaurant of Dublin’s gorgeous Merrion Hotel, each one featuring six delicious wines matched with six-courses specially created by wizard chef Ed Cooney and his team to suit our chosen theme.

  Details of the 2012 programme will be announced early in the New Year.

  €90 per head; all wine and food lovers welcome. To book, phone The Gloss on 01 275 5130.
  (Don’t leave it too late – almost all of our dinners to date have been fully booked!)

• Spring weekend wine course at Ballymaloe House, Co Cork
  My annual introduction to wine appreciation runs at Ireland's oldest (and still perhaps loveliest) country house hotel 2-4 March 2012. Friday dinner, wine tastings all day Saturday, a champagne reception and gala wine dinner on Saturday evening and a champagne and sparkling wine workshop on Sunday morning. Brilliant fun - and instructive too! More details and booking on www.ballymaloe.ie