An e-mail to Bacchus in Britain

On my desk is a bottle of English sparkling wine, elegantly packaged in red and black. It gives my office a festive touch, and I'm wondering when to pop the cork. Maybe on the last day before everyone in the office disappears for the Christmas holidays. Or perhaps I should save it for a New Year's Eve celebration.

After reading that a sparkling wine from west Sussex had recently been chosen over some of the great French champagnes for a major award, I wanted to know what was happening on the English wine scene. The result is this month's Food article, "Bacchus in Britain". (Preview the first two pages in PDF format.)

Author and broadcaster John Downes gave me the expert's view. Downes is a Master of Wine. This is both a title and a qualification for which candidates need to sit an examination, pass a practical test and write a dissertation. It's conferred by an institute in London that has dedicated itself to "upholding and promoting the highest educational and professional standards in the wine trade".

Intimidated by all this professionalism, I wrote a rather formal e-mail: "Dear Mr Downes, I am writing to request..." and so on. His reply was: "Hi, Inez... Will early next week be OK? Speak soon. Luv, John." It was an example of that disarming British informality that makes interaction — either face-to-face or by e-mail — so easy.

A German friend of mine experienced this a couple of years ago while teaching at a prestigious English university. On his first day in the college canteen, he was asked by an elderly dinner lady: "You want gravy with that, darling?" He needed longer to digest this remark than to digest the dinner. In fact, he has never forgotten it.

What has all this got to do with English sparkling wine? Nothing, dear reader, except that it gives me the opportunity to raise my glass and wish you an informally Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Cheers, luv!