Our new food and wine matching series kicks off with Alliance Wine unveiling a succession of hopeful food wines to a group of eager sommeliers. Spit bucket, camera, action! says Chris Losh

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Tapas-style cuisine is taking off across the UK, and it’s no longer limited to restaurants. James Wilmore talks to the bars and pubs who are finding that sharing plates makes business sense

There’s a battle going on for premium position on the digestif trolley, and it’s one that doesn’t favour the little guy. Our panellists strike a blow for the underdog with a flight of 15- to 20-year-old Armagnacs. Clinton Cawood report

Another day, another new absinthe brand...After years of promising to be the next big thing, absinthe’s time may have arrived. Clinton Cawood gathers a high-alcohol-tolerance panel to put a dozen to the test

For years Koshu was overlooked in Japan as a fruit worthy only of table grape status; finally it's being given the attention it deserves

An extreme matching challenge proves that sherry really is the best food wine on the planet. Surely it’s time restaurants woke up to the fact, says an impressed Chris Losh

Finding wines that work well with food is so obviously the most important aspect of putting together any wine list that this had to be a part of the Sommelier Wine Awards.

This country’s food used to be awfully lame; now it’s offal and game. Our tasters come up trumps as they discover five star wine matches to go with the traditional flavours of modern Britain. Chris Losh report

From the East they came. Strange. Strong. Threatening. Made of Rice (and some other stuff). Yet were saké and shochu the monsters they first seemed? Clinton Cawood donned his cape and entered their underground lair

There’s more to dining out in Argentina than rare steak and big reds. Our sommeliers pick out some of the food and wine matches that caught the imagination on their recent trip

All too often an afterthought, syrups have a huge impact on a cocktail’s appearance and its taste. Clinton Cawood joins a team of bartenders for a look at the sweeter side

In his first column on the possibilities of matching beer with food Will Beckett addresses the issue of sticking

Which style of Chianti is best with food, those with international grapes, or those that are 100% Italian? Chris Losh joins a team of tasters to put Italy’s best-known to the test

Bold, spicy and all-American? Or over-alcoholic, overblown and over here? Louis Villard enlists the help of a team of sommeliers, and takes advice from San Franciscans, to get to the bottom of the Zinfandel enigma