What wine should you drink this summer if you want to be a real style guru? Dedicated fashion followers are rejecting the popular Chardonnay grape as no longer trendy, saying it has become to the 1990s what Liebfraumilch was to the 1970s.

Richard Neill cracks open the bubbly

Food and wine critic Richard Neill recommends wines made with the Muscat grape because "if you stick your nose in it you can really smell grapes."

Another tip is that sparkling wine is always a safe bet at any time of the day or night. "If you drink wine in the morning, you are a boozer, but if it is sparkling wine then that is fine, " said Mr Neill.

Bring back beer

New beers are being invented every day

A beer renaissance is underway, giving bored wine drinkers another option.

"More beers are being invented every day," said John Moorley from Daleside Brewery in Yorkshire. "The number combinations of water, malt ,yeast and hops is infinite."

It often seems that the names of beers are becoming increasingly bizarre and longwinded. Is this genuine British eccentricity or just a cunning marketing ploy?

Mr Moorley stressed the high quality of beer from his brewery but did admit: "We do like to market things imaginatively so we do have the odd tricksy name, I must confess, like 'Old legover country stile and monkey wrench".

Not only are new beers being invented, but old ones are being rediscovered too.

A 17th century beer recipe was recently discovered

At Ripley Castle in Yorkshire the recipe for a 17th century ale was recently discovered in the musty shelves of the library. Legend has it that the head housekeeper of the time thoughtfully wrote down the ingredients and filed them way for posterity.

Sir Thomas Ingilby, who owns the castle, has named the ale after an ancestor nicknamed called Trooper Jane. Brave Jane is reported to have fought in the battle of Marston Moor and held Oliver Cromwell at gunpoint, but no one knows if she liked beer too.

Christmas tipple?

This liqueur could be in the shops by Christmas

Looking further ahead, a drink that might be available later in the year is a new cocktail of cream, vodka, ginger and ginseng. The liqueur's makers swear that it acts as a love potion and have accordingly named it Hot Sex.

Barman Simon Fullerton who enthusiastically poured out shots of the drink for an eager crowd at the Good Food Show said: "We're going to try and get it in the shops for Christmas."
 

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