THE CAPTAIN of Magdalen’s University Challenge team has been rusticated for a year due to poor academic performance.

Second year history student Jon Wright hopes to continue as captain despite being sent down, but has yet to hear from College authorities whether he will be allowed to continue in the role.

Wright said he would oppose any College attempts to remove him from the team. "I haven’t heard anything at all from College: this is only rustication, I’m still a student. We don’t really have anyone who could take my place on the team, so if College do have a problem with me carrying on I’ll be vigorously opposing that," he said.

Magdalen have already won through the first round, beating Liverpool 185 to 100, and have filmed their next match against Birmingham, but due to contractual agreements Wright was unable to reveal the result as the programme has not yet aired. Magdalen have previously won the competition three times before in 1997, 1998 and 2004.

He was "quietly confident" that the team had a good chance of doing well in the competition, but stopped short of predicting victory. "We don’t expect to win, but given the right opponents and right questions we could have a chance of winning," he said.

Magdalen’s Junior Dean, Dr Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, refused to comment on whether Wright would be allowed to continue as University Challenge captain, saying he would have to wait until the matter was dealt with internally.

"As its in an internal disciplinary matter we can’t make any comment. Jon is of course allowed to think what he wants, but we won’t make any comment until it has been dealt with by the College authorities. It’s the sort of thing we would have to discuss internally and with Jon before we make anything public," he said.According to Wright, he was rusticated for a year by the College due to poor academic work. "It was purely for academic reasons, just because I didn’t work hard enough, so they suggested I take a year off and regain my focus which I am now doing. I hope to get a job to give myself some structure and then work towards my penal collections at the end of Trinity Term."

THE WARDEN of New College has accused state schools of jeopardising bright pupils’ chances of gaining places at Oxford by encouraging them to do too many A-levels and pushing them into so-called "soft subjects".

Speaking in the Times Higher Education Supplement, Professor Alan Ryan criticised what he called "the full horror of league tables and a focus on indicators such as A-level points." He argued that state schools’ concern with their own status was detrimental to the interests of top pupils.

"A school looks better if a student gets two As and two Bs than if the same student gets three As; but the student will miss out on the standard Oxbridge offer with the first set of grades," he said.

"It’s not state schools alone that reduce their students’ chances by putting them in for too many A-levels, but I suspect they are less likely to appreciate the total uninterest in A-level points and the UCAS tariff that prevails among selective universities and to be more concerned than private schools with their league table showing," he said.

He also argued that state schools were pushing their pupils into taking non-academic A-levels that were not valued by Oxford when selecting new students.

"They imperil their chances by doing ‘soft’ subjects. The only evidence we’ve got of how well students can handle difficult subjects is how well they have handled them already," he said.

Dr John Dunford, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, acknowledged that pupils were sometimes put under pressure by schools preoccupied with league tables, but blamed the government for encouraging it.

"Schools want to see all students reach their full potential and the vast majority put their students’ best interests above league table results. However, the government’s fixation with GCSE and A-level results as a barometer of schools’ success does mean that there is a perverse incentive for schools to focus on increasing the percentage of ‘good’ grades. Until the system is changed, this perverse incentive will exist," he said.

Professor Ryan rejected recent comments made by the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, that Oxford and Cambridge were biased against less affluent applicants. Ryan said that the University already took every plausible state school applicant with the appropriate "academic" A levels. Research published over the summer showed that the number of entrants in media, film and television studies A-levels has increased by almost 250 per cent over the past decade.

Pembroke JCR is being driven apart by in-fighting following the collapse of a JCR meeting described as "abusive" and "out of control".

The JCR Committee were forced to hold an emergency meeting to address the issue, which has revealed a serious rift in the College’s community.

OUSU Rep Chris Thursten described Sunday’s events as "a big shock".

"The meeting was a complete shambles," he said. "It got very abusive very quickly. There’s a group of third-years who don’t like the JCR Committee and don’t like the way the JCR’s being run. There’s a them-and-us situation and we don’t want that. We didn’t realise it would fly out of control like it did."

Thursten added that he believed social differences could be to blame for recent hostilities. "They don’t like the President because he’s northern and a bit left-wing and they don’t like me or the rest of the Committee either, and they make that known. It’s like being back at school," he said.

Conflict arose due to confusion over whether or not the JCR was a political body. A group of third-years led by Adam Tozzi and Robert White claimed that in their first-year a motion had been passed stating the JCR was strictly a welfare body, a claim which the Committee were unable to substantiate at the time because the minutes for the meeting had been lost.

An anonymous Pembroke student described how Sunday’s meeting broke down as students started using abusive tactics to make themselves heard.

"The debate was really, really heated and really, really angry," he said. "Tozzi and those supporting the motion behaved despicably, I think they’d been drinking already and they started being quite confrontational to the President. The worst thing that happened was that Tozzi repeatedly called Chris Thursten a "cunt". He was being really vicious, it wasn’t at all like banter among friends. Chris just got up and walked out because he couldn’t accept what was happening."

Tozzi defended himself against the allegations, saying, "Thursten says I called him a ‘cunt’ but I don’t remember saying that. I did call him a ‘greasy twat’. We both exchanged swear words. For this I have already forgiven him, and I hope in turn he can forgive me. The debate was not meant to be personal, but issue based. It sadly turned into quite rowdy affair with both sides trying to outshout each other," he said.

Thursten complained that this was not the first time that the group of third-years had caused problems for the JCR, claiming that Tozzi and his friends are facing action from the Dean for defacing photographs of freshers pinned up in the JCR, a claim which Tozzi denies.

"I was admittedly in the group who were there, so guilty by association. But I’ve heard nothing from the Dean, and neither have any of that group," he said.

Second-year Pembroke student Hadrian Ainsworth said he felt both sides were equally to blame.

"There were unfortunately a couple of third-years who failed to realise that being offensive only serves to turn opinion against you, and that failure to express yourself without insult suggests only stupidity. The President also showed a serious lack of foresight by attaching his name to a political motion in the first week. Last year’s President had the decorum to neither put forward motions, vote on motions, nor debate them publicly," he said.

The meeting was supposed to be followed by hustings for various JCR positions, but these never took place.

"They [Tozzi and White] left and the meeting crumbled: we were supposed to be having hustings but they didn’t happen because the meeting just fell apart, so now those positions are vacant," Thursten said. "The entire committee was furious and a lot of freshers were very confused, stuck in a fight between second- and third-years."

It was finally decided that a further meeting would be held to vote on whether or not the JCR should be a political body.
JCR President Chris Bennetts expressed his hope that the Committee would be able to resolve the situation. "I’ve agreed to work with all those concerned with a view to reaching a compromise which suits everyone," he said.

He denied that the JCR was suffering from serious divisions. "It’s great that we can have heated debates and reach a democratic conclusion; that’s healthy and does not represent a ‘rift’. It’s the job of me, as President, and of my committee, to make sure that everyone can have their say. We did that at the meeting on Sunday, and we will continue to do that," he said.Thursten added, "We don’t want them kicked out of the JCR, we just want them to respect it. I’d just like to have a co-operative JCR who don’t end up screaming at each other."

Oxford club Park End is to reopen later this month after half a million pounds of refurbishment in an attempt to reverse declining attendances.

Park End, which traditionally hosts OUSU’s ‘Zoo’ nights for Oxford students on Wednesdays, has been experiencing low turnout since Trinity Term. The club will be renamed ‘Lava Ignite’ when it reopens on November 30.

The relaunch comes after forced midnight closures on several recent occasions due to low numbers.

OUSU, however, have denied concerns that Park End has been experiencing difficulties and confirmed its support for the club.

Dave Green, OUSU Business Manager responsible for Zoo nights, said, "We are sticking by Park End, we are 100 per cent committed to it."

Park End will be joining a chain of nine Lava Ignite clubs around the UK after a change in management, the owners claiming it will feature VIP booths, new decor and flooring, and plasma screens.

Balreick Srai, founder of rival promotions and events company Rock Student, criticised Park End and OUSU’s Zoo nights.

"Park End hasn’t been doing well recently and has been facing more competition than it did five years ago," he said. "It has become much more difficult for large clubs to compete as smaller venues, and house parties are advertised more efficiently than in the past on Facebook.

"A refurbishment is just cosmetic. What will really matter is their promoters and whether they understand what their clients want. After Park End’s performance last and this term, it seems to be on the decline. Wednesdays has been the main student night at Park End since 1995/1996, but last summer was bad. They had a management change but the Zoo guys are pretty incompetent, and they’re using their monopolistic power to control what is promoted to the students."

Robbie Parks, Keble College’s Entz Rep, suggested that Srai’s company was taking over Park End’s business. "People lost interest during Trinity Term and the current generation won’t miss it. Zoo’s popularity is dwindling; it’s all about Rock Oxford now. I don’t think many people will miss it. The queues are heaving for the OFS," he said.

COLLEGES’ green credentials have come under scrutiny following the release of a new environment survey, carried out by OUSU.

Graduate college Linacre came out top in OUSU’s environmental league table, with Merton and Hertford coming second and third. St Anne’s, Lincoln and Corpus Christi are bottom.

Each college’s ranking was based on a total score, calculated from its performance on a number of criteria including use of energy-saving light bulbs, recycling facilities, ethical food sourcing and whether or not it had a vegetable patch. The data was collected by anonymous volunteers from 25 colleges across the University.

Hector Guinness, a member of OUSU’s Environment and Ethics committee which organised the survey, said it was created to measure the impact of Oxford on the environment.

"Oxford is an international hub of great research into the environment and the atmosphere, but the environmental practices of many colleges is a shameful reminder of how much more could be done by the policymakers of each college," he said.

"Even some of the better colleges are still using energy-inefficient light bulbs, thereby not only adding unnecessary carbon emissions to the atmosphere, but costing the college and its students around £10 a year per light-bulb in unnecessary electricity costs. This league table should be able to show up the worst offending colleges and spur them into action."

Niel Bowerman, OUSU’s Environment and Ethics Officer, added, "Some colleges are more concerned with their finances and getting them to implement environmentally-friendly initiatives is sometimes very difficult because they make complaints such as, ‘recycling bins aren’t aesthetically pleasing’.

"It’s very difficult to make an Oxford college environmentally friendly; recycling and better light-bulbs are only scratching the surface."

Corpus Christi Environment Rep Eleanor Grieveson was surprised by her college’s poor performance in the table. "For a small and relatively poor college I think we do quite well," she said. "Many of the things to help the environment, although they cost less in the long run, have a larger immediate cost. Trying to persuade people like the Bursar that it’s really worth it is the problem. I’ve always had support from the JCR."

Guinness defended Corpus’s position in the table, saying, "Corpus score so low because, according to the person from Corpus who replied to our survey, they don’t use energy-saving light bulbs in student rooms, the library, or common areas; they don’t have an environmental policy; they haven’t had an environmental audit; they have no PIR sensors; the computers in their computer room are never turned off.

"They do well on recycling, getting 5 points for having two bins in each room, 4 points for paper recycling in the library, 4 for paper recycling in the computer room, 4 for paper recycling in the JCR and 1 for can recycling in the JCR," he said.

Sorcha McDonagh, St Anne’s College Environment Rep said, "Currently there is a green policy in place [at St Anne’s] which includes the provision of recycling facilities for the use of all students on campus. This term sees the beginning of a college-wide recycling drive and the publication of a new green policy under which each St Anne’s student will have a recycling bin in their room in addition to their standard bin. I firmly believe this will significantly reduce our impact on the environment."

Merton’s JCR President, Danielle Quinn, claimed that she did not expect Merton to have such a high position in OUSU’s table. "It’s a pleasant surprise to have done so well. College staff are open to hearing our suggestions and are very supportive of our efforts to be more environmentally friendly, but some projects are difficult to get implemented," she said.

A recent national survey of UK universities conducted by People & Planet placed Oxford University joint 27th with a score of 35 out of 50. Cambridge came 8th in the league and Oxford Brookes were awarded 5th place.

Kate Aydin, Oxford’s Sustainable Development and Waste Management Officer, said, "I’m aware that some of the colleges are very keen to improve their environmental performance, though I hope that in the near future, all colleges will be paying attention to their environmental impacts and developing plans to improve them."

Wadham Students’ Union is to become the fourth Oxford college to acquire a tortoise after the SU passed a motion on Sunday.

Students hope to enter their new pet in the annual Corpus Christi Tortoise Fair, in which different colleges are invited to race their tortoises.

Dominic Barker, one of the SU Food and Amenities officers behind the motion, said, "We’re hoping our new tortoise will act as a rallying point for Wadham loyalties in these revolutionary times. Whoever is placed in charge of the tortoise will command full respect."

The SU hopes that, having agreed to the plans, College authorities will permit them to house the animal in the college gardens or on the college’s Ho Chi Minh Quad.

A shortlist of names for the tortoise is to be proposed at the beginning of next term, and Barker suggested that any name was likely to reflect "Wadham’s liberal traditions".

SU Treasurer James Coe, who has been charged with purchasing the animal, said, "The tortoise will bring great joy to our comrades in the SU, and its indestructible nature and longevity will hopefully help it to continue to do this for years to come.

"I am in charge of buying the tortoise and hopefully we will be able to purchase a thoroughbred to compete in the annual Corpus Tortoise Fair, and show the rest of the University that Wadham pets are not to be messed with."

He added that the SU were considering giving the tortoise the deciding vote in any tied motions due to its revolutionary vision.

"It has been suggested by the Food and Amenities officers that if the SU’s vote on any motion is tied then the tortoise will cast the deciding vote, and will always vote for the motion due to its strong desire for social change," he said.

Oxford’s most legendary tortoise is Balliol JCR’s Rosa, named after notable German Marxist Rosa Luxemborg. The original Rosa was lost in 2005, allegedly stolen by members of Trinity College, but a replacement has since been donated to the college by an unknown benefactor.

Sophie Rees, Tortoise Keeper at Corpus Christi, where the annual race is held, said that it offered a good opportunity for college competition while also raising money for charity.

"The Tortoise Fair is a great institution and one which instils a surprising amount of inter-collegiate competitive spirit, as well as being an effective charity fundraising event. I’m delighted to hear Wadham are getting a tortoise and I hope they’ll come and join in with the other colleges," she said.At the 2007 Fair, Corpus’ sprightly young tortoise Wally claimed victory after racing past Regent’s Park’s 90-year-old veteran Emmanuel. Third place went to the entry from Magdalen, a student wearing a tortoise outfit, who did not manage to eat his entire lettuce.

Exeter students are demanding larger condoms after complaints that condoms provided by OUSU are too tight, uncomfortable and have even snapped on some occasions.

The JCR passed a motion to provide a different brand of condoms to its student body.

Exeter’s Male Welfare Officer, Mark Curtis, introduced the motion at a JCR meeting last week because of the Safex band’s growing unpopularity. The committee subsequently decided to purchase Durex condoms instead.

JCR President Simon Heawood justified the decision, saying, "Although Safex is recognised by all the appropriate authorities, it is a slightly unknown brand with which people have experienced problems. In light of this, the JCR decided that renewing confidence in contraception provision was a good use of the money currently floating around for welfare," he said.

"We therefore voted unanimously to buy Durex condoms, a more recognised brand, at extra expense in the future."

Curtis added, "We are working very closely with the OUSU welfare team, who are well aware of the concerns with Safex condoms. OUSU are planning on ordering a bulk supply of Durex in the next week or so, which inevitably will cost a little more, but our JCR is willing to pay for better contraception and will still be getting them via OUSU."

The change means that in the weeks running up to the Christmas vacation, Exeter will have a transition period during which both condom brands are supplied. As the current Intelligent Vending condom machines from OUSU are unable to fit Durex, the new brand will be stocked in a welfare cupboard while Safex will continue to be provided.

OUSU reacted positively to the news, saying that it had received some negative feedback concerning Safex in the past. Louise Randall, OUSU Vice-President for welfare, said she was currently in talks with Durex. She insisted that OUSU was keen to give Oxford students whatever brand they wanted, saying, "We have no way of knowing how students rate welfare supplies until they email to tell us, or take motions like this, and I’m really pleased that we’re going to be able to make a positive change as a result. "I hope common rooms understand that I am keener than anyone to be providing the best condoms possible for students."

A US judge has heard arguments regarding the case of prominent Oxford Muslim academic Tariq Ramadan about whether he should be granted permission to enter America.

Ramadan, who is a Swiss citizen and visiting fellow at St Anthony’s College, was banned from the US in 2006 on the grounds that he aided terrorist activity by donating money to a Palestinian charity between 1998 and 2002.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed the lawsuit on behalf of Ramadan in 2006 against Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff for denying the scholar a foreign visa. The ACLU has championed Ramadan’s case as an example of how the US government is attempting to prevent foreign scholars from coming into the county to express their views.

In 2004, the US government revoked Ramadan’s work visa, preventing him from taking up a professorship at the Kroc Institute of Peace Studies, based at the University of Notre Dame. He then attempted to gain a temporary visa so he could attend conferences and deliver lectures but his application was refused.

Ramadan opposes defining Islam in opposition to the West, and has called for the formation of a new European Islamic identity that embraces western society.

At the hearing last week the ACLU said the decision to deny Ramadan a US visa was politically motivated and represented a serious violation of free speech and academic debate.

ACLU attorney Jameel Jaffer, who is representing Ramadan in the case, accused the US government of banning the academic from entering the country due to political motives rather than a concern for national security.

"We have charged that Ramadan, a leading European academic whose work addresses critical issues including Muslim identity and the role of Islam in democratic societies, has been banned due to his political ideas. The government has banned Tariq Ramadan not because of his action but because of his ideas," he said.

Jaffer said the decision represented a serious threat to free speech and set a dangerous precedent. "The ideological exclusion of scholars like Tariq Ramadan impoverishes political and academic debate inside the United States and violates the First Amendment of those who seek to meet with foreign scholars, hear their views, and engage them in debate. Ideological exclusion is a form of censorship and it should not be tolerated in a country committed to democratic values."

ACLU challenged the government’s continued exclusion of Ramadan based on small donations he made to a Palestinian charity, saying that the group was only blacklisted in 2003, a year after Ramadan stopped giving money.

Melissa Goodman, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s National Security Project, said, "Professor Ramadan’s small humanitarian donations were completely permissible at the time he made them, and he had no reason to know that the charity was supporting Hamas, if indeed it was.

"The government seems to be grasping at straws to prevent US audiences from engaging with Professor Ramadan and his ideas" she added.

Ramadan’s Oxford colleagues have denounced the US government’s actions. Dr Walter Armbrust, a fellow at the Centre and Lecturer in Modern Middle Eastern Studies, said the allegations were unjustified and that Ramadan was a victim of an American neoconservative campaign, and that in his opinion, "The allegations are products of neo-conservative propaganda, mainly from the United States," he said. "The neocons prefer a polarized world that opposes the United States to an essentially ‘Muslim Civilization’. Tariq Ramadan works to overcome this polarization and this makes him dangerous to the neocons."

"Read his books. You may or may not agree with him, but that is beside the point. What is important is that you will find yourself engaged with a thoughtful and utterly non-violent interlocutor," he added.

Dr Avi Shlaim, a fellow at the MEC, praised Ramadan’s academic achievements and contribution to the centre. "I think he is a first rate scholar and America’s loss is our gain. He is a wonderful colleague and we are delighted to have him at the MEC," he said.

Emma Tracey, Development Director at St Antony’s, added, "St Antony’s governing body considers his research to be a great asset to the College’s intellectual activity and hence appointed him as a Senior Research Fellow.

THE UNIVERSITY has given the go-ahead to plans to build a new Middle East Centre at St Anthony’s College after positive feedback from local residents.

The Centre, known as the Stonebridge Building, has been designed by Zaha Hadid, a Baghdad-born architect famous for her outlandish form-bending designs, and will provide new facilities, including a library and an enlarged lecture theatre.

The centre’s planned redevelopment has previously been criticised as having the potential to cause social problems in the local residential area.

Described as an "elongated tunnel" and resembling the upturned hull of a ship, the new structure will be situated between Victorian and Edwardian era houses on Woodstock Road in north Oxford.

Dr Eugene Rogan, director of the Middle East Centre, said, "We knew that we would get a modern design as soon as we went to Zaha Hadid. Her designs sit comfortably between the two buildings. It is a 21st century structure that does not overpower or upstage the surrounding buildings."

Rogan added, "I am sure people who do not like modern architecture will find grounds for objecting to this. It is a question of taste."

On Friday, an anonymous blogger rebuked the plans on local website ‘thisisoxford.’

They wrote, "So who exactly is going to stop the University doing exactly what they want to? The University can and will do anything in this City that it has a mind to."

Debbie Dance, director of Oxford Preservation Trust which was not invited to the consultation, said, "It is always good to see new and innovative designs coming forward, but whether this building is right in this place is the question to be answered.

"This area of North Oxford has a recognisable character which is valued by many people, and we look forward to understanding how the architect and College feel that their proposals are to add to this in a positive way."

A University spokesperson claimed that the response from local residents had been positive.

"Neighbourhood consultations were well attended and the plans were generally well received. Some of those who attended offered criticisms of the plans for the Softbridge building, but most of the comments fed back to the Middle East Centre have been favourable," they said.Hadid’s other projects have included the Mind Zone at the Millennium Dome, the Rosenthal Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, and the BMW Central Building in Leipzig. She is also charged with building the 2012 Olympic Aquatics centre in East London.

Have you ever heard someone compare a wine’s aroma to "cat’s pee on a gooseberry bush" or a pile of grey flint? Wine buffs have a reputation for overblown adjectives and can seem to have a language of their own. Half the skill is in flaring one’s nostrils delicately over the glass in an attempt to demonstrate wining prowess; the other half is about having the imagination to catch a whiff of petrol or leather.

Doesn’t sound appetising? The good news is that the smell of wine isn’t necessarily a reflection of whether you’re going to like it. We both agree that our favourite has a whiff of soggy trainers left to fester under the stairs for a couple of years. Very Jilly Goolden.

What’s more, don’t feel obliged to drink the whole bottle just because its got an impressive tag on it…trust your taste buds. If they revolt when your father proudly presents his finest vintage, tucked away in the garage since he bought the house, then don’t feel you have to merrily drink the stuff as it ruins a good meal. Beginner or not, the first and most important thing you are taught is that despite the wealth of wine-related know-how, there is no substitute for being confident in your own senses. Rule number one: there are no rules. This should be a breeze then…

Wine tasting, as Bacchus President Catherine Lee explains, is a ‘contact sport’: you have to learn by doing. At the meeting, armed with a brightly coloured and amusingly-labelled tasting wheel and some guidelines, we set to examining the wine’s appearance, nose and palate. Wine tasting isn’t about knocking back glasses of the stuff: it’s about analysing smell, taste, acidity, alcohol and tannin. Swirl the wine to release its smell, and do really smell it, as so much of a wine’s taste is wrought together with its nose. And remember, what one person may smell and taste can completely diverge from the next person’s opinion. We took encouragement from this when our views clashed horribly with those around us.

Wine is also an academic subject: the beginners’ classes certainly open your eyes up to how much there is to learn about wine production and its cultural significance. The ‘Five Vs’ hint at the myriad variables that make one wine taste the way it does: vines, vineyard, vintner, viticulture and vitification. The beauty of Bacchus is that it enables you to keep building up from the foundations laid by the beginners’ course, so that the next time you’re tasting in a posh restaurant, you can use wonderful little phrases such as "this wine’s a little too young to be up so late" with aplomb.

Why does wine tasting matter? Maybe you want to make an impression on a first date. Maybe you need to choose the wine for a birthday party. Whatever the reason, skilled tasting makes you appreciate wines and their individuality: you can work out what it is you like in a drinnk and what you don’t. Experimenting with wine is fun, especially with friends. Unlike certain members of the class, we don’t profess to be connoisseurs (or perhaps that’s just Beth being bitter because she couldn’t tell the difference between a £3 and a £30 wine) but here are a few skeletal tips to get you going.

Although expensive wine does not necessarily equal good wine, spending a few extra pounds can make a world of a difference. Roughly £1.90 of how much you spend on a wine will go towards duty; a decent cork will cost upwards from £1; pasting a brand label on a bottle will add another £1. If you’re spending under £5 on a bottle, think how much it cost to actually produce the wine you’re about to drink: it doesn’t take a genius to realise it’s unlikely to taste phenomenal.

Some wines are delicious on their own but others taste wholly different when used to complement food. The easiest way to choose the best wine for meal is to take recipes and wines from the same region, where they will have developed in tandem.

Red wines are often served far too warm, and whites too cold. The colder the wine, the less aromatic and flavoursome it is. On the other hand, you might get away with pouring an abominable wine for unsuspecting friends if you serve it cold enough.

If you like the way a wine tastes now, drink it now: a wine can taste completely different with age. A bad wine will always age badly. Screw caps are nothing to be ashamed of: for young, floral whites, they’re the best way of trapping in their light flavours.Having been enlightened by the classes, we have decided to turn over a new leaf. No more Oddbins’ special in plastic cups, no more bargain bin deals. Cheese and fine wine soirées are the future.
By Cathy Thomas and Beth Williams