Britain's love of gin sees number of UK distilleries double 'Boutique' distilleries behind rapid rise in UK gin producers as Wine and Spirit Trade Association predicts sales of the spirit will reach £1bn this Watch how the Queen’s Easter egg is made Go behind the scenes at Prestat, Purveyors of Chocolate by Appointment to Her Majesty the Queen, to see how the palace’s Easter treat is created James Martin's emotional farewell Saturday Kitchen host James Martin chokes back tears on final show The 20 best TV chefs As James Martin leaves Saturday Kitchen, Michael Hogan counts down the all-time best small-screen cooks Oliver Pritchett: Chutney is the gift that goes on being given No one eats it, no one likes it - yet we go on giving it away at Christmas. Public Health England says we need to consume less dairy to get fitter. ancient Greeks would strongly disagree Aldo Zilli: A lot of British mums can't cook Aldo Zilli, the chef, argues parents should take responsibility for teaching

their children to cook An Essex man has triumphed in a battle against the Champagne association British brewer wins two-year battle against French Champagne makers to call his beer Champale Essex man triumphs in David and Goliath battle against Champagne association representing brands including Mumm, Moet and Tattinger Celebrity restaurant cancels booking over doggy bag row Mayfair restaurant sketch refused woman doggy bag, then cancelled her next booking Supermarket denies selling burnt bread: 'It's just well-fired' Shoppers have been startled by the blackened rolls appearing on Sainsbury's The world's most romantic hotels Our experts offer a guide to more than 100 of the world's most romantic hotels Mapped: The world's booziest countries We've mapped the world's countries according to alcohol consumption perFind out which are the world's most pickled places Man pours molten copper on to a Big Mac Is McDonald's food really impervious to extremely hot liquid metal?

London's 10 best afternoon teas From traditional favourites to a "scandalous" alcoholic alternative, we review the best afternoon teas on offer in Londonthe best wine in spain This beloved British film is a first-rate nostalgia tripbest french wine towns Controversy as a pasty triumphs at the British Pie Awardswhat port wine to buy The decision to award the top prize to a pasty has generated debate about whatthe best homemade wine recipe constitutes a pasty and a piebest red wine for under 50 dollars

Starbucks' secret menu - the drinks you didn't know you can ask for There are over 87,000 different drink combinations at Starbucks, according todry wine red or white the coffee retailer’s website. How many of them do you know? remedies to Harry Potter-inspired beverages, we highlight the weird and the wonderful brews and infusions. Animal rights organisation attacks Italian chef for cooking pigeon Carlo Cracco, a judge on Italian Masterchef, is under fire from an animal rights group for serving pigeon Jane Shilling: Spare me from settling down with family for a Sunday burrito JD Wetherspoon is to stop serving the Sunday roast. Cue mourning all roundThe most frequent request that I receive from readers or peeps on the street is, "What's a good deal these days?" What most of them really mean is "What's a good $15-or-under California cabernet sauvignon or pinot noir?"

Sure, good-value red wines come from California, but they're generally from grapes other than cabernet and pinot, or they're blends of red grapes. (And, to be sure, California turns out some solid best-buy whites too.)Frankly, if you want that killer combination of lots of aroma and flavor for very little price, you've got to take a long trip, away from California and to such places as Spain or Portugal. Today's widest range of best wine values are from these two countries.First to Spain, then; Portugal we can visit after the New Year. Here are three major tacks into better buys in Spanish wine, mostly red, some white. Recommendations in sections and by price.Buy by regionYou well may hear advice to stay away from the "overpriced appellations" such as Rioja or Priorat, two of Spain's "Napa Valleys," which are making great wine but always at great price.Furthermore, you'll be advised to seek out less well-known regions such as Utiel-Requena or Rias Baixas (less well-known regions are always also difficult for Americans to pronounce).

I second the latter advice but tweak the first. You can still buy great-value wines from Rioja and Priorat. Rioja is more like Bordeaux than Napa, producing ginormous quantities of nearly always delicious red wine at many levels of price; Priorat's wines are so good overall that buying $30 bottles is as sure a bet as purchasing $60 Napa cabernets, and you get the same power packed into a wine from either.Buying from out-of-the-way regions in Spain is actually easy. By and large, they're not "out" of the way so much as arranged like a ring around the country's borders.For whites, buy from Rias Baixas, Rueda and the Txakolina districts in the north, plus Jerez in the south; for reds, the regions are legion: Navarra, Bierzo, Costers de Segre, Manchuela, Valencia and Jumilla. A few best-buy areas are secreted inland a bit, such as Mentrida, Calatayud and, yep, Utiel-Requena (oo-tee-EL ray-KAY-nah).2009 Raimat Tempranillo Costers de Segre ($10, huge value; dark fruits snapped-to with fresh acidity; prettily perfumed);

2010 Olivares Monastrell "Altos de la Hoya" Jumilla ($11, are-you-kidding-me concentration of red and purple fruit flavors; juicy smooth, scents of earth); 2012 Campo Viejo Garnacha, Rioja ($12, superaromatic, juicy, makes you salivate; blue-flecked red fruits with can't-see-'em tannins); 2009 Beronia Crianza, Rioja ($14, classic style with fillip of modern plushness); 2007 Franco-Espanolas "Bordon" Reserva, Rioja ($15, ridiculously good, juicy, lengthy; $2.50 per year for six years' aging).2009 Arrayan "Seleccion," Mentrida ($16, a blend of French grapes; elegant texture, racy finish, subtle wood); 2008 Casa Primicia Mazuelo "M," Rioja ($20, difficult to find this grape by itself; like cranberry-inflected black raspberry); 2009 Vall Lach "Embruix," Priorat ($25, gobs of dark fruit flavors, aromas; earthy, tannic, mineral-scented, so much for so little); 2009 Marco Abella "Loidana," Priorat ($30, mostly garnacha and carignan for oomph, wrapped in dusting tannins and scents of minerals).

Buy by grapeThe red wine grapes tempranillo and garnacha (grenache) grow throughout the country and make wines both dear and budget. All your wallet needs to know is to buy by producer here.But Spain raises more grape vines than any other country on the globe, and many red grapes little known to us make delicious, juicy-smooth red wines: monastrell in Jumilla, mencia in Bierzo or bobal in Manchuela, to name a mere three. Their unfamiliarity is directly correlated to their fine price.As for white wines, Spain is at the head of the winemaking class for crisp, fresh, well-priced whites such as albarino from Rias Baixas, verdejo from Rueda and the several txakolinas of the north.2011 Salvador Poveda Monastrell "Ossiam," Alicante ($10, beautiful, alluring aromas, touch of "smoke"; super deal); 2011 Pazo Torrado Albarino, Rias Baixas ($13-$15, like Granny Smith apples sprinkled with lemon and minerals; soft and round texture); 2012 Bornos Verdejo, Rueda ($14, notes of honey and blanched white cashews mark this fruity, delicate, zestily finishing white);

2012 Losada Mencia "El Pajaro Rojo", Bierzo ($15, from the dark side of the fruit department, with superearthy notes; brooding but delicious); 2012 Peique Godello, Bierzo ($18, cool, little-known white grape from northern Spain; deliciously fruity and snappily tangy at once).Buy by styleSpain has a lock on two types of wine at great prices: methode champenoise sparkling wine and dry rosés. No other country (save, for dry pinks, perhaps France) makes so much of either so well and so well-priced.2012 Finca Museum Tempranillo Rosada "Vinea," Cigales ($8-$10, full-on flavors of cherry and strawberry with snappy finish of total dryness); NV Vallformosa "Origen" Brut Rosada Cava, Catalonia ($20, deliciously deep in flavor for a pink sparkler, with a mousse as white as a look at the sun and gorgeous peony-pink color).If your wine store does not carry these wines, ask for one similar in style and price.Bill St John has been writing and teaching about wine for more than 40 years. The Mysterious Death Of Lee MiglinFor Love Of MoneyPrincess Grace`s Fatal Crash: Her Daughter`s Account