There are many nights in winter when I want to reach for an un-boring and yet untaxing bottle of red, yet never seem to have one to hand. So I put my money where my mouth was and ordered a box of red wines from The Wine Society. Two of them – the bright, cherry-with-stone-like dolcetto and the ribeira sacra were in my big pre-Christmas Telegraph “best wines” piece. The barbera and marcillac are trusted favourites and the ciliegiolo I just wanted to have a look at. The box of 12 came in at just under £100 and now I feel properly stocked up. The only thing is, I’m off to Chile (wine-tasting) this afternoon and mum and dad are coming to stay in the flat while I’m away. I hope there are a few bottles left when I get back.