Clare Teal: Wheels fall off wagon as wine night proves an education

After last week's whisky debacle we were a little apprehensive at the thought of drinking nine different wines in straight succession – but then as Muddy reminded me, you're supposed to spit them out.

Our host was a delightful chap called Tristan. "Is that honestly your name? Or are you really a Keith?" He was a proper Tristan, and certainly knew his stuff.

We started with a crisp champagne which was far too nice not to swallow and it all went downhill from there really. That said, I did learn a tremendous amount over the course of just an evening.

For instance, the rich coloured juice of the purple sangiovese grape (blood of Jove) which made up a weighty proportion of wine number nine, Le Papesse di Papiano, goes beautifully with cave-aged gruyere but stains like the devil when you tip it down yourself (like I said, it was wine number nine).

We learned about colours, flavours, tannins, different grapes, what to look for, (beware cloudy white wine) what to smell for, (beware eggy smells in white wine and vinegary smells in red). We learned that wine has legs, although after nine glasses I didn't.

It was a brilliant evening. Gossip, stories and alcohol anecdotes flowed freely as did the wine, each course came with a nibble of something fabulous.

If you're looking for a fun night out with friends, I would highly recommend it. You can choose different price ranges to spend as much or as little as you like. This particular wine merchant also does whisky tastings.

We left the establishment full of cheer, Muddy and I had a marvellous time and came through the evening relatively unscathed. I think the real problems started when we got back to Nina's house and continued to practise what we had just learned. However, I have just had a phone call to say the case of wine I ordered is ready for pick up.