The region’s wines are well known, the region less so. Nick Harman attends the yearly festival of art, culture food and wine in Minervois, Languedoc-Roussillon.

It’s the time when newspapers, magazines and websites make predictions about next year. No one ever checks back on these predictions to see how accurate they were, which is is just as well because they almost certainly weren’t. Let’s face it, if the future was that predictable we’d all be millionaires sitting in the sun, not sitting in the office bashing out filler copy in the week after Christmas. Bitter, moi? Not at all.

Sick of coffee grounds dotting your sink? Then the OXO Goodgrips cafetiere has the answer with a clever update to a classic piece of kitchen kit

It’s big, it’s blue and it has loads of uses. Get some Gorgonzola and don’t just save it for the cheeseboard.

Royal cheesemonger Paxton & Whitfield have launched a new line of’retro’ Pots of Cheese that come in two flavours – Cheddar Rarebit and Stilton with Tawny Port.

For Christmas, the hand crafted chocolate company from Gnawfolk has released two special chocolate bars that conjur up the spirit of the festive season.

Are you taking your tablet to the kitchen to cook with? Then the QOOQ could be your next kitchen treat. Packed with recipes and professional videos and built to take the knocks, this dedicated tablet from France looks good. Nick Harman goes to meet the makers in Paris.

You wouldn’t think that behind Oxford Street’s Christmas huffers and sharp elbows is an oasis of south Indian charm, but that’s La Porte des Inde’s secret. Now,on the final Friday of every month, they host a master class and Anita Pati got stuck in.

The White Horse held their Annual Old Ale Festival for the thirtieth time last weekend, an event that sees the pub meticulously clean their cellar and lines to bring in around 80 different beers, from old ales, porters, stouts and barley wines, to strong ales and milds.

Do you reach thoughtlessly for a packet of hard Italian cheese – or make your decision based on colour, age and flavour? Joanna Biddolph urges you to look carefully when you buy – including for evidence of success at the World Cheese Awards.