A busy weekend of tasting through the mixed cases that have arrived from various retailers for a forthcoming double page spread in the Sunday Express. Too soon to draw any firm conclusions, but the impression I have so far is not universally positive. One retailer sent me a 'medal winning whites' case where three of the wines were clearly past their best. One was a 2002 white sealed with a synthetic cork, and entering its decline phase rapidly. A warehouse-clearing exercise underway? I almost fell asleep tasting through another case: utterly boring wines with little merit at all.

This raises the issue of drink-by dates for wines. Most commercial whites are made in a fresh style and are at their best as young as you can get them.

Managed to get out onto the golf course with my oldest son - a gentle little pitch and put, after hitting a basket of balls on the range. He's coming on well. Getting the boys interested is my best chance of playing golf on a regular basis. It's a sad sport, I know, but I do enjoy it. I made a tiny tweak to my swing (dropping the left shoulder a bit more at set-up) and suddenly I'm hitting much better. Even with my driver. How exciting. Pictured is me teeing up for my recent round at the lovely Flinders course on the Mornington Peninsula.