How to expand your wine horizons online | Fiona Beckett on wine

Since we can't yet visit vineyards, a wine tasting on Zoom (other platforms are available) is the next best way to get to know about wine

One of the best things to come out of the months of restrictions and lockdowns (well, you have to search for positives somewhere) are wine tastings on Zoom. And while you might think they wouldn't have much appeal, the upside is that you have the actual wines in front of you and access to their makers in person, albeit online, to shed light on the character of a particular region. I've particularly enjoyed ones I've joined in on from Australia, which have included Margaret River chardonnay, Tasmanian pinot noir and Rutherglen muscat, a sticky-toffee pudding of a wine that I suggest you treat yourself to pronto, assuming you're not doing dry January. Though it must be said those sessions usually took place at 10am UK time, which may not be ideal.

Online tastings also provide an incentive to attend a niche one you may never have previously considered. Criolla wines from Argentina, for example, made from the varieties brought by the early settlers, and totally different in character from today's ubiquitous malbec; or wines from a single producer in Sicily that demonstrate the effect of different terroirs (see the intriguing cerasuolo below).