You never know what's in store

A full cellar is a wonderful thing but life is unpredictable and you can't take those precious bottles with you. Wine is made for enjoying, not keeping, so drink up, says

- Jonathan Ray

I HAVE CELLAR envy. At lunch with old friends in their new house, I was shown a shabby wooden door behind which lay half a dozen stone steps that led to, well, a dusty, cobwebbed paradise: a genuine, bona fide, flagstoned wine cellar. I want one. It was empty, of course (they've only just moved in), but I could just imagine the treats that once resided there. My host is keen to refill it with bottles ASAP, whereas my hostess has plans for a washer-dryer and chest freezer. They were still arguing when I left. Good luck with that, guys.

With the en primeur bubble all but burst, we don't store wine the way we used to. After all, why buy bottles you need to keep for 10 years before they're ready to drink when you can buy fully mature wines for the same price? But a cellar begs to be filled just as a wine glass does. It also begs to be emptied just as a wine glass does. Wine is made to be drunk, and whether you're French and drink your wine too young or British and drink your wine too old, it doesn’t matter. Just drink it.