Earlier this week I celebrated a birthday with a round of French 75s, a hot bath and an eye mask. I know, hardly rock & roll. But I liked it. In fact, the eye mask ( a present from my sister) was so good, I have to tell you about them. Called Space Masks, they heat up when you put them on and stay warm for 15 minutes. Enough time to fall asleep, in my case. Probably helped by the cocktails. Talking of which, I’m doing a book signing for Homemade Cocktails in London tomorrow (Thursday) so if you’re near St James’s between 5-7pm and fancy popping in for a cocktail/book, let me know. I promise to stay off the eye masks.

Current sparkling in the fridge: Cave de Lugny Sparkling Burgundy

Price: £10.49 - Buy From Waitrose

Currently on offer (it’s normally £13.99), it’s an absolute shoo-in if you want something that tastes like champagne but is more like prosecco in price. It’s made by the traditional method (meaning the second bubble-inducing fermentation happens in the bottle rather than in a tank, like prosecco) and is made from one of the three classic champagne grapes. As a result, you get more weight and flavour than you would from a bottle of prosecco. Fabulous stuff.

Current red in the rack: The Ned Pinot Noir

Price: £12.99 - Buy From Majestic

This one always reminds me of Frazzles crisps, in a good way. Smoky with a bit of crunch from its lovely red fruits, it’s from New Zealand’s Marlborough region, specifically the Southern Valleys. It’s been aged in French oak barrels (that’s where the smoky bit comes from) for nine months and is soft as cashmere socks. I meant to tell you about it when it was on offer a few weeks ago but if you buy 6 bottles at Majestic the price goes down to £12.99/bottle. Quite a bit more than Frazzles but a lot more satisfying.