Uncorked - Make the most of it

If ever there was a time for showcasing your wine, this is it. Love it or loathe it (and I'm not aware of anyone who actually loathes it), the wine trade fair is back in town.

It would be vastly overstating the case to say that the wine trade is in crisis, but there is a lot of liquid sloshing around.

The bubble hasn't burst yet but things are tough at the retailing end.

Bogofs on major brands have become an everyday generator of footfall, a fact of life, and the shrewd suppliers are making the best from available wines to satisfy that requirement.

We should be flattered that the multiple retailers want and need those deals.

Maybe it's time to be a bit cute, think outside the bottle, go for broke - if you'll excuse the expression.

The World Cup is only a few weeks away and with no Wayne Rooney we could be contemplating what to do earlier than envisaged.

So, for all of us, it is time to keep our eyes and ears open.

A chance conversation, an unexpected meeting, an interesting seminar and suddenly a germ of an idea.

Blue-sky thinking may be a bit of a stretch for Docklands, but lets all try and excel.

Christian Davis

• Harpers Says...