Lend me your ears. Goblets will be doing overtime next Friday at the K Bar, in York's Grape Lane.

As part of the Eboracum Roman Festival, Bill Laverick and Martin Lacy will present A History Of Wine In Roman Times.

If that hasn't got you rushing to dial the booking hotline number, I might add that there will be half a dozen wines to sample as well!

Bill is the owner of wine company Bodegas Guillermo and has been involved with the wine trade in York since 1968. Martin Lacy was, of course, writer of this wine column for 15 years.

The wines for tasting all come from the world as the Romans knew it. One of the six is a Champagne and, fingers crossed, there should be a rare Lebanese cabernet sauvignon too.

Tickets, which must be bought in advance, are £7.50, and the night starts at 8pm. They are available from the Eboracum Roman Bathhouse (NOT the Roman Bath pub) or by ringing Rachel Lacy on 07903 509216. You'll be glad to hear that the wearing of togas is not obligatory.

Meanwhile I've tried a mixed bag of wines this week. Starting out with a new offering from Wolf Blass.

Yellow Label Chardonnay 2003 is available from Tesco for £6.99. It shows the usual Aussie chardonnay characteristics - oak, a little butter and lashings of peach and melon flavours - but is a little lighter than the norm. It's nothing you haven't tasted before but tangy and highly quaffable nonetheless.

A decent red for under a fiver can be had from Somerfield and Costcutter.

High Altitude Malbec Shiraz 2002, from Argentina, is full of flavour but not stodgy.

The malbec dominance is reflected in both the wine's purple hue and its warming, mellow, violet and berry flavours. Included also is a twist of pepper, courtesy of the shiraz which accounts for 30 per cent of the blend. There isn't much to the finish though and I'm not so sure about the llama on the label either.

Finally, I was holidaying in France with my family last month and on arrival our hosts thrust a bottle of Baron de Lestac Reserve 2001 into my hand.

This cabernet sauvignon from the Medoc wine-producing district of Bordeaux is very dry and thumpingly oakey, yet delicate. It's one of those that evaporates in the mouth. The "oakey stuff" I'm glad to say is available in this country from Oddbins, priced £6.99. But as is often the case, I remember it tasting nicer sitting around the barbecue in France.

The Tipping's Tipples pigeon hole has become blocked, with postcard entries for the 35 South competition.

All being well, I'll publish the names of the five winners next week.

Wolf Blass Yellow Label Chardonnay 2003, £6.99 at Tesco

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High Altitude Malbec Shiraz 2002, £4.99 at Somerfield and Costcutter

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Baron de Lestac Reserve 2001, £6.99 at Oddbins

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Updated: 10:27 Saturday, July 17, 2004