The Best Wine in Restaurants Newcastle

In such a limited space, I can indicate only a few general guidelines which, if not followed, could spoil even the most delicious of meals.

1. Wines should be drunk in the following order: first the light, delicately flavoured whites, then the more aromatic whites, rosés and lastly the reds, starting with the lighter and proceeding to more full-bodied.

2. Heavier and sweeter wines should never be served with red meats and game but with desserts and even well-matured, strongly-flavoured cheeses.

3. Drink some natural mineral water after tasting a wine in order to better appreciate the next one.

4. An entire meal can be based around one particularly rare or special wine.

5. The most important wines, such as Brunello or some of the Chianti Classico Riserva, must be served chambré at room temperature (20-22 degrees C.) - and opened at least an hour before serving. Very old wines should be decanted slowly and gently into a carafe or decanter.

To help you recognise the main varieties of wine produced in Tuscany, I have written brief, but hopefully adequate, descriptions of each major wine. I have also indicated the foods they best compliment. Do remember however, that such advice is not meant to be definitive as it can only be based on the overall, general characteristics of each kind of wine. For example, a particularly full-bodied Vernaccia from San Gimignano (several vintages come to mind) might be quite delicious with some of the spicier, Tuscan cured hams.

Tyneside boasts many restaurants but there is only one La Riviera. In the 1960s, Morecambe %26 Wise, made three feature films for the Rank Organisation. By far the best was their spoof crime caper That Riviera Touch, in which hapless tourists Eric and Ernie tangle with jewel thieves in the south of France. Without wishing to give away the ending, the various sub-plots come together in a chase scene that still has me in fits of laughter.

All right, I admit I am supposed to be writing about Gateshead Quayside1s La Riviera restaurant and not cult comedy classics but there is method in my madness. Apart from the word Riviera appearing in both titles there is a distinct connection between the nation1s best loved comedy double act and the unique epicurean evening out offered by this extraordinary restaurant - that connection is fun.