UFO Info Week-End

Put the cream into a saucepan with the sugar and vanilla pods and seeds

Put the cream into a saucepan with the sugar and vanilla pods and seeds. Bring it to the boil and simmer, stirring with a whisk every so often until it has reduced by half and thickened.Bake the tarts for 15 minutes then remove the baking beans or extra tins and cook for a further 5 minutes. Take out of the oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes before removing them from the tins. Remove the vanilla pod from the cream mixture, scraping away any seeds that are left on the pod.

Fill the tarts with the mixture and leave to set in the fridge. Serve with strawberries or raspberries or a selection of berries It doesn’t need any more cream with it!. Saturday: 2002 Wakefield Clare Valley Riesling, £6.99, Oddbins

Saturday: 2002 Wakefield Clare Valley Riesling, £6.99, Oddbins
An early bird from the much-heralded 2002 vintage in Clare Valley. This floral-scented, spritz-fresh Aussie dry white should convert any lingering doubters to the riesling cause. Thanks to its irresistibly mouthwateringly lime-zesty fruit character it’s an ideal partner for a pad thai or a ceviche of wafer-thin white fish marinated in lemon juice.Sunday: 2001 Les Vieilles Vignes de Ch?au Maris, Minervois, £7.99, WaitroseMade from pure, old vine carignan grapes by Englishman Bertie Eden, this southern French red is packed full of black cherry fruitiness with a richly oaked, dark chocolatey sweetness fleshing out the firm tannins. A bit of a blockbuster at 14.3 per cent alcohol for a lazy Sunday barbie or slow-roast leg of lamb.Any day: 2002 Alteza Viura, £3.99, Safeway, selected storesThe viura grape of white Rioja fame is not necessarily renowned for subtlety or strength of character. But under the auspices of old Portugal hand Peter Bright, fermentation in stainless steel with the addition of subtle oaking produces a clean, crisp, spritz-fresh dry white with spicy undertones and a refreshing, grapefruity zip and zing..

Isn’t English wine just a bad joke? Whatever its credibility problems in the past, English wine is no longer the preserve of blimpish and other eccentric tendencies. There are now 105 wineries in England and Wales making a range of wines Most are tiny, although four have commercial ambitions

1. Who are the Big Four? The biggest is New Wave Wines based at Tenterden in Kent. It produces half a million bottles, sold under the Curious Grape label. Then there’s Denbies in Surrey, New Hall in Essex and Three Choirs at Newent in Gloucestershire.3.