You must know by now that I am not really the sort of person that's ever going to make, let alone keep, New Year resolutions. That said, I do like to take the opportunity to think about some of the things that I'd like to do differently - better even - in the year to come. So, I have paused, reflected and come up with a summary of things I will be focusing on in 2008.

I love Austrian wines and I have enthused about them time and time again. Despite that, I haven't yet taken the time to get to grips with this country's wines thoroughly. I lack an intimate knowledge of the country's regions, the grape varieties and the people there that are doing such a cracking job of making Austrian wines so fantastically interesting. I will do my homework and I promise to get back to you with a full and thorough report.

Next is something that has been bothering me for a while. Every time I give a wine-tasting I notice that I loose my audience when it comes to getting them to articulate what it is that they are smelling and tasting.

Sometimes I think its confidence people lack. Occasionally, some people just don't have the sense of smell or taste that is required to do the job. But, more often than not, I think it is a question of not feeling able. I truly want to crack this particular nut.

The way I tackle the what does it smell - or taste - of?' question, is by imaging I am in a supermarket. I visualise five aisles - fruit and vegetables; flowers; spice; dairy; breads.

Having done that, I stick my nose in the glass, take a series of short, sharp sniffs and then determine which, if any, of these aisles I am in. Then I try and home in on exactly what it is that I can smell or taste. Is it tropical or citrus fruits? Is there vanilla? Cream perhaps? A hint of flowers?

That is, of course, my own method and it doesn't suit everybody. For some, I think it adds more pressure than it relieves. That isn't a good thing.

So, I'm committed to finding a better and more inspiring solution for the wine tastings that I will be leading in the coming year. If you have any suggestions on that front, I'd be very happy to hear them.

An acquaintance of mine recently pointed out that there was tremendous pressure on people who choose not to drink alcohol. I think that's terribly unfair. I would always support any designated driver' that comes to dinner by supplying a generous quantity of water and soft drinks. If someone comes and isn't driving, they deserve to be extended the same courtesy without having to answer 20 questions as to why they don't want alcohol. It is not something I think I do very often but I may have been guilty once or twice. I won't be doing that in 2008.

I will take my own advice more seriously and stop buying so much cheese. Every time I settle on a particular wine to enjoy with a single cheese and the match is good, I have an enormous sense of satisfaction.

Equally, when I go mad in the cheese shop and overload my fridge in diary delights I am invariably disappointed with the wine/cheese interface.

One cheese will overpower the wine, the next will seem tasteless, and so it goes on. If am lucky enough to have a compatible duo, my tastebuds are invariably too tired to enjoy it. This coming year will be one cheese, one wine'.

South Africa is a country with which I am head over heels in love. It is magnificent. When it comes to their wines, I haven't yet homed in on their spirit; their flavour and what their unique story is. I'd like to think that in the coming 12 months I can find ways to get to know the true' wines of South Africa. I'm not talking about the big, bad brands. I'm looking to identify the individual wineries; the ones that are working to express the personality of South African wines. I think this is going to be trickier than it sounds, but I am looking forward to getting stuck in.

Lastly, I must, absolutely must, start keeping tidier notes on all of the wines I taste. I had a rather embarrassing meeting with a good pal of mine recently who wanted us to taste together some wines that I'd found on a trip to Spain. I duly arrived with the wines and then pulled out a scrappy piece of wine-smudged A4 paper with some vague, almost unidentifiable scrawls plastered upon it.

As it was, it was not so long since that I'd tasted them and so I could pretty much fill in the blanks. But I know that in five years time, that piece of paper will be meaningless. That's a tragedy. These notes are my personal wine journal. I will get better - and neater - at it.

It goes without saying that my intentions are good and I hope to be able to report back to you, in the course of the year, my successes. But, I will take this opportunity to manage expectations. I am, after all, not perfect. What you can be sure of though, is that I will be enjoying wine as much as ever.

Whatever resolutions you have made for the coming year, I hope you will be too.