I managed to spend some time on Waiheke Island over the break, soaking up the sun and catching up with friends.

Don is the editor of Thirst magazine.

Hawkes Bay is famous for several things, including wine and great weather, but now we can add beer to the list.

A 15-year-old girl bought alcohol from a Mt Maunganui bar during a police operation at the weekend.

An ad campaign that describes how brewing magnate Morton Coutts was inspired to create DB Export has been dismissed as a "figment of an ad man's hangover" by writers and historians.

It's hard to beat a good cocktail and with more people entertaining at home these days, they're not just making a comeback in the bars.

'Tis the season to try new wine varietals or labels. And think beyond your Christmas dinner to all those parties and post-Christmas barbies.

Despite being enveloped in the bosom of one of the world's largest wine conglomerates, Selaks still holds a sentimental place in the hearts and minds of the New Zealand wine-buying public.

This warm weather has been a bit of mixed blessing for me. On one hand, it's a great incentive to bask in the sun with a few beers, but then I start worrying about melanoma.

If you want to rule the BBQ circuit this summer, there is a unique alternative to expensive big-brand beer, says brewing guru Soren Eriksen. Make your own. Here's his dummies' guide to home brewing.

Trickery, veiled threats and sly insults aren't what you'd normally expect at a tasting, but malt whisky tastings in Auckland do tend to be different.

Sun, sex and sand - is there anything that encapsulates them as well as rum? While rum is made around the world - even in countries notably bereft of sugar plantations such as Austria - it has become firmly linked to the Caribbean.

A panel of world class international judges cast their verdicts on a record number of brewers entered in this year's NZ Homebrewing Competition.

Rugby World Cup patrons can expect to pay up to $17 for a glass of wine in restaurants near Eden Park, but industry heads say it's not a rip-off.

There is something almost naughtily decadent about drinking bubbles.

The Government's liquor law bill passed its first reading yesterday amid strident criticism from Opposition MPs.

If you have a taste for the high life, now's the time to bag a bargain - supermarkets and wine retailers are staging a "champagne war".