An Occasional Tipple: Time to wake up with wonderful wine

I run to the next carriage. Again, the door remains closed. A few pale haggard faces look out, mostly in sympathy. But one very elegant, handsome woman sipping champagne looks me directly in the eye and smirks. As I sprint to the final carriage the train takes off. I shake the briefcase in anger.

Whereupon I wake up. Oh, we've all had such dreams. Sadly, it's much too early in the day to settle one's nerves with a stiff drink. We must wait till evening for that. In between, we do catch the train. We make it to work. And by the end of an awful day of insoluble problems, pointless meetings and rollickings, we wish that we had missed the train. Why was that mysterious woman laughing at me?

I make my way home to Rose Cottage and kiss my beloved wife, the enigmatic Madame G., who is preparing her famous Tuscan Chicken which I match with today's WINE OF THE WEEK, the easy-drinking and versatile 2022 Roero Arneis (£9.99, Lidl).

This fabulously fresh, zesty Italian white is full of bright tropical fruit flavours alongside notes of fresh herbs and alluring grassy aromatics before a lingering, slightly nutty finish.

Sigmund Freud would have told you that the woman on the train was your mother and you were deeply in love with her. She found this ridiculous. So she speeds away, laughing at you. He might be right but it's a profoundly depressing interpretation. Better to think of her as the personification of your aspirations for a better life but you're scared that ship might be sailing away. Helpless, you stand on the deserted platform. Bereft. Actually, that's not much better, is it?

Lovers of red, fear not, your train’s here and its doors are open. Today's second recommendation is the big, bold and intensely fruity 2021 Cahors Malbec (£8.50, M&S). A smooth, exuberantly juicy palate with pronounced notes of plum and black cherry leads to a satisfyingly lengthy finish with luxurious strands of vanilla and just a hint of dark, bitter chocolate. One for roast lamb.

My dream dictionary tells me that missing a train represents the inability to control one's life. But my instincts tell me that the woman on the train is an amalgam of all the women I wronged in my reckless youth before settling down with the right one. I was an awful Casanova. Sleepwalking through life and love. I'm awake now.

And I certainly hope that you're awake too and that we can drink to that. Now, where's that briefcase? Till next week, tipplers, sante!