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Corinna Hardgrave: The perfect tipples for afternoon tea

The wine buff

Fizz and finger food: Sparkling wines are a good choice for a range of afternoon tea treats Expand
M&S cava brut Expand
Maria Casanovas Pinot Noir Expand

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Fizz and finger food: Sparkling wines are a good choice for a range of afternoon tea treats

Fizz and finger food: Sparkling wines are a good choice for a range of afternoon tea treats

M&S cava brut

M&S cava brut

Maria Casanovas Pinot Noir

Maria Casanovas Pinot Noir

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Fizz and finger food: Sparkling wines are a good choice for a range of afternoon tea treats

Corinna Hardgrave

When it comes to pairings with afternoon tea, you have two options. The first is the obvious one. Have some very nice loose leaf tea that is brewed in a teapot, allowed to settle, and then strained into a bone china cup. This brew will work perfectly with that idiosyncratic meal that falls between lunch and dinner. I have to admit that I never know quite how to work afternoon tea into my day. Not that it's a regular problem. It is a lovely thing, but I am always faced with the dilemma of which meal I should skip. Should it be lunch or dinner? Or tea? And although I've been known to rustle up some pretty nice scones, I have never in my whole life made afternoon tea. But whenever I've indulged in a genteel spot of this Great Bakeoff wonder in somewhere like The Shelbourne Hotel or Hayfield Manor, it has always been a giddy pleasure. Once I was even invited to afternoon tea by a lovely posh neighbour when I was living in England.

But if you're looking for something a little more celebratory than tea, what should you have? It's like ordering wine to go with a whole meal. With an array of savoury snacks, cucumber and salmon sandwiches, scones and tantalising pastries, it is not so much a question of red or white, more what suits the occasion. And I have to admit that my default setting is bubbles which - if you're out - can run up your bill substantially. If you do decide to have an afternoon tea type garden party, which would be absolutely lovely for a celebration like a Christening, there are plenty of options.

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