A FEW YEARS ago it was reported that the Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne had developed a "web parfume" project which enabled users of the Internet, via a hand-held diffuser, to physically smell the aromas of Burgundy's wine domaines from the comfort of their home computer.

I'm not sure if it would ever replace a trip to the Cote d'Or or whether the gadget ever took off but I can only assume that the inventors hadn't read Anthony Hanson's seminal book on the region.