A couple of slip-ups – and a test of my willpower to come

Yesterday morning passed in a blur. I had another session with James, then went straight out to Delfina Gallery, where I was helping judge some wines for Imbibe magazine. Somewhere along the way, though, I forgot to organise a packed lunch.

Predictably, come lunchtime, I was ravenous. Lunch had been laid on, of course. You don't invite 25 of London's top sommeliers, plus half a dozen journalists, to a venue, ask them to taste 100 wines each and not feed them. They simply wouldn't turn up. So in came the sandwich platters... There were sarnies with chicken, salad, avocado and mayo; airy ciabattas with parma ham and grilled aubergine; luscious-looking baps with smoked eel and horseradish – and, strictly speaking, I shouldn't have touched them.

I did, though. I looked for brown bread rather than white, and took the top layer of bread off so that it was an open sandwich. Plus, whereas a few weeks ago I'd happily have hoed in to a good sandwich and a half, this time round I went for half a sarnie and some of the fruit platter (which I would previously have ignored). I have to admit that I nearly caved in when, around tea-time, one of the sommeliers walked past and said: 'You absolutely have to try the little chocolate cakes – they're delicious.' But, I'm proud to say, I resisted temptation.

I nearly blew it today, as well. Today's tasting venue was Lords' Cricket Ground, where the annual New Zealand wine tasting was being held. I'll explain about these generic tastings at some later date, but suffice to say there was an awful lot of wine packed into one room. The lunchtime baguettes looked almost as tempting as the Pinot Noir, but I managed to restrain myself, largely thanks to a decent breakfast (a tub of M&S pineapple, mango and passion fruit, with a dollop of my usual Greek yoghurt and a sprinkling of nuts and seeds).

On my way home, I managed to pick up a butterless sandwich with roast beef, tomato and horseradish on multigrain bread from a St John's Wood deli called Panzer's (a favourite of mine, mainly because it sells the best hand-sliced smoked salmon in London).

Tomorrow brings a new challenge. I'm off to the Languedoc in Southern France for my first working wine trip of the year. Not only will I be tasting a lot of wine, I'll also be visiting an olive oil-making co-operative and eating at a number of great restaurants. It'll be interesting to find out how I handle this trip as it will set a precedent for all the other overseas work trips I take this year.