It's National Cheese and Wine Day folks.

It's National Cheese and Wine Day folks.

Guess what folks. It's National Cheese and Wine Day. Across Britain the fashion for holding cheese and wine parties used to be the province of the middle and even upper classes. It meant that you had money, surrounded by all the fixtures and fittings of having a couple of million bob in the bank. When those who were so inclined at the time felt like inviting our neighbours in for a quiet night of sophisticated living you had to throw a cheese and wine party.

In the luxuriously upholstered dining rooms and literary saloons of Kensington and Chelsea, Mayfair and Notting Hill in London's affluent ghetto land, it was cheese and wine as the aperitif followed by heated discussion about the Common Market and Edward Heath. This was, after all, the 1970s. Cheese and wine were rather like the background mood music of our lives, impressively displayed snacks, full of flavour and piquancy. They represented snobbery, pretension, poshness and a reminder to your neighbours that you could show off as well.

Because cheese and wine parties quintessentially belonged to the 1970s, a time for flaunting your art nouveau furniture, your shameless opulence, your very expensive accessories, your ornate souvenirs from those exhausting holidays in the Caribbean and that art gallery of family photos, Picasso masterpieces, Habitat chairs and those oval-shaped glass-topped tables that seemed to be all the rage during the 1970s.

At the moment though none of us may be up for any party since parties should only be organised when there's something to celebrate and rejoice in. But who cares life is wonderful. National Cheese and Wine Day still has a slightly snooty significance, the kind of event that used to take place after work. If a successful day of financial transactions had been achieved and the boss was in a particularly good mood then out would come those little sticks on which would be fixed tiny cubes of the finest Cheddar, the sweetest bottle of Chateau Blanc wine from Marks and Spencer and a small glass of the popular Prosecco.

So ladies and gentlemen let us a raise a toast to all of the accounts departments, all of those IT engineers, the secretaries, the marketing team, the advertising section and a whole variety of office workers who have done so much to maintain the future of the company. Quite how cheese and wine came to be recognised as so important when things were going well at the office is a mystery. Maybe it was the simplicity of it all, the straightforward presentation of a much-loved snack.

It was quite clear that no great effort would be required to partake of cheese and wine since there were no knives and forks to cut and wrestle with and the whole process would take you a couple of seconds at the very least. But let us celebrate cheese and wine because some of us just love cheese, that wonderful combination of whey, milk and eminently moreish into the bargain. There's the crumbly cheese that melts in the mouth, Wensleydale, Cheddar, Stilton, Red Leicester and our French friends Brie and Camembert. How could you possibly go wrong?

But this is where you find yourself at a complete loss. Why do the hosts of cheese and wine parties insist on wrapping the cheese with silver foil? Of course, the said cheese and wine are perfect starters to the main meal and there has to be something of a guilty pleasure in that first sip of wine. Now it is that you engage your colleague or friend with conversations about the latest developments in the world of City banking or compare notes on that arts programme you saw on Sky Arts the night before.

It's normally the case that if you've been invited to a cheese and wine party you're under obligation to bring your own bottle of plonk. Besides, you're not there to take advantage of your company's generosity and largesse. So you sidle up to your boss, tell him or her that they're the best thing since sliced bread and then talk about French vineyards where your particular brand of booze has originated.

In a matter of seconds the said small chunks of cheese and those fragrant odours of rich red grape are now consumed in no time at all. There is indeed a rich symbolism in cheese and wine, a social status, a statement of class, a noteworthy cachet, the ultimate recognition of your worth and merit within the company. You've finally clinched the deal so take as many nibbles of cheese as you want and that wine has a richly satisfying bouquet to it. So go on tuck in and enjoy.

Hold on though what happened to those other snacks such as the mushroom vol au vents, the fish croutons and those adorable little cheese sandwiches which also make your mouth water? Over the years cheese and wine has been served up to a nation of those with discerning palates. They're eaten within in no time, they make no demands on your time and they cost nothing to plonk on a plate. The waiters and waitresses are almost surplus to requirements since you can quite literally help yourself.

So there you are everybody. It's National Cheese and Wine Day. In the grand scheme of things you may not care much for these humble culinary delicacies. However, if you're invited round to family and friends tonight be sure to remember that there are some traditions that may never die.  Those cheese nibbles look deliciously edible and inviting while that wine smells like a luxuriant garden of red roses. Time to mingle with the managing director or tell your friends about that barrel of grapes you crushed on a late summer break en vacances en France. Oh for the glorious wine of life and don't forget the cheese.