Chateau du Cedre Cahors Extra Libre
Who makes it? Chateau du Cedre is a family wine estate in Cahors, France. Their first vineyards were planted in 1958, with the first wine made by the family being the 1973 vintage. The family at the time were also lavender farmers and distilled their own lavender oil....
Exploring Spanish Wines …
Let's Explore Spanish wines... There is plenty of excitement to be found amongst the Spanish wines that you can find in our local stores here in the UK. It is not just a great holiday destination, it has a lively wine culture with some very unique native grape...
Top picks from Cahors
Cahors, in the South West of France, is certainly not a new wine region. Winemaking here follows a long history. There are records of sales to London from the 1200s, but the region is known to have been producing wine since around 50BC under Roman rule. Unsurprisingly...
Bacca Nera Negroamaro Primitivo
Who makes it? The Bacca Nera is a bold red blend made by the very large family producer Casa Vinicola Botter. They have a very large reach, sourcing grapes from all over Italy. This wine comes from Puglia, that notable peninsula to the South. How do they make it?...
How to pick wines for Christmas Dinner – Part two
This is the second part of ‘How to pick wines for Christmas’. Part one was some inspiration for those seeking to choose wines for Christmas drinks events and for hosting gifts that you might give to someone when you arrive for dinner. This part concentrates...
How to pick wines for Christmas – part one!
Choosing wines at Christmas is one of those things that you can do early so it is one less thing to think about, particularly Christmas drinks get togethers. Remember though Christmas is not just about Christmas dinner, there are parties and unplanned guests to think...
Australian sparkling wines – House of Arras style!
Tasmania's House of Arras is keeping Australian sparkling wine real .... Champagne has been top of mind for celebratory bubbles throughout the world for over the past century. What some fizz lovers outside Australia's borders might not know is that the country has a...
Galata Meyhouse – a firm Twickenham favourite
Galata Meyhouse - is an evocative name. Galata is, of course, an area in Istanbul. And Meyhouse, according to their website, is a place serving meze style food and alcohol . Twickenham has a sense of excitement around this new arrival. Galata...
Le Petit Lion du Marquis de Las Cases
Who makes it? Le Petit Lion du Marquis de Las Cases is a ‘second wine’ of one of the famed Bordeaux Chateaus. This Chateau being Chateau Leoville-Las Cases owned by Domaines Delon. Also in this ‘stable’ is Chateau Pontensac from Medoc and Chateau Nenin from Pomerol....
Chan de Rosas Cuvee Especial Albarino
Who makes it? Chan de Rosas is a small winery located in Galicia in Spain. Specifically, the Galician region Rias Baixas. They are focused on Albarino. This is unsurprising as Rais Baixas is famed for their Albarino white wines. However, they also produce a dry white...
Domaine Bousquet Gaia Malbec
Who makes it? Gaia is one of the wines made by Domaine Bousquet, an Argentinian winery founded by a French winemaker from the South of France in the 1990s. It is an organic wine producer and it is has a rather large portfolio of wines. This is one of their Gaia line...
The Italian Red Revival … Part 2 It’s Going South
Let's talk about Southern Italian red wines. Following on from Part 1: It is not all cut and dried, there are now many more Italian wine regions offering reliable and very tasty red wines than were available on our shelves in the past. The slopes of Monte...
Upcoming Events:
Exploring Spanish Wines …
Let's Explore Spanish wines... There is plenty of excitement to be found amongst the Spanish wines that you can find in our local stores here in the UK. It is not just a great holiday destination, it has a lively wine culture with some very unique native grape...
New Wines for 2024!
Want to find out all the new & exciting wine trends for 2024... Some of what is new is old! Very very old. Some of newest wine styles are some of the oldest styles in the world. Some others are previously undiscovered gems. Some are holiday favourites that have...
Food & Wine matching Session!
THE ART OF MATCHING WINE WITH FOOD! It is all up to taste! Have you ever wondered which wines go well with certain dishes... and why? Should you drink red with with dessert? What about white wine with red meat? And that incredibly difficult to match, chilli? Wonder no...
Latest videos:
Winery Spotlight: Rathfinny Wine Estate
Click here to watch this video. or click here to read about Rathfinny Wine Estate
Winemaker Series: Colette Bonnet Champagne
click here to watch video click here to read about Colette Bonnet Champagne
What to drink: Bordeaux wines for Christmas
Please click to watch video Note: First published 24th November, 2018
Winemaker Series: Gavin Monery, Vagabond
Click here to watch video click here to read about Vagabond Winery
Winemaker Series: Henry Connell, The Uncommon
click here to watch video click here to read about The Uncommon Wines and Henry Connell.
Winery Spotlight: Piggs Peake
click here to watch this video click here to read about Piggs Peake
Galata Meyhouse – a firm Twickenham favourite
Galata Meyhouse - is an evocative name. Galata is, of course, an area in Istanbul. And Meyhouse, according to their website, is a place serving meze style food and alcohol . Twickenham has a sense of excitement around this new arrival. Galata...
Why you should be drinking Vermentino di Gallura
Vermentino di Gallura has very much its unique sense of place. It is as evocative of the crystalline waters, pale sand beaches and its colourful towns, such as nearby Castelsardo. Winelovers might know this Mediterranean gem of a grape as Rolle from Provence...
Yes, you CAN chill red wines! Here are six you will love…
Meet the chilled red!.... I recently held a Masterclass on Wines for Summer. As part of that night, I featured red wines that you can chill during the heat of summer. That is right, chilled red! As well as making sure that everyone knew how to keep their red wines in...
Winery Spotlight: Fincas de Azabache
There is always something happening in Rioja .... Source: Fincas de Azabache Source: Fincas de Azabache And Fincas de Azabache is one winery to watch..... Those new happenings makes it such an interesting region for winelovers to revisit time and time again....
Yalumba – all the land around
Yalumba - the history The Hill Smith family have been making wine at Yalumba since their first vintage in 1854. When Samuel Smith planted the first grapes in 1849, he was already a savvy entrepreneur but it was a stint chasing Bendigo gold that helped fund...
Tahbilk – A bottled history in Marsanne
The Tahbilk range of marsanne tells a rich story steeped in the pioneering spirit of Australian winemaking and the Purbrick family. Nowhere else in Australia, to my knowledge, has the breadth of choice of straight marsanne wine on offer. The first vines The...
Women in Wine:
Tenute Olbios Lupus in Fabula Superiore
Who makes it? Tenute Olbios is owned by Daniela Pinna and her husband David. The wines are grown and made on the island of Sardegna. And the Lupus in Fabula Superiore is a Vementino di Gallura DOCG wine. Unsurprisingly, it is a white wine made from Vermentino which is...
Cote Bonneville Chardonnay
Who makes it? Cote Bonneville is a family run winery in the Yakima Valley, Washington State. The Shiels family expanded the vineyard back in the early 1990s when they purchased it and daughter, Kerry Shiels, is now the winemaker. The oldest block in their DuBrul...
Jane Eyre Wines Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir
Who makes it? Jane Eyre is an Australian winemaker that also puts her stamp on French wine, including this Beaujolais wine from Chenas. She is now well known for her expertise in Pinot Noir after vintages at Cullen in Margaret River, Felton Road, Central Otago and Ata...