Category — Product Types

Somehow you don’t expect to stumble across a purveyor of fine Champagne based in North-East England - Champagne seems almost too ephemeral for the down-to-earth Geordies, more suitable for sipping by the Thames at Henley than by the Tyne at Jarrow!

So how wrong can you be - let’s not forget that Newcastle has always had a vibrant night life, that the redevelopment of the riverside and the arrival of the Baltic Wharf art gallery and the Milennium Bridge have been great successes - I know I’d rather live in the North East than in London!

Lovely Bubbly (great name for a Champagne specialist):-

We are passionate about Champagne, and so are our partners. We deal with family run vineyards producing quality hand crafted champagnes.

Each one has it’s own characteristics and personality, unlike main stream large brand champagnes which are well known for a reason. Their quality is assured by factory-style or large scale production, which results in loss of character.

What we wanted was a Champagne that reflected the TLC given to it by it’s maker. We found more than one, and you can find them all in the Lovely Bubbly online shop.

What we have provided is a fantastic range of quality Premier and Grand Cru champagnes at realistic prices, coupled with unparalleled events management experience to provide you, the customer, a complete Champagne experience.

They certainly have a good range of fizz, including this spectacular art-deco style bottle Cuvée Juline from Georges Vesselle “Vintage of Vintages”, blended from the finest cuvees that the House of Georges Vesselle has. The wines used are all between 5 and 10 years old, a superb celebratory drink or aperitif.” (£46.85 a bottle). They also have less extravagant offerings from £22.99

So don’t go looking for any of the big name brands - these are carefully sourced from small independent growers, but there is plenty of information and advice on the site to help you choose. The “Champagne Expert” for example recommends that “Champagne is best served at between 6 and 10 degrees Celsius. This allows all the flavours and aromas to properly develop.”
Several of the producers warrant a listing in my French wine Bible - Guide Hachette des Vins de France 2008, which only includes wines which have been selected at blind tastings by wine experts.

Whilst some of their business will inevitably be for corporate hospitality, the site remains welcoming to private customers.

Lovely Bubbly - Henry Studdy House, 139 Bedeburn Road, Jarrow,Tyne & Wear, NE32 5AZ
Phone: 0845 2572754 Fax: 0709 2006711

The Channel4 sponsored Taste festival comes to Leeds Milllenium Square from 5-8 June 2008, offering visitors a great opportunity to taste fine foods and wines available in the region.

Imagine a picnic in a park. Now multiply it by thousands of people. Invite all the best restaurants in the area to contribute the food, and discerning vintners to bring the bottles. Make sure some of the guests are famous chefs happy to help out with cooking hints, and organise live music to eat and drink by. This is a Taste Festival.

Amongst the wine exhibits will be Bordeaux Wines, Wines of Chile, Faustino Rioja, Wines of South Africa and Playford Ros representing Villa Sandi - Italian Proscecco producers.

Leeds Brewery and Goslings Rum will also contribute to what promises to be a great cocktail of wine and food.

For more info and tickets see www.channel4.com

In Spain:-

This spring Time Out has teamed up with the Spanish-based Institut del Cava to offer one lucky wine enthusiast and a friend the chance to win a luxury, tailor-made, bacchanalian adventure to the beautiful Cava region of Spain.

The trip, on which winners will discover the ‘Route of Cava’, includes seven nights in five-star accommodation, chauffeur-driven visits to Cava bodegas, exclusive tasting sessions and delicious dinners in some of the regions top restaurants.

The perfect drink for warm summer evenings, Cava also makes the perfect accompaniment to any meal. ‘Cava’ is actually the Spanish term for the wine cellars and has been adopted as a generic name for high-quality, sparkling wines from Spain. Cava wines may be white or rosé, but never red!

In addition, four runners up will win an exclusive sampling case containg six bottles of assorted Cavas.(closing date 30 May 2008) To order an exclusive Cava sampling case, containing six quality bottles, call 01483 274 666 or email info@aawines.co.uk

In London:
Meanwhile until 15 June 2008 the Insititut del Cava is also offering a BOGOF (buy one get one free) glass of Cava at a rather impressive list of London gastropubs Should this gastropub twofer leave you longing for more, online Spanish wine peddlers, AA Wines, will sell six bottle Cava sampling cases during the same period - see http://londonist.com for more details of the participating grubpubs!

Oddbins has 20% off all sparking wines including CAVA until 8th June 2008, so for example Codorníu Cuvée Raventós Cava Brut NV is now £6.79 reduced from £8.49

If you are lucky enough to have more wine than you know where to keep it, or unlucky enough to have a flat too small to hold more than the odd bottle, then Big Yellow has just opened a new self-service wine storage facility in Fulham, London.
Fine wine needs to be kept in good conditions if it is to reach its potential, which means a steady cool temperature, no vibration and little light. That is why cellars in older houses were ideal - except for often being a little too damp for the labels and corks. Certainly modern houses tend not to have a cellar or any space which meets the criteria - central heating which is too warm, the cupboard under the stairs suffering too much disturbance, garages where the temperature varies too much, and no cellar!

This new venture seems to offer a solution (if you are in London):-

We have launched a unique new wine storage service in our new flagship store in Fulham. It’s the UK’s first dedicated self storage wine facility and boasts features to keep your wine collection in perfect condition.
Climate control: The environment is maintained at 15 degrees centigrade (+/- 2 degrees C) and 67% humidity levels (+/- 5%)
Free access to your own personal cellar is available during our store opening hours, with out of hours access also available for a small weekly charge.
State of the art security: Every room is alarmed; the store is monitored 24hr with CCTV and 24 hr security on the premises

See www.bigyellow.co.uk.

To celebrate the upcoming Spring Bank Holiday the New Zealand House of Wine is offering an exclusive FREE bottle of Cloudy Bay Sparkling Vintage Pelorus 2002 with every ‘Pre-Mixed’ or ‘Mix Your Own Case’ 12-bottle selection purchased until 26th May 2008! (Offer applies to orders for UK delivery only.)
You can choose from PREMIXED CASES or MIX YOUR OWN 12 bottle selection.
Your free bottle of Cloudy Bay Sparkling Vintage Pelorus 2002 will automatically be included with any qualifying 12-bottle Mixed Case purchase, so no need to do anything except place your order at www.nzhouseofwine.com

The sparking wine from Cloudy Bay is described as “An ideal ripening season, long and cool, producing intensely vibrant flavours. The 2002 Pelorus Vintage has sumptuous aromas that invoke thoughts of a baker’s kitchen… warm brioche and almond flan with lashings of strawberries and cream. The palate is powerful yet elegant with buttery shortbread flavours, a delicate orange tang and the merest hint of white mushroom, leading seamlessly into a very fine finish.”

It cannot be often that you would find a New Zealand Cloudy Bay and a red wine from Wales on the same list ! But at ND John you can discover the Sugarloaf Vineyards Deri Coch, and even on their website they state “They must be mad with our weather - but somehow they pull it off, and in some style!” - Deri Coch is a blend of Triomphe D’Alsace, Regent and Rondo varieties and has brambly autumn fruit flavours with a delicious sour cherry finish” (£8.50)

ND John Wine Merchants Ltd are an established wine merchants in the South Wales area supplying fine restaurants, hotels, gastro-pubs and clubs.

In 2003, we moved to new premises and opened a large ‘wine warehouse’ bringing our extensive range of wines direct to the public.

The success of this business led to us expanding our retail operation onto the internet to enable people throughout the UK to experience our portfolio of wines from the bargain new world offerings to the more prestigious old world favourites.

In between they offer a decent selection of wines from France, Italy, Spain, USA, Australia. New Zealand and Lebanon amongst others.

ND John, 90 Walter Road, Swansea SA1 4QF
Phone: 01792 644 688 Fax: 01792 646 600 Email: mail@ndjohn.co.uk

The Channel 4 sponsored Taste festival comes to Edinburgh (The Meadows) from 29 May - 1 June 2008, offering visitors a great opportunity to taste fine foods and wines available in the region.

Imagine a picnic in a park. Now multiply it by thousands of people. Invite all the best restaurants in the area to contribute the food, and discerning vintners to bring the bottles. Make sure some of the guests are famous chefs happy to help out with cooking hints, and organise live music to eat and drink by. This is a Taste Festival.

Amongst the wine-related exhibits will be the Edinburgh School of Food and Wine, Portobello’s Fine Wine Co, New Zealand’s Jackson Estate Winery, Champagne merchants Lovely Bubbly, highly-rated Scottish Merchant Valvona & Crolla,Bordeaux Wines, Wines of Chile, Faustino Rioja

Being in Scotland there is also a Food & Whisky School!

For more info and tickets see www.channel4.com

Oddbins and Nicolas come together for their annual wine fair on 17th & 18th May 2008 to be held at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea Football Club in west London.

Offering a whole host of vinous delights to taste and an opportunity to meet, in person, winemakers from all around the world.
It’s the perfect occasion to sample the Oddbins & Nicolas ranges of wines, in a professional yet fun environment, with the chance to learn more about the products on our shelves and the people behind them.

The event includes masterclasses on “Discover Argentina”, Bruichladdich whiskies, d’Arenberg winery (McLaren Vale, South Australia), Bordeaux, Champagnes and Anakena Ona winery (Chile)

Among many others, highlights at this year’s event include: d’Arenberg, Dashwood, De Bortoli, Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Bollinger, Pernod Ricard, Paragon Vintners, Chapoutier, Montana, Lindauer, Cellar Trend, Masi, Cave de Tain, Gerard Bertrand, Taylor’s Port, Cillar De Silos El Quintalal, Jourdan Bordeaux, Cordoniu Wines, Bruichladdich Distillery, Inverhouse Distillery

Book your tickets (£25 11am - 5pm) ONLINE

For something a little different, Constantine Stores is holding a number of tastings in the coming months in Cornwall:-

Malt Whisky Tastingwith Andrew Torrance of Morrison Bowmore on April 24th at the Maritime Museum, Falmouth - Tasting the whiskies of Auchentoshan (lowlands), Bowmore (Islay) and Suntory (Japan) - seven whiskies in total!

SPANISH WINE & FOOD EVENING on 22nd May 2008
at Aguaviva Restaurant, Islington Wharf, Penryn TR10 8AT

Tutored Tasting with Helena Grant - Tasting wines from the regions of Campo de Borja, Jerez, Jumilla, Majorca, Navarra, Rioja, and Toro. 10 wines in total accomanied by a selection of Tapas from Agauviva - Latino Restaurant.

Constantine Stores Ltd, 30 Fore Street, Constantine, Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 5AB Tel: Andrew Rowe on 01326 340226

Another Western Australia specialist, albeit with an idiosyncratic diversion into Irish Whiskey. Based in deepest Dorset they also offer regular tastings -

We hold regular, free, local tastings here at Castle Hill Cottage, Cattistock at which new wines, as well as some on our list, are open for tasting. Our customers have been able to taste many different Western Australian wines in the last year.

The site offers an interesting range of wines including tasting notes, but the background information on the region and winemakers is a bit thin at the moment. That said its the wines that are important and these include, in addition to the tradtional Shiraz, Chardonnays, Merlots and Cabernets, some Pinot Noirs, a Tempranillo a Sangiovese/Cabernet, a Verdelho and a pink Muscat!

Western Australia is quite a diverse wine region made up of numerous distinct wine producing areas. On the continent’s West coast, there is the relatively cool climate of the Margaret River, although it is bascially a continental climate, with high summer daytime temperatures and cold nights.
The Great Southern Region runs along the south coast of Western Australia and includes 5 very different sub regions, whilst Perth Hills is known for hot dry summers and cool, wet winters.
Hence I doubt if there is a Western Australia style, but a wide range of interesting and innovative wines.

John Gerard Wines will be exhibiting at the Real Food Show in London 24-27 April 2008.

John Gerard Wines, Castle Hill Cottage, Cattistock, Dorchester, Dorset DT2 9JH
www.johngerardwines.co.uk/
T:01300 320987

London’s Real Food Festival takes place at Earls Court from 24-27 April 2008, and will feature a wide range of wines for tasting alongside the other produce.
Some big merchant names such as Bibendum and Vintage Roots (organic wines) will be there, but there will also be a few independent specialists AND some producers such as Domaines Schlumberger from Alsace (France) and Yalumba (Australia).

Another exhibitor will be the Irish-run Chateau Haut Garrigue in Bergerac (SW France), also known as Wild Earth Vineyards. Here Sean and Caroline Feely have developed an organic vineyard in the heart of France:-

In 2005 we left our city jobs to pursue the dream of producing fine wines from small high-quality individual parcels. Chateau Haut Garrigue offers excellent terroir, the right mix of grape varietals (merlot and cabernet sauvignon for our wonderful rich reds and rosé, sémillon and sauvignon blanc for our delicious whites) and old vines. We grasped the opportunity to follow our dream and to return to our roots (we both come from farming families).

Taste their red, white and rosé wines - and you can order them for delivery direct to the UK and Ireland.

For more in the Real Food Festival see www.realfoodfestival.co.uk

Fo more on Wild Earth Vineyards/Chateau Haut Garrigue see www.wildearthvineyards.com

Essex specialists in the wines of the South of France Joseph Barnes has an attractive website and great range of wines from southern France - a definition which stretches from Collioure AC on the Mediterranean/Spanish border round to Bandol in the east beyond Marseille; and includes a good selection from the south west including Madiran, Cahors, Bergerac, Fronton and Gaillac.

… we seek out some of the finest wines from southern France - all from small, independent estates that the ‘big boys’ pass by.
We have visited the vineyards, know the vignerons and, in many cases, have seen the wines being made.
This hands-on approach means that you can buy your wines from us with confidence.
It has also made us ‘Independent Specialist Merchant of the Year’ at the World Wine Awards.

In addition to a great selection of wines, they also offer some interesting recipe ideas and on Friday 4th April 2008 there is a wine and cheese matching tasting at the the Kings Arms Public House (10 Market Hill, Saffron Walden) with some distinctive French cheeses not readily available locally.

Joseph Barnes Wines
13 Market Row, Saffron Walden, Essex CB10 1HB
Telephone +44 (0)1799 528019
www.josephbarneswines.com

If you have more than a passing interest in the delights of Bourbon and you live within spitting distance of Cornwall you should really add the following event to your diary. The tasting/masterclass is being organised by Constantine Stores aka DrinkFinder.

When: Thursday 21st February

Time: 7.15 for 7.30pm

Where: The Hub Bar, No. 4 The Wharf, St. Ives

Tickets: £10 per person (limit of 30) available from the Hub or the shop

A Masterclass with Julian Howard, tasting the Bourbons of Buffalo Trace Distillery. Five bourbons to be tasted.

You would hope that sourcing your wines from their country of origin would guarentee the very best selection. I have no experience of the wines available from Spain in a Bottle but the range at least looks interesting.

We are located and run from offices in the heart of Spain. Spanish wine is our passion and we are dedicated to offering our customers some of the finest wine this country has to offer. All the varieties on offer are authentic, traditional wines created with the most modern of wine making techniques. Our wines are highly recommended and we believe the huge selection of Reds, Whites and Roses will delight every palate. Our selection really does reflect what Spanish people are choosing and drinking here in Spain. These are the wines the people of Spain not only drink but covet. These are the wines the Spanish seek out and keep for themselves. Indeed, these are the wines that define a country.

Prices on the site are listed in Euros, which doesn’t really help us non-Euro Brits. But the range - reds, whites and cavas spread across all the regions - certainly looks interesting.

Sadly though the delivery charge might put many people off ordering. With a minimum order of 6 bottles the delivery charge to the UK is the equivalent of £17 while a 12 bottle purchase will be just over £20. Ordering wines in the UK normally sees a delivery charge of under £10 a case.

See www.spaininabottle.com/

The aim of From Vineyards Direct is simple - to bring you very special, high quality wines at prices well below traditional outlets, and to provide you with the highest level of service possible.

From Vineyards Direct is the brainchild of David Campbell and Esme Johnstone who write that their intention is to offer a small number of delicious drinking wines, principally from France, but not exclusively, imported direct from the growers and delivered to your door at the click of a mouse.

“We aim to be 20% or more cheaper than through traditional channels.”

The wine list, when we looked, numbered 38 products. Mostly hailing from Burgundy the wines include bottles from Spain and Italy too. There are a range of mixed cases too.

While delivery is free in the UK the minimum order quantity might put you off, especially as the range is so small - Minimum total order is 2 cases (24 bottles of 75cl equivalent) for the UK and 5 cases (60 bottles of 75cl equivalent) for Northern Ireland.