Category — Product Types

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.

Women of Great Britain prepare for a collective sigh of relief, as wineSight introduces its stylish and sophisticated range of French wines, under the Sublimelle brand, targeting stylish and sophisticated ladies.

Finally, there is a company prepared to speak to women as wine connoisseurs and not winos.
Finally, there is a company prepared to call time on a male-dominated wine market.
Finally, there is a portfolio of high quality French wine targeting women who appreciate wine for what it really is – a pleasure to be enjoyed and experienced.

A team of professionals combining wine know-how and marketing expertise with export knowledge created Sublimelle by wineSight to address the individual preferences of women without relying on patronising and over-familiar marketing messages. There is no need for the jokes, images of distressed housewives or lingerie, which are so readily relied upon by other alcoholic drinks brands squarely aimed at women. Instead, wineSight prefers to let the wine do the talking.

Following numerous taste tests with women, 25 wines from key regions across France such as Bourgogne, Languedoc and Alsace, have been selected from an original list of 400, which were pre-selected by wineSight’s expert Frederic Auriol who has 20 years of wine industry experience. Sublimelle carries colourful but subtle labels providing straight-talking details such as brief tasting notes, food matching, and information about the origin of the grape variety.

The dumbing down of wine for women has thankfully come to the end of the line with the introduction of the Sublimelle range. Over the past year or so, brands for women has focused on making wine lower in calories, lower in alcohol and lower in flavour, despite the fact that more and more women have become interested in trading up to a higher quality glass of wine as a well-deserved indulgence.

We’ve all heard the statistics pointing to women buying and consuming more wine than men in many countries around the world. Studies have also proven that many women prefer smooth, supple and subtle wines offering a delicate combination of flavours, while men, especially before reaching ‘expert’ levels, tend to prefer full-bodied wines.

For women, the scent of the wine is crucial, while men focus on the palate. Women tend to seek the full wine experience: who we’re with, what we’re eating, and how we feel. Yet, the market continues to be dominated by brands aimed at men, alongside a handful of wines for women, many of which fall short of the mark when it comes to style, taste and finesse.

wineSight appreciates that there is no need to over-complicate matters: the French produce excellent wine; British women like to treat themselves to a delicious glass or two, and are impressed by taste rather than wine snobbery.

Currently, the wines are available for sale online at http://www.chateauselect.co.uk/SublimelleIntro.htm with no minimum order. Since the company’s arrival in Great Britain in November 2007, wineSight has developed relationships with some of the leading bars and restaurants in London, which are keen to capitalise on women’s increasing interest in higher quality wines on their night out.

wineSight aims to plug the huge gap in the on-trade market for stylish and sophisticated products for women that are free from snobbery and jargon - without the patronising marketing pitch. The brand Sublimelle is also proving popular with leading hotel chains and airlines as a way of reaching female customers with an exclusive and targeted offering. wineSight plans to be involved in a series of events more specifically dedicated to women from fashion shows to networking lunches and business conferences.

London retailer chain Jeroboams whose interest spread from an up-market deli, whisky retailer and wine merchants has revamped their online prescence for 2008.

Jeroboams is the wine retailer with 8 stores across London, Mr Christians the deli and Milroys of Soho the whisky specialist. Each of the websites now has “more background information to help make online decisions more informed as well as improved web features to make shopping easier”.

Enhanced Information

• Fiches techniques and tasting notes for each wine and whisky
• In-depth, market-focussed discussion on key countries and regions on both the Milroy’s of Soho and Jeroboams sites
• Mr Christian’s has full menu listings for Notting Hill’s favourite deli and brings a feel of the shop’s character to the internet.

New Web Features

• Reduced delivery costs - £9.95 or free on orders over £200.00 in England and Wales
• Enhanced ‘My Account’ area that allows customers to view their order history as well as manage the wishlist and address book
• ‘Quick-Shop’ feature allows customers to find a product simply by entering the product code from any offer or list
• Click and Collect feature that allows customers to pick their order up from their nearest Jeroboams shop

Each of the stores, incidently, has a live webcam - always fun!

An English sparkling wine has once again triumphed in an international competition. Theale Vineyard Sparkling Chardonnay 2003 beat off stiff competition from fine Champagnes and top sparkling wines to make it into the world’s Top Ten Sparkling Wine at the world’s only dedicated sparkling wine competition, French-based Effervescents du Monde (sparkling wines of the world) 2007.

Since its first wine was launched in 2006 this small vineyard, which measures only 200 square metres (2150 sq feet), has received a growing list of top plaudits from the world’s best wine judges. The same wine also received a Silver Medal at the world’s premier wine competition, The International Wine Challenge, held earlier this year.

The Theale Vineyard is sited in front of the offices of Laithwaites, Britain’s leading mail order wine merchant, in Berkshire. When Laithwaites built their new premises on a brown field site in 1998, a shrub border was due to be planted over debris from the previous building. However, Tony Laithwaite, the company’s owner and a geographer by training, saw an opportunity to experiment with growing vines to produce a unique English wine. An artificial hill facing south was fashioned with suitable topsoil and planted with Chardonnay vines imported from Champagne in 2000. The vineyard is managed by award-winning sparkling wine producer RidgeView Wine Estate, who also makes the wine under contract.

Only 756 bottles of this 100% Chardonnay wine were made. It can be purchased in person for £22.99 per bottle from the Laithwaites shop in Theale or by calling 0870 4448282 for home delivery.

Tony Laithwaite is delighted with the wine’s success:

“We don’t really know why the sparkling wine from this vineyard has proved so successful. Perhaps it is due to the carefully built south-facing slope or the shelter and heat from the surrounding buildings? Certainly Ridgeview’s skills and the dedication of the team who keep the vineyard immaculate have lead to its success.”

Another English wine produced by Ridgeview, this time exclusively for The Sunday Times Wine Club and Laithwaites – Ridgeview Merret South Ridge 2005 – added to the English success in the same competition with a Silver medal. The wine, with a cepage of predominantly Chardonnay, with Pinots Noir and Meunier, has enjoyed consistent success in this competition, with Silver medals awarded twice before to previous vintages. South Ridge is available from the Sunday Times Wine Club and Laithwaites, price £15.99 per bottle.

Cooden Cellars is an independent wine merchant established by Colin Barnes and Ian Jarman in 1997. In May 2001 we opened our retail shop in the Grand Hotel Buildings, Compton Street, Eastbourne. They were awarded Independent Merchant of the Year 2007 as well as Regional Wine Merchant of the Year in the IWC Awards for the last three years, in 2003 and 2004 as runner-up and in 2005 outright.

For those not lucky enough to live within the bounds of Eastbourne they maintain a very functional and informative website. Registered users can login and leave their own tasting notes. The only thing that is lacking are images of the wine bottles (perhaps they should engage this budding photographer?)

The range is excellent across the board - lots of interesting wines from Argentina and Australia, New Zealand and Portugal are particularly interesting with several wines we are yet to discover. Regular offers, a regularly updated blog section and a decent range of spirits plus a regular payment wine club complete the picture. Perhaps the perfect wine merchant?

For almost 25 years Peter Sidebotham has been enjoying fine red Burgundy wine, a tipple which inspires a singularly passionate loyalty among devotees.

Now he has turned that passion into a unique business with Hand Picked Burgundy, offering select bottles from his favourite French region via the internet.

Peter, 44, formerly made his living as a sales and marketing expert with ICI on Teesside. Some years ago he foresaw the decline of chemical manufacturing in the UK and, with one eye on a future change of career, studied for and passed the Wine & Spirit Education Trust’s advanced certificate with distinction.

Earlier this year he opted for voluntary redundancy, and straight away set to converting vineyard dreams into vocation – Hand Picked Burgundy was born.

“My aim is to be a reliable source of good quality red Burgundy that is ready to drink,” said Peter, who lives near Northallerton, North Yorkshire.

“The vast majority of Burgundy offered for sale by traditional merchants is far too young. If they do offer older wines, many merchants provide only a list of wines, without commentary or tasting notes.

“By its nature, Burgundy is complex, making it difficult to know what wines are going to taste like – let alone which are better, and when they will drink well.”

Peter’s aim therefore is to offer only wines that are ready to drink.

Each offering has been personally tasted by Peter (tough job!) and given comprehensive ratings based on the three-dimensional criteria of fruit, flavour and body.

These ratings are backed up by detailed tasting notes as well as second and third opinions provided by renowned Burgundy experts and writers

What’s more, Peter offers further advice on how to serve the wine to get the best from it.

“With red Burgundy, even wines from the same vineyard can be totally different, so it can be incredibly difficult to know what a bottle will be like, without years of study and tasting.

“I want people to be able to choose with confidence and drink with pleasure.”

Fuelling a passion for fine Burgundy is not cheap – bottles on offer from Peter’s climate-controlled cellars range from £15 right up to £400 each, but for the discerning drinker, he hopes to offer the perfect choice.

The range currently includes more than 100 different wines from nearly 50 different producers, and Peter plans to steadily increase the range up to about 300 wines.

A choice of wrapping and presentation options opens up the range to gift buyers.

Having spent months developing and fine-tuning the web site – hpb-wines.com – Peter is now looking to target Burgundy lovers across the country.