Category — Shop

English Wine Week is celebrated 24 May - 1 June 2008, when vineyards around the country will be hosting special events and tastings to promote the improving quality of English Wines.

One of the participating vineyards is Sharpham Vineyard just south of Totnes in Devon. Bordering the River Dart makes it possible to reach the vineyards by ferry from Greenway between Sharpham and Dartmouth.
To coincide with English Wine Week Sharpham is open everyday for vineyard tours and tastings. Wines Cheeses and Devon Strawberries!
Sunday 25th May - Concert at Sharpham Vineyard. Exeter Chamber Choir, Summer songs in the winery
Wednesday 28th May - Belly Dancing at Sharpham Vineyard!

Sunday 1st June - Slow Food Tasting and Lunch at Sharpham Vineyard, to include Blue Grass Music

Classic English wines are produced at Sharpham vineyard as a result of a happy marriage of soil, climate and grape variety known as terroir, and nature has bestowed her gifts freely upon us here at Sharpham. In the winery, we employ both New World and traditional techniques to best develop our unique regional characteristics. Our tally of International Awards confirms our position as one of England’s foremost quality wine producers. We invite you to visit, sample, and make up your own minds about our fine English wine.

For more info see www.sharpham.com

The Bristol Wine Company is offering a series of “mini-tastings” on Saturdays 1.00pm - 5.00pm from 26 April, culminating in the Summer Tasting on 14th June.

The company’s website is evidently quite new and will hopefully be refined over the coming months.
We were somewhat bemused that the online store goes under the name of www.nationalwine.co.uk and it is not clear what the connection between them is? I think the website needs a bit of refinement to make it more legible, user-friendly and informative. It’s all a bit impersonal.

They set themselves a high benchmark- “With a wealth of wine industry knowledge and experience, matched only by our outstanding range, we’re the nation’s sharpest online wine merchant featuring a profusion of outstanding wines, whisky, spirits and Champagne.”  The list is quite impressive with a wide range of products.
The Bristol Wine Company, Transom House, Victoria Street, Bristol BS1 6AH
Tel: 0117 373 0288 Fax: 0117 373 0287 Email: info@thebristolwinecompany.co.uk
 

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

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

Majestic Wine is offering 25% off all its Spanish Wine between £3 and £20 per bottle) when you buy any 2 bottles from any of its 48 offerings. This includes some good Rioja (Riscal, CVNE,Caceres), Cava, Ribera del Duero, Galicia etc.

However, do beware that Majestic does impose a 12-bottle minimum order on all purchases, a self-imposed restriction these days - and a hangover from a time when sales of 12- or more bottles was classed as “wholesale” rather than “retail”.

However, they tend to have knowledgeable and helpful staff and a good range of wines with some good bargains. They will also deliver from their store for free!

Majestic Wine - branches nationwide and online!

The Wine Cave, part of the Angel Inn at Hetton, North Yorkshire celebrates 25 years this year, and is featuring wines from 1983 for a tasting. Although probably better known for their selection of fine Burgundies, this special offering features some fine Bordeaux and one northern Rhone!

It is our 25 year anniversary of owning the Angel Inn this year and to celebrate we are holding a number of exciting events, the first of which is a 25 year old wine tasting lunch.

I have spent the last 12 months sourcing a number of 1983 wines and on Saturday 12th April we will be tasting 5 of them with lunch. Two wines with the starter course and two wines with the main course followed by a 1983 Sauternes with pudding!

The wines will be:
1983 Lafleur St Emillon Grand Cru
1983 Chateau Rouget Pomerol
1983 Clos Du Marquis St Julien
1983 Cote Rotie Jaboulet Aine
1983 Bastor Lamontagne Sauternes

The cost of the event is £45 per person and starts at noon on Saturday 12 April 2008.
Call 01756 730263 NOW to reserve your place.

The Wine Cave at the Angel Inn, Hetton, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 6LT
Tel: 01756 730415 | Fax: 01756 730363 | email: info@winecave.co.uk

Region Wine is a new Chester-based online merchant with a retail shop in the heart of historic Chester. The website is attractive and offers a wide range from around the world, including Greece, Oregon USA and Hungary in addition to the usual New and Old World sources. In addition to offering selections by region, grape variety and price there is also the opportunity to choose from a selection by “experience” - i.e. Aromatic white, exotic white, fruity white, quaffable red, red with herby notes, red with spicy notes, red, big and dark, refreshing rose, refreshing white, smooth red etc

Our company started out as a quality online wine merchant in 2006 by Ian Wildboar, fulfilling a twenty year ambition to turn his love of food and drink into a business. His aim is to help maintain diversity in wine choice throughout the UK at excellent prices and value for money.

On numerous visits to various exhibitions at London’s Olympia in West Kensington I would indulge in 2 diversions - firstly the Bristol car showroom (368 Kensington High St) where James Bond- style sports cars were on display looking fine, polished, elegant and very desireabl.

Almost next door was the second treat at Roberson Wine Merchants (348 Kensington High Street W14) which provided a welcome break from the usually frantic atmosphere of the exhibition hall. This was always a delight with an impressive range of wines - yes some very classy and expensive Burgundies and Bordeaux, but always some interesting discoveries from both the New World and Old World - and usualy some keenly priced binends. I never left without a couple of bottles to manhandle on the train home together with the piles of literature you tend to amass at exhibitions.

Fifteen years ago we began the business of building up what we believe to be the finest place to buy wine in London. From the start, we knew the ingredients; a range of Bordeaux and Burgundies unparalled in all of the city, wines imported from undiscovered producers of fantastic quality and people with the knowledge and enthusiasm to champion the cause of good wine.

Today we continue to believe in the same things. As High Streets are slowly being transformed into one faceless chain we believe there is an ever-growing need for the individual and specialist store. Roberson remain passionate advocates of wines from all over the world that offer value, character and substance. As an independent we are under no obligation to buy any particular producer’s wines. We don’t offer big brands of no discernable merit other than a large marketing budget; we simply choose wines that we like, wines that speak of place and individuality.

The shop, although in modern building, nevertheless has a cool and peaceful atmosphere with stone floors and a basement where they hold regular tastings usually about once a fortnight - for example on 1 May 2008 they have a seated tutored tasting of pre-1990 red Burgundies.

Good informative website with online ordering and offers.

Roberson Wine Merchant
348 Kensington High Street
London W14 8NS Tel 020 7371 212 Fax 020 7371 4010
Email: retail@roberson.co.uk
www.roberson.co.uk

(nearest Tube: Kensington Olympia)

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

Berry Bros and Rudd may be one of the oldest and most traditional of wine merchants, but underneath the potentially stuffy image there lurks a lot of innovation. They did not get where they are today by standing still and relying on past glories.
On 17 March 2008 they launch their new website at www.bbr.com:-

We’re completely overhauling our multi-award winning website and making it better than ever….

We’re introducing all kinds of new features including an Interactive Advanced Search, Top Sellers, Popular Searches, Wish Lists as well as extensive guides to Bordeaux, Burgundy and Wine Investment.

So whilst they predictably stock an impressive range of classic and expensive clarets and burgundies, their list of over 3000 wines extends to all parts of the world with prices ranging from £4.95 to over £1,000.

In addition to their main store at 3 St. James’s Street, London SW1A 1EG there are also stores in Basingstoke, Dublin and Hong Kong!

Hello Andrew,

I do hope everything is good with you?

Thank you for your positive comments on the wines you’ve tried from us thus far, it are much appreciated.

I just thought I’d let you know about a special offer we have running at the moment which ends on 29 February 2008.

We have put together a case of mixed wines, 6 red, 6 white, and have knocked 25% off! I hope perhaps your readers may be interested in this.

Please click the link for further information:

http://www.coodencellars.co.uk/news/view.asp?itemid=77

Larger picture here:

http://www.coodencellars.co.uk/producers/detail.asp?producer=Special%20Offer%20Case

If you have any queries regarding this or anything else then please feel free to ask. Thanks.

info@coodencellars.co.uk