By Andrew Hooper on 22/01/2015
A lighter Loire red may sound like an odd wine to mention in the cold January months, but the 2013 Bernard Baudry Chinon Les Granges fits the bill perfectly
By Andrew Hooper on 07/01/2015
The vineyards of Fronton are in south west France, a little north of Toulouse. Château Bellevue la Fôret is 50% Negrette – a local grape variety which improbably apparently originated in Cyprus – with Syrah and both Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc.
By Andrew Hooper on 13/12/2014
Gadgets – everybody likes a good gadget, and the wine world is not immune to the inventive zeal of gadget makers. Now, inventiveness has yielded up the Coravin – truly something you didn’t know you needed until you found out you needed one – far far more than mere wine gadget, this is a real game changer
By Andrew Hooper on 26/11/2014
This dinner needs wine – what dinner doesn’t? – and here’s a few suggestions.
A good turkey calls for Pinot Noir…
By Andrew Hooper on 21/08/2014
You may have noticed us making quite a fuss over the years about the fantastically good Pinot Noirs from Bodegas Chacra in Patagonia. But, planted alongside the 1955 vineyard is a block of Merlot vines and we haven’t made nearly enough noise about them. Here is the noise.
By Andrew Hooper on 11/08/2014
Is there’s a better way to spend an August Friday at “work” than wandering through a verdant Kentish vineyard with the sun glinting through the foliage and a gentle breeze wafting up from the sea?
By Andrew Hooper on 07/08/2014
All gone. We shipped more than ever before but still the MiP* has outsold demand. There's not a bottle to be had in the land. The winery is dry. We're MiP*ped out. What to do? Wait for the next vintage, one supposes, but you may develop a thirst before next Spring and the sun hasn't finished shining yet.
By Andrew Hooper on 31/07/2014
Of course, that makes Brunello di Montalcino a more expensive option, but for more of an everyday wine, Montalcino gives us Rosso di Montalcino
By Andrew Hooper on 18/07/2014
Celebrate the Champagne & Sparkling Wine win with us! We were absolutely delighted to win Specialist Merchant of the Year Award for Champagne & Sparkling Wine. As you our customers will know, not only are our 'shelf' prices for Champagne consistently competitive, but also our low 'case prices' on Champagnes can almost always be enjoyed on the odd bottle mixed in with a case of other wines.
By Andrew Hooper on 17/07/2014
We were led to Istrian wine by our our friend Tony Hodges. Tony, who sadly departed earlier this year, coined the slogan 'The lightness of being Istria' for the nascent wine export drive. The 'basic' wines have been well-appreciated for a couple of years.
By Andrew Hooper on 10/07/2014
In July 1395, Philippe the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, made a suitably bold statement declaring the bountiful Gamay to be a “very bad and disloyal plant”, outlawing it on the noble slopes of Burgundy where Pinot Noir should, did and does rule supreme. Read on –>
By Andrew Hooper on 08/07/2014
Gavi has become seriously popular recently. Maybe it's the clean fresh style so 'typical' of Italian white wine, maybe it's that it's easy to remember and pronounce. It comes from the 'armpit' just north of Genoa, where the Italian peninsula joins the main European landmass.