Oddbins

Over the years, the Oddbins Wine Fairs have become a red letter day on the wine lover’s calendar -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 range of wines, in a professional yet fun environment in the company of like minded enthusiasts.

And to sweeten the deal even more, we’re offering a fantastic buy 5, get one free deal on Sunday tickets! So come and join us in the best wine event of the year - we’ll see you there!

Costs £20 per ticket per day and you can also attend any of the 6 masterclasses for £5.00.

To order go the the Oddbins website

Spanish specialist Wine Bar, Restaurant and Wine Shop EVUNA is the heart of Manchester are holding a special evening with a Wine and Sherry tasting evening:-

As Christmas approaches let Ed (Boutinot wines) and Jane (Evuna) guide you through the art of matching food with Sherry wines from Jerez.
In addition taste Evuna’s Melquior range from Rioja and see Evuna’s Ideas for Xmas gifts using these premium quality wines.

Tickets £25 includes tapas - for more info call Jane or Ewa on 0161 819 2752 to book - or see the website at www.evuna.com
Evuna, 277 - 279 Deansgate, Manchester M3 4EW

Set under spectacular Victorian London arches, Vinopolis offers an imaginative, self-guided tour around the world of wine producing. The tour will educate and excite, as well as offering great tastings along the way. You will have the opportunity to learn how to taste and enjoy excellent wines using all of your senses.

The tours range from the “Vinopolis Grapevine” for the enthusiastic beginner which lasts about 90 minutes and includes a “how to taste wine” session, 5 regular wine tastings, a free Bombay Sapphire tasting and a Vinopolis tasting notebook plus the tour of the exhibits and information displays.
At the top of the range is the Vinopolis Celebration which also includes an audio guide by Oz Clarke and the opportunity to taste 3 rums, 2 premium wines and 3 champagnes!

For more info see The Vinopolis experience from £17.50

T: 01582 733300
Registered address: The Wine Room, 59 Wood Green Close, Stopsley, Luton, LU2 8BX

http://www.wineroom.co.uk/

According to Modern Drunkard magazine, Kingsley Amis, who wrote three books on drinking, swore by a cure-all morning after mix of Bovril and vodka, known as a Polish Bison…..Personally, I swear by bananas; Alka-Seltzer; long walks;

It is something we are all prone to, and an issue for wine drinkers when the level of alcohol in wine seems to be much higher than a decade ago - 12^o of alcohol by volume, now more often nearer to 13.5 or higher. In part this is due to the winemaker’s skill in ensuring that grapes are picked nearer to their full maturity - i.e. with higher residual sugar levels - which in turn converts to more alcohol. Pubs and wine bars do not help either, by serving wine in larger glasses - the rule of thumb was always 6 glasses to a bottle - i.e. 12.5cl per glass. Measures now often come as 25cl or more. For me, plenty of water is my solution - although with the wine, not in it!

Its called the SoWine-Bar, and has been created by EuroCave, the people who make those very nice wine fridges we’d all love to own.

With two compartments, one for red wine and one for white, the device enables you to keep the bottles in perfect drinking condition for up to 10 days by using a vacuum system – its a smaller home version of the fancy machines you find in some of the better wine bars. So you can pull off a glass at perfect temperature and with no loss of quality due to oxidation. Not really much use for most supermarket plonk, but for some better, vintage wines it could be a good way to spread a special bottle or two over a longer period, rather than have to consume it all at one sitting. You could show off to more of your friends and other wine buffs.

For more details see http://www.aroundwine.co.uk/acatalog/sowine-bar.html

Our aim, as independent wine merchants, is to offer our customers a selection of great wines from around the world. Some may be familiar and others will be new and exclusive.

I have spent many years enjoying and learning about the production of wine, from the grape on the vine to the bottling and labelling. Understanding grape varieties, growing conditions and maturing processes all contribute to the wine in your glass. I am now able to offer you a service that draws on all of that experience.

Many months have been spent selecting and tasting wine to include in our catalogue in order to offer a range of wine to suit every palate and every budget. All of the wines included have been tasted and assessed by a panel of tasters and have been chosen because of their quality, value for money and suitability to be enjoyed with a wide variety of foods.

The website needs a bit of updating and I’d like to have seen a bit more info on the wines, but you can get a chance to try Ravi’s offerings at the Wine Show in London in October 2008

Ravis Wines, 39 Kenilworth Drive, Oadby, Leicestershire LE2 5L

T 0116 271 1271
E: info@raviswines.co.uk

Visitors will have the opportunity to sample over 200 stunning kiwi wines from over 40 award winning producers and be amongst the first to taste the new 2008 vintage.

New Zealand is best known for Sauvignon Blanc, whose fresh, vibrant gooseberry fruit jumps out at you from the glass. This unique wine style has earned international acclaim and is considered by many as the benchmark for this variety. However New Zealand is also home to a wide range of other varieties from its’ evocative aromatics, such as Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris; to its’ fast emerging reds Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Pinot Noir.

Tickets cost £16 each which includes all wine samples. To purchase tickets go to www.newzealandwineevents.co.uk or www.ticketweb.co.uk

We will be showing three white wines, three red wines and the award winning Straw Dessert Wine as a special treat with the dessert.

For more info contact Dorjé’s Wine, Unit 4, Rigby Close, Heathcote Industrial Estate, Warwick, CV34 6TH, or email: info@dorjes.co.uk

Tel: 01926 430550

Dispatches reveals some of the 40 different substances, including fish and dairy products, that can be used in producing wine but which rarely appear on the label of the average bottle.

Wine-making is a complex process, and whilst there are obviously some producers who will “doctor” a wine to “improve” a wine’s marketability, there are strict controls within the EU on what is used in the whole process from growing the vine, harvesting and vinification. However, most of these additives are in such small quantities that unless you digestive system is highly sensitive then I doubt if it causes any problems - certainly not sufficient to neccesitate an exhaustive listing. The biggest villain is often added sugar, to increase the alcohol level in the wine.
An increasing number of small and medium-sized producers are increasingly turning organic, either full-blown or adopting a variety of systems which minimise and control additives in the vineyard and cellar.

Fanatical about searching out new and interesting wines, producers and regions, whilst offering customer service which is second to none. We are a specialist importer of wines from new exciting producers from all around the globe.

Suppliers include Linda Domas in Australia, Perez Cruz in Chile and Tramin in Northern Italy; Greece is also strongly featured considered to be a rising star - New World and Languedoc are also included in what looks like an interesting and exciting list.

Novum Wines 166 Sail Street Vauxhall, Lonon SE11 6NQ
Tel: 020 7820 6720
Email: info@novumwines.com

One of my frequent complaints about wine coverage in the national press, is that the wines most often featured are from the supermarkets and larger wine merchant chains. Inevitably given the wide readership of the newspapers, there is a tendency to concentrate on more obviously popular and readily available wines, keeping both the majority of readers and advertisers happy.

This tends to bypass some of the more interesting offerings, and often will concentrate on the positive, and avoid anything negative by omission. So the arrival of the Wine Gang should be welcomed:-

The Wine Gang has been formed by five of the UK’s most respected wine critics. From left to right: Olly Smith of BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen, Tom Cannavan of wine-pages.com, Anthony Rose of the Independent, Joanna Simon of the Sunday Times and Tim Atkin MW of the Observer.

Our idea is simple: every week we attend a host of tastings restricted to the press and wine trade. But we’re frustrated. Why? Because with the limited coverage wine receives in the media, so much valuable information never reaches the consumer. Now, our independent assessment of at least 200 wines per month empowers you to buy smarter and drink better.

There is one drawback to this plan, which is that wine critics have to be selective about which tastings they attend, and which ones are on offer. A scan of the weekly wine articles often reveals that the same topic is covered in different publications - because the previous week they all attended the same tastings, albeit drawing independent conclusions.
The other drawback is that there is a cost = £19.99 a year. But for anyone who buys wine regularly this is a small investment to make a better informed choice of wine.

For more info see www.thewinegang.com

There are other sources of (free) wine advice - www.spittoon.biz by wine writer Andrew Barrow offers some interesting reviews and tasting notes and particularly looks at the issues of wine and food matching, something which can enhance the enjoyment of both elements.

Woody Nook at Woodcote

The Woody Nook wines are varietal wines from Western Australia and include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon/Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz. There’s also a rose, a late harvest medium white and the Killdog Creek Cabernet Merlot “packed with ripe, dark cherry fruit, exhibiting violets and toasty oak on the nose.  It has an appealing savoury flair with liquorice and blackcurrant flavours on the palate.”

I also like the idea every Wednesday and Thursday there is an opportunity to taste all their wines by the glass in the relaxing atmosphere of the Woody Nook Wine Bar and even indulge in a “Sundowner Platter”.

You can also order online.

Woody Nook at Woodcote Oxfordshire

T: 01491 680 775

Having been a little cynical about the plethora of Wine Awards which deluge the wine press at this time of year, I did however perk up at the appearance of an old favourite, which I imported over 10 years ago. 

 It was probably the first time that I recognised that the Loire was capable of producing top rate Sauvignon Blancs outside of Sancerre (which is technically one of the “vins du Centre”) There is a significant area from the southern Touraine eastwards to the appellations of Quincy, Reulilly and Menetou-Salon, which consistently produce some of the most exciting Loire Sauvignons and at reasonable prices.

Domaine Joel Delaunay is situated on the valley sides above the river Cher – a small family run domaine, which always offers a warm welcome.

Majestic are offering their Domaine Joel Delaunay 2007 Touraine Sauvignon AC – “Rich, steely Sauvignon just bursting with gooseberry fruit, from a superb small grower.” and it won a Gold Medal in this year’s International Wine Challenge Awards. (£6.99 a bottle, £6.49 for 2 or more)

Established over 200 years ago, Addison Wines is a proudly independent, family owned and run wine company.

Great Wines - all wines ready to deliver direct to your door
Great Gifts - stunning wine & Champagne gifts all year round
Great Offers- seasonal wines and bestsellers at fantastic offer prices!

https://www.addisonwines.com/
Addison Wines, Horton House, Halesfield 19, Telford, Shropshire TF7 4QT
T: 0800 197 3555

They offer a wide range of fine and more everyday wines from both the Old and New World. Amongst their special offerings is a selection of new releases from Penfolds including the opulent Grange 2003, the Bin 707 Cab Sauv, Yattarna Chardonnay and the trio of legendary Shiraz’s - Magill Estate, St Henri and RWT Barossa Valley. (see more about Penfolds Luxury and Icon Wines)