Vins de Pays (literally “Country Wines” in French) were originally humble and simple wines which could not meet the requirements for a designated Appellation Controllée (AOC) status. However over recent years many producers have been using the Vin de Pays label to experiment and create some superb wines without the traditional restrictions which many French wine regions impose, supposedly to safeguard “typicity” and quality.

Such wines have been the main defence for the French against the growing popularityof New World wines, and no longer necessarily indicate lower quality.

One good example is the Domaine Sainte Rose in the Languedoc, purchased a few years ago by Brits Charles and Ruth Simpson, who have established an enviable reputation for great quality wines.

Majestic Wines are running special offers on Vins de Pays wines in the run up to Christmas 2009  including a selection from Domaine Sainte Rose -such as:

‘Le Soleil du Sud’ Cabernet Syrah 2007 Vin de Pays des Côtes de Thongue A harmonious, black fruit and peppermint-rich blend of concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon and silky smooth Syrah, this wine is a prime example of the quality that can be achieved using a combination of meticulous vine care and exposure to the southern French sun

or

Domaine Sainte Rose ‘La Nuit Blanche’ Roussanne 2008 Vin de Pays des Côtes de Thongue (awarded a Bronze Medal in the Decanter Wine Awards)

The Roussanne grapes were picked overnight as it is the coolest time of day and protects the pure fruit flavours, hence the name ‘La Nuit Blanche’. The direct translation means ‘The White Night’, but literally means ‘The Sleepless Night’. Rich and creamy with exotic fruit aromas, with fresh mandarin notes and nuts on the palate.

For more info see Majestic Wines

Taste of Christmas, “the foodie event of the festive season”, is taking place at Excel London from December 4-6, 2009. Top chefs,  artisan producers andthe chance to  stock up on the festive food and sample your favourite restaurants’ seasonal menus – plus some interesting wine offerings in the  Boutique Wine Market.

Fine food can show great wine at its best, so this could be a great opportunity to experiment with your own personal wine and food matching.

One such is Sanglier Wines. specialists in the wines of the Languedoc, Southern France. (Sanglier means Wild Boar in French). Being based in the Languedoc they are able to select some of the best local wines from small producers, which UK customers can purchase online.

Focusing on the one area enables Sanglier Wines to have a good knowledge of the area, the terroir, the grapes and the growers. It enables us to keep abreast of details regarding new developments in the area and new growers to the market.

See Sanglier Wines.

Also at the Taste of Christmas show will be one of England’s top producers – Nyetimber, claret producer Chateau Civrac and numerous generic wine bodies such as Discover California.

For more details of he Taste of Christmas Show – click on the logo below

The Wokingham Wine Festival (Berkshire) on 5-6 December 2009 provides anopportunity for wine-lovers to taste and buy fine wines supplied by members of the ASDW (the Association of Small Direct Winemerchants). ASDW members offer between them a huge range of fine wines from around the world.

The event is organised by the ASDW, the Thames Valley Region branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Wokingham Round Table. It’s a charity event, and profits from the sale of tickets goes to the Mutliple Sclerosis Society.

There will be a number of independent winemerchants in attendance, each with a superb range of wines to taste and buy:-

Aldeby Wines -  small producers in the South of France

Amordivino – specialist in Italian wines

Bordeaux & Beyond -  quality French wines

Decanter Wines – Spanish specialist (Rioja, Albariño and others)

Great Wine Online -  South African wines

Harlequin Wines -  French and German wines

Hyde Park Wines – Spanish Wines to drink with spicy food.

Individual Wines – wines from Old and New World

Merry Widow Wines – Austrian Wines, including some small bottle-sizes

Nick Dobson Wines -  wines from Austria, Switzerland, and Beaujolais

Pre-purchased tickets for the event will be available, and once inside, you can taste as many wines as you like for no additional charge.

It’s a fantastic opportunity to stock up for Christmas, by buying from the exhibiting merchants.

See www.wokinghamwinefestival.co.uk

Cambridge independent wine merchants Noel Young Wines holds its 2009 Christmas Wine Fair on Sunday 29 November 2009 from  11.30am-5.00pm at   Anstey Hall, Maris Lane, Trumpington, Cambridge CB2 9LG

* This is one tasting you cannot miss! We will have over 100 wines to taste, including Champagne, Sparkling Wines, Dessert Wines, Ports, Sherries and a huge range of red and white wines for every occasion, from party wines right up to fine wines for the coming season.

* Several of our top suppliers on hand to present their wines and give friendly informative advice.

* The event is an informal walk round tasting. Turn up when convenient.

* The Cambridge Cheese Company will be present showcasing their stunning cheeses and other goodies.

Ticket Price £15 – refundable on purchases over £100.

Book by email daniel@nywines.co.uk or T: (01223) 566744

Noel Young Wines, 56 High Street , Trumpington, Cambridge CB2 9LS

Beaujolais Nouveau day arrives this year on Thursday 19 November 2009 – i.e. the third Thursday of November. No longer the huge media event it once was, there remains much enthusiasm for it in France, and to a lesser extent in the UK.
Beaujolais Nouveau can be a bit thin and sharp – it is after all a new (young) wine – and the Gamay grape tends to be appreciated for its fresh, light, jammy flavours – although some of the Cru Beaujolais (i.e named after one of the Cru villages such as Fleurie, Brouilly, Moulin à Vent  etc) can produce  wines of impressive depth and complexity.

It is usually worth steering clear of the supermarkets if you are looking for good Beaujolais Nouveau – try a specialist such as Nick Dobson Wines. His 2009 vintage report says:

Good start, warm summer, below average rainfall. The yield in 2009 is likely to be well below average due to dry conditions.  The harvest started early, during the last week in August in the southof the region, later further north.  Producers are making comparisons with the 2005 vintage, which was probably the best in the last 5 years.

M. Lacondemine goes futher and describes 2009 as an exceptional year.

For more see www.nickdobsonwines.co.uk

A novel combination of a dancer and mining engineer launch Hix & Buck to bring undiscovered French wines to UK and one of their wines has secured a spot on Gordon Ramsay’s new F Word series on Channel 4 TV.

Chix Chandaria, a former dancer, and Dan Roebuck, a mining engineer, have formed Hix & Buck to import exclusive, quality wines from undiscovered vineyards in France.

One of their exclusive sparkling wines, Brut Bosé Methode Traditionelle direct from the cellars of J & L Charlemagne in Angoulême, has been chosen to serve in series 5 of Channel 4’s F Word to celebrities and diners from mid October 2009.

This dark salmon pink coloured wine is a blend of Cabernet, Merlot & Chardonnay. The well-balanced sparkling rosé, with hints of roasted hazelnut plum, sells for £10.99

A classically trained former international dancer, whose work has taken her across the globe including Bollywood, Chix’s introduction to wine came early in my life, when at the age of seven she was given Babycham. She thinks her parents did not realise they were giving her alcohol. Her tastes have since developed.

Chix’s passion for wine led her to studying for her WSET (Wine & Spirit Educational Trust) qualifications and on several trips to France’s wine producing regions, getting to know the terroirs and how they contribute to the specific personality of a wine.

A friend with a particular fascinating wine cellar introduced her to Mas d’Intras, a small, centuries-old, family-run estate in the Ardeche. She experienced at first hand the passion and dedication the family ran their business, producing delicious wines. The cousins who run the vineyard were keen to expand the business and export to the British market. But such producers face a bureaucratic nightmare of regulatory and commercial red tape.

Excited by the wine that it tasted just as good in Islington as it did out on the fields in Alba, and at 39, with her career as a dancer reaching a natural conclusion, Chix was considering her options and eventually struck an exclusive export deal with the family.

She approached successful businessmen Dan Roebuck, who shares her love of wine and spirit of adventure, to apply his business skills to turn her passion into a viable enterprise. Roebuck, a qualified mining engineer and MD of a multi-million pound asbestos consultancy with over 100 employees had been in the process of diverting his attentions to the wine business. He had been in advanced discussions with a Spanish wine company before Chix’s timely approach.

Together, they devised a business model to bring in quality wines from small, unknown vineyards, which do not produce the vast quantities demanded by national supermarket chains and multiple retail outlets

“The company’s ambition is to surprise and delight the wine lover with unknown wines whilst offering them great value,” said Chix, adding, “I also hope that in some small way, it will help these wonderful, dedicated producers to survive and carry on the tradition of wine-making that has been handed down to them through generations.”

To launch Hix and Buck you can “discover New Wines from the Old World” at the official launch of Ivy House Food and Wine Club in Tonbridge, Kent with Hix & Buck Wines at Ivy House, 199 High Street, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1BW on 16 November 2009 at 6.30pm. This will be an opportunity to meet the vineyard owners and wine producers, have a glass of the Brut Rose and try a range of wines which are exclusive to Hix & Buck in the UK

Hix & Buck Ltd, 23 Kingslea , Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 7SN

E: ChixandDan@hixandbuck.com T: 0800 612 4742

South America is getting its act together producing some very attractive, accessible wines at tempting prices.

Wines of Chile UK , the generic body promoting Chilean Wines, is hosting a consumer Christmas wine tasting on 20 November 2009 in London,

Join us for a wonderful night of wine tasting with some of the UK’s top retailers.

Up to 15 of the UK’s leading Independent Wine Merchants, Supermarkets, High Street Specialists and On-line Merchants will gather under one roof to give you the opportunity to taste through over 120 of the finest Chilean wines on offer in the UK today.

Amongst the retailers attending will be some of the top UK independent wine merchants such as Adnams,  Avery’s and Tanners.

The venue is

The Banqueting Hall, Glaziers Hall,9 Montegue Close, London SE1 9DD and runs from 6pm to 9pm on Friday 20 November 2009

Tickets cost £15 per person and are available from Wines of Chile UK –

Wines of Chile UK, 13 Hermitage Parade Ascot, Berks SL5 7HE

or email or telephone your details to

info@winesofchile.org.uk

T: 01344 872229

Corks of Cotham, one of Bristol’s independent wine merchants, has opened a restaurant called “Flinty Red” and is to host a tasting of Pinot Noir there on Tuesday 10 November 2009:-

One of the world’s top red varieties and the nirvana of winemakers worldwide, but who produces the best?

This is your chance to decide as we take you through a range from varying producing areas. A selection of game and autumnal dishes will be served alongside the wines.

Their list includes a good range of classic burgundies and New World wines – and I suspect there may be a few surprises there too!   As places are limited, reservation is by payment prior to the event through Corks of Cotham, 0117 973 1620.

Corks of Cotham, 54 Cotham Hill, Cotham, Bristol BS6 6JX    T: 0117 973 1620 E:sales@corksof.com

The chain has been struggling for some years, and the credit crunch and weak pound have just made things worst. Whilst in recent years the range has not been very exciting, this is a further blow to choice for wine lovers. Whilst firmly of the view that it is the small independent merchants who tend to offer the most interesting wines , chains like Threshers, Oddbins and Majestic have moderated the onward march of the supermarkets and their keenly priced, branded wines.

In recent years Threshers has offered some headline-grabbing discount campaigns such as”40% off” – maybe there will be some bargains if they have to off-load stock and stores in the run up to Christmas.

London’s “Meat and Wine Co” are hosting a tasting at their new premises in London’s new Westfield Shopping Centre at Shepherds Bush.

Entitled ” KNOW YOUR AUSTRALIAN WINES BLINDFOLDED … PUT IT TO THE TEST!” the event takes place in the Restaurant on 3rd November 2009 at 700.pm and costs £20 per person

If you’re confident of being able to navigate your way from Jasper Hill to Pewsey Way via Cape Mentelle, the this quiz is for you.

Overseen by Ryan Morgan from Rathbone Wine Group, guests will be put into teams of four and furnished with a multiple choice question sheet. This will then be followed by a blind tasting of each wine.

The evening starts at 7pm with canapés and a glass of sparkling wine followed by the competition itself at 7.30pm.

To book your place call 0208 749 5914.

For more information about The Meat & Wine Company visit www.themeatandwineco.com

Meat and Wine Company, Unit 1026, Westfield, Ariel Way, LONDON W12 7GA

… our family owned company, born out of our passion for organic wine. Pageant Wines is run by myself, Jane Christy, with my partner Thomas Schick being a Director and supporter of organic produce. Based in Framlingham, Suffolk, the company was set up in 2005 to enable restaurants, delis, farm shops and the home consumer to buy quality organic and biodynamic, vegan and vegetarian wines with ease and confidence.

They stock wines from around the world, as well as separately running their own vineyard in East Anglia. For each wine on the list are details of its suitability for e.g.vegans.

Included on the list (and as a special mixed case offer) are the biodynamic wines of Monty Waldin from southern France (Roussillon)

Pageant Wines Limited, 12 Pageant Place, Framlingham, Suffolk IP13 9BX

T: 01728 622018     E: sales@pageantwines.com

Kent independent wine merchant Secret Cellar is holding a Super Tuscan Dinner on 18 November 2009 – at The Black Pig in Tunbridge Wells with Nick Adams MW – Tickets £60 each.

You keep asking for food with your wine and so we have duly obliged with what should be an absolute classic. Having worked with Nick previously, he’s got to be one of the most down to earth, approachable Masters of Wine there is, and this always makes for a great evening. He supports Man City, so we always have a good laugh about that. Pair Nick with a five course menu from the talented chefs at The Black Pig and five sublime (dare I say it, Super) Tuscan wines and you’ve got an evening out you won’t forget in a hurry.

Of course we should no longer be referring to “Super Tuscans” since the introduction of the IGT classification (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) which is intended to ensure that wines are typical of their geographical region, although  to some extent this classification has just recreated the problems which gave rise to the birth of the “Super Tuscans” in the first place – i.e. to differentiate them from the huge range of variable quality and priced wines which appeared under the traditional appellations. As always in the world of wine the reputation of the grower or vineyard is usually the best guide to quality, regardless of the official classification.

There is also an interesting and well-written ocassional magazine available online see www.thesecretcellar.co.uk

The Secret Cellar 43-45 Church Road, Tunbridge Wells,Kent TN1 1JT.
T:01892 537981 E:sales@thesecretcellar.co.uk

The Wine Gang is a unique collaboration between five of the UK’s most influential wine critics – Tim Atkin MW (Observer), Tom Cannavan (STV), Anthony Rose (The Independent), Joanna Simon (House & Garden), Olly Smith (Saturday Kitchen) – is to hold its first consumer wine fair in the run-up to the festive season:  The Wine Gang Christmas Fair is its frst consumer wine fair which will  showcase some of the best wines the Gang has reviewed. The event takes place on 7th November 2009  at Vinopolis on London’s Southbank.
The Wine Gang was formed to empower wine drinkers to buy smarter and drink better, so each month’s online report gives independent assessments of at least 200 wines.  At the Christmas Wine Fair, there will over 500 wines to taste, from more than 70 different retailers, many of whom will be making special offers to visitors on the day.  Other highlights will include a series of free ‘Wine Walks’ conducted by the Gang, where visitors will be guided around some of their personal favourites and perfect wines for Christmas entertaining.  The Fair will also see the announcement of the inaugural Wine Gongs – the Gang’s awards for the best wines of the year.

Tickets for the fair can be booked via the Vinopolis web site or by telephoning Vinopolis on 0207 940 3000.

Spanish specialist Evuna are holdig a pre-Christmas tasting on 4 November 2009 from 6pm to 9pm:

Taste 10 boutique wines, all from small family run vineyards and take the hassle out of Christmas shopping.

Tickets are £25 a head including Tapas.
You can book by calling 0161 819 2752.
Evuna - 277-279 Deansgate, Manchester M3 4EW
T: 0161 819 2752 Email: enquiries@evuna.com

The 2009 Wine Show takes place at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London from 22-25 October 2009.
This major consumer event offers all wine enthusiasts a great opportunity to taste, learn and buy – meet experts, buy direct from producers, wine walks and tasting theatre and a French Market and Wine Growers Fair. Oz Clarke will presenting for “An Hour with Oz Clarke” – exhibitors include many well- and lesser-known names, individual wine estates, national wine agencies etc.

Tickets are bookable in advance and on the door and are valid for an afternoon or evening session.

For more info see www.wineshow.co.uk

The Business Design Centre

52 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 0QH