Spitfire Real Ale - it's not always about the wine and sometimes a proper, cool bitter is just the job.

This is my choice www.spitfireale.co.uk/

English wine - some whites but particularly the sparkling ones. Even the Champenoise are threatened by these.

Try Ridgeview from Sussex or Cornwall's Camel Valley to get the real experience.   http://www.englishwine.co.uk/wine.php

Cider and Perry - adult apple and pear juice. Dry, crisp and refreshing and made from historic, traditional fruit varieties by dedicated enthusiasts.

We like Olivers in Herefordshire.www.theolivers.org.uk/

Pimms - 50/50 with proper lemonade, fresh mint,cucumber and loads of ice. The quintessential summer drink.

Real tea - from leaves with a teapot, a strainer and cake, it's worth the effort.

Roll on summer, bottoms up, cheers, God save the Queen, Jerusalem and all that...

Enjoy!

90 small, independent producers with their offerings from all corners of France - some with only 2 or 3 employees, these are not wines you will find in Tesroseburys etc. What they did show was what great little wine producers with huge enthusiasm can do, and promote some of the more ignored regions. Think of them as the sort of wine you find by mistake in that little bistro in the middle of nowhere when you are rushing on to somewhere more lively.

My copious notes and Franglais chats threw up Roussillon down in the foothills of the Pyrenees as a region worth your attention. Overshadowed by the more marketed Languedoc next door, this hot, arid and vast area is producing easy drinking juicy reds from classic Syrah, Cabernet, Grenache and high quality Mourvedre grapes. The sort of wine to swig roughly out of tumblers during the week or around the Bar-B-Q, and reasonably priced at about £5 - £7. A speciality of this region are the fortified sweet reds from Banyuls on the coast. Lovely rich, nutty wines in the style of light Port - the perfect after dinner treat and heavenly with chocolate. Other names for this style are Maury or Rivesaltes.

From the more established regions a lovely older couple were promoting their Muscadet. A long ignored dry, tangy white that is quaffing and shellfish friendly as well as being on trend with its light 12% alcohol. Refreshing, and with a hint of spritz, it really should be challenging Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio as the default dry white choice. If you can get past the old fashioned labels you'll see what I mean.

Two other pointers - the white grape Rolle (aka Vermentino in Italy) from Provence, making fruity, sun filled ripe wines at a quality level to rival good Chardonnay- well worth its £10 tag. Rosé, good ones abounded, all dry, pale coral pink and refreshing, my favourites were from around Nimes in the southern Rhone valley made from Syrah and Grenache grapes. Roll on spring and summer.

Now, the LBW rule in French...

Santé

So here we are again with the big day - huge meals nearly upon us and lakes of wine offerings. Answer - drink what you like, why make it complicated? If you like Bucks Fizz made with cheap Cava go for it and the myriad of food styles that you WILL be consuming means the wine has a hard time competing. Generally the bigger styles of both whites and reds will stand up better with the foods (generally from hotter new world countries) while fresher, more acidic wines from cooler countries will work as aperitifs or revivers!!

I do think a decent annual bottle of Port is worthwhile though - look for LBV (late bottled vintage) on the label and add a slab of English blue cheese, a cox's apple and a Digestive biscuit. Only for Father Christmas of course...

HAPPY CHRISTMAS. FESTIVE DRINKING!!

A big warming glass of this style of red and a good plate of sausages with buttery mash will banish all thoughts of the recent Indian summer. Welcome back comfort wines.....

So the summer never happened then (and you probably drank all the cold pinks back in April's heatwave) and those nights are drawing in... what to savour now? Returning holidaying friends have really enjoyed Greek wines and some are appearing on our high street shelves, the whites from Cephalonia are great food wines while generally the big soft reds remind me of decent Rioja. Definitely worth a try and the Greek economy could do with the help right now too. 

Meanwhile, I have been teaching groups of restaurant staff recently and part of the training involves sampling many different food styles with different wine styles (I know, it's a job!). One of the most surprising results has been the great combination of decent hard cheeses (think mature Cheddar, good Edam, Emmental that sort of style) with many white wines. We tend to think red wines always fit the bill here (and it may be all that is left on the table) but give it a go, I was pleasantly surprised.

Accidentally left a bottle of Italian red Montepulciano in the fridge and finished it cold with some Italian treats like olives, salami, parmesan and breadsticks - very nice on a warm evening. Just make sure your red isn't a huge Merlot or Shiraz and isn't really oaky either and chilling should work nicely.

Lovely tangy cold fino sherry as an aperitif, anytime...

Home made lemonade. My 11 year old daughter makes a mean version - just juice and bits of 2 lemons, caster sugar to taste, sparkling water and loads of ice. Job done (although a 6 o'clock dash of good gin takes it to another level!).

Wine, almost forgot to keep drinking dry rosé. There are so many around now it seems rude not to. Avoiding any weird, cheap blush styles, I have recently had good English ones (Waitrose) and chunkier tapas-friendly Spanish from the Somontano region using Tempranillo (the red Rioja) grape. Also had a really good (i.e. not too eye wateringly fresh) Sauvignon Blanc from Slovenia which makes a change to N.Z.

Not forgetting chilled English ales - any of the bottle conditioned ones really, lump of cheddar, pork pie, cricket on the radio...

Happy days - enjoy the sun!!

...Just as expected, many suited and booted wine executives on show but also a lot of good wine and talk of promoting wine education more and more. Pleased to say I will be working with one of the most progressive and eclectic merchants to help deliver a broad wine knowledge to their large customer base. So, time to brush up on the new wave Brazilian wines heading our way - they had a big presence, as did the whole of South America. Back in the Old World, France has finally cottoned on to the customers' confusion at the value end of the market and produced a Top 100 IGP (Vin de Pays) wine selection. The wines are easy to understand. attractively bottled, ready to drink and nearly all under £10. It's what the New World has been doing for ages and is a good excuse to try everyday French wines again - look out for the promotions.

Overall a few new angles in these hard times - hope you give them a try.

Cheers..

Research recently showed that the average time between wine bottle purchase and consumption is... 20 minutes!! (on the way home, in the car park?). So unless you like to buy in volume, or classic wines that need ageing, it's all irrelevant anyway and a week or so in the kitchen environment won't do it any harm.

Wines for Easter eggs - big Shiraz, fortified reds like Port and golden rum as a treat with the dark stuff.

Happy hunting!

Back to normal drinking and a good red angle is Beaujolais, but particularly the good stuff which isn't labelled as such.There are 10 top villages (crus) in this part of mid France just above Lyon, they are underated, easy drinking and not too heavy on the alcohol either. Tying in with the love theme, and to follow your pink bubbly starter, a St.Amour would sit really well with the steak & frites. Others worth seeking out are Fleurie, Morgon, Julienas and Moulin-a-Vent all great ways of discovering the quaffing qualities of the Gamay grape. In my opinion it seems to taste best out of rough tumblers too....

Other wine stuff: all the trade press is raving about the 2009 red Rhone Valley wines as something for the cellar. So if you like big, spicy old world wines then look out for St.Joseph, Chateauneufs, Gigondas and Crozes Hermitage at the top end or Cairanne, Lirac and Villages wines for great value.

Low alcohol wines that actually taste of wine are coming on strong this year as are lightweight bottles all helping to boost the responsible side of the wine producers, which is good.

cheers..

Into 2011 and rather than give up why not take a fresh look at English whites and German dry Rieslings? A great way to kick start your New Year and refresh that jaded palate!

Have a good one, cheers....

1 bottle rich red wine

1 glass of Port (or blackcurrant/cassis if you haven't got any)

2 glasses water

2 tablespoons sugar

10 or so cloves

A pinch of nutmeg

A few cinnamon sticks

Thinly sliced lemons and juice of 1 lemon

Heat the water, sugar, spices and lemon juice first. Add the wines and lemon slices and stir away whilst heating gently, try not to boil it and lose all the alcohol... Resist the temptation to use the sachets or bags of ready made mulling spices (sawdust) - this tastes so much better. Pass that first mince pie.....

Alternatively delete the wines and lemon and use cider, apple juice and brandy instead or even a big slug of that not quite finished Pimms lurking in the cupboard.

Happy mulling..

P.S. apparently it's traditional to drink these mulls in a silver tankard with a lid...so dust those off too!!

If we aren't going out so much at the moment then why not spend a bit more on your wine at home? For not much more than the default bottle of mediocre house wine you could be sipping a chilled glass of a hand made, naturally sparkling bubbly that is full of expensive grape juice and positively lightweight in alcohol too, at 12%. So, for your fiver more than Cava or Prosecco, what should you buy? Personally the cheaper big names will be wasting that extra spend on big budget ads and Formula 1 celebrations. Instead head for lesser names and even supermarket own labels (which are often from small family producers) or the better big houses like Heidseick and Lanson, especially when available as 3 for 2 promotions. All wines labelled as Champagne have to adhere to unbelievably strict regulations, the least of which is being from the 'county' of Champagne in north eastern France. Smile at those long lasting tiny bubbles, inhale the refreshing citrus perfume and savour the floral, biscuity flavours whilst letting that pesky economic crisis float away....

Sante!!

So (having read most of their wise words and sipped my way through numerous tastings in the name of research) here are my views and recommendations. Some of these styles and countries may be off your usual wine radar...

On the traditional side there is a definite return to form for Chablis - the famous name which has often been poor value and worse quality. There are now some very good 2009 bottles around for under a tenner so if you like unoaked Chardonnay these could be for you.

Little known Albarino is a superb light white from northern Portugal and Spain. I have been addicted recently to its luscious gulpability and it is a welcome change from another Sauvignon Blanc.

As Autumn invades, chunkier rosés come into their own with food. Look out for deeper coloured versions made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Tempranillo grapes.

Beautiful soft red wines from Northern Italy like Barbera d'Alba or d'Asti or hugely unfashionable Beaujolais Villages from central France also seem to suit this time of year. Think mushrooms and pizza.

New Zealand has been all about Pinot Noir for some time now, but the vineous word for late 2010 is Syrah. Yes, the big, chunky, southern French grape has travelled well down under where it produces deep, rich, velvety wines. One to sip by that first open fire.

South America and South Africa have really upped their wine game too. In fact the majority of all the wines they make seem to be pretty good - a nice easy choice for everyday drinking.

Get in there and take advantage of our retail shelves. They'll be groaning with some real goodies over the next couple of months before the supermarkets start pushing the rubbish nearer Christmas...

I hope you find something new.

Cheers!

Recent years have seen pink wine as the major growth sector (attributed to cheap air fares to the Med), and the hugely increased high street selection bears testamant to this. You are no longer forced to purchase the Mateus rosé, however cute the bottle looks with a candle in!!

So, these days how do you choose a good one? Well, firstly they won't be any cheaper then whites and reds, and there is no truth in the paler the colour the finer the wine, or the higher the alcohol the better... No, it's all about the grape variety I'm afraid, and with pinks it is not usually the classic red suspects like Cabernet, Merlot or Shiraz. Traditionally in Europe all countries bordering the Meditteranean produce decent dry rosé to quaff in the 40 degree summer heat, so your glass of chilled delicate and refreshing wine will be from grapes like Grenache/Garnacha, Cinsault and Tempranillo all of which are lighter in style. Naturally high acidity makes them very thirst quenching and oh so gluggable. As a bonus they match really well with foods that are usually difficult wine partners... think olives, tomatoes, garlic, salads, fish soups, aioli and bread.... yum.

Back home my extensive research shows that the charred barbeque meat is well covered by the chunkier styles now coming from outside Europe, Chilean Pinot Noir or Shiraz based pinks or the silghtly sweeter ones from South Africa and Australia.

Experiment, they aren't meant to be complicated, and keep a bottle or three in the fridge this summer, fill a tumbler and imagine you are sitting on the deck of your yacht bobbing amongst the Greek islands.......cheers.

Now before I got into this wine game, Bordeaux confused more than any other region, and 15 years on it is still hardly consumer friendly. So should you be buying some? YES - with the following provisos

- remember that the reds (or clarets as they used to be called, and still are by the male pin striped brigade in their wood panelled bunkers...) are hard work and need food.

- the more affordable entry level wines (Bordeaux superieur) are great every day wines as the conditions were just perfect (meaning these wines have jumped to the next level in quality). Beware though, they need a bit of maturing time (3 years minimum) and will benefit from pouring out into a large jug before serving to soften the tannic edges.

- the great top end wines from Haut Medoc, Pauillac, St-Julien, St-Emilion etc will be gems in 20 years time....so maybe lay some down for the kids (to be drunk by you.....)

Prices will get silly. At the moment the best wines still have to be bottled (available 'en primeur' from posh merchants). But they are worth trying as an antidote to the jammy immediacy of some New World, alcohol heavy monsters.

If that all seems a biy of a faff then a great alternative, and already on the shelves, is 2009 vintage Beaujolais Villages. Refreshing and juicy, perfect for al fresco drinking and generally under a tenner.

This month's politically correct thought... quality over quantity.

I was lucky enough to find some of those flavours, particularly fine South African

Chardonnay and some HUGE South American (Brazil and Uruguay) reds that were crying out for

equally big red meat. Most interesting wines, all tasted blind don't forget, were an

Hungarian sparkling rose and some absolutely divine, intensely sweet Canadian ice wines.

A great annual event, full of fabulous wines and some real characters with superb

palates and not too much tweed. The wines that achieved medal status will

have been tasted and retasted many times which gives this competition real meaning

for the consumer when they hit the wine merchant and supermarket shelves in October/

November. Look out for them, be brave and try something different - I didn't risk my taste

buds for fun you know................By the way there were about 10 corked wines in 'my'

wines even though the majority were screwcapped, all wines were spat out except 2 of those

sweet ones which accidently slipped down my throat!!

Honey and minerals - Riesling

Lime and grapefruit - Sauvignon Blanc

Vanilla and melon - Chardonnay

Truffles and leather - Pinot Noir

Blackcurrant and cedar - Cabernet Sauvignon

Fruitcake and tea - Merlot

Chocolate and liquorice - Shiraz

and if I'm really lucky the hauntingly beautiful tar and roses of a great Barolo, plus the occasional dank, musty, vegetal nastiness that is a proper 'corked' wine to keep me on my toes...i'll let you know.

In the meantime see if you can find any of these classic flavours in your glass.

Chill your wine and drink sparingly with diet friendly chicken, fish and steamy vegetables – or spicy thai soups with noodles. I’m about to pour a glass of Provencal Rolle! Tell me what you went for.