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Wines Direct Blog

Our blog is set up to give you latest news about wine offers, the wine world and industry developments as well as Wines Direct.

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Paul Jaboulet Wines
Domaines Paul Jaboulet Aîné was founded in The Rhone Valley in 1834 in the town of Tain L'Hermitage by Antoine Jaboulet and his sons, Paul and Henry. In 1919 they acquired the very famous Saint-Christophe chapel at the top of the renowned Hermitage vineyard. You'll have likely seen this crop up in pictures of Rhone vineyards without realising it! With the death of Gerard Jaboulet in 1997, the house saw its fortunes fall as the family business fell into disarray and the wine went downhill. It was…
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Wine52 Case Review: Robertson
Our latest case with Wine52 takes you on a sunny trip to South Africa’s Roberston. Located in the Breede River Valley wine region, conditions are warm and dry with irrigation access provided by the river, allowing for relatively easy grape growing conditions. Robertson is what is known as a district under South African wine law, which is basically a smaller area within a region. Unusually for South Africa, Robertson has limestone soils which is particularly renowned for making quality white…
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Waitrose Easter Pairing 2025
Now with the bank holiday stretch on the horizon, Easter should be firmly in your sights. Not only is it the next holiday, but it’s also your excuse to crack open good wine and share it with the family. Oh, and a rather good chance to gorge on some chocolate. I’ll of course be focused on the vino at Waitrose that I recommend for your Easter feasts, but don’t overlook their exciting Easter eggs either! Have a look below at my picks for your wine pairings from Waitrose. They have an excellent…
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A Rhone Valley Wine Tour
This has been a remarkably long time coming but the time to reminisce about two of the excellent Rhone Valley producers I visited in May 2024 has come. It was partly spurred by finding the Ferraton La Matinière Crozes-Hermitage on a restaurant menu recently, which was unfortunately out of stock! Still, at least you can get hold of it for a good price from retailers. But, the real thing you are here for, presumably, is the tour exploring Ferraton and Domaine Farge, the famous hills of Hermitage…
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Chapoutier Wines
Chapoutier is a long-established Rhone Valley wine producer with roots going back to 1808, where it was first established as 'Calvet et Compagnie'. In 1883 it was bought by Rodolphe Delepine, and Marius Chapoutier joined the venture in 1897, where it became known as 'Delepine et Chapoutier'. Delepine retired in 1922 and Chapoutier took the reigns, creating a new winery at the foot of the famous Hermitage hill. Since then it has remained in family hands, with Michel Chapoutier at the helm who has…
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Wine52 Review: Classic France
Our latest case with Wine52 explores Classic France, a country with two millennia worth of tradition and expertise in winemaking which still regularly tops the chart for sales in the UK despite all the new world competition these days. That’s testament to their wine industry. It is true that the French had to undergo a bit of a revolution a few decades ago as they were slower to adopt more modern techniques, particularly in traditional areas like Bordeaux. Whilst there are still some producers…
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Laithwaites Vineyard Partners Tasting
Recently, I had the good fortune to taste a case of wines made by the Laithwaites Vineyard Partners thanks to their generosity and, frankly, well-warranted desire to show off how good their partners are. Their direct relationship with these winemakers makes all the difference and has allowed Laithwaites to create phenomenal, exclusive wines that you can help support too. The Laithwaites Wine Club is your opportunity to try popular parcels from their Vineyard partners. Simply sign up through our…
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Alcohol Duty Changes February 2025: How Will It Affect Consumers?
On the 1st February 2025, our wondrous government decided that one of the best ways to raise tax in our struggling economy was to hit the average wine, beer and spirits drinker as well as every single hospitality establishment. As if hospitality hasn’t faced enough in recent years… Rising costs have rather been the theme since Covid but there are none quite so close to our heart as, of course, alcohol. Alcohol is taxed according to its ABV on drinks over 1.2% ABV. The initial increase on alcohol…
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Wine52 Case Review: Thracian Valley
The Thracian Valley is one of the earliest haunts of winemaking, with origins stretching back to its Hellenic cultural wine heritage thanks to its fantastic climate for grapes. Located mainly in Bulgaria, the Western and Eastern parts of the valley also straddle into Greece and Turkey. This case focuses on the Bulgarian Wine scene, exploring some grapes you’ve probably never heard of let alone tried and giving you a great idea of why you should look further afield than the tried and tested wine…
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What ever happened to Cava?
Do you remember when Cava was all the rage? The heady years before the public got a sweet tooth for cheaper, albeit less impressive Prosecco. Well, the days when it was top of the charts for bargain sparkling are long over – sales have in fact really plateaued since 2010. If you do a bit of digging beyond the few big brand labels out there (Freixenet I’m looking at you), you can get stuff that beats out the Prosecco by miles and is a much closer alternative to Champagne’s taste. But how did we…
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Bin End Sales Guide
Whether it’s the January haul or a late-Summer clear out, Wine Bin End sales are a staple of the industry these days and thank goodness they are. Contrary to what some say, this isn’t just a cheap way of offloading plonk (although that’s not to say that doesn’t happen), rather it’s a way of clearing out the older vintages like last Summer’s Rose or simply saying a sad goodbye to delicious wines that may not have had the label or customer interest to shift enough to keep in the range. On top of…
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Wine52 Curico Valley
The latest case from Wine52 was a good one, showcasing the Curico Valley region of Chile. It did very well with diversity, featuring the signature Chilean Carménère variety, a surprise Riesling and an inky Cabernet Sauvignon. The Curico Valley is a diverse region with a large variety of soils and climates. The central part of the valley is warm and fertile allowing it to comfortably grow a wide range of grape varieties with relative ease. As a result, the wines have gained a reputation for being…
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