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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…
Dark Horse Wines
Dark Horse is an award-winning Californian wine brand with a reputation that matches up to its wines. Their combination of traditional winemaking techniques with the latest winery equipment helps make their wine so good, and so popular. Behind the wines is winemaker Beth Liston, who set out to make an affordable wine that could acheive genuine quality. In a market full of mass-produced wines, this is an impressive feat to undertake. And one that they have managed. Dark Horse boasts enough medals…
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…
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…
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…
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 use our exclusive…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The Classic Christmas Hamper – Selfridges
Christmas is coming up and will be here before you know it. That gnawing feeling that you need to buy presents for people is probably growing and causing unnecessary extra stress at this time of year. Well, don’t let it! We have the perfect gift solution right here. Now, full disclosure, Selfridges very kindly gifted us their Classic Christmas Hamper this year and I just had to review it! Compared to many other Hampers on the market, this sits at the mid-range price point and comes with plenty…
Best Black Friday Wines at Waitrose
Waitrose Cellar have everyone's favourite offer for Black Friday with "Buy 6, Save 25% up for grabs, allowing you to save whilst you stock up for the festive season. Whether hosting or being hosted this year, or just having a nice one with the immediate family, you'll want to make sure you have something to enjoy and celebrate with! Waitrose have the best (in our opinion) English Sparkling Wine range of all the supermarkets which is perfect for celebrating with a bit of British home-grown…
The Ultimate Selfridges Gift Guide
I’ve been asked to put together the ultimate Selfridges gift guide, looking at their Christmas shop, Hampers and other luxuries. These will make a gift worth talking about with beautiful packaging and able to create a lasting impression. Of course, this is WinesDirect, so make sure that you’re looking for alcohol gifts of some sort! Selfridges’ exclusive collection of luxury Christmas hampers will certainly please any lucky recipient! Thoughtfully curated, each hamper brims with gourmet…
Fortnum & Mason at Christmas – Make it Special
Fortnum’s is well known for its Christmas charm, whether it is the way they turn their entire store front into a giant advent calendar with numbered windows, the internal décor galore and the seasonal delights, this is one place you ought to visit for your Christmas shop. Of course, we can’t all make the trek into central London but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be able to experience that Fortnum charm at home. Cue their online Christmas shop! A range of wicker-basket hampers stuffed with…
Selfridges: The Best Wines for Christmas
This year I’ve set myself the goal to create the ultimate Christmas wine list using the special tipples available at Selfridges. For each event of the day, including what the best wine to gift is, as well as all the different foods you’ll want to match your wines to, let Selfridges provide you the best Christmas day wines. What's more, you can save 10% off 6 or more bottles when you buy wine at Selfridges so you’re not only treating yourself to some delicious wine, but also getting a handy…
The Best Waitrose Wine – Top Picks this October
Waitrose Cellar is back with a bang this October and want you to make the most of their buy 6, save 25% offer. This is your chance to stock up for the festive season or just get a few extra to fill your wine rack over the Autumn months. The choice is yours! So, if you’re looking for the best wine offers, Waitrose have quite the offering. Browse their whole range and make great savings on reds, whites, rosés and fizz. In the seasonal spirit, you’ll find Port and dessert wines on offer too. For…
The Best Sainsbury’s Wine – Top Picks this October
That’s right, the offer that many of you know and love, Sainsbury’s 25% off wine, is back for a limited time! From 18th October to 2nd November 2024, you have the chance to save on Sainsbury’s excellent wine range with your Nectar card. Simply swipe your Nectar card at checkout and see how much you can save on some of your favourite bottles. This also includes Taste The Difference Wines as well as all your favourite brands. Our favourite thing about this offer is that it includes wines already…
Wine52: Welcome to Moldova
This case explores the region of ‘Valul Lui Traian’, located in the Southwest and named after Trajan’s Wall. It boasts a winemaking tradition that spans two millennia from the Romans to being a primary supplier for the USSR. Since escaping the clutches of the USSR, Moldovan wine has undergone a renaissance with modern winemaking techniques, machines and theory supplementing their generations of experience to create high quality wines. I have to admit I was excited to see a Riesling. Ask any…
Alcohol to cost: What’s the best bang for your buck?
This was an interesting question we posed ourselves, but it seemed more than fitting in these trying times. As many will know, the UK gov recently decided to up alcohol duties, hilariously backfiring and harming their tax revenue, but sadly hitting the burgeoning English wine & already near-broken hospitality industries. This has made this question all the more important for consumers! To be clear, drinking with the sole purpose of getting drunk is not the point of this article, nor something we…
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