Simon
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25% Off Wine at Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s has 25% off wine, sparkling and Champagne, 6 bottles or more, £6 or more, from 24 July 2024 to 30 July 2024. See the Sainsbury’s tasting for tips on what to buy.
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25% Off Wine at Asda
Asda has 25% off wine, on £5.50 per bottle or more, 6 bottles or more, from 24 July 2024 until 11:59pm on 28 July 2024. See the Spring Summer Press tasting for tips on what to buy.
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25% Off Wine at Tesco
Tesco has save 25% off wine with Clubcard when you buy 6+ bottles that are over £5.50 (£7 in Wales), from 23 July 2024 until 29 July 2024. See the Tesco tasting for tips on what to buy.
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WineGB Awards 2024 Trophy Winners
At this year’s WineGB Awards, wines from 13 counties won trophies, with a record number of Gold medals awarded. The ceremony was held on 19 July at The Drapers’ Hall in London. Kent’s Chapel Down was the standout winner, claiming Supreme Champion, Top Sparkling Wine, Best Prestige Cuvée, the South East Trophy, Best Chardonnay, Joint…
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The Controversy of Terroir in Wine
The French term ‘terroir’, often bandied about by winemakers, sommeliers and marketers, refers to the unique environmental factors that impart distinctive characteristics to wine. Terroir encompasses a myriad of factors including the soil, climate, topography and even the local flora and fauna, all of which interact with the grapevines. It is this intricate blend of…
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Marques de Los Rios Rioja Gran Reserva
I picked this up on a whim mainly because it was on offer and I’m glad I did. Initially, I was slightly concerned because the cashier hit the bottle extremely hard to remove the security tag, seriously damaging the foil. However, my worries went away once I tasted it. This 2014 Rioja, with an ABV…
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Final Wine Recommendations
Fiona Beckett, the Guardian’s wine critic for nearly 14 years, is stepping down to pursue other interests, mainly travel, as she approaches her 76th birthday. Reflecting on changes since she began in 2010, Fiona notes her shift towards lighter, fresher wines, the rise of natural and orange wines and the increasing quality of English and…
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Global Syrah Masters 2024
The Global Syrah Masters is an annual event celebrating the distinguished grape variety, Syrah. This year saw a high number of wines awarded with Silver, Gold and Master medals. Syrah’s traditional home is in the northern Rhône valley, but it has spread to southern regions and beyond, including Australia and New Zealand, with notable entries…
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25% off at Morrisons
Morrisons 25% discount on 6 or more bottles of wine, £5.50 or more, until 21 July 2024. Check very carefully, there a few wines that aren’t included.
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Understanding Light Strike in Wine Degradation
Sometimes, wine doesn’t quite live up to expectations. I’ve encountered this when comparing wine at tastings to subsequent purchases, more so with rosé and white wines. After looking into this deeper, I suspect one culprit might be light strike. One trend in the wine industry is the increased use of white flint bottles. These bottles…
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Ramón Bilbao Rosé 2023
Ramón Bilbao, well-known for its presence in both Rioja and Rueda, produces this Ramón Bilbao Rosé 2023. This wine is made with the aim of reviving a classic Rioja Alta wine tradition. Winemaker Rodolfo Bastida has focused on Rioja rosados, specifically ‘clarete’, a style that has been a staple in the restaurants around his hometown…
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El Duque De Miralta Rioja Reserva
This 2019 Rioja Reserva is made by winemaker César Fernández at El Coto. The Tempranillo grapes are sourced from the three prestigious areas of Rioja, Alavesia, Alta and Oriental, ensuring a rich and diverse flavour profile. The wine is aged for 24 months in American oak barrels, which imparts a distinct and inviting aroma of…
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Wine Chemical Parameters, Quality and Price
There’s new research from Romania, published in the Scientific Bulletin of Biotechnologies, into how certain chemical parameters in wine influence its sensory properties. The study shows that while wines may be chemically sound and meet all the required standards, these chemical values alone do not guarantee that the wine will be well-received by consumers. This…
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Global Sangiovese Masters Winners
Italy is renowned for Sangiovese, its most planted wine grape, covering around 70,000 hectares. In Tuscany, Sangiovese is often blended with international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah, except in Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino where blending is not permitted. The recent Global Sangiovese Masters showcased mainly Tuscan wines, with some from…
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Wines of Rueda, Navarra and Toro
In July 2024, I attended a trade/press wine tasting event in London, the first ever bringing together Rueda, Navarra and Toro wines from Northern Spain. Rueda, northwest of Madrid, is the second most popular denomination of origin (DO) in terms of sales in Spain. It is renowned for its mainly white wines, particularly those made…
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Great Rosé Wines
Rosé wines have grown in popularity, particularly in the UK, where a significant number of consumers now enjoy them in bars and restaurants. This surge in popularity has led to a broader acceptance of rosé wines as versatile options for food pairing. A new article at Decanter highlights the main methods of making rosé wines…
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Strangely, Non-Volatile Parts of Wine Also Affect Aromas
The research The remarkable effects of the non-volatile matrix of wine on the release of volatile compounds explores how different components in wine affect the release of aroma compounds. Researchers studied six Spanish wines that were first stripped of their original aromas and then mixed with a standard solution of 15 different aroma compounds. The…
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Awards Wines Tasting
July and August have very few press tastings, so I decided to host some tastings at home. I invited a few PR agencies, importers and retailers to submit wines for these tastings. This first event featured award-winning wines, tasted by nine family members and friends, all of whom share my enthusiasm for wine. We enjoyed…
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Millefiori Appasimento Veneto
From the Veneto region, renowned for its Amarone and Valpolicella wines, the Millefiori Appassimento Veneto is a different blend of Corvina and Merlot grapes. These grapes are selected from low-yielding vineyards in Northern Italy. 60% of the harvest undergoes the traditional appassimento method, where the grapes are dried in well-ventilated lofts. This technique, commonly associated…
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Mouton Cadet Bordeaux Reds
Mouton Cadet owes its reputation to the passion and enthusiasm of the Rothschild family. They have cultivated a legacy of winemaking over three generations. This review is a side-by-side tasting of two Mouton Cadet wines: the Mouton Cadet Classic Rouge 2021 and the Mouton Cadet Cuvée Heritage 2019. The Mouton Cadet Classic Rouge 2021, made…
