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Simon Judge

  • Champagne Foil Debate Ends as Tradition Yields to Choice

    Champagne Foil Debate Ends as Tradition Yields to Choice

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    The Drinks Business is reporting that the Comité Champagne has dropped its opposition to an EU ruling that makes neck foils on Champagne bottles optional, concluding after new research that removing them neither harms sales nor damages the region’s image. The decision follows years of debate across the sparkling-wine world. English producers have argued that scrapping foils trims production costs by 10p–50p a bottle, while some Champagne houses worried that losing this luxury cue might dent demand. Environmental arguments also featured, with estimates that foils account for about 0.6% of Champagne’s production-related greenhouse-gas emissions. Others stressed hygiene and security. A…

  • Jam Shed Sauvignon Blanc 1.5l Box

    Jam Shed Sauvignon Blanc 1.5l Box

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    Jam Shed Sauvignon Blanc is a new wine under the familiar Jam Shed label, appearing in a smaller 1.5-litre mini box format, the equivalent of two standard bottles. This release comes from Vinarchy, a wine company formed in 2025 from the merger of Accolade Wines and Pernod Ricard Winemakers. The name blends Vin, French for wine, and archy, from the Ancient Greek for leadership. The group now manages a broad portfolio of global brands, including Hardys, Campo Viejo and Jacob’s Creek. Jam Shed itself has carved a reputation for producing approachable, flavour-driven wines that offer good value. Drawing inspiration from…

  • Spain’s Wine Industry at a Red-White Crossroads

    Spain’s Wine Industry at a Red-White Crossroads

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    The American Association of Wine Economists recently posted a chart showing Spain’s wine production has been declining and it has also shifted away from red. Spain’s falling output is mostly a climate story, amplified by weaker demand and policy responses. After peaking in 2018, production has trended lower as drought, heat and erratic rainfall have reduced yields and made harvests earlier and more variable. 2023 was especially poor, with Spain’s wine output dropping to about 28.3 million hectolitres, its lowest since the mid-1990s. At the same time Spain’s vineyard area edged down by about 1% in 2023, and authorities activated…

  • Graham Beck Blanc de Blancs Brut Sparkling Wine

    Graham Beck Blanc de Blancs Brut Sparkling Wine

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    Part of my #awards25 series, this South African sparkling has a Gold Medal from the IWSC 2025 with an impressive 96 points. It’s from Robertson in the Western Cape and is an example of a ‘blanc de blancs’, a term that means white wine made solely from white grapes. In this case, it’s 100% Chardonnay. Produced using the Méthode Cap Classique, South Africa’s take on the Traditional Method used in Champagne, it undergoes its second fermentation in the bottle. This is the 2019 vintage, though it was only disgorged in 2024, allowing time for ageing. The bubbles are small and…

  • Fast Track Guide to What Makes Wine Taste the Way It Does

    Fast Track Guide to What Makes Wine Taste the Way It Does

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    At a high level, what you taste in a wine comes from three places: the grapes and their fermentation (primary aromas and flavours), the choices made after fermentation (secondary, such as oak, malolactic and lees) and the effects of maturation and age (tertiary). Thinking in these three layers helps you separate where specific notes and textures originate. The growing environment is fundamental because it governs how grapes ripen, which sets the baseline for sugar, acidity, tannin, alcohol and the spectrum of fruit and non-fruit flavours. Vines need heat, sunlight, water, nutrients and carbon dioxide to complete their annual cycle and…

  • Screaming Devil Côtes de Provence Rosé

    Screaming Devil Côtes de Provence Rosé

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    I’ve previously written about this wine, picking it out at Asda press tastings. The new 2024 vintage had a lot to live up to, so I was eager to see whether it matched the standard set by earlier years. For anyone unfamiliar, Screaming Devil is a tongue-in-cheek spin on Whispering Angel, a name that quickly caught attention, helped along by a sleek bottle design and a price tag that made it an instant favourite among fans of more premium rosé. At 12.5%, this ‘dupe’ is made from a blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah grapes. It’s produced and bottled at…

  • Ramos Family Reserva Tinto

    Ramos Family Reserva Tinto

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    This is a great red I came across at the London Wine Show, showed by Oakley Wine Agencies, the UK importer. Originating from Portugal, it’s the result of João Portugal Ramos’ work in Estremoz, Alentejo, where he began planting vines back in 1989. The wine brings together Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Nacional grapes and a handful of indigenous varietals with part of the blend aged in oak. At 13% ABV and from the 2023 vintage, it’s approachable straight from the bottle without the need for breathing. It opens with a caramel aroma that leads into a dry yet fruit-driven character, rich…

  • Bordeaux Royalty Chooses Vin de France

    Bordeaux Royalty Chooses Vin de France

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    Château Lafleur has fired the starting gun on one of the most consequential shifts in modern Bordeaux. In a letter dated Sunday 24 August 2025, the Guinaudeau family confirmed that, from the 2025 harvest, all six of the estate’s wines will drop the appellations of Pomerol and Bordeaux and be labelled Vin de France. For a domaine whose micro-parcels in Pomerol are among the most coveted in the world, the step is as audacious as it is symbolic. The letter frames the decision as the logical extension of Lafleur’s long-held philosophy of working “off the beaten path”. It argues that…

  • Louis Couturier Crémant de Bordeaux Rosé

    Louis Couturier Crémant de Bordeaux Rosé

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    A sparkling Rosé from the heart of the Entre-deux-Mers, the stretch of land between the Dordogne and Garonne rivers. Dry in style and produced by Les Grands Chais de France, a large cooperative and négociant house known for its wide portfolio across Bordeaux and beyond, this wine comes in at 11.5% ABV. It is made predominantly from Merlot at 90% with a touch of Cabernet Franc making up the rest. Its quality has not gone unnoticed, earning a Bronze medal at the IWC 2025. It pours with a rose gold hue, throwing off a fine stream of small bubbles in…

  • Climate Change Fuels Rise of Non-Vintage Wines

    Climate Change Fuels Rise of Non-Vintage Wines

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    The BBC is reporting that climate change is leading more winemakers to produce non-vintage still wines, blending grapes from different years to cope with increasingly unpredictable weather. While vintage has long been seen as a mark of quality, extreme conditions like heatwaves, wildfires, and frosts are making single-year production more difficult. To maintain consistency and avoid spoilage, respected producers in California and Italy are embracing non-vintage blends, despite lingering stigma. Winemakers such as Chris Howell in Napa Valley and Riccardo Pasqua in northern Italy have turned to multi-year blends after facing climate-related challenges. Both argue that blending across vintages allows…

  • Leyda Pinot Noir Rosé

    Leyda Pinot Noir Rosé

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    This Pinot Noir rosé from Chile is made by the renowned Chilean winery Viña Leyda. It comes from Chile’s Valle de Leyda in the San Antonio Valley, part of the Aconcagua region. Viña Leyda is widely recognised and is the most awarded coastal winery in Chile. Its reputation is further bolstered by the achievements of its team, with viticulturist Tomas Rivera being named Best of the Year in Tim Atkin’s 2022 Chile report, two years after Viviana Navarette was selected as his Best Winemaker. This 2023 vintage sits at 12.5% ABV and is made entirely from Pinot Noir. The grapes…

  • Grape Explications

    Grape Explications

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    Neal Hulkower, author of Grape Explications, sent me his book to review. It is less a single, neatly packaged volume and more a glorious grab bag of articles, essays and musings. Think of it as a well-stocked cellar of words poured from his writing since the late 1970s. Neal David Hulkower is a wine writer, reviewer and tasting room professional with decades of experience, all seasoned by an earlier life in academia, aerospace and the boardrooms of technology and operations. Since the late 1960s, he has been everywhere wine has needed him: pouring in Oregon tasting rooms, selling in shops,…

  • Comte de Saint Emmanuel

    Comte de Saint Emmanuel

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    This arrived by accident, a substitute for a bottle that never turned up. The name may sound grand, but it’s a white label name without particular provenance. However, behind it is the producer Amand Chaperon, with grapes coming from the Entre-Deux-Mers region. A blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, it promised familiarity, though expectations were kept low given its 2024 vintage. I suspected something overly tannic and too young to enjoy now. It opens with a dark fruit aroma, immediately giving way to a generous burst of fruit on the first sip. The structure is medium bodied, with medium tannins…

  • Granite Hill Old Vine Zinfandel

    Granite Hill Old Vine Zinfandel

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    This was my favourite red at a recent Tesco press tasting and one I was keen to revisit in more detail. From Lodi in California, this wine is a blend of 75% Zinfandel, 15% Teroldego and 10% other varieties, made by the Kautz family and is vegan. Its name reflects the rocky, granite-rich soils where the family’s vineyards are planted. The Zinfandel and Petite Syrah components spend time in both French and American oak, which contributes to its complexity. It’s a generous 14.5% ABV and won a silver award in the 2025 IWC. Despite being a 2022 vintage, it’s already…

  • Viña del Cura Rioja Blanco

    Viña del Cura Rioja Blanco

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    This wine made its first impression on me at a Tesco press tasting. This 2023 vintage sits at 13% ABV and is made from a blend of 90% Viura and 10% Tempranillo Blanco, produced by Barón de Ley. It’s vegan-certified and has spent time on lees, followed by four months in American oak barrels. The aroma leans towards tropical with a gentle backdrop of oak, suggesting something bright yet grounded. On the tongue, there’s a mix of fruit, oak and a soft, bready richness with a warmth that lingers slightly at the end. What’s striking is how rounded it feels…

  • Thoughts on Wine with Food

    Thoughts on Wine with Food

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    In the August 2025 issue of Decanter, Alder Yarrow and Fiona Beckett have an entertaining debate whether food and wine pairing is meaningful or a waste of time. Yarrow dismisses it as outdated dogma that alienates drinkers by imposing needless rules, arguing that personal taste, mood, environment and even biology make universal pairing principles impossible. He believes people should simply drink what they enjoy without worrying about so-called correctness. Beckett, however, contends that pairing can enhance both food and wine, offering guidance rather than rigid rules, and that it helps less confident wine drinkers feel more engaged and assured. For…

  • 25% Off Wine at Waitrose

    25% Off Wine at Waitrose

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    Waitrose has 25% off 6 bottles or more of wine and Champagne priced between £5 and £100 from 20 August 2025 to 26 August 2025 inclusive. See the recent press tasting for tips on what to buy.

  • Triennes Rosé

    Triennes Rosé

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    I came across this wine at a family gathering. There was nothing about the label to suggest it comes from Provence. The bottle itself doesn’t follow the visual cues you often see with Provençal rosé with no fancy lable or stylised bottle design. It’s modest, understated. The surprise is entirely in what’s inside. Only after the gathering, when curiosity led me to look into it, did I discover its true origin, from the heart of Provence. Triennes is a respected estate situated in the Var region to the east of Aix-en-Provence. It’s the result of a collaboration that began in…

  • Château La Garde

    Château La Garde

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    I picked this up a few months ago from Aldi when it was featured as ‘Wine of the Week’ at a tempting £4.99, though the final price was £5.75 since I happened to be visiting Wales at the time. On a side note, Wales has some peculiar minimum pricing rules and, oddly, even the large Tesco stores seemed to offer only a fraction of the range you’d find in England. I wasn’t entirely sure what I’d bought, though the pricing label suggested it normally retails at £19.99. A little digging revealed this 2017 vintage to be a blend of 52%…

  • 25% Off Wine at Tesco

    25% Off Wine at Tesco

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    Tesco has save 25% off wine with Clubcard when you buy 6+ bottles that are £6 and over (£7 in Wales), from 19 August 2025 until 25 August 2025. See the recent Tesco tasting and Picks for tips on what to buy.

Pick Lists


Majestic | The Wine Society | Tesco | Waitrose | Sainsbury’s | Morrisons | Co-op | Asda | Aldi | Lidl | £7 and Under | Over £20

TipS – Infographics


Buying | Menu Ordering | Labels | Drinking | Storing | Pairing

Did You Know?

Nearly a third (32%) of UK consumers say they have already used AI for alcoholic drinks advice. More

Among socially active wine buyers, 37% have bought a wine recommended online. More

In 2026, 72% of consumers now think wine knowledge is essential to appreciation, up 20 percentage points on 2025. More

Rías Baixas wines reached more than 107 countries in 2025 and exports represented 31 per cent of the denomination’s total sales. More

Light Strike Can Cause Wine Degradation in Just One Day. More

People actively adjust their wine choices depending on who might see them. More

In the UK, 73% of Alcohol is Bought From Retail Rather Than Hospitality. More

UK wine production reached 124,377 hectolitres that year, meaning the UK accounted for roughly 0.05 per cent of world output. More

For Crémant, grapes must be harvested by hand and the wines must undergo at least nine months’ ageing before release. More

In 2024, the UK was the second-largest export market for Champagne globally, after the United States. More

Local UK bottling of wine represents about 40% of imported wine. More

Around 1% of people, typically severe asthmatics, have a sulphite sensitivity. More

A large 80% of Australian wine arrives in the UK in bulk. More

Only about 0.02% of Australia’s landmass is dedicated to vineyards. More

In 2024, New Zealand produced only 1% of the World’s wine. More

In 2024, the US imported 37% of World production of Pinot Grigio and the UK was is in second place at 27%. More

In 2024, the UK was South Africa’s largest export market, with 40% of total exports. More

In 2024, the United Kingdom imported 22.3 million bottles of Champagne, a decline of 12.7% compared to the previous year. More

Larger Champagne producers source grapes from as many as 80 different vineyards throughout Champagne. More

Champagne houses and growers collectively produce around 300 million bottles annually. More

In 2025, the Champagne region was home to about 2,124 Champagne houses and approximately 19,000 growers. More

Provence is one of the leaders in the conversion to organic viticulture, with 61% of vineyards certified. More

8% of the South Africa’s grape production is Fairtrade-certified. More

Up to 80% of wine aroma compounds come from grape skins. More

Glycerol is the third-largest component of most dry wines after water and alcohol which is why they so often feel ‘smooth’ or ‘silky’ in the mouth. More

Humans are more than 400 times more sensitive to bitter than sweet. More

Humans can detect the earthy molecule geosmin at about 100 parts per trillion and camels are so sensitive to it they can locate damp ground from roughly 50 miles away. More

During the phylloxera crisis of the nineteenth century, 90% of Europe’s vineyards were destroyed. More

In 2025, for La Vieille Ferme, also known as “The Chicken Wine”, sales surged by 49.4% to £110.8 million. More

In 2025, in the UK, Yellow Tail held the top position with sales, marking a 9.8% increase over the previous year. More

In 2024, the UK was the second-largest wine importer in volume and value. More

In 2024, the UK was the fifth-largest wine-consuming country globally. More

In 2025, global wine consumption continued its downward trend, estimated at 214.2 million hectolitres, the lowest since 1961. More

In 2025, online alcohol sales had a 20% increase in value over five years. More

In 2025, the number of UK vineyards rose to 1,104 and wineries to 238, with land under vine expanding to 4,841 hectares, a 510% increase since 2005. More

Moët Hennessy alone commands nearly 46.66% of the Champagne market, with the top three producers together holding about 61%, and the top five controlling over 72%. More

In 2024, the Champagne market was worth roughly €3.92 billion. More

In the marketing year 2023/24, white wine accounted for roughly 55% of Spain’s output, whereas red and rosé together made up about 45%. More

In the UK, 92% of wine is consumed within 48hrs of purchase. More

The majority of wines, 95%, use commercial rather than wild yeast. More

Between 0.5 and 10 litres of water, per litre of wine, are needed for cleaning during winemaking. More

Machine harvesting can achieve up to 100 tons of fruit per day vs 1 ton for a human. More

In Germany, 2025 was the smallest wine vintage since 2010. More

The majority of vineyards, 90% in 2019, are farmed with heavy chemical interventions. Only 6% are organic. More

90% of low and coastal areas in south Europe and California will no longer be able to produce good wine by the end of the century. More

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