By Luisa Welch, AWE The picturesque Loire Valley region is not only known for its historical castles and abbeys, delicious food and gastronomical specialities, but also for its excellent wines. Located in a special corner of France along the country’s longest river, and part of the UNESCO World Heritage, the Loire Valley is overflowing with an abundance of wine styles, from sparkling to dry, from semi-dry to sweet.  This is France’s most diverse wine region, home to a broad array of soils, climates and geographical influences. It is France’s top producers for white wines, second for rosés ..read more

By Luisa Welch, AWE It’s February, love is in the air – you need a wine to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Though any night you open a great bottle is a celebration, an excuse for splashing out on something special, and Valentine’s Day just happens to be an excellent excuse to indulge. There is nothing quite as celebratory as a bottle of sparkling wine so here is our selection of bubbles, and not just champagne, that will please on their own, with a meal or as a grape gift. If champagne is your sparkling wine of choice, here is a name you might not have come across before, but its credentials are i ..read more

By Luisa Welch, AWE It’s January, it’s cold, and you might already be wavering about you New Year Resolutions. If one of your resolutions is to drink better wines, why not consider drinking healthier wines too? You may well ask if there is such a thing as ‘healthier’ wines: organic, vegetarian or vegan perhaps.  January is the month that celebrates all things vegan, hence it’s become known as Veganuary. The increasing move to veganism may be due to people’s concern for animal welfare, health, or climate impact. Whatever the reason behind it, consumers want to have the same transparency in ..read more

Snobbery and wine go together like love and marriage. I remember visiting the States a few years ago and getting very snooty about people putting ice cubes in their wine… even red wine! But let’s stop and think a minute. Sometimes, when the weather is pushing up the mercury, it is advisable to add a few ice cubes just to keep the wine at room temperature. Granted, don’t use your best vino for this. In my last post, I talked about the kind of wine you drink with a barbecue. In general, the wines tend to be less expensive, lighter, gluggable bottles – something that quenches your thirst without ..read more

by Nick Adams, MW Easter is nearly here, and we return to the regular review and recommendations of what should we be drinking with Easter fare and getting together? The Easter date varies as it falls each year on the Sunday following the paschal full moon after the Spring equinox. In practice, that means that Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon that falls on or after March 21. Apart from Easter’s important religious references and heritage, it is also a time when we say goodbye to Winter and begin to look forward to longer, brighter, warmer days. In addition, with cov ..read more

by Nick Adams The panoramic Casas del Bosque, Casablanca Valley If there is one New World country which has moved onwards and upwards at pace in the last 30 years, it must be Chile. Here in some of the most natural growing environments anywhere in the world producers have been quick to identify those regions which offer cool climate qualities as well as though warmer ones for bigger, richer (mainly red) wine production. One of those was Casas del Bosque who were one of the pioneers of Casablanca Valley viticulture and its now unquestioned position as one of the finest winemaking regions in Chi ..read more

By Nick Adams As part of the series of looking at the people behind the wines I come to an example which could be argued to be the one of the most enduring and profound of all – Henschke, based in the Barossa South Australia. I also had the privilege to work with Henschke for four years and came to realise first hand just what a remarkable couple Stephen and Prue are. We so often think first – and maybe sometimes obsessively so – about the winemaker when in nearly every case regarding top and individual estate wines there must be a talented vineyard manager and viticulturist behind the wines t ..read more

PLUS, THE NEW WINE TRUST 6 & 12 SEALED CASE LISTINGS & OFFERS by Nick Adams “Quality is not an act. It is a habit” – Aristotle I do hope you all were fit and well and were able to enjoy the Christmas and New Year celebrations – and indulge in some good wine. I am returning to a previous subject matter regarding the whole concept which wine marketeers often refer to as “the quality to price ratio” in a bottle of wine. This also coincides with the perennial time of the year when people look to drink less – post Christmas – or have a month’s hibernation altogether. As people’s drinking e ..read more

From Nick Adams MW With all that has gone on, and is happening now, you may well be planning a New Year’s Eve dinner party at home with a small group of close friends and/or family. In this case I thought a blog on options and ideas for that event may be of interest. And I have decided that it is a time for a treat and am letting the wines take the lead and menu options follow (rather than the other way round). And we kick off with Champagne – maybe no surprise – and to an absolute classic the Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve NV. This is for two main reasons. One, it is simply an outstanding Ch ..read more

From Nick Adams MW Pescatarians Easy to forget that many fish and shellfish are in plentiful supply (and at their best) in the winter with the following particularly good and sustainable examples: Sea Bass Farmed Sea Trout Brill Turbot Lemon Sole Plaice Gilt Head Bream Hake Monkfish Mackerel Mussels Oysters Crab Scallops Clams + as ever – salmon and smoked salmon! And there is always an option to do salmon wrapped in pastry Also look out for recipes to cure your own salmon – the beetroot and tarragon option looks and tastes spectacular for example I think the recommendations are qui ..read more