Pocket Vintages - wine guide, wine recommendations, wine reviews

Torres Vina Sol

Sainsburys has Torres Vina Sol on offer at the moment.  This wine has done enormously well in the UK over the last few years.  Made from the Parellada grape by Torres, one of the biggest and most respected 'retail' producers in Spain, Vina Sol represents excellent value for money for those on a budget.

It is a great summer wine and chilled down makes an excellent aperatif or as a match for fish dishes or chicken salad.

Buy it online from Sainsburys for only £21.03 for a case of 6 bottles.  This works out at only £3.51 a bottle!

Tokaji Aszu Wine from Hungary

Did you know....

One of the most famous wines of Hungary is Tokaji Aszu, a sweet dessert wine renowned the world over.  Each bottle will have a number of 'Puttonyos' - the usual is normally three Puttonyos.  The number of Puttonyos indicates the residual sugar level in the wine - the more Puttonyos, the higher the residual sugar.  Three Puttonyos indicates 60g/l of sugar.

Fume Blanc

Did you know....

If you see Fume Blanc on the label of a bottle of Californian wine, it is made with Sauvignon Blanc.  It's just called Fume Blanc in California.

USA Wine Volumes

Did you know....

That the USA produces the largest amount of wine out of all 'New World' wine countries.  In fact, the USA is the world's 4th largest wine producer.

South African Pinotage

Did you know....

That if you see Pinotage on a bottle of wine from South Africa, then the wine is made from a grape variety created by crossing Pinot Noir with Cinsault.

White Grape Varieties of Germany

Did you know....

There are three main white grapes used in the production of German wines:
Riesling
Muller-Thurgau
Silvaner

Rioja regions

Did you know....

That there are three sub-regions of Rioja in Spain:
Rioja Alavesa
Rioja Alta
Rioja Baja

Vin Santo

Did you know....

Vin Santo is a sweet dessert wine from Italy.

Loupiac and Cadillac French Wines

Did you know....

If you come across a Loupiac or Cadillac French wine then it will be a sweet white wine, similar to the famous Sauternes but likely to be lighter in style and probably better value for money!

French Wine Categories

Did you know....

There are four main French wine categories:

Vin de Table - this is the most basic and likely to be the cheapest.
Vin de Pays - wine from a specific region
Vin Delimite de Qualite Superieur (VDQS)
Appellation Controlle (AOC) - what are you are most likely to find in restaurants - an indication (but not always!) of quality.  There are six governing regulations for all AOC wines - the wine must come from a specific area; it must be made only with permitted grape varieties; it must adhere to specific viticultural and vinification methods (how the grapes are grown and processed) and it is subject to maximum yield controls as well as minimum alcohol levels.

Some growers choose not to follow AOC rules so that they can experiment with their wines.  The results are sometimes amazing, but they will not be given AOC classification.