Pocket Vintages - wine vintage charts and wine information

Wine Gift - review of UK online wine gift resources

Wine gifts are one of the most popular online gift categories and there are hundreds of wine gift websites out there offering a variety of delights for the wine drinker.  Most wine gift sites focus on selling bottles of wine rather than accessories.  In this feature, I focus on a small number of sites offering good wine accessory gifts.

My favourite is The Wine Gift Centre

The website is very clear and simple to navigate,organised by product categories such as decanting, corklifting and chilling.
Each section has a great range of products and the pictures clearly show you what you are getting.
The corklifting section offers a range of simple and professional corkscrews from £3 to almost £100 making it easy to find the right gift.
My personal favourite is the decanting section, which has a large range of beautiful wine decanters in classic styles, as well as a few quirky ones - check out the Diamond Turn Decanter at £29.95 for something really interesting!
Postage and packaging is reasonable and they will deliver almost anywhere in the world.  One word of warning - the prices listed are ex VAT so expect to see a higher bill when you come to the checkout.
Overall, 9/10

Just as good:

Fine Wine Accessories - a lovely looking website with more than 20 wine accessory categories, so surely you will be able to find an appropriate wine gift on this website?
They have some very smart silver plate and pewter wine coasters and some beautiful champagne bowls.  If you're looking for a smart wedding gift then this website is a great resource.
One of their featured products is the Clef du Vin, which apparently ages wine in seconds.  You can read more about it here.
Checkout is simple enough, with a delivery charge starting at £5.95 for the UK and you need to contact them for prices to other parts of the globe.
Overall, 9/10

Best of the rest:

WineWare - more hardcore than the rest, and possibly focused more on trade business, nevertheless it has an impressive array of wine accessories that would make great gifts.
I especially liked the wine chilling products and the range of wine pourers.
The site is not too difficult to navigate, once you get past the manufacturer selection criteria.
Overall, 7/10

Say It With Wine - a site that allows you to create your own personal label and add it to one of about 10 different wines that is then sent to your wine gift recipient.  Not technically a wine accessory I know but some people like to know about these gimmicky ideas!
Overall, 5/10

Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

This is one of my 'house' wines - I always have a bottle or two handy because it is delicious when you're in the mood for a big, fruity, velvety New World Cab Sauv.

Wolf Blass has done amazingly well in the UK in recent years and this yellow label is a big seller across the country.  Majestic are offering it for only £4.89p a bottle (usual price £7.99p) so fill your boots!

You can order it online from Majestic here.

Pocket Vintages to be available through Amazon & Waterstones

From next week (Aug 1st) you will be able to buy Pocket Vintages Old World Edition 2007 online via your favourite retailers.

Both Amazon and Waterstones websites are listing PV with WHSmith expected to come online shortly.

Or you can buy it directly from us via this website and PayPal.  You don't need a PayPal account to do this, just a credit or debit card and your order is protected by the usual PayPal rules.  Once payment has been received we will dispatch your Pocket Vintage edition by Royal Mail first class post.

Once you start using it you really will wonder how you ever ordered wine without it!

More Majestic Offers

Majestic Wine has added to and improved upon their special offers for this wonderful 'summer' that we are having.

The pick of the bunch is their Southbank Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2006.

Buy two more more and you'll get them at the bargain price of only £4.99 a bottle.  Pick up a case and keep at least a bottle in your fridge at all times!  This is a deliciously young and yesty wine from an on form producer and this crisp, light wine is perfect to drink chilled on its own or with fish and seafood dishes.

Priorat Spanish Wine - Heredad Soliterra 2004

This one packs a punch at 14.5% and is from the Priorat region of Spain, in Catalunya.  Some say an up and coming area. I say that it is already a star and just needs to secure better distribution to compete with good ole Rioja.

It is made with three grapes - Garnacha, Carignan and Shiraz and the result is a rich, full-bodied mouthful of 'new age' Spanish wine - not a Tempranillo grape in sight!  It is also matured in oak barrels for 3 months which gives it a more rounded and toasty flavour.

2004 was generally a good year for Spanish wine-makers and this is a good result that will complement any lamb, beef or BBQ dinner.  It will keep for another 5 years and will probably be 'a point' this time next year.

Chapel Down Brut NV

I've been meaning to try a bottle of this for ages.  English wines in general are getting a good amount of press at the moment because of the focus on global warming, which (some say) is warming up Britain and making it easier to grow grapes.  Tosh I say.  I think the real reason that English wines are winning awards now is because wine making techniques have improved.

English Wines Group is the largest Engligh wine producer and is based down in Tenterden in Kent.  They are now experimenting with standard grape varietals such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and produce a fairly wide range of white, red, rose and sparkling wines.

Chapel Down Brut NV is one of their best sparkling wines and has been compared to some of the better Champagnes.  They sell it for £15 a bottle with a discount for buying 6 or more online.  I went to France recently and found it selling for £9 a bottle in a wine merchant in Calais, so bought a case and opened one up.

It is a very smart looking bottle/label and fizzed well upon opening.  The liquid was pale with a straw like tinge and didn't give much away on the initial sniff.  Upon tasting, the wine was decidedly biscuity and not as bone dry as I would have liked.  Not a bad mouthful and good value for the money I paid, although I would baulk at paying £15 a bottle for it.

Overall an interesting sparkling wine to open up with friends pre-dinner - it will certainly provoke discussion, but certainly not one to worry the top champagne houses.

Booze Cruise Tips - France

Going on a day trip booze cruise with a mate or two is one of the few pleasures left to the married, 30 something man about town that likes a glass of wine or two.  You see, the wife doesn't mind because (a) you are only gone for the day (b) you are going to save money (working on the same principle that she has when she goes shopping in a sale) and (c) you are likely to be in a good mood when you return because you've had some 'cave space' so she can spring those little DIY jobs on you and you are likely to agree to get them done.  But a day trip to France doesn't leave much time in between travelling to get your work done, so here are a few tips to ensure that you have a successful trip:

1. Get up early and get onto a Ferry or EuroTunnel before the 9am rush
I know it's hard to drag yourself out of bed at 6am on a Saturday morning but truly you will see the benefits.  Around 9am the world descends on Dover/Folkstone and delays WILL occur!

2. Plan your trip well in advance
Getting from one supermarket/wine retailer to another takes time, especially when you get lost, so know where it is you are going and how to get from A to B.

3. Decide what kind of lunch you want
The French are very good at 'Le Long Lunch'.  If you want a fancy meal then prepare to give up your afternoon.  Alternatively, pick up a baguette and some cheese in the SuperMarche and go picnic on the beach (or find a cafe doing Croque Monsieur (!)).

4. Decide what wine you want to buy
Not necessarily this particular chateau from that particular year.  I mean, do you want to buy very good quality wine at a discount to UK prices or do you want to buy 3 euro plonk for everyday quaffing?  The outlets you decide to shop at will be determined by your choices.

5. Stick to a budget
It is very easy to get carried away when you are faced with case loads of vino at tempting prices and the bill soon mounts up.  Keep a careful record of what you have purchased as you go and don't spank the credit card (remember that you will also get commission charges from your bank a few weeks after you return).

6. Remember the exchange rate
If you don't know how many euros to the pound then you are going to be in trouble.

7. Take a Guide Book
Bring along a wine reference book or Vintage Guide to help you - you will be amazed how often you refer to it.

8. Don't miss your train/ferry home
Your wife will be most unhappy and unlikely to ever let you go again (well, you'll be planning the next one in 6 months anyway won't you?!)

Here are some wine buying options for you if you decide to go on a booze cruise to Calais:

Carrefour Calais
This Supermarket is located in Cite Europe, just a couple of miles from the Eurotunnel exit and has a large selection of wines.  However, the wine is definitely tending towards the cheap end of the market, so fill your boots with cases of 3 and 4 euro bottles but don't expect anything too fancy.

Stockton & Marlow Wine Merchant
A delightful wine merchant located in the centre of Calais and focusing on a small but carefully selected range of affordable wines.  Starting at around 2 euros a bottle and going skywards, there is something for everyone here and the friendly owner John Stockton will be happy to open up bottles to let you taste before making your choice.

Calais Vins
An excellent outlet, just off the motorway and very easy to find.  This place carries a huge selection of Bordeaux wines and is a much more upmarket shopping experience than going to the supermarkets.  I likened it to shopping at a large Majestic wine warehouse.

2003 Finca Sobreno Crianza

I recently had a bottle of this red wine from the Toro region of Spain, north west of Madrid and in an area that enjoys very hot summers and very cold winters.

It is made from Tinta de Toro grapes, which is the regional name for Tempranillo, that good old Spanish workhorse of a grape.  This is a big wine and heavy in alcohol at 14%.  2003 was generally a good year in Spain and Finca Sobreno is worthy of a 7/10 rating in my opinion.  I drank it with roast pork and it tasted fantastic.  Open it up and let it breathe for a few hours before serving and you will notice that it is definitely smoother than when you first opened it up.

Waitrose are currently selling it online for £6.64p a bottle.  You can order online here.

1998 Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou

This is a second growth St Julien, from the Medoc region of Bordeaux (left bank).

I bought a case of this for around £250 about 5 years ago and it has been ageing in the cellar ever since.  The 1998 appears to be ready to drink now - I opened the first bottle last night for a taster and decanted it for around 3 hours before serving. It could have done with being decanted for longer, although there was little sediment, I think it would have improved the flavour.

The wine was very smooth, but not quite silky and not too tannic.  It may well keep another few years but judging by that first bottle I would say start drinking now.  It would make an excellent accompaniment to fillet steak.

Berry Bros are selling it for around £58 a bottle, but discounted to around £45 if you buy a case of it.  You can order it online here.

I would give this one 7/10 but will try another bottle in a month or so, decant it for much longer and see what happens.

Château de Fonbel, Grand Cru St. Emilion 2001

I was at The Ivy Restaurant in Central London last night.  Didn't see any celebrities but did pick an excellent wine off their list, which is comprehensive and reasonably priced.  You can look at The Ivy wine list here.

I referred to my Pocket Vintages 2007 Old World Edition whilst perusing the wine list and decided that the Chateau de Fonbel 2001 looked like a good bet.  After all, PV said that 2001 was a very good year for St Emilion.

It was absolutely delicious.  The waiter did not decant it although there was sediment at the end so it would have benefited from decanting.  The wine was smooth, fruity and full of body and went very well with the steak I was tucking into.  This is drinking very nicely now and will probably improve for another couple of years.

I noticed that BBR is selling it for only £12.21 a bottle when you buy a case of 12, which I think is very reasonable.  The Ivy was selling it for £49 a bottle, which is four times mark up.  Click here to order from Berry Bros.