French Bubbles’ is an artisanal collection of fine quality, limited-production Grower Champagnes with personality and heritage. The carefully sourced selection of 16 different Champagnes, have all been produced by award-winning, family-owned producers committed to creating quality wines from their own vineyards.

Passionate about Champagne, French [...]]]> French Bubbles offers a small collection of grower Champagnes.

Passionate about Champagne, French Bubbles founders, Maud Fierobe  and Stefano Frigerio, wanted to develop a brand with a different and  interesting standpoint and believe they have come up with a unique  proposition that gives French Bubbles that ‘je ne sais quoi’!

Excellent and attractive website with good tasting and background notes on each wine with online ordering. However, could not find address or email details.Frequent tastings with London’s Cave à Fromage(2 December 2011  £40) and la Maison du Chocolat (e.g. 7 December 2011  £50)

more tasting dates

French Bubbles

It was our introduction, in the early nineties, to Laurent Champs, who now runs Champagne Vilmart, that made us realise that there’s more to Champagne than the big names that we’re all so familiar with.

Our knowledge of  champagne growers, and [...]]]> Henry George Wines is a specialist online independent wine merchant focusing on a small number of family-grower Champagnes.

It was our introduction, in the early nineties, to Laurent Champs, who now runs Champagne Vilmart, that made us realise that there’s more to Champagne than the big names that we’re all so familiar with.

Our knowledge of  champagne growers, and the quality of their products, encouraged us to start an online shop where we could showcase their wines. We felt that, in the same way that twenty years ago, when the UK public knew Champagne as a drink which was perceived to be produced only by a small number of big, well known names, today, even as small growers are becoming more well known, people are aware of only a select few of them.

With informative profiles of the growers (6) , good tasting notes and on-line ordering this site offers an opportunity to discover another world of Champagne. No tasting dates available.

Henry George Wines   6 Edburton Gardens Shoreham-by-Sea West Sussex BN43 5GR (office only) t:01273 455800

UK DELIVERY =£7.95 Minimum order- 6 bottles

20% off Portuguese Wine when you buy any 2 Portuguese wines 25% off South African Wine when you buyany 2 SA wines 10% off Spirits when you buy any 2 bottles of spirits 50% off some Champagnes and Sparkling wines

Marco do Pegões [...]]]> Majestic Wine Warehouses are offering some new discounts for February 2009:

20% off Portuguese Wine when you buy any 2 Portuguese wines
25% off South African Wine when you buyany 2 SA wines
10% off Spirits when you buy any 2 bottles of spirits
50% off some Champagnes and Sparkling wines

Marco do Pegões 2006 Terras do Sado Tinto “Recently considered by Charles Metcalf of Wine & Spirit Magazine as one of the five young Portuguese winemakers to watch, Jaime Quendera has produced a rich, full-bodied wine from a blend of native Portuguese and French varieties. Showing ripe blackcurrant and blackberry fruits on the nose, and a hint of spiciness on the palate.” £5.99 – 20%off if you buy 2 or more Portuguese wines.

The Winery in London W9 is holding a pre-Valentine tasting on 11 February 2009 at Clifton Nurseries

Our theme is silk and lace, which means there’ll be plenty of Pinot Noir, beginning with our two sparklies – a pink from Cantina di Casteggio in Oltrepo Pavese, south of Milan and the classic, Pinot-heavy [...]]]>

The Winery in London W9 is holding a pre-Valentine tasting on 11 February 2009 at Clifton Nurseries

Our theme is silk and lace, which means there’ll be plenty of Pinot Noir, beginning with our two sparklies – a pink from Cantina di Casteggio in Oltrepo Pavese, south of Milan and the classic, Pinot-heavy Champagne by Thierry Forget in the Montagne de Reims.
The Pinot theme climaxes with the trinity of Burgundy, Germany and California. How will Thomas Nelles from the Ahr Valley in Germany and the enthusiastic (if slightly absent-minded) Guy Davis from the Russian River Valley in California stack up against Burgundy, Pinot¹s spiritual home?
Other features will be a Rose from the Negrel family in Provence, a biodynamic Chenin Blanc by the bear-like Jo Pithon from the Loire and a dry Riesling from Franken by Graf von Schonborn (that¹s the one in the mad bottle).

The Winery, 4 Cli

fton Road, London W9 1SS

Tickets are £20 each and can be booked by calling 020 7286 6475. Spaces are limited.

10% off all Champagne – use the special code Champers

8% off all Sparkling Wines – use the special code Sparkling

And spend more than £200 and get a £25 discount [...]]]> Online wine merchant Vin Vino is offering some interesting discounts until 31 Dec 2008 when you use some special codes on the order:-

10% off all Champagne – use the special code Champers

8% off all Sparkling Wines – use the special code Sparkling

And spend more than £200 and get a £25 discount using code vino25 – see whats on offer at Vin Vino Direct Ltd

So how wrong can you be – let’s not forget that Newcastle has [...]]]> Somehow you don’t expect to stumble across a purveyor of fine Champagne based in North-East England – Champagne seems almost too ephemeral for the down-to-earth Geordies, more suitable for sipping by the Thames at Henley than by the Tyne at Jarrow!

So how wrong can you be – let’s not forget that Newcastle has always had a vibrant night life, that the redevelopment of the riverside and the arrival of the Baltic Wharf art gallery and the Milennium Bridge have been great successes – I know I’d rather live in the North East than in London!

Lovely Bubbly (great name for a Champagne specialist):-

We are passionate about Champagne, and so are our partners. We deal with family run vineyards producing quality hand crafted champagnes.

Each one has it’s own characteristics and personality, unlike main stream large brand champagnes which are well known for a reason. Their quality is assured by factory-style or large scale production, which results in loss of character.

What we wanted was a Champagne that reflected the TLC given to it by it’s maker. We found more than one, and you can find them all in the Lovely Bubbly online shop.

What we have provided is a fantastic range of quality Premier and Grand Cru champagnes at realistic prices, coupled with unparalleled events management experience to provide you, the customer, a complete Champagne experience.

They certainly have a good range of fizz, including this spectacular art-deco style bottle Cuvée Juline from Georges Vesselle “Vintage of Vintages”, blended from the finest cuvees that the House of Georges Vesselle has. The wines used are all between 5 and 10 years old, a superb celebratory drink or aperitif.” (£46.85 a bottle). They also have less extravagant offerings from £22.99

So don’t go looking for any of the big name brands – these are carefully sourced from small independent growers, but there is plenty of information and advice on the site to help you choose. The “Champagne Expert” for example recommends that “Champagne is best served at between 6 and 10 degrees Celsius. This allows all the flavours and aromas to properly develop.”
Several of the producers warrant a listing in my French wine Bible – Guide Hachette des Vins de France 2008, which only includes wines which have been selected at blind tastings by wine experts.

Whilst some of their business will inevitably be for corporate hospitality, the site remains welcoming to private customers.

Lovely Bubbly – Henry Studdy House, 139 Bedeburn Road, Jarrow,Tyne & Wear, NE32 5AZ
Phone: 0845 2572754 Fax: 0709 2006711

Almost next door was the second treat at Roberson Wine [...]]]> On numerous visits to various exhibitions at London’s Olympia in West Kensington I would indulge in 2 diversions – firstly the Bristol car showroom (368 Kensington High St) where James Bond- style sports cars were on display looking fine, polished, elegant and very desirable!

Almost next door was the second treat at Roberson Wine Merchants (348 Kensington High Street W14) which provided a welcome break from the usually frantic atmosphere of the exhibition hall. This was always a delight with an impressive range of wines – yes some very classy and expensive Burgundies and Bordeaux, but always some interesting discoveries from both the New World and Old World – and usualy some keenly priced binends. I never left without a couple of bottles to manhandle on the train home together with the piles of literature you tend to amass at exhibitions.

Fifteen years ago we began the business of building up what we believe to be the finest place to buy wine in London. From the start, we knew the ingredients; a range of Bordeaux and Burgundies unparalled in all of the city, wines imported from undiscovered producers of fantastic quality and people with the knowledge and enthusiasm to champion the cause of good wine.

Today we continue to believe in the same things. As High Streets are slowly being transformed into one faceless chain we believe there is an ever-growing need for the individual and specialist store. Roberson remain passionate advocates of wines from all over the world that offer value, character and substance. As an independent we are under no obligation to buy any particular producer’s wines. We don’t offer big brands of no discernable merit other than a large marketing budget; we simply choose wines that we like, wines that speak of place and individuality.

The shop, although in modern building, nevertheless has a cool and peaceful atmosphere with stone floors and a basement where they hold regular tastings usually about once a fortnight

Good informative website with online ordering and offers.
UK Delivery = £6.95

Tastings offered

Roberson Wine Merchant.  348 Kensington High Street, London W14 8NS Tel 020 7371 212
(nearest Tube: Kensington Olympia)

Waitrose will be featuring 13 specially sourced small parcel wines from a wide range of less well-known appellations like Quincy, Bergerac, Provence and Lirac and the [...]]]> The French Wine Festival at Waitrose (online and in its stores) runs from 26 March to 27 April 2008 and will feature a total of 48 wines.

Waitrose will be featuring 13 specially sourced small parcel wines from a wide range of less well-known appellations like Quincy, Bergerac, Provence and Lirac and the wonderfully unusual Pierre Boniface Domaine des Rocailles Apremont de Savoie 2007 and La Bastide Blanche Bandol 2005 Provence.

Some highlights:

Champagne Taittinger Rose NV, save £7, £38.99 – £31.99 (A delightfully fresh and youthful pink champagne with mouth-wateringly delicate flavours of crushed wild raspberries and red cherries, perfect forearly summer as an aperitif or with strawberries. )

Vouvray AC Champteloup Vieux Vauvert 2006/07 Vouvray, 20% off, £5.99 – £4.79 (A fine, medium Chenin from the tuffeau terroir properties around the towns of Vouvray and Rochecorbon, famous for the production of these deliciously soft-textured, waxy wines.)

Bergerac AC Domaine des Eyssards Bergerac Rouge 2005 25% off, £5.99 – £4.49 (Another brilliant wine from Pascal Cuisset of Domaine des Eyssards in Bergerac. A traditional Merlot / Cabernet Franc blend yet with a soft,almost modern generosity in the mid-palate.)

Mercurey AC Blanc 2006, Philippe Hardi, 20% off, £13.99- £10.99 (A Burgundy Chardonnay using a combination of modern cool-ferment vinification followed by malolactic in barrel where the wine stays for a year, with regular lees stirring, to achieve theunmistakeable classic Burgundy signature with some modern fruit expression.)

Quincy AC (Loire) Domaine de la Pierre qui Danse 2006 Quincy, 20% off, £8.99 – £7.19. (Simple delicate, grassy style from this Domaine with its pretty name, the land of the dancing stones.)

Apremont de Savoie AC Pierre Boniface Domaine des Rocailles 2007, 20% off, £7.49 – £5.99 (a refreshing citrus acidity and a light grapefruit flavour.)

Lirac AC Domaine du Joncier 2005 Rhône, save 1/3, £8.99 – £5.99 (The Domaine is run by the charming Marine Roussell, who featured last year in Oz and James’ Great Wine Adventure. The wine is dense and beefy, with a good deal of brooding rich fruit and great concentration.)

Bandol AC La Bastide Blanche 2005 Provence, 25% off, £11.99 – £8.99 (Hugely impressive example of this most remarkable of appellations using the traditional Mourvedre grape as the backbone to the wine. …it encompasses the spice and complexities of Grenache, Cinsault and Carignan as well as the black, damson fruit of Mourvedre andSyrah.)

Minervois AC Château Maris Organic Syrah 2006, 25% off, £7.99 – £5.99 (An extremely lively Syrah from the irrepressible Bertie Eden at his Biodynamic estate in the Minervois. This is full of bright and peppery raspberry fruit, with a twist of liquorice and is a highly drinkable style.)

Waitrose Wine Direct

What sets The French Wine People apart from the dozens of other smaller French specialists, apart from a nicely designed website?

Some of the more eclectic wines include a Savagnin from the Jura, [...]]]> Based in Matlock in Derbyshire, The French Wine People are importers of wines from across the regions of France.

What sets The French Wine People apart from the dozens of other smaller French specialists, apart from a nicely designed website?

Some of the more eclectic wines include a Savagnin from the Jura, a good range of aged Armagnac’s and Cognacs and I notice, of all things, a Cave amongst the sparkling/Champagne listings. The dessert wine section has a few non-French infiltrators – the Brown Brothers range from Australia and stickies from Germany and California.

Nice to see a pink Sancerre and unusual blends from Cabardes too.

Prices range from £4.50 right up to £100 plus for the top Clarets but generally sit below the £15 mark. The range is not huge but does appear to be very selective and personally chosen.

Postage is ‘at cost’ working out at £9.95 per parcel fro most of the UK but is free within 20 miles of Matlock.

The French Wine People
Hopton Courtyard
7 Snitterton Road
Matlock
Derbyshire DE4 3LZ

With over 10 years experience in the Champagne industry in France, Champagne par Excellence is an independent Champagne supplier, offering exclusive, individual, award-winning [...]]]> The website for Champagnes par Excellence is still showing a holding page with no contact or summary details so maybe the business is not living up to its claims in 2007:-

With over 10 years experience in the Champagne industry in France, Champagne par Excellence is an independent Champagne supplier, offering exclusive, individual, award-winning champagnes to the public and private sectors across the UK at affordable prices, as well as providing Personalisation services and organising Champagne tasting events with tutorials. Established in 2006, the business is located in both Eastleigh and London for a wider distribution.

The business supplies unique Premier Cru Champagnes from Pierrel that are imported from Epernay, France and have won many awards, including 4 Silver Medals at the 2007 International Wine Challenge. The Champagne bottles themselves are works of art, all individually crafted with the most beautiful and unusual designs, making them ideal for gifts at Christmas, weddings, celebrations, parties, and they are available with a colour-coordinated gift box from the online shop at a very competitive price.

With state of the art facilities, including an online shop, two warehouses, distribution centres throughout the UK and experienced staff, the company not only provides a professional supply of Champagne wines, but also organises Champagne tasting events with tutorials, and also designs personalised tags and sleeves for the Champagne bottles for businesses and private clients with branding in mind. The personalisation services can be designed to the customer’s own requirements, enabling them to get a truly personalised and unique product for their parties, product launches, gifts,

etc. Just three producers are listed by Champagne Par Excellence – Pierrel, Marquis de la Fayette and Bernard Brémont.

The Hachette Guide to French Wines comes to the rescue.

The Pierrel Cuvee Tradition is recommended (£16.82 CPE) “it memorably evokes brioche and fruit on the nose, and a touch of spice too, all with great elegance. Its freshness will be as much appreciated served as an aperitif, as alongside a fillet of John Dorey with sweet onions” CPE list 15 wines from this Epernay negociant.

The Bernard Brémont range numbers seven wines with the vintage (£22.56 CPE) listed in the guide. “Its range of flavours mingles toasty, smoky, bready, honeyed notes with hints of fig and it has a well-balanced palate of pleasing vigour”

Thumbs up all round for the range then.

Delivery is a little high at £10.00 (+VAT) for 1 or 2 cases of Champagne. For an overnight guaranteed delivery to any UK address an additional £2.00 (+VAT) per case is charged. Minimum order is 6 bottles and am assuming this is an unmixed six.