All of our wines are special to us, great value and come mostly from smaller independent Vignerons that we know well and who have passionately cared for their terroir and vines for many generations. We focus on the wines of [...]]]> An independent online wine merchant specialising in Bordeaux and the Loire -Bordeaux & Beyond

All of our wines are special to us, great value and come mostly from smaller independent Vignerons that we know well and who have passionately cared for their terroir and vines for many generations. We focus on the wines of Bordeaux and the Loire with small selections from other regions of France. We operate on below industry margins by importing the wines ourselves directly into a UK bonded warehouse and by running on minimal overheads. This means that our customers get maximum wine quality from each £ that they spend rather than pay for all the other additional costs that other wine companies have to load into the selling price.

The “beyond” includes the Loire and Champagne, but also Rhone, Burgundy and Languedoc. Website is straightfoward, with online ordering available, but personal contact is probably best. No shop, but tastings offered in conjunction with ASDW

Boordeaux et Beyond Thistle Down Barn, Holcot Lane, Sywell, Northants, NN6 0BG (office only) t:01933 664262

UK Delivery = £10.20

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.

Wine is [...]]]> The Institut Francais, a french version of the British Council, holds regular tutored tastings of French wines at their premises in Central London. This is part of an ongoing series, and whilst previous sessions have included a “Tour de France” and “Evaluating Quality” there remain some interesting sessions in the 2007/8 programme.

Wine is vital to French culture, as we hope to show during these exclusive wine tasting sessions. We aim to make them as informative and enjoyable as possible.

Our Regular Sessions are conceived as an introduction to an area, such as Bordeaux, Burgundy or the South, while Special Tastings are more specialised and focus on cépages and types of wine.

Each session starts at 7.00pm, lasts about 2 hours and takes place in the Institut’s beautiful wood panelled library.

Classic’ Red Wines of Burgundy (28 April 2008)
The Loire Valley (12 May 2008)
Vin Rosé (2 June 2008)
Fine White Wines of Burgundy (16 June 2008)

But beware, you do need to book well in advance – and there is a charge (discount for members).

Institut Francais, 17 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2DT – box.office@ambafrance.org.uk

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

For one week only, we are offering 15% off a large selection of wines from our main list. This is no ordinary sale and these [...]]]> Online French specialists Leon Stolarski Fine Wines offer new classics from Languedoc, Roussillon, Southern Rhone and Beaujolais (and South West France, Loire, Alsace…..) and have a special offer available:

For one week only, we are offering 15% off a large selection of wines from our main list. This is no ordinary sale and these are not bin-ends, but represent genuine reductions on 60-odd of the very best wines from our core list. But hurry – this offer ends on 31 March 2008!

You can download their sale price list HERE – but hurry as the sale only lasts until 31 arch 2008!

Surf4wine is the web site of UK wine merchant Andrew Chapman.

Our web site is intended to be informative, easy to navigate and not take lots of your valuable time to download. It is [...]]]> Operational since 1988 Surf4Wine was one of the pioneers of the internet-based mail order wine merchant scene in the UK.

Surf4wine is the web site of UK wine merchant Andrew Chapman.

Our web site is intended to be informative, easy to navigate and not take lots of your valuable time to download. It is updated regularly with the latest information on our wines, the regions they are produced in, services we offer, as well as regular special offers and mixed case selections. We hope you enjoy our content and offers and want to visit again.

It’s a dynamic little operation and while they admit that the website has lacked in the update department recently a chat with Andrew Chapman indicates that things are about to improve. Not only is an expansion of the Oxfordshire warehouse and offices about to begin a new ‘backend’ of the website is soon to be launched. Coupled with a new staff and a range of new wines things are going from strength to strength for Surf4Wine.

The wine range is world encompassing with a slight slant of favouritism to the new world. There are many gems on the list ranging from Brokenwood, Bremerton and Qupe through to Kim Crawford and Vergelegen. Plenty of gift packs – such as a seasonal six pack rosé case and a smattering of spirits and some unusual beers completes the range.

Personal service is vital to the success of the company shown through Chapman’s professional staff and attention to detail. Buy with confidence.
UK Delivery = £12.50

Tastings offered

Surf4Wine  264 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 7DY (Office)

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

Several branches of Oddbins have or are in the process of being converted to the Nicolas brand (Henley-on-Thames, [...]]]> The Nicolas chain, is a French company owned by Casel, the same parent company of Oddbins. They have only recently broken out from their London heartland and now list 51 stores in the UK.

Several branches of Oddbins have or are in the process of being converted to the Nicolas brand (Henley-on-Thames, Beaconsfield for example); a shame in my opinion as the range is vastly smaller and, apart from a smattering of New World wines, is nearly exclusively France focused.

The website, has an English language version, (I dread to think what they mean by “Caution ! We do not go up the goods in the floors !” though) with prices listed in Euros.

All the French regions are covered – Champagne, Rhone, Alsace, Bordeaux etc – with good ranges across the board, although nothing from Pic St Loup is listed. Several pages of fine wines and Armagnac’s are available if you are feeling flush, while at the other end of the scale there are many special offers.

Each wine has basic details attached – a brief suggested food match, grape composition and perfunctory tasting notes (simply full bodied and the like). One indication of a wines popularity are the user votes. A pop-up box allows a grading of 1-5 grapes. I do wonder how many people can be bothered to go back and vote on a wine once consumed mind.

Many of the cheaper wines are listed with a six bottles minimum purchase, more expensive products are not restricted. Delivery to the UK costs 1 to 6 bottles : 19 EUROS TTC which I assume means multiples of 6 bottles attract the charge. No mention of free delivery with large orders.

The on-line wine list appears broader and more in-depth than the UK based stores. While not familiar with the wines listed the new store opening near me will be an excellent opportunity for exploration. Keep an eye on Spittoon for specific wine tasting notes.

Artisan Wines concentrates on supplying wines in the £6 to £10 bracket, where the [...]]]> Artisan Wines has a simple approach: authentic French wines produced by small passionate producers, delivered to your door complete with informative tasting notes. My fellow internet wine writer Chris The Wine Doctor has crowned them ‘the best retailer of 2006′.

Artisan Wines concentrates on supplying wines in the £6 to £10 bracket, where the price to quality ratio is particularly strong. Only the Sparkling wine category (listing just one wine) and the rose selection (two wines) seem a little lacking.

The Rhone fills the red wine (virtual) shelves with whites from the Loire and the Rhone. Not a huge/daunting selection by any means.

You might be more tempted by the mixed case selections (ranging from £70 to £105) or the ‘first-come, first served offers‘ of hard to get wines. Special offers – clearance lines – are also featured. Currently a special Spring sale is under way with various price reductions.

Delivery is free of charge for orders over £150 on the UK mainland. For orders under £150 an additional charge of £5 will be added for postage & packaging. Which is very reasonable.

What marks out The Winery is the individual wines listed. Each is personally sourced and imported with almost all being exclusive to [...]]]>

What marks out The Winery is the individual wines listed. Each is personally sourced and imported with almost all being exclusive to the company. The wine list is packed with ‘unknowns’ – Mittnacht-Klack from Alsace, Tarlant Champagne, Wild Hog from California and Cheveau from Burgundy.

Strengths are in France – each region well represented by wines worthy of exploration, plus Spain, California and Italy. There is a superb list of dessert wines, mostly from Germany. New Zealand and South America are absent and Australia is poorly represented by just one producer though.

Unlike many London independents the wines are more than affordable with most coming in at under £20 a bottle. Delivery, if you can’t make it to either of the stores, costs £10 per case of 12, or free with 3 or more cases. Sadly no online ordering.

(pull)The Winery At Liberty 2nd Floor Liberty
Regent Street
London(/pull)