With 150 or more wines on taste, and producers/negociants to talk with – this will be [...]]]> Fareham Wine Cellar has featured several times in our scan of good independent wine merchants, and now comes a chance to taste many of the wellc-chosen wines on offer at their bi-annual Portfolio Tasting on 27 October 2010.

With 150 or more wines on taste, and producers/negociants to talk with – this will be a wondeful opportunity to taste a wide variety of their offerings – and at a very reasonable £10 a head – bookable in advance – spittoons provided!

Port is one of their specialities, as is South African wine – but not at the expense of a wide range of wines from most parts of the world – chosen with care.

We stock a wine range of wines including Claret, Burgundy, Rhone, Champagne and many other French wines. There are also wines from Spain, Italy, Portugal and Germany. The New World is well-represented and we have a large selection of wines from Australia, New Zealand, North and South America and particularly South Africa. We specialise in Port Wines, particularly Vintage and Colheita Port, and have a good selection of Sherry and Madeira. You can search our list by year if you are looking for a present for a special birthday or anniversary present. There are various Ports, Cognacs, Armagnacs and Scotch Whiskies, as well as wines, from various vintages.

The shop in Fareham is well worth a visit – the website looks a bit homely and does not include online ordering, but nevetheless the reputation and enthusiasm of Dominic Lockyer and his crew makes up for this omission – the site is easy to navigate and there are  good tasting notes on each wine. Regular newsletters and a blog!

Fareham Wine Cellar 5 High Street , Fareham, Hants SO16 7BG

t:01329 822733  e: dominic@farehamwinecellar.co.uk

Win a wine lover’s dream holiday to South Africa Buy any [...]]]> Adnams, the respected East Anglian brewer, hotel keeper and independent wine merchant hosts a free tasting weekend on 11/12 June 2010 – AND is also offering a chance to win a superb holiday on a South African vineyard estate (after the World Cup)

Win a wine lover’s dream holiday to South Africa
Buy any 12 bottles of South African wine
to be entered into a draw to win a five-night stay for two people at the beautiful Seidelberg Estate
vineyard in Paarl.

For more info see Adnams Cellar & Kitchen

4 Drayman Square,Victoria Street, Southwold, Suffolk IP18 6G

Other branches in Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Essex and in Richmond, West London.

Buy any 12 bottles of South African wine
to be entered into a draw to win a five-night stay for two people at the beautiful Seidelberg Estate
vineyard in Paarl.

The chairmen of the IWC, Tim Atkin, Charles Metcalfe and Derek Smedley will be tasting the wine produced by two unlikely South African winemakers at the end [...]]]> The last episode of BBC4′s “Wine” series goes behind the scenes of the International Wine Challenge (IWC)  “the most comprehensive and influential blind tasting in the world”

The chairmen of the IWC, Tim Atkin, Charles Metcalfe and Derek Smedley will be tasting the wine produced by two unlikely South African winemakers at the end of their quest to produce wines worthy of an IWC accolade.

Showing on BBC4 TV on Monday 2 March 2009 at 9pm (with several repeats)

Oupa Rangaka and Mark Solms are unlikely two wine producers. Six years ago, Oupa, a retired philosophy professor, didn’t even drink wine, let alone make it. Today he and his family, including three-year-old grandson Kwena, are the only black people to own a vineyard in South Africa. Its survival depends on their ongoing relationship with Marks and Spencer and convincing the judges at London’s International Wine Challenge that their pinotage passes muster.

Mark is a world-renowned neuroscientist who inherited the family business, and is struggling to reconcile his idealistic plans for the farm with the practical realities of post-apartheid South Africa. He worries that the harvest festival he is organising may degenerate into an orgy of violence and drunkenness

Via the struggles of these two remarkable men, wine becomes a prism through which to view the current state of the Rainbow Nation.

for more info see BBC4 TV and www.internationalwinechallenge.com/

For more about the wines see www.mhudi.com and www.solms-delta.co.za/

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.

We will be showing three white wines, three red wines and [...]]]> Alastair and Jayne MacBrayne. at Dorjé’s Wine Company present a Fish Banquet with Ronell Wiid, the award winning winemaker of Hazendal Estate, Stellenbosch, in South Africa, who is making a special visit to the Virgins and Castle in Kenilworth,Warwickshire. Tuesday, October 7th, 2008.

We will be showing three white wines, three red wines and the award winning Straw Dessert Wine as a special treat with the dessert.

For more info contact Dorjé’s Wine, Unit 4, Rigby Close, Heathcote Industrial Estate, Warwick, CV34 6TH, or email: info@dorjes.co.uk

Tel: 01926 430550

The iconic Meerlust Estate needs no introduction and we invite you to join SA Wines Online and Hannes Myburgh, 8th generation owner of Meerlust Estate, at the exotic South African restaurant, Chakalaka, on 20th February 2008 for a wine [...]]]> South African wine specialist SA Wines Online is organising a wine dinner. They write -

The iconic Meerlust Estate needs no introduction and we invite you to join SA Wines Online and Hannes Myburgh, 8th generation owner of Meerlust Estate, at the exotic South African restaurant, Chakalaka, on 20th February 2008 for a wine dinner. Hannes Myburgh will present 5 Meerlust Wines, including the newly released Cabernet Sauvignon and the renowned Rubicon. These will be served with a two course meal and cheese platter to match the sumptuous red wines.

Tickets are limited so please book now to avoid disappointment

Date: 20 February
Time: 6:30 drinks reception, with a 7pm start
Place: Chakalaka Restaurant, 136 Upper Richmond Rd, SW15 2SP MAP
Tube/Train: East Putney on the District line or Putney Station on overland
Tickets: £60 per person and can be booked through Julia: Julia@sawinesonline.co.uk or 0845 456 2365

Currently they list 10 wines ranging in price from £6.95 for a Chenin Blanc up to the estates top cuvee Paulina’s Reserve 2003 for £16.95. The wines are of great [...]]]> Just one range of wines available from Great Wine Online as this is the UK outlet for the Rickety Bridge Winery of South Africa.

Currently they list 10 wines ranging in price from £6.95 for a Chenin Blanc up to the estates top cuvee Paulina’s Reserve 2003 for £16.95. The wines are of great quality – 2000 vintage of the Shiraz won the Regional South Africa Rhône Varietal Over £10 Trophy with Decanter’s wine awards (there are on to the 2003 vintage now).

“With a cellar policy of minimal interference, Rickety Bridge Winery is one of the most progressive boutique wineries in South Africa, producing a distinctive range of high quality, hand-crafted, award-winning wines in limited quantities. Owned and operated by the winery’s owner, Great Wine Online shares the winery’s aims to provide the highest standards of excellence in all it does, and to make it easy for consumers to buy Rickety Bridge wines in the UK.”

There are currently three mixed case special offers available at £65, £88 or £106 – great value in saving 25% off the normal retail price.

Great Wine UK Ltd
18 Marcham Road
Abingdon
Oxfordshire
OX14 1AA

A few years ago, when I had a hand in organising small wine fairs, SA Wines Online often attended; their wines being highly popular. They operate out of South West London with sales through the functional website. Delivery [...]]]> As the name suggests an independent merchant that specialises in offering wines from across South Africa.

A few years ago, when I had a hand in organising small wine fairs, SA Wines Online often attended; their wines being highly popular. They operate out of South West London with sales through the functional website. Delivery is just £5.99 per order with a delivery aim of 2-3 working days from the time of order. A case of 12 wines is the minimum order.

The range is as good as I remember from the wine fair days – with wines representing all the major producers (Nederburg, Boschendal, Glen Carlou, Pongrácz, Graham Beck, Veenwouden, Jordan and many more). The front page of the website promotes new listings. Here lies the interest – wines from producers you probably haven’t encountered before. Temptingly described wines from Pierre Jourdan & Haute Cabriére, Raats, Seidelberg, Slowine, Theuniskraal and Tassenberg for example.

While the half the fun is in constructing your own mixed case of wine, not all have the time or inclination to do so; handy then that SA Wines Online offers a range of pre-mixed cases. These range from an Everyday White collection at £60 through to a Five Star Rated case at £175.

SA Wines Online also offers £10 off your first order.