Christmas Kick Start at The Wine Store

I'm really getting in the Christmas mood now.  The shop's full of great Christmas wines (including a host of special deals spuriously entitled 'The Twelve Wines of Christmas"), we've a Christmas Tree in the window and I'm even thinking of getting the Christmas tunes on the stereo.

To keep me feeling festive I'll be opening wines to taste every day until Christmas, and I hate throwing wine away so make sure you visit and sample some wine with me. Today is Friday so I think we'll open four Christmas Crackers:  the perfect wines for this December.

The other good news is that we've finally finished off our retail wine list.  This can be found on our website here:  http://www.red-white.co.uk/wine_list.php and I'll have some copies in store very soon.

Red+White Christmas Wine Tasting

RED&WHITE’S 

annual Christmas Wine Tasting 

is at the South Sands Hotel,
Salcombe on Wednesday 1st December,
from 6.00pm until 8.30pm.

With over 80 wines open to taste, and plenty of wine
trade experts there to guide you through the range,
it is an informative and enjoyable way to
select some great wines for Christmas.

Tickets are £10 per person, payable in advance.
To book please call 01548 853 898 or
e-mail shop@red-white.co.uk

The South Sands Hotel are offering a set-menu
Dinner afterwards; £14.95 for 2 course and £19.95
for 3 courses. Booking via the hotel advised.

Fantastic tasting with Pedro Benito

This Wednesday's tasting with Pedro if Urbina Rioja was just brilliant.  Pedro's a great speaker and managed to keep the 30 strong crowd in the shop enthralled for well over an hour and a half!  His delicious Riojas may have helped a little.

 It's rare that a tasting throws up a series of wines that so perfectly show a progression of style (and price) whilst retaining a clear family identity.  With the exception of the new 'PLOT' wine, Urbina's style is unashamedly traditional, and textbook Rioja Alta stuff:  fine-boned, elegant fruit with the oak in perfect harmony.  Frankly, it's hard to pick a winner from the night as each wine performed it's job perfectly, but the PLOT was the most popular, and the Gran Reserva Especial 1994 really showed it's class!




Here's a quick video of some of what you missed!

Winestock: The Aftermath!

Wow, what a day!  Yes, I know this report on WInestock is being posted a little late, but I had so much fun I had to take a holiday!

Anyway, here's a full report on Winestock (click on the image below to read a full size version):

WINESTOCK: Red+White's Summer Wine Festival

This summer's greatest wine event is here:

Click the image to view it in a larger format

Call 01548 853898 to book your tickets today

Tasting with Domaine Begude

We were delighted to welcome James Kinglake of Domaine Begude to the store on Thursday night for a fantastic tasting of his wines.
Running through his range of whites (and refreshing rose), from the amazing value 'Amelie' (named after his daughter who also made a brief appearance) to the classy 'Etoile de Begude' and controversial 'L'Exotique', James gripped the crowd with his tales of winemaking exploits in the south of France and his philosophy on wine, organics and much more.
Below is just a short exerpt from the evening in which James describes his experience of the 2009 vintage (it was a warm, sticky night so we tasted with the door open, hence the annoying traffic noise):

Wine World Cup Semi Final Result

A comprehensive victory by SPAIN in last week's Semi Final sees them through to the final on the 15th.  Who will join them?
USA and ARGENTINA play for their final place tomorrow evening (Fri 2nd) between 5 and 7 - join us to help decide the final line up!

Tickets for the final on the 15th, which takes the form of a fully tutored tasting, can be bought for a tiny fee of £5 by calling 01548 853898.

Wine World Cup: The SEMI FINALS are here!

Last week's Group 2 tasting was very exciting, with a closely fought battle between Australia and USA for 2nd place ending in a victory for the Americans, who join winners Italy in the Semi Finals.

Tomorrow (that's Friday 24th June) will bring the first of the Semi Finals, between last week's winners ITALY, managed by Liam and SPAIN (under Chris' guidance), runners up from Group 1.


In the Semi Finals, each country will be represented by 4 wines - 2 whites and 2 reds, chosen by the managers who will give a quick presentation about them at 5pm before you taste and score them.  REMEMBER, we just want to know which wines you like, so you don't need to be an expert.

The tasting is between 5 and 7pm on Friday 25th June but you can join in by tasting the wines on Saturday or all of next week too.

It's hotting up, so time you got involoved!

The Results are in: Wine World Cup Group 1

A shock early exit for France last week as Argentina (1st) and Spain (2nd) progress to the semi finals.

Andy is delighted with his team's win, whilst Liam is licking his wounds and planning a comeback with Italy this week.  Joint top wines of the night were Finca Los Prados Chenin/Semillon and Quinta el Refugio Toro.

Take part in the Group 2 Tasting on Friday 18th by coming along to the store between 5 and 7pm and tasting for free!  Tomorrow's teams are:  Italy
                                                  Germany
                                                  USA
                                                  Australia

It's really easy to join in.  Just come along, taste the 8 wines on show and give us your marks out of 10 for each (you don't have to be an expert, we just want to know what you like).

There's a short presentation by the teams' managers at 5pm (each Red+White staff member is managing a team and we're getting very competitive about it so sparks may fly) but you can taste any time until we close at 7 or on any day throughout the following week.

See you there!

Meet the Winemaker Tasting: Domaine Begude

Following his aborted attempt to get over in May, I'm delighted to announce that James Kinglake from Domaine Begude will be joining us (ash clouds permitting) for an IN-STORE Tasting on Thursday 1st July

TASTING:  Meet the Winemaker, Domaine Begude
Date:  Thursday 1st July
Time:  7pm
Veue:  The WIne Store, 99 Fore St, Kingsbridge
Tickets:  £5 per person, available on 01548 853 898

Owned by an English couple from the South Hams who are living the dream in the south of France, Begude make some of the best Limoux wines going. Not only are their wines favourites at Red+White but they get great press write-ups too, most recently in Decanter Magazine. Hardly surprising really when they make one of the best French Chardonnays outside Burgundy!

Give me a call or email me chris@red-white.co.uk and get your place booked soon.

Wine World Cup Starts Tomorrow

I know it's a cliche to use the World Cup as a theme for store events, but frankly I just couldn't resist!
All throughout June we'll be holding mini-tastings on Friday evening that will double up as fixtures in the Red+White Wine World Cup.

8 top winemaking countries will be competing for the top prize, managed by members of the Red+White team (we're getting quite competitive about this and there's already a whiff of skullduggery in the air), and judged by you, the discerning public!

Here's how it works:
There are three rounds :Round 1, Semi Finals and Final.  In round one, four countries will compete per tasting, represented by 2 wines each.  You come in, taste them and score them out of 10 (you don't need to be an expert, just tell us which you like).  The two countries with the highest aggregate scores go through to the Semi Final.  In the Semis, countries will be paired off and will compete directly against each other, represented by four wines, and the winner will go through to the Final, which is a fully tutored tasting on the 15th July.

Matches take place on Fridays throughout June between 5 and 7pm and the wines can be tasted and scored throughout the following week.

Oh, and the bad news is that England went out in the qualifying round (great whites up front but the defensive reds failed them).

See you at the match.

What does Olli Smith Know?

Here are my suggested wines for this morning's Saturday Kitchen. Really, do you trust a man who chooses those shirts?

Heaven Dish: Roast herb chicken etc: Domaine Begude Amelie Chardonnay, Limoux £6.50. Just arrived, this is James Kinglake's latest offering at it's fresh, crackly fruit is perfect for this dish.

Hell: Hot and Sour Monkfish: Pinot Gris/Grigio for me here. Ninth Island's Tasmanian version would be perfect (£12), or Terre di Montelusa for a more budget option (£6)

Warm Smoked Mackerel: Why buy wine from Kent when Sharpham makes fantastic wines so close by. Dart Valley Reserve's slight smokiness from the oak wil compliment this beautifully (£9.50)

Cod Cheeks with Mussels and Chorizo: This just screams Albarino at me - Pazo Barrantes is expensive but awesome at £14.50, but but The Mill Verdelho from Australia would work well too (£8)

and finally, for the Goat's Chees Cream, Domaine Durban Muscat de Beaumes de Venise - £10 for a half or £12.50 for a full bottle.

More Free Tastings

Highlihts of last Friday's Chilean mini-tasting were a magnificent Sauvignon Blanc from Casa Marin and a smooth, chocolatey Carmenere from Secreto (the secret is that there's something other than Carmenere hiding in there!)

This week we're tasting some of Italy's quirkier offerings (just a few wines to choose from them). Particularly looking forward to trying our new Salice Salentino from Masserio Pietrosa and a cheeky frizzante Malvasia in the Asti style - now if that's not a bit odd, I don't know what is!

Minerale +++

A beautiful day again in Kingsbridge - just perfect for a chilled white on the beach!

Spaeking of beautiful days, I rounded off an afternoon's gardening on Sunday with a glass or two of Franzt Saumon's stunning Minerale +. This cracker from Montlouis, just nextdoor to Vouvray in the Loire valley is a great example of how well this area does Chenin Blanc. Rich and expressive but deliciously balanced and full of baked apple fruit.

My theme for this week is to work on a new idea - a Wine World Cup to run alongside the football one this year. Watch this space, it's going to be fun!

Impromptu tastings and Pimms for the weekend

Great little tasting yesterday evening at the shop - a bit impromtu but I think we might do something regularly on Fridays.
We tasted 5 wines from the Languedoc (well, the Provence rose is stretching the point a little but you know what I mean). Standouts were the Domaine Begude Limoux Chardonnay - very burgundian and totally classy for less than a tenner - Ollieux Romanis Corbieres (nice to see some restraint here, but no lack of seductive perfume and earthy minerality) and that lovely salmon pink rose.


Just to prove we've been listening, we've filled the Kingsbridge Pimms void just in time for a cracking BBQ weekend.

Sadie Family lauded as best in South Africa

Delighted to read this morning that a panel of top experts have chosen two of Eben Sadies as the best in South Africa: Collumela as best red and Palladius as joint best white. They're not exactly everyday wines, but Sequillo is a bit more accessible at £16 - and stunning too!
Read more on their triumph here: http://bit.ly/ag1ay9
On a contrasting note, we've had a nice extension to our spirit range delivered today - on or two more affordable bottles - Bells, Bombay Sapphire etc. Oh, and some cheeky cigarettes!

Chris

New wines galore

An exciting delivery of new wines arrived on my door this morning - here are some of the highlights:
Shaw and Smith Sauvignon Blanc - one of Adelaide Hills' finest.
Chateau Saint Baillon - delicious Provencal Rose - that gorgeous salmon pink colour!
Urbina Rioja Gran Reserva
Omrah Shiraz - from Plantagenet in WA
and the one I'm really excited about tasting.. Gianni Voerzio's Moscato d'Asti.

I also cracked open a bottle of Hecht and Bannier's organic Languedoc - a lovely perfume with real earthiness from the Carignan in the blend.

Right, I'm off home to drink fizzy sweet Italian stuff

Chris

Volcano ruins Red and White Tasting!

If I'd thought about all the things that would get in the way of our first in-store tasting, with James from Domaine Begude, a volcanic eruption in Iceland would have been some way down the list, just behind finding that all of our wines suddenly turning to water in the bottle. Grave news then that James has been caught up in today's flight cancellations so won't make it to the store next week for our Meet the Winemaker session.

The good news is that James will be coming back in early summer (barring any more natural disasters) so we'll do a proper tasting with him then.

In the meantime, we've got a consignment of his wines arriving next week, so bag yourself a sneak preview by popping into the shop for a bottle.

Chris

James Kinglake, Domaine Begude, Wine Tasting

James Kinglake from Domaine Begude is back in the homeland for a few days this month and will be visiting Red and White the Wine Store on Fore Street on Thursday 22nd April. He’d love it if you’d join us, any time between 5 and 7, for a quick chat and a taste of one or two of his delicious wines.

Begude are one of my very favourite wineries, owned by a couple from the South Hams who are living the dream in the south of France, making some of the best Limoux wines going – you may have tried their Chardonnay ‘Le Bel Ange’ which has been going down a storm in the shop.

See you there!

Chris


P.S. Drop me an email chris@red-white.co.uk to let me know if you can
come – I wouldn’t want to run out of wine!