There are also regular free wine tastings, usually held in a local hotel. These are not in any way formal or intimidating, we just put out the wines we have selected, give you a glass and let you work your own way around. We are there to talk about the wines (or anything else) but we do not make a formal presentation or try to preach about them, we prefer to let the wines speak for themselves.

Most times we arrange an optional fixed price meal in the hotel afterwards to make the whole evening more special, and usually most people do stay for the meal which makes a very pleasant social event. The wines are offered at a special discount for orders placed on the night.

We also put on regular promotions for Tasting Club members offering special deals or discounts, details of these in the newsletters.

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Newsletter - 02/09/2009

Hello Everyone
There are so many new products in the shop in the last few months I would bore you to tears listing them all so the highlights are:
Gin made in Northumberland (and very good it is too - from Heddon-on-the-Wall)
Apple Brandy from Dorset
Lots of new beers from local breweries
New wines from Finca el Picador - their Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc have been outstsandingly successful so the range has been supplemented with a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Chardonnay and a Cab Sauv Rose, all at just over a fiver they are one of the best bargains in the shop at present.
New wines from Italy, Chile, and Spain, all priced at around the five pounds mark.
A super Chilean Carmenere called Tonada a deep spicy red at £7.26.
Cream Liqueurs - Butterscotch and Brandy, Chocolate Orange and Double Chocolate - very yummy.

As well as new products most of the old favourites continue - as the shooting season comes round we have lots of Ports, we have five different sloe gins, three damson gins (all local) and all manner of cocktail ingredients.

On a wider note the harvest this year looks to be fairly good in Europe, except for Champagne where mildew took out about 30% of the crop in the springtime, rather fortunate at a time when sales are right down anyway. The English harvest could be good if we get some crucial September sun to ripen the grapes fully. The Australian harvest suffered again with the drought conditions there but again they have a surplus of plantings so overall supply and demand may even out.
New Zealand had a good growing season and 2000 hectares of new plantings came on stream for this harvest (which of course was in our springtime for the southern hemisphere).
Chile had a bumper harvest which is good news as far as keeping the already cometitive prices down and the quality up. Chilean prices are linked to the US dollar which although stronger against the pound than it was has not caused as much price inflation as the sterling euro rate which has been a real problem for European wines.

Something I learnt recently - did you know that the Zinfandel grape so beloved of the Californian producers is in fact the same grape as Primitivo in Italy? And the Italian wines using this grape - mainly from Puglia and Umbria in the south are much cheaper than the American cousins. I recommend our Barocco Primitivo priced at £7.49 a very full, rich wine. Try it.

Finally Brenda our Saturday sales lady wll be back from her round the world tour this week so it will be her not me in the shop again on Saturdays for the next while, do ask her about her amazing travels.

Happy drinking

Jon

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