tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26607124581029555952024-02-22T23:42:23.702-08:00binendwinesBrian at binendwineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12213927445623028005noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660712458102955595.post-43424391500667042292013-08-07T06:37:00.003-07:002013-08-07T06:37:42.716-07:00In the heart of Rioja<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We spent a lovely couple of weeks touring the north of Spain for our recent holiday, including an overnight stay in Laguardia - the "capital" of the Rioja Alavesa sub-region.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We stayed in a hotel just on the outskirts of the medieval walled city, which is on a hilltop overlooking vineyards all around, with the impressive Sierra de Cantabria mountains to the north.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the evening we wandered up to the city for a walk around and a drink, and what a beautiful place it is. There are really only two cobbled streets running north to south, with little cross alleys in between. All narrow and cobbled - no cars - with bars and restaurants. Though this is not just a tourist place - there are plenty of occupied houses. In fact it is hardly touristy at all.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The most surprising thing - though given where it is, perhaps not such a surprise - is that the bars and the ares outside, are full of people drinking glasses of wine. The odd caña of cerveza, but mainly wine. Old men, young men, old women, and young women - all drinking the local Rioja - red, white or rosado. At at prices around €1.20 - 2.00 per glass why wouldn't you?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Laguardia is the home for many Rioja companies, including Solar Rioja, which is represented on BInendwines' website with their Red and their White. Both of these are superb examples of wine from the Rioja Alavesa and are on our list at a considerable discount to the original prices. In fact we have recently reduced the prices even further.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Red is just £5.50 - and the white £5.25.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You will not find better value anywhere.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Click on this link for the red - </span><a href="http://www.binendwines.co.uk/Rioja-Solar-Viejo-DOC" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">http://www.binendwines.co.uk/Rioja-Solar-Viejo-DOC</a><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">and this for the White - <a href="http://www.binendwines.co.uk/Rioja-Blanco-Solar-Viejo">http://www.binendwines.co.uk/Rioja-Blanco-Solar-Viejo</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Brian Binns</span><br />
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<br />Brian at binendwineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12213927445623028005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660712458102955595.post-69012615880512560842012-01-11T07:35:00.000-08:002012-01-11T07:57:00.648-08:00<span style="font-weight:bold;">A Tale of Two Wines</span><br /><br />This is the story of two Australian Red Wines.<br /><br />The first is “Masterpeace Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon” by Andrew Peace Wines, making a nice pun on the owner’s surname – not that Brian Binns of Binendwines would ever do such a thing!<br /><br />This wine comes from the “catch-all” area of South East Australia, where vineyards along the Murray River valley straddle the three states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, hence the convoluted “regional” description. This is a vast area, where the making of wines often requires lorry trains of grapes being transported overnight to wineries to be vinified into wine. This is not to decry all wines from South East Australia, after all the vast majority of major branded wines come from here; brands such as Jacobs Creek, Hardy’s, Lindeman’s, etc, even brands on our website such as McGuigan Black Label and Runamok. However, there can be, and most certainly is, variable quality of fruit from such a vast area, and you can also be certain that where wines are produced to a price, they will not have the quality of others. However, how do we determine the price, and therefore the value and quality of such a wide selection of wines? Masterpeace Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was on sale at Morrison’s for £8.99, so you could be led to believe that this is a far better wine than one at say £6.99. However, it was only on sale at that price so it could be put on a “half-price” promotion for a few weeks at £4.49, before reverting to its £8.99 level for another few months. Additionally, you can be assured that Morrison’s, along with every other supermarket chain that uses this promotional trick, bought this wine at an advantageous cost price which reflects the £4.49 price tag. Now we’re not saying that Masterpeace Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a poor wine, it most certainly isn’t, and we have it listed at Binendwines. The difference is that <span style="font-weight:bold;">our </span><span style="font-weight:bold;">price is a permanent £4.49</span> – well until we sell the limited stock we have. We would suggest its value is around the £5-£5.50 mark. Incidentally, this wine was shipped in bulk and bottled in the UK. Again, there is nothing wrong with this, many other wines are, but it just highlights that this is an everyday, quaffing wine, and not an £8.99 one.<br /><br />The second wine is Geoff Merrill’s S.G.M. This is what the wine world calls a classic Rhône style, being a blend of Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre. It was made by one of Australia’s best winemakers, from grapes grown on their own Estate in the one of the most prestigious regions in the whole of Australia, McLaren Vale. The wine we have at Binendwines is the 2006 vintage, which scored 90 points in the “Wine 100” magazine. This wine was not only made from the very best fruit, it was also aged in small oak barrels and not bottled until 2009. It is a wine made from the winemakers own grapes, and bottled at the winemakers. This wine is improving as every year passes and will drink well into 2014. It is a very powerful, complex and luscious wine, able to complement any red meat dish. Now we’re not trying to directly compare the style and quality of this wine to the wine above, they are two totally different entities, and both appropriate for the occasion to which they are suited. To give you some idea of this wine’s quality, it sells on other websites at prices up to £13, with its RRP even higher.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">However, at Binendwines we are offering this wine, in very limited quantities, for just £7.95.</span><br /><br />So, here’s the important question. Which wine would you rather put in your shopping basket? The Masterpeace at £8.99 in Morrison’s, or the Geoff Merrill S.G.M. at £7.95 at Binendwines?<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Alternatively, to add a third option, why not buy the Masterpeace at £4.49 at Binendwines, for everyday drinking; and the Merrill at £7.95 for your weekend roast?</span><br /><br />Click on this link for all of our Australian Reds: <span style="font-weight:bold;">http://www.binendwines.co.uk/Australia/Red</span><br /><br />Nb Although Morrison’s stock other Masterpeace varietals at £8.99; to the best of our knowledge, they don’t now stock the Cabernet Sauvignon.Brian at binendwineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12213927445623028005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660712458102955595.post-64580910793441639812010-06-15T07:13:00.000-07:002010-06-15T07:21:05.213-07:00Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc - or bargain or not?The Marlborough region in New Zealand can rightly claim to be one of the wine world’s success stories in the past decade. Success often brings problems though, and expansion through increased plantings over the years has resulted in a record-breaking harvest in 2009. How can a better harvest be a problem you may ask? Well the yield in 2009 was roughly in line with that of 2008, which was also record-breaking, and a whopping 39% up on 2007. As a result, Marlborough had an over-supply problem, and we have seen the results in the UK with NZ winegrowers wanting to clear their tanks and selling a lot of their wine in bulk.<br /><br />Pop into any UK supermarket at the moment and you will see Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc wines on promotion at hitherto seen low prices. However, take a closer look. Tesco has Wairau Cove at £4.99, reduced from £9.99; Sainsbury’s has Milford Point and Makutu, both offered on “half-price deals” at £4.49, reduced from £9.99. Morrison’s have Okiwi Bay and Crux, though when I called at my local branch they were at £9.99 – though there is no doubt that they have been, or will be, sold at £4.49/£4.99 at sometime. Bargain Booze and Asda have similar “offers”.<br /><br />What connects all these wines is that they are on totally false promotions. They would have course have to have been sold at the “original price” at some time, somewhere, to comply with the law, but don’t be misled, these wines were bought to be sold at the “promotional price”. If that’s not bad enough, those that have paid the so-called original price will have been cruelly ripped off.<br /> <br />What is also common with these “manufactured brands” is that all the wine for them was shipped in bulk containers and bottled in the UK. Whilst this fairly common practice is suitable for everyday, drinking plonk, there are those in the trade who would suggest that the very best wines should be bottled on the estate or at least in the area of production. It would also be logical to assume that these bulk wine shipments, made to reduce the overall juice held in New Zealand, would not have been of the very best production.<br /><br />Marlborough is similar to most other wine regions of the world, in that there are sub-regions where the topography, soil conditions, and micro-climate (what the French call Terroir) combine to produce grapes, and therefore wines, of a higher quality than those from the general area. All the best-known and respected brand names select their fruit from the very best of these top vineyards.<br /><br />So, would you rather pay around £5 for a wine of lesser quality, that has been bulk-shipped and then bottled in Manchester or Essex, or pay that little bit extra for a multi award-winning wine of known provenance. What is more, this branded wine is offering considerable genuine savings on its original selling price.<br /><br /><strong>Check out the current offer on Waipara Hills Sauvignon Blanc on our website www.binendwines.co.uk where you can buy this highly rated wine at a price equating to just £6.63.</strong>Brian at binendwineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12213927445623028005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660712458102955595.post-52589214038656463392009-11-26T02:17:00.000-08:002009-11-26T03:22:49.663-08:00False Wine PromotionsThe public have been warned against false price promotions on wine for quite some time now, but the practice still continues. I have been researching this and found an article in the press over 3 years ago, and I reproduce a snippet of it below.<br /><br /><em>Supermarket shoppers are being ripped off by bogus 'half-price' deals on millions of bottles of wine, a leading drinks boss has warned.<br />High street giants are misleading customers who think that they are getting a great deal but are actually just paying the correct price, according to Jean-Manuel Spriet, chief executive of Pernod Ricard UK.<br />The practice of 'marking up, only to mark down' has been rife for years, according to industry experts. The supermarket pretends to be offering a 'great discount' on a £7.99 bottle of wine, but the real price of the wine is £3.99.<br />'They make the wines designed for sale at £3.99, introduce them at a higher price, and then bring the price down,' said Mr Spriet.<br />'They start at £7.99 and are discounted down to half price which is crazy.</em><br /><br />This article was in The Daily Mail, but over the years there has been similar comment in The Telegraph, The Observer and The Times amongst others.<br /><br />Do not be foooled by these false promotions - what I like to call "The DFS syndrome" - <strong>if you are paying £3.99, you are getting a £3.99 wine - not a £7.99 wine at half price.</strong><br /><br />Another misleading type of promotion was the one that was prevalent in Threshers/Wine Rack/Haddows where the offer was "Buy 3, only pay for 2". What they omitted to mention was that the single bottle price had been inflated by a third in the first place. The holding company of this chain, First Quench, has just gone into administration, so its promotional tactic obviously didn't fool the public.<br /><br />And whilst I'm on the subject of false promotions, do not be taken in either by the "Half Price" case offers in the Sunday Supplements by many of the larger mail-order retailers. Do you honestly believe that a company could afford to lose half their revenue, and pay the large amounts needed to advertise in the Weekend Press? Of course they couldn't - the wines were never that price in the first place - well strictly speaking they had to be by law - but it was still a false figure solely for the purpose of halving it later.<br /><br />On our website the reductions are shown against the price that we have seen charged for those wines previously. No false figures - just genuine reductions.Brian at binendwineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12213927445623028005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660712458102955595.post-75711029281999432972009-11-12T04:30:00.000-08:002009-11-13T01:26:25.786-08:007th Continent WinesDiageo is the world’s biggest drinks group with brands such as Johnny Walker, Baileys, Gordon’s, Guinness and countless others that are almost household names. Being formed from takeovers and mergers between spirits producers and breweries it never really had a presence in the wine market. That was until 2006 when it sent eyes rolling in sockets all over the drinks world with the announcement of a new Australian wine brand. In a retail environment ever more dominated by multi-nationals and multi-grocers, the trade could have been forgiven in thinking that it needed another million-case monster like a hole in the head. Bearing in mind however that Australia has been one of the most dynamic wine performers of the last decade, particularly in the UK and US, the lack of an Aussie wine in the group's portfolio had been glaring.<br /><br />The name chosen for this brand was “7th Continent”, obviously identifying Australia, but Diageo surprised the trade even more by the totally different marketing strategy adopted. For a start it wasn’t a big, sweet, blowsy Blossom Hill type range with a Bush Tucker hat. Additionally Diageo eschewed the accepted wisdom that a brand needed to launch at 'entry-level' with two or three varietals, then move consumers up through a succession of reserves and premiums to some notional winemaker's indulgence. No, they went straight in at a £7.99/£8.49 level, but not as many other brands had done at this level just for the contrived purpose to be "Bogged Off" (BOGOF - buy one, get one free for the uninitiated) in the future to generate sales. <br /><br />There were eventually up to 15 wines in the range, but the wines were not inter-regional blends of the sort that powered Australia to its dominant position in the UK, but were specific regional expressions. Here wine drinkers could compare and contrast Cabernets and Merlots from several individual regions, and see how a Hunter Valley Shiraz, a Clare Valley Riesling or an Adelaide Hills Viognier were far superior to multi-regional blended wines. <br /><br />Diageo consciously wanted to make consumers reassess what they knew about Australia; to readdress the 'deep-cut, gondola end' imagery that had hurt the country's image over the last few years and to provide a trade-up brand for younger wine drinkers who came into the category through Australia, but had migrated elsewhere when looking for a special occasion wine.<br /><br />The thinking was logical, laudable even – yet despite getting listings with Threshers, Tesco and others, the brand ultimately failed. Probably because the whole 'Brand Australia' hype had sunk deep into the psyche of the wine-buying public all over the world, getting across the regionality message proved hellishly difficult to achieve. Market research can show all it likes about consumers wanting a new, more upmarket Australia, but there's a big difference between the focus group and the supermarket aisle.<br /><br />Their loss is our gain though, as <strong>www.binendwines.co.uk</strong> is now able to offer some of this range at prices showing up to 40% less than the original prices. The original prices were genuinely in the £7.99/£8.49 range – not the false levels one sees everyday in supermarkets in the “Was £7.99 – now half price at £3.99” offers. As has been stated here and in the national press, such “half-price” offers are totally false – all of these wines promoted in this manner have been specifically produced to sell at £3.99 in the first place.<br /><br />So, forget Lindemans, Hardy’s, etc and all the other multi-regional blends – experience the taste of regional Australia and see how trading up can bring you far better wines with individual characteristics. Except with our discounts, you don’t have to trade up in price.Brian at binendwineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12213927445623028005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660712458102955595.post-16899154661955434082009-04-22T11:25:00.000-07:002009-04-22T11:28:54.068-07:00Bordeaux vs New ZealandThe sound of jaws crashing to the floor echoed around Pall Mall a few weeks ago. High up in the penthouse suite of New Zealand House, 30 or so UK Masters of Wine, sommeliers, wine buyers and journalists had joined in a special blind tasting. The results were to say the least, astonishing.<br /> They were comparing the very best from Bordeaux with wines from Gimblett Gravels, a sub-region of Hawkes Bay in New Zealand’s North Island. This 800-hectare appellation is centred on the gravel of the old Ngaruroror River, and local winemakers believe the soil and climate to be so exceptional that their terroir is up there with the best to be found in Bordeaux. The Gimblett Gravels wines are made from the classic Bordeaux varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. The tasting compared six 2005/2006 New Zealand wines with six 2005 clarets.<br /> Some of Britain’s finest tasters were there, including Jancis Robinson, Michael Schuster and Oz Clarke, along with buyers from the likes of Waitrose, the Wine Society and Berry Bros and Rudd. Many of them seemed confused and unsure. The tasting sheets were handed in and the marks added together to reveal a collective top six. The first three spots (and fifth) go to Bordeaux, and the experts nodded their heads knowingly. Their fourth and sixth favourites though were from New Zealand; a pretty good showing they all agreed, with applause all round.<br /> Then the bombshell. The wine’s identities were revealed and they gasped when they discovered which were the Bordeaux wines. The top three were: 2005 Château Lafite-Rothschild (£975), 2005 Château Mouton-Rothschild (£675), and 2005 Château Angélus (£295). Just off the podium in fourth was 2006 Sacred Hill “Helmsman” at – wait for it – a staggeringly modest £17.95 a bottle. 2005 Château Haut-Brion (£700) was fifth, and 2006 Newton Forrest “Cornerstone” – at just £15 a bottle – was sixth.<br />Bordeaux as we all know is seriously overpriced, but this result has driven it home. Why spend almost a grand a bottle when you could spend barely £18 for something jus as good. It can’t be for the rarity value: 25,000 cases of 2005 Château Lafite-Rothschild were produced, compared with just 130 of the 2006 Sacred Hill “Helmsman”.<br /> At <strong>www.binendwines.co.uk </strong>we can’t offer you any of the wines listed above – the Bordeaux are frankly beyond the scope of this modest business, and the New Zealand wines are only available from the direct importers. However given that in most instances, the best of these vintages is yet to come following lengthy cellaring, perhaps you would like to avail yourself of a more mature example.<br /> Newly listed in late April is the 2000 vintage from Trinity Hill Cabernet/Merlot by the renowned winemaker John Hancock. But what is more you don’t even have to pay £18 or even £15 for it – though there are other outlets selling it for around £15. My price for what is very limited stock is just £5.95 – the bargain of the year so far. But hurry – when it’s gone – it’s gone!Brian at binendwineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12213927445623028005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660712458102955595.post-10341640886795102952009-04-20T03:21:00.000-07:002009-04-20T03:24:11.405-07:00Wine buyer screwed.From "The Sydney Morning Herald"<br /><br />Neville Sloss, from Teven, received a glossy wine brochure in the post offering him a beautiful lever-action corkscrew valued at $70 free if he bought the special dozen bottles for $99. "Fantastic offer if you could use the corkscrew," he writes, but points out: "Every one of the dozen wines has a screw top!"Brian at binendwineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12213927445623028005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660712458102955595.post-51245234044757362332009-04-20T03:18:00.000-07:002009-04-20T03:21:12.053-07:00Screwcaps, plastic or cork?<strong>Screwcaps, plastic or cork?<br />What are the issues?</strong><br />Have you noticed the increasing number of wine bottles sealed with screwcaps, and wondered why? It’s because of a small war that is taking place. Over the last few years, the wine trade has been embroiled in a conflict. You wouldn’t have thought that the rather boring-sounding issue of bottle closures would inflame passions, but it has, and to a remarkable degree. One the one hand we have the traditionalists who feel that cork is the only decent way to seal a wine bottle; on the other, we have the screwcap crusaders who are on a mission to eradicate cork and have all bottles sealed with alternative closures. Who’s right?<br />Cork is a remarkable natural substance. Because of its cellular wall composition and structure and it has elastic and compressible qualities that make it ideally suited to sealing wine bottles. A decent cork will provide a good seal on a wine bottle for thirty years, possibly longer, allowing the wine to develop and mature into something special. And despite corks providing a good seal, it’s relatively easy to extract them using one of a wide array of different designs of corkscrew. Added to this, taking the cork out has become a valued part of the tradition of wine. It may sound silly, but there is something special about uncorking a bottle.<br />So what is the problem? The dirty secret of the wine trade is that one in twenty bottles of wine is ruined as soon as it is bottled by problems with the cork. Chief among these is what is known as ‘cork taint’. This is when a wine takes on a musty odour caused by a chemical called 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) that is present in some corks. TCA itself is produced by microbes that live in the small pores, called lenticels, that run throughout cork bark. In extreme cases, it’s hard to miss a ‘corked’ wine: the mustiness can sometimes be overpowering. In other situations, the taint is more subtle, reducing the fruitiness of the wine, giving it a subdued aroma, usually with a faint whiff of damp cardboard or old cellars in the background.<br />The problem with TCA is that it is incredibly potent: most people can detect it at concentrations as low as 5 parts per trillion, which makes it hard to eradicate. To give you a better idea of this figure, it’s equivalent to one second in 64 centuries. Where good data have been collected, the frequency of cork taint hovers around 5% of bottles sealed this way. The other main problem with corks is that because they are a natural product, they are variable, and some fail by letting oxygen in which then spoils the wine.<br />Cork taint hasn’t always been such a big issue. In the past, it is likely that many people weren’t as aware of the problem and happily drunk corked wine. But with the increasing quality of cheap wine (which makes any taint more likely to be spotted) and the fact that consumers are now generally better informed, a vocal body has sprung up who have decided that they’re not going to put up with this situation any longer.<br />The cork industry has been slow to address the issue. Initially they went through a period of denial, funding PR campaigns to persuade people that cork is the natural option. They hid behind an environmental smokescreen, claiming that if people ditched cork, then the Iberian cork forests—a precious ecological resource—would be under threat. Finally, they realised that research on the problem would be a better use of resources, and while there are now some promising techniques in development, there is still no solution that results in taint-free corks.<br />So what are the alternatives? Surprisingly, modern science hasn’t been able to come up with a synthetic substance that shares cork’s properties of elasticity and compressibility. While there are a number of synthetic corks on the market, they’re really only suitable for wines destined for immediate consumption (that is, within a year or two). The problem has been that the plastics used can’t provide a seal equal to that of real cork without being impossible to extract from the neck of the bottle. The result is that plastic corks tend to be permeable enough that the wine tends to oxidise after a couple of years, although they are fine for everyday wines that are usually drunk on release. Of course, it should be pointed out that some makes of plastic cork are more efficient than others, and product development is occurring all the time, so we may yet see serious plastic alternatives to corks (they may already exist, although I haven’t yet seen good data indicating this). For now, then, the leading contender to cork is therefore the screwcap.<br />Screwcaps provide a pretty good seal—better than cork, in fact. In addition, they are easy to open: you don’t need a corkscrew, you just twist them off. Because they are manufactured and not a natural substance, they provide a much more uniform seal than corks. Added to this, there are plenty of reports of 20 year old screwcapped bottles being opened and the wine tasting fresh and lively.<br />So how come all wines aren’t sealed with screwcaps? This is what a vocal element in the wine trade are calling for, after all. There are three main problems. First, screwcaps have a ‘cheap’ image in the minds of many consumers. People associate screwcaps with bargain basement plonk. Some markets, particularly those in traditional European wine producing countries, are highly resistant to alternative closures such as screwcaps, whereas others, such as Australia and New Zealand, are more accepting. Second, people like corks. They’re natural, they look and feel right, and the ritual of getting the corkscrew out is part and parcel of the wine drinking experience. Thirdly, while most experts agree that the screwcap is the closure of choice for fresh white wines and easy drinking reds, there’s some debate about whether they are suitable for red wines destined for long ageing.<br />The reason for this doubt is that people like the way that fine wines evolve over time when they are closed with a fault-free cork. Screwcaps provide a better seal than cork. The question is, is this seal likely to be so good that it prevents the wine from ageing properly over, say, 20 years? Wine ageing is a complex process that takes place largely in the absence of oxygen, in what is called a ‘reductive’ environment. But could it be that the trace amounts of oxygen that get through the seal provided by the cork are an intrinsic part of the ageing process? The scientists don’t know for sure, and as yet no one has done the proper experiments that will settle this issue once and for all.<br />However, it is worth emphasizing that only a very tiny fraction of the wines made worldwide will require extended cellaring. For almost all other wine styles, the screwcap is likely to be the optimum closure. It’s likely for one reason and another that cork will always be with us, but unless someone comes up with a cure for the curse of cork taint, expect to see screwcaps gaining ground over the next few years.Brian at binendwineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12213927445623028005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660712458102955595.post-44814092084754405422008-11-04T02:15:00.001-08:002008-11-04T02:18:29.776-08:00<strong>Bully boy Tesco at it again! (my words)</strong><br /><br />The following is extracted from The Sunday Telegraph, November 2nd.<br /><br />Tesco, Britain’s largest supermarket, is demanding vastly improved trading terms from wine and champagne suppliers in a bid to keep prices down on its shelves in the run-up to Christmas. <br />One drinks company said that it had been given until this weekend to accept the new terms, in what is being seen as an across-the-board campaign by Tesco to get better deals from its suppliers during the credit crisis. <br />One Tesco alcohol supplier said that new “take it or leave it” terms from the retailer included an immediate cut in the price that it will pay for the products, a request for a doubling of funds for promotional activity and a ban on price rises to Tesco from the supplier for next year. <br />Another supplier claims that Tesco is asking for between five and 10pc off the price that it pays for goods. Wine producers are concerned that the move may lead to a fall in the number of suppliers that do business with the retailer due to the increased cost involved. “It will be survival of the fittest,” one supplier said. <br />Last December, the value of wine, beers and spirits sold in supermarkets grew by 3.9pc. However, producers have been hit this year by higher freight costs, duty increases and currency movements, which are wiping out much of their sales growth. <br />Tesco has said that customers are facing tough times as a result of the economic slowdown and are “looking to us to help”. <br /><br />It is estimated that Tesco accounts for 3 out of 10 bottles of wine bought through supermarkets.<br /><br />Back to my thoughts on this subject.<br /><br />It is this sort of tactics that will drive wine suppliers, wine makers, and smaller wine merchants out of business. Tesco is well known in the trade as being a bully boy when it comes to demanding cost prices – I wouldn’t even use the word negotiate, Tesco management doesn’t know that word. If Tesco persists in this attitude, then the only way out for winemakers/suppliers is to stop trading with Tesco, which most will be afraid to do, or reduce the quality of the wines offered, to match their subsequent lower cost prices.<br />Fortunately I try to avoid the mainstream brands that dominate the supermarket shelves, so it will only affect me indirectly. But you can be sure that the majority of brands/labels on my list a have been produced with quality being paramount, not an ever reducing price driving down the quality. Also, coming from the clearance market, they are being sold at similar prices to inferior supermarket brands.Brian at binendwineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12213927445623028005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660712458102955595.post-50107525710187314542008-11-02T02:50:00.000-08:002008-11-02T02:52:49.943-08:00I shall be conducting a wine tasting as part of a Festival Fare evening on <strong>December 5th </strong>in <strong>The Brunning Hall, Cosby, Leicestershire.</strong><br />There will be complementary seasonal foods served alongside the wines, which will be selected to highlight the wide range of wines that I have on my website. We will start off with a welcome glass of Cava, then a couple of whites, before moving on to three reds. I might even open a Rosé if circumstances permit.<br />The venue has a licence so there will be the opportunity to buy extra glasses and bottles on the night, as well as place orders for Christmas deliveries.<br />The evening starts at 7.30 and tickets are £10 per person. All proceeds from this evening will be donated to Cosby Church building fund.<br />So if you live in South Leicestershire, why not come along for a fun evening and try a few interesting wines as well.<br />For more details, or to buy tickets, please contact the organiser; Ros Clark on 0116 2866318 or rosclark@tiscali.co.uk <br />The wines will be tasted in sample quantities only, so there will not be an excessive amount offered. The venue is within walking distance of most of Cosby, but if using a car please have a designated driver – don’t drink and drive.Brian at binendwineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12213927445623028005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660712458102955595.post-52124229215962723802008-10-16T06:52:00.000-07:002008-10-16T06:53:00.427-07:00White wine good for you.It has long been said that Red wine is good for you (in moderation of course) but now for the first time, scientists have found that White wine may be equally as good for your heart as red.<br />One or two glasses of white wine protects the heart and lessens the damage caused by a heart attack, their research showed.<br />Traditionally, red wine was thought to be the only wine that was good for you because it contains resveratrol, thought to have many health benefits.<br />But Dipak Das, a molecular biologist at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, told New Scientist; “We can safely say that one to two glasses of white wine a day works exactly like red wine,. The team found that rats fed white wine as part of their diet suffered less heart damage during cardiac arrest, compared with animals fed only water or grain alcohol.<br />These benefits were similar to animals that ingested red wine or resveratrol, its wonder ingredient found only in grape skin.<br />The colour of wine is determined initially by the colour of the grape skin, and consequently white wines are not left on their skins during fermentation as red wines are. White wine therefore contains little or no resveratrol, which led many to pin the so-called “French Paradox” – high fat intake, but low rates of heart disease – on the consumption of red wine.<br />Molecular tests of the rats’ heart cells suggest that white wine protects the cell’s powerhouse – known as mitochondria.<br />The above was reported in Wednesday’s Daily Telegraph. I’m not that comfortable with testing such theories on living animals, but the initial results do look interesting.<br />Right, I’m off to have a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.Brian at binendwineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12213927445623028005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2660712458102955595.post-45335346941629957192008-10-14T01:56:00.000-07:002008-10-14T04:41:49.244-07:00Spanish wineThis is my first post on my new blog, and I thought that I would pen some comments on Spanish wine.<br /><br />It so happens that the last salaried position I held in the wine trade was for an importer solely of wines from Spain, and I can trace my love of Spanish wines to then – some 18 years ago. In those days Spanish wine meant just two things to British wine drinkers – at the top end was Rioja, and at the bottom was the bulk, cheap wine supplied under own-label in the Co-op and others, and under brands such as Hirondelle. I well remember trying to interest wine retailers with red wines from Ribeiro del Duero and Toro, amongst others, and being met with blank looks. Even more difficult to sell to the trade back in the 1990’s was Albariño from Galicia. At that time white wine from Spain was almost an afterthought with the only volume coming from the bulk market. With most of it being bought as a brand, customers probably weren’t aware that they were drinking Spanish white wine. Mind you it was fairly insipid stuff. <br /><br />It could still be argued that white wine is still to this day somewhat of an postscript to red wine as far as Spain is concerned. You only have to note the dearth of quality Spanish white wines in the multiples. If you, like me, enjoy trying new wines, and long for something different from Chardonnay, then why not give Spain a consideration.<br /><br />The late 80’s and early 90’s saw a sea change in attitude towards premium Spanish White wine. In the far northwest corner of Spain, the Rias Baixas (low rivers) is located in lush, verdant Galicia, snuggling just above Portugal. The Rias Baixas district gained DO status in 1988, and since then has made considerable progress, particularly with Albariño. Whilst a dozen grapes are permitted (half of them red) Albariño now makes up more than 90% of total plantings. Albariño is likened to both Riesling and Viognier, Riesling for its minerally character and Viognier for its bouquet of peaches and apricots. Many wine experts, including the legendary Miguel Torres, believe that Albariño is actually the Riesling grape and that the vines were brought over by medieval German monks who were establishing monasteries on the Camino de Santiago. The regulatory council in Rias Baixas disagree and believe that the Albariño grape is indigenous to the area. While the experts can’t seem to agree on the origin of Albariño, they definitely agree that it is Spain’s most elegant white grape. Albariño wines are fairly low in alcohol, are quite floral and very delicate. They are considered to be some of the most sophisticated wines from Spain, red or white. One of the best producers is the Bodegas Pazo de Villarei with wines under the “Terra d’Ouro” label now available on my website. <br /><br />Located northwest of Madrid and just southwest of the mythical Ribera del Duero red wine region, lies the hugely successful wine appellation of Rueda. Wine has been produced in the Rueda region commercially since the 11th century during the reign of Alfonso XI who was the ruler of the kingdom of Castilla y Leon (the castle and the lion). Rueda was destroyed by the Moors in the 10th century during the ongoing battles and the area was depopulated until Alfonso XI, as a last effort to save the region from complete destruction, declared that anyone working the land would gain ownership of it. In came the monastic orders, and wine production was begun in earnest. Sherry style wines (oxidised) were made in Rueda for centuries from the native Verdejo grape. Rueda wines came to be particularly adored by the Royal Courts.<br /><br />Like many other wine regions in Europe, Rueda suffered in the first half of the 20th century. The Spanish civil war and the dictatorship under Franco did nothing to benefit the local wine industry. It wasn’t until Marques de Riscal, the famed Rioja winery, arrived to Rueda in 1971 that the region came back into relevance for wine lovers. The region was revolutionized with the new ideas and technology Marqués de Riscal brought, and has become famous for producing delightful, fresh and fruity white wines from the Verdejo grape (as opposed to unfashionable, Sherry style wines). Riscal also introduced Sauvignon Blanc to the Rueda wine region, which they discovered blended sublimely with Verdejo. These days, Rueda is wildly successful and producing amazingly good value for money fruity wines that are regularly compared to French Sancerre, and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. On my website I have 2 excellent Rueda wines; one from the above mentioned Marqués de Riscal, and another multi-award winner from Javier Sanz under their “Villa Narcisa” label.<br /><br />Check out also the superb “Allozo” wine from La Mancha, made from Spain’s own Macabeo grape.<br /><br />Open the website – then open a bottle and open your mind to the unique flavours that quality Spanish white wine can bring. And at my prices it will only cost you the same price as a bog-standard white from the supermarket.<br /><br />www.binendwines.co.ukBrian at binendwineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12213927445623028005noreply@blogger.com0