What a great place the UK is for a wine drinker. We have the widest range available anywhere in the world, from every wine producing country in the world. Sales are at record levels and still rising, as more and more of us enjoy the wonder of the wine-maker’s art.
How do people get hooked, and become so passionate about a drink? For me, more years ago than I care to remember, it was being given a wine to drink and thinking ‘this is pretty good I’ll get some of this’. Then not being able to buy the same wine, being sold a wine from the same grape, and discovering it was very different, but just as enjoyable, it didn’t take long to get caught up in the whole subject.

This site will develop into an online resource for seasoned and amateur wine drinkers alike

Choices of Wine

There are now a huge number of wine sellers, small independents, specialist merchants old and new, supermarkets, wine clubs, the list goes on. Most wines are sold with some form of tasting note, so it’s not usually a completely random purchase, but our own palate, and nose will not necessarily agree with whoever wrote the note, and that perhaps is whole point. The professionals, particularly the highest qualified, the Masters of Wine, are gifted with senses that they have trained and honed to a degree that the rest of us can only marvel at, but are they going to enjoy their wine anymore than anyone else? I don’t think so. The rough country red, with a bit of crusty bread and cheese, for the peasant farmer. The fine burgundy for the aristocrat. Wine has, through the ages been enjoyed by all, with or without an educated and trained palate.

Guide to Wine

What the professionals and writers do is to guide us through the mysteries of taste and scent. Their expertise allows them to detect subtle nuances hidden to other people, without some prompting. They are able judge the quality of the wine-making process in the glass, and offer predictions on the longevity of a wine, and when it is likely to be at it’s best for drinking, Whatever they say its still their opinion, and we don’t have to agree with them to enjoy drinking the wine,

So, all this information just to buy a drink! No need to get too hung up on it. Read a brief note, follow a suggestion, make your own choices. Above all enjoy!

First off, a look at Sauvignon-blanc and an introduction to the history of wine