The new (old) Cristal

Louis Roederer Cristal Vinotèque 1995 (For release in 2017) Although there are times when a plate of food and a glass of wine go beautifully together, it’s rare that the wine actually smells identical to the food. Tasting Roederer’s yet-to-be-launched Cristal Vinotèque 1995 over dinner in Reims...

Brush off the BBQ red

Beefsteak Club Malbec 2015, Argentina, 13% (£8.79, Waitrose) At the Waitrose spring wine tasting there were plenty of wines I could have recommended but the sun was shining as I headed home and the idea of a weekend BBQ more than a little tempting. With this in mind,...

Tio Pepe En Rama

Tio Pepe En Rama, Spain, 15% (£15.99, Adnams, The Wine Society, Lea & Sandeman) New initiatives aimed at reinventing certain styles doesn't always work for drinks like wine, so it's wonderful when something does make sense. The En Rama initiative is designed to get people as close as possible...

Great value spring Sauvignon

Mud House Sauvignon Blanc 2015, New Zealand (from £6.50, Tesco) Hard to ignore this eye-catching deal (Majestic also have a similar one running at the moment). But it's not just that - I recommended this on Saturday Kitchen to go with a really fun, flavoursome dish by...

Benchmark Barbera d’Asti

Taste the Difference Barbera d'Asti 2014, Italy, 14% (£8, Sainsbury's) So Italian - full of the fragrance of cherries and wild herbs, very stylish too. I matched this on Saturday Kitchen to pasta dish by Joe Hurd which incorporated nduja (spicy sausage) and tomato sauce. Show co-host Gennaro...

Bargain Bubbles

In 2015 one particular style of sparkling wine hit the headlines more than any other: Prosecco. For the first time, UK supermarket shoppers spent more on Prosecco than on Champagne and there were worldwide, midsummer scare stories that stocks would dry up before the new...

Made in England

It’s hard to believe that, in just over 25 years, the English sparkling wine industry has come so far. Only in the late 1980s were Chardonnay vines planted alongside Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier in West Sussex by a pioneering couple from Chicago determined to...