wine tasting events news

"Thank you very much for a wonderful evening with our clients. Everyone had a thoroughly enjoyable time. We have had some excellent feedback from our guests and I hope that you will consider doing something similar in future for The Bank of New York." - Managing Director, Client Management, The Bank of New York

"Sincerest of thanks, they were all very happy and a good night was had by all."
Steve Bain, British Military Police.

"I can highly recommend Red White and Rosé for personalizing either a large group or an intimate group setting. Heather provides an evening of fun mixed with knowledge and good wine. Our attendees had nothing but wonderful reviews."
Susan Betchkal, Grape Escapes/AWS

"I would like to really thank you for an excellent evening yesterday. I felt you were very professional yet friendly and encouraging. I am sure we would like to invite you again sometime."
Peter Hudson, Bookham U3A

news items and copies of the Wine not? newsletter

Wine not? April 2008

28/04/2008

It feels like the long, dark days are finally behind us: the clocks have gone forward, the days are longer and Spring is in the air. OK, you've got £6, you're in a supermarket and you're in a hurry. What wines should you grab that are guaranteed value for money? Read on to find out... And don't miss out on the opportunity to win a bottle of champagne - see below! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Is a bottle of Champagne worth three minutes of your time? Well of course it is! And for those of you have not yet completed my wine-tasting survey, I'd be grateful if you could spare 3 minutes and click here [http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e294142gfdctzuqd/start?test=t]to take it. Everyone who participates is in with a chance to win a bottle of Champagne - what's not to like? Many thanks to all of you who have already taken the survey - watch this space for wine tastings near you! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Grow your business Guildford Spectrum, Wednesday 30th April If you're in business and in Surrey, then be sure to come along to the Grow your business trade show at the Spectrum on Wednesday 30th April. Red White & Rosé will be there on Stand 13, so be sure to stop by for a glass of something refreshing and a chat! Grow 08 is free to attend and as well as the exhibitors there are also loads of free seminars available throughout the day on subjects like blogging, low cost marketing, PR and search engine optimisation. Check out the website on www.growguildford.co.uk for more details. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ £6, a supermarket and one minute to choose a wine A Wine not? reader submitted this question and I thought it might strike a chord with many of you. So, you're looking for a surefire hit wine from a supermarket and you don't have time to hang about. Here are my hot tips for good value, reliable wines from the aisles. First things first: avoid the big names (you know what I mean: Blossom Hill, Gallo, Hardy's and the like). I know, I know, it's tempting when you're in a hurry to go for the tried and tested, but please don't! All that advertising and promotion doesn't pay for itself you know, so there is just not that much money left to spend on the wine in the bottle at around a fiver a bottle. What's the region that offers the most reliable, good value wines at this price? Top of the list has to be Chile, so head to this section first. Concha y Toro is the largest winemaker in Chile, but they have respect in the wine trade for producing quality wines from the bottom to the top of their range. One of their stars is Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon. Currently Sainsbury's stocks it for £5.99 and it's a great price for this delicious, gluggable red. While you're in Sainsbury's, you could also pick up a bottle of Cono Sur's aromatic, spicy (but dry) Gewurztraminer also for £5.99. Over at Tesco's they have a bargain from the other side of the Andes: Argento Malbec is down from £5.99 to just £3.99 until 22nd April. Or you could go for Peter Lehmann Semillon, from Australia's Barossa Valley, £4.15 instead of the normal £6.15 until 22nd April. One of my ultra-reliable wine standbys is Ravenswood's Vintners' Blend Zinfandel from California. Somerfield has an offer on until 8th April where you can buy a bottle for £5.99 instead of the normal £6.99 - snap it up! Waitrose are focussing on French wines for their Spring wine showcase, so why not use this opportunity to try a range of wines from Alsace? Cave de Turckheim's Gewurztraminer, Riesling and Pinot Gris are all down from £7.49 to £5.99 until 27th April. These are white wines with bags of character, great for food, especially anything with a bit of spice. Happy bargain hunting! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Don't forget that if you want to read my Surrey Advertiser articles, they're all available on my wine blog. The latest one is on organic and biodynamic wines, published today. Have you seen the new tasting event ideas on the What kind of event? page? Cheers!