Wines Direct Blog

Our blog is set up to give you latest news about wine offers as well as Wines Direct.

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What to Drink for King Charles' Coronation
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 24/04/2023 To call this for we Brits, a once in a life time occasion, is mostly appropriate. I was a two year old baby for the last Coronation, and all I can just about remember is seeing a television for the first time, as a rather small, thick screened device which had been bought with a lot of excitement especially. I suppose I must have been given milk, or possibly as a celebration, juice, to drink in 1953! Whilst I love the quality, variety and range of…
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The Joys and Variety of Pinot Grigio.
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 06/04/2023 Pinot Grigio, grown all around the World, is the most popular white wine sold in the UK. Mainly the crisp young fresh and refreshing Northern Italian version, which can be anything from good, through to bland and boring. I suppose it is the equivalent to a "lager beer" of the wine industry! But there is far more to Pinot Grigio than you might expect. Firstly, the grape is a mutated clone of the Pinot Noir, where the leaf looks identical, but the…
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Is Naked Wines Good Value?
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 30/03/2023 I have, until recently, been a bit of a sceptic about Naked Wines. Was the subscription membership support really enabling wine makers to make better and hugely beneficially priced wines, or was this simply good marketing presentation of a good concept? Well, I was recently sent a case of six bottles of some of their most popular wines, and it has made me revise my views. There are some interesting wines there, and good value. Having worked with and…
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Explore Alentejo with Wine52
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 18/03/2023 Wine 52, seems to be getting better and better, and on a number of fronts. Firstly, this month's wine selection from Portugal's Alentejo region is a first rate selection of what this region can now do. More of that later. But also their little snacks are a real palate teaser, different, spicy, but not to overpower any wine, and a bit of a bonus. But their magazine, Glug, is really well worth a read for anyone interested in wine. This month is the…
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Wines for a Spring or Summer Wedding 2023
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 01/03/2023 I have recently been contacted by a cousin of mine, and also a good old friend whose daughter is getting married, to get my advice on wines for their weddings. When I got married back in the 1970's we had a good tea after the service, then a few glasses of Champagne for toasts and with the wedding cake. Nowadays there are wedding breakfasts and a whole range of wines are needed. I would certainly advise two good wine merchants who provide a most…
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It's time to discover Greek Wines
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 31/01/2023 Many will have holidayed in parts of Greece, and may remember the days when the most popular white wine was Retsina, white wine macerated with pine resin which was an ancient preservative. It was most peculiar wine, and after fairly regular consumption, one eventually got used to it! There was also a big brand of red, white and rosé call Domestica, a sort of Greek version of Hirondelle, sound but not particularly exciting. But that was all a very…
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Low and no alcohol wines
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 24/01/2023 Although "Dry January" is nearly over, many of my friends choose February as their alcohol free month. Probably because it is the shortest month! Back in the 1980s I was involved in making non-alcoholic beer, which was successful, so we thought "should we put wine through the same treatment?" Basically we were vaporising the alcohol by subjecting beer or wine to high temperature, steam, and removing the alcohol as vapour. With beer, we were able…
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Save vs. Splurge - The Dessert
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 21/12/2022 In the third and final part of my search for the best wines to go with the Christmas feast, I now come to the Christmas Pudding, the Mince Pies and the Cheese Board. I am personally not that keen on dessert or sweet wines with very sweet food, and Christmas pud can be really difficult, as with brandy sauce or brandy butter, the wine to work well has to be even sweeter. Then perhaps it is all too sweet, unless the wine also has great fresh acidity…
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Save vs. Splurge - The Main Course
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 19/12/2022 In my second look at wines for the Christmas day feast, I now consider what to drink with your Turkey, or maybe for those vegetarians a nut roast. With both, it may not surprise you that I personally like to drink a light but intensely complex red wine. Something with good bright fruit, so it plays the same role gastronomically as the cranberry sauce which works so well with Turkey. My go to red is in fact a Pinot Noir. But some people prefer a…
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Save vs. Splurge - Christmas Canapes
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 12/12/2022 This is the first of three articles about the gastronomy of the Christmas feast, and what to drink, be that the best quality and value for money, or an extravagant "splurge" on something very special and memorable. Let's start with pre- lunch or dinner canapes and fizz. Canepes could be crostini with goats' cheese, chicken liver or fois gras pate', olives, nuts, crisps, blini pancakes with smoked salmon or smoked roe or even caviar! With all…
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Naked Wines supporting some lesser known, excellent winemakers
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 23/11/2022 There is absolutely no doubt that lesser known areas of the world, and lesser or even unknown grape varieties can be fantastic value for money. The opposite is also true, probably two of the most famous wines, both from France, Sancerre from the Loire, and Chateauneuf du Pape from the Rhone, are some of the most expensive and least good value for money. I have picked out three wines from Macedonia and Greece, ancient growing areas, where modern…
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Buy 6, Save 25% at Asda until 11th December 2022
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 22/11/2022 I have written before about the varied and interesting range of wines in ASDA, and I am particularly enamoured with their EXTRA SPECIAL range. But now, for Christmas, they are excelling themselves with what must be some of the best deals anywhere, with some massive discounts and many excellent wines now below £5 or even below £4. Lots of high quality £12 wines now also discounted to £7.50. But thinking about Christmas, lets first start with fizz. I…
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