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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…
Wine52 explores Bulgaria
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 26/02/2023 Wine 52's latest pack is from Bulgaria. Eastern Europe is seeing a phenomenal revival of its wine Industry since perestroika. Outside investment, and a genuine desire to revive its indigenous and historic grape varieties and use modern wine making techniques, plus a desire to make less wine and therefore of quality, rather than just bulk plonk. We remember the days in the 1970's and 80's of the gutsy wine Bulls Blood, named after the blood they…
Sherry: It's styles and where to find the best
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 02/02/2023 Britain has a long historic relationship with the fortified wines from north of Cadiz, as trading from the three ports, Cadiz, El Puerto de Santa Maria and Salucar de Barrameda has gone on for hundreds of years. Shakespeare's characters often refer to "a glass of Sack," what they then called the wine from the area. This trade was often disrupted by various European wars, but the British love of Sherry always survived. Incidentally the British…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Wine52's Latest Case from Sicily
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 29/11/2022 The latest three bottle pack from Wine52, comes with an excellent booklet explaining the interesting wines from Sicily, plus the usual tasty nibbles. There is a Syrah, the Rhone varietal grape, which has spread to Australia (as Shiraz) and most other warmer wine growing places around the World. It has a very creative label of a wolf's face and mouth and is called In Bocca al Lupo, which is Italian slang for "good luck". This is a good round fruity…
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…
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…
Virgin Wines are delighted to offer Wines Direct members a BETTER THAN HALF PRICE saving on 12 world-class craft wines for Christmas, delivered direct to your door at no extra cost, complete with a FREE bottle of bubbly! What you get: With such a great saving on luscious, fruit-filled reds and crisp, refreshing whites all hand-picked with your Christmas celebrations in mind, this offer also acts as the perfect introduction to Virgin Wines’ WineBank service which allows you, as a member, to earn…
Selfridges Wine for the Festive Season
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 31/10/2022 The on-line selection from Selfridges is extensive, from the very best through to some good value deals. At the moment, a further 10% discount is available on selected items, some of which I suggest are very attractive. From the white wines on offer, I picked out a favourite of mine from South Africa. The excellent Chardonnay from Hamilton Russell, grown right down south on the Southern Ocean at Hermanus, with nothing between the vineyards, 2500…
Which is the best fine wine shop in London?
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 20/10/2022 I can think of one or two, but I was in Fortnum and Mason's last week, to buy some prosciutto, and also some porcini mushrooms, and as the grocery section is just next door to the wine section, I had a good browse around. I ended up buying a very good bottle of Palo Cortado Sherry to go with the prosciutto. I was most impressed with the range they have and particularly their "own label" selection, where they have carefully selected some of the best…
Laithwaites Advent Calendars 2022
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 15/10/2022 Laithwaites have a special and most interesting offer of several different Wine Advent Calendars, with 24 quarter bottles of some of their most popular wines. This is a most interesting idea, but you need to log in and register interest before the end of October. A quarter bottle is the perfect size for just over two good glasses, each day in the run up to Christmas, and wonderful variety each day. The premium Fine Wine Calendar is the one I would…
Laithwaites in the forefront of the discovery of some exquisite Provence Rose's
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 20/09/2022 I have a number of longstanding connections with rose' wines, I was involved with the marketing a Mateus Rose' in the 1980's, helped by Princess Margaret who often asked for "that slightly fizzy pink wine in the pretty bottle"! And I was the agent in the Uk for Domaine Ott, then brand leader in Provence rose' and other good wines. So it was with some sadness to see the sales of rose' wines decline as they became so unfashionable in the 1990's…
WinesDirect Awards: Eco Champions Announced!
With ever increasing concerns around our planet, and the ways in which we can all reduce our carbon footprint - this years WinesDirect Awards wanted to acknowledge some changes happening within the drinks industry. Here’s what Chris Burr has to say about why Laithwaites was a clear choice for our first Eco-champion award: “Climate change is undoubtedly having a major effect on the wine industry around the world. Wherever I’ve visited recently since lockdown, Champagne, Croatia, Italy, Burgundy…
Wine52 explores the Rhone!
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 15/08/2022 After an auspicious start with their wine selections from Portugal and Spain, expectations are high for where they might find other goodies. The Rhone has always been one of the best places in otherwise expensive France to find great value, with lots of interesting wines to match with great regional gastronomy. There were one white Rhone and two reds. The white called "Glou Glou" was a white Ventoux from the southern Rhone, a blend of Claireitte…
Rediscovering Great German Wines
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 17/07/2022 I have had the pleasure over the last week or so to be giving wine lectures upon a delightful river cruiser travelling up the Rhine and Mosel Rivers, and visiting some of the most celebrated wine- producing vineyards in the world. German wines have a varied history with British consumers. At the time of Queen Victoria and following her marriage to Prince Albert of Saxe Coberg Gotha, wines from the Rhine and Mosel rivers were extremely fashionable…
Buy 6, Save 10% at Selfridges
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr 12/06/2022 We have recently reviewed the excellent wine selection offered by Selfridges, on their easy-to-use website, but the store is always worth a special trip to visit. These are not the usual selections one might find in most supermarket or grocery stores; this is an interesting and carefully selected range. It is difficult to find something that one wouldn't wish to try. Lots of smaller growers and all pretty up-scale stuff! These are not the least…
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