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English Wine Week

Details: 28 May 2012 1:48pm

thermometer Sunshine, not showers, is the forecast for the start of English Wine Week this Bank Holiday and Jubilee weekend. Which is good news for English winemakers and grape growers because the other 300 rainy days of the year make it just plain hard work getting grapes to ripen.

Mayday! Wine offers in distress

Details: 20 May 2012 11:26am

man on mobile ‘Mayday! Mayday!’ is the cry of this week’s supermarket shopper. No, they haven’t confused the date but are crying out in distress hunting for wine bargains. Because this pre Jubilee, Father’s Day and Wimbledon time slot has stifled the marketing men’s natural instincts to peg wine offers to national celebrations, outside temperatures or stereotypical drinking styles. But look closely within the disparate, and desperate, lot of supermarket wine offers and the odd tasty bargain can be found.

How to win wine and influence people

Details: 14 May 2012 2:58pm

wine rack full When was the last time you didn't have to pay for your wine? Some ago I'll bet. Wine lovers often get given bottles of wine as presents but as these are usually something top-notch and expensive it doesn’t make financial sense to replace them using your own money. But there is a way of boosting the wine rack contents for free - entering competitions with wine prizes.

Wines for a damp and drizzly May Day

Details: 26 April 2012 10:51am

soup in a cauldron It’s going to be a warmish and damp Bank Holiday weekend according to The Met Office. But don’t let the dampness and lack of sun deter you from enjoying a picnic - a picnic with a difference that is. Instead of sipping light whites and rosés with your lettuce-filled sandwiches, why not get in a couple of cockle-warming reds and hearty whites for your May Day soup and sarnies.

Tesco Simply wine range review

Details: 19 April 2012 10:23am

Tesco Simply wine label Not expensive, not unpleasant and not sophisticated – that’s what Tesco’s Simply wine range is all about. Launched in August 2011 with ‘clear and recognisable labelling’ in response to customer intimidation to the ‘wall of wine that greets them in the wine aisle’, the range has proved a success according to James Griswood, Tesco Product Development Manager, despite having almost no publicity and no in-store aisle promotion.

Up for sale: the best dessert ever

Details: 18 April 2012 4:11pm

You'll have to be quick if you want to sample The Poolway House Hotel's hazelnut meringue as the hotel is up for sale: £520,000 is the asking price and no mention of the best dessert ever.

Tasting time for April offers

Details: 16 April 2012 2:35pm

man with umbrella If April's supermarket wine offers have inspired you to organise your own wine tasting at home, then why not use my free wine tasting sheet to record where you bought it and for how much plus what the bottle label says so that if you like the wine you’ll have a good chance of finding exactly the same, or a similar type, again.

Wine for chocolate Easter eggs

Details: 4 April 2012 10:38am

Septima Malbec Wine isn't a natural match to chocolate. Its mouth-coating intenseness can overwhelm many wines. And choose unwisely and both wine and chocolate will clash leaving behind an unpleasant metallic taste. But there are wines that harmonise wonderfully with both dark and milk chocolate.