What an honour and a pleasure it was to welcome Rick Kinzbrunner, the creator of Giaconda surely one of Australia’s finest wines, back to Piedmont five years after his last visit. The seed was sown for this brief three day tour when Rick came to Berrys last year to host a dinner. Mention of my moving out to Nebbiolo country had got him thinking. He had then proceeded to tell me of his passion for the grape; of his St.Chinian bolt-hole across the Alps; how he had three vintages of Giaconda Nebbiolo in the cellar; and how he would really try and make it out to see me. And come he did.

For what with global warming and wild fire, Rick’s Giaconda vineyards, planted in the early 1980s with the Chardonnay first bottled in 1986, have been feeling the heat of late. So six years back he grafted Nebbiolo onto half a hectare of wilting Pinot Noir. He’s happy with the result, as are the hacks at the Wine Advocate apparently, rating his Nebbiolo as the best tasted outside Italy. I sense though that his new business partner Michel Chapoutier is not so keen, preferring Syrah instead. Rick stresses he’s not out to make a me-too Barbaresco or Barolo style wine, but one that reflects the lower pH  granite and schistous soils that lie on the Victorian Alp foothills at between 500-700 metres above sea-level, made with the same painstaking care that characterises all his wines; wines that are truly hand-made, without recourse to yeast, pump or filter. (more…)

Last week we received a visit from Australian winemaker Dean Hewitson and his wife Lou (the namesake of one of the vineyard’s tasty offerings). In this video Dean talks about the wines from their Old Garden site, which they claim is the world’s oldest Mourvedre vineyard (planted in 1853)…

Continuing on from the string of producers who have made it to Basingstoke to tell us about their wines, last week it was time for our annual visit from the iconic Penfolds in Australia, who came in to talk us through a delicious collection of wines, from the Reserve Bin Chardonnay to the St Henri, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

In the video below winemaker Tom Portet talks a bit about the wines from Penfolds, how they have evolved and the measures they are having to take due to the droughts in recent years:

On Friday we enjoyed a visit from talented Californian winemaker David Ramey, who came to show us his sublime, Burgundian-style Chardonnays and his deep, tantislising reds, made predominantly with Cabernet and a blend of other Bordeaux varietals.  Having worked at Pétrus before heading up Ramey Wine Cellars, we asked David how ‘The Parker Effect’ varies from Bordeaux to California:

We were lucky enough to have a visit from Tim Heath, wine maker at Cloudy Bay recently, who let us taste a wonderful selection of Cloudy Bay’s latest releases, including the ever-popular (and rightly so) delicious 2009 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc.  In this video he gives us a quick run-down of what makes Cloudy Bay special and why 2009 is such a lovely wine:

I was invited to the brilliant gastro-pub, The Wellington Arms,  in deepest darkest Basingstoke a couple of nights ago by a bon viveur of a client. Sadly, as I’m not the most well organised person, I’d left it too late in the day to plunder my own cellar (housed here rather than home, as the temptation is too great!) so I had to make a hasty stop in the shop to pick out a bottle of something modest and appropriate.

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Nigel Greening of Felton Road Estate in New Zealand talks about biodynamics in the New World

Two of the aspects of Biodynamics which I personally find least convincing are the preparations (500-508), and the calendar. Unfortunately these are probably the two areas that also get the vast majority of the publicity associated with Biodynamic farming, largely because of the “Harry Potter makes some potions” aspect of the whole thing.

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Nigel Greening of Felton Road Estate in New Zealand gives us an insight into his recent trip to Dubai…

OK, The land of concrete and dust is finally come. Fittingly, I flew in on an Emirates A380, the largest plane in the world. It is an astonishing bit of kit… apparently there is a spa with showers in first class, where they will shortly be pouring our wine (first, that is, not in the shower!)… typical that the wine travels better than I do! I have to ‘make do’ with business, no shabby choice with large beds, and a very roomy bar to lounge in. The thing is just ridiculously big; I think they have to keep the upper deck pressurised even when the plane is on the ground, it is so tall.

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Lying in a patch of heaven on Napa’s prime Rutherford Bench is John Williams’ Frog’s Leap winery; an oasis of viticultural life; an island of humility & fine wine, but not a frog in sight!
 We were lucky enough to have John come to Berrys to tell his story over dinner; of how, in the late ’70s, this East Coast dairyman went West in search of fresh pasture, only to stumble on an ancient frog farm. Time at Stag’s Leap Winery then convinced him and his friend and associate, Larry Turley, that there was more to life than cows, prompting them to sell their Harleys and move into wine; 1981 was their first vintage, achieving instant recognition, not least on account of the label!

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 With more than 1,000 years experience between them, The Bunch is a group of six wine merchants representing the independent sector. With growing competition from supermarkets and high street off licences The Bunch provides a voice for the independents, all be it quite a softly spoken one.

Former Berrys’ employee and now famed wine writer for The Daily Telegraph, Jonathan Ray, persuaded The Bunch to provide a mixed case of affordable wines perfect for those feeling the pinch. The final selection represents classy but modern alternatives to classics like Barolo and Bordeaux, Champagne and Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Condrieu and Chianti – all for the bargain price of £99 including delivery.

Tantalise your taste buds with a delicious Viognier from Domaine de Coudoulet. This wine dances with delicate apricot notes and a peach-stone texture. Alternatively, the Gran Marius from Bodegas Piqueras in Almansa, Spain is great with red meats and cheese dishes.

Click Here for further details of the offer and a full list of wines with tasting notes.

To order this unique case drawn from six of the UK’s finest independent merchants at the credit crunch-busting price of £99 (inclusive of delivery), CLICK HERE or call 0870 900 4300.