My favourite wines from the Naked Wines Summer Tasting Tour 2019

With some of the lovely
Angels and Archangels
on the tour - love them!

The Naked Wines Tasting Events are an amazing opportunity to try over 100 wines. You get to try new wines and meet the wine makers who tell you all about them, all for around £20. An absolute bargain in my book.

These are my favourite NEW wines that I tried this year:

The fabulous Los
Despachos from
Edgard Carter

Edgard Carter
I'd never met Chilean winemaker Edgard Carter before this year's tour. He's a lovely, polite and unassuming sort of man but who makes the most delicious wines. So great, that two of his wines have made my list:
- Sureno 2016 (£11.99) - made from a blend of Cab Sav, Carmenere, Malbec and Syrah, this smooth, silky red is full of fresh fruit with a kick of blackberry.
- Los Despachos Petit Verdot 2015 (£19.99) - Definitely not a cheap drop, but worth every penny if you want to treat yourself to a glass of blueberry and blackberry wonderfulness! 

Mauricio Lorca's Angels Selection Pedro Gimenez 2018 (£7.99)
Argentinian Mauricio is always a big hit at the Naked Wines Events. And, as always he was friendly and affable this year. I absolutely loved his Pedro Gimenez which is a completely new type of grape for me and a complete steal at £7.99. This crisp and fresh lip-smacker is like a glass of apples and citrus and perfect for a BBQ in the sunshine.

Gerd's amazing new
Pinot Noir Rose

Gerd Stepp's Pinot Noir Rose 2018 (£9.99)
Gerd really is like the professor of wine making. His Pinot Noir *8* is one of my favourite wines on the Naked Wines website and is delicious both warm and cold. So, I was fascinated to try his new rose which is made from the juice extracted from the first crush of his Pinot Noir grapes. Although this is a bit punchier than some roses (and a bit more alcoholic!) it is still light, fresh and zingy and a new firm favourite. If you're unfamiliar with German wines, try any of Gerd's range and I promise you will be impressed.

Dominic Hentall's Terra Nera 2017 (£10.99)
I love Dominic Hentall - he is always the life and soul of the party on the Naked Tour. I love his Terra Calda and his Terra Forte so I was fascinated to try his Terra Nera. I love Italian wines, but I'm more familiar with those from Northern Italy from regions such as Tuscany and Piedmont. However, this one is from Sicily so from a much warmer, sunnier region. And so the wine is big, fruity, spicy and with some vanilla from the oak barrels. This wine is great now and will probably be even better in a few months.

Sam Plunkett's Victorian Zinfandel 2018 (£10.99)

Dominic's amazing
Terra Nera

In the programme, it describes Sam as one of the nicest guy's around. And they aren't wrong. Naked Wines Australia have done this amazing podcast with him which is really worth a listen to understand his amazing journey to master wine maker. I loved his new Zinfandel which is packed with jammy fruits as well as juicy strawberries. (I also loved his Halo Effect Viognier 2016 which is a new sweet wine for me, so I thought I would give it a mention).

Ray and Eamon's picks
Every year, Naked Wine's chief taster, Ray teams up with the boss, Eamon, to champion their top picks at the "Ramon Table". All of their wines are always amazing. They had four on their table this year, some of which have been (or will be) available through the Naked Wines Fine Wine Club. I especially enjoyed the following from their top picks:
- Anna Espelt Sol i Vent 2017 (£13.99)
- Repetto Piemonte Rosso 2017 (£9.99)

Me with the lovely Mike
Paterson

I can't leave a review of my favourite wines without mentioning Mike Paterson. He didn't have any new wines on his tasting table this year, but he is such an utter legend, I couldn't miss him out. Especially as his Lay of the Land Marlborough Pinot Noir is perhaps my favourite Pinot Noir on the Website. His 2017 vintage is his best in my opinion - it's really fresh fruit forward and packed with strawberries and vanilla.

These are just a few of the wines I enjoyed this year. And, as always we were spoilt for choice. Especially as Naked Wines seems to be bringing on new wines and winemakers everyday! If you follow Eamon on Instagram, you'll see his quest to sniff out new wines from all over the globe (and be really rather jealous!).

A tale of Albarino

I've recently fallen a bit in love with a glass of Albarino and feel the need to spread the word.

Traditionally, this grape is grown in the warm and wet region of Galicia in Spain. With the finest Albarino wines coming from Rias Baixas DOC of Spain.

It is light, crisp, citrusy and perfect as an aperitif or with shellfish. So if you like a White Rioja, why not try a different Spanish Style give this grape a glug?

We went on holiday to Spain recently and I was really hoping to try lots of this style of wine. Maybe we were in the wrong area or perhaps the wrong type of resort, but I didn't see a single Albarino in a supermarket. An absolute travesty! 

So back here in the UK, here's a few I've recently enjoyed.

Definition Albarino 2016

I'm a big fan of the Majestic Definition range. It's their own label wine and most of the range that I've tried has been pretty good quality for the price. 

This Albarino is really light, fresh and has a lovely citrus bite. Pretty pure and not overly complex, this wine is dangerously drinkable and a confident crowd pleaser. At £11.99 a bottle, it's the most expensive I've tried but I would say worth the extra pennies.

Tres Mares Albarino

Available from Waitrose at £9.99, this wine has a bit more depth than the definition one. Slightly more golden in the glass, this Rias Baixas Albarino has an apple bite of acidity. 

Some Albarino wines can be unapproachably aromatic, but this one is definitely lighter and more easy drinking.

Medusa Albarino 2016

Priced at £9.99 from Majestic, this wine has easily the most attractive bottle design out of all the ones I've tried. It is also the most complex with more aromatic and peach notes and definitely more of a honey colour in the glass.

For me, this fresh, fruity wine is best served cold and will probably be your glass of wine if you like something off dry with ripe fruit flavours.

Carlos Rodrigues Albarino

This lip smacking Albarino is available from Naked Wines for £9.99. I first tried this at the Naked Wines Tasting tour in 2016 and I definitely went back to Carlos' table for more than one taste! 

It's crisp, fresh and full of apple and pear flavours. Again, serve ice cold and this clear, light coloured wine will definitely not disappoint. I can practically smell the salty air of the sea as I drink this. Definitely zesty, definitely refreshing and one to try. (apologies for the photo, my phone is broken, normal service will resume shortly).

So, if you haven't given this grape a go, I'd really urge you to. Grab yourself a glass, close your eyes and imagine you're on a breezy terrace in Sunny Spain with a plate of salty squid in front of you. And, if there are any you think I should try, then just let me know and I'll add to my list. Cheers!

Selecting a new rosé wine for Naked Wines

Me tasting the good stuff

As an Archangel for Naked Wines, I was recently lucky enough to be asked to to help them choose a new Provencal Rosé wine for their website.


It was pretty exciting stuff as it was the first time I'd visited the Naked Wines offices and met a lot of the people I've been chatting to online since 2012. Plus, I hadn't drank for 33 days previously. What a way to break dry January with a rosé tasting with Naked Wines?

Outside the Naked Wines
offices with Archangels
Simon and Darren

When I arrived at the offices, I did not feel let down by the Naked experience. The funky reception was dominated by a huge slide that transported staff between floors. Everything was quirky and open plan with meeting rooms named after principle Naked wine makers and wine vending machines for staff to sample latest vintages. What a fab place to work.

Archangel, Phil, 
shooting down the slide

And then the rosé wine arrived. Bottle after bottle after bottle of delicious looking wine. Some more delicate and blushy and some more red and fruity in colour. Turned out there were 37 of the stuff. It was like some sort of fantasy come true!

But when MD (and super fox) Eamon Fitzgerald kicked off the tasting, it became apparent that this was no jolly for Naked Wines. 

Wine Guru, Toby, had literally spent months talking to rosé producers in Provence to secure a selection of wines that would be, not only delicious, but exclusive to Naked. Plus, most of the wine makers were fairly small, artisan producers. And, if they were to secure distribution through Naked Wines, Eamon told us, it could be life changing.

Just a few roses to choose
from then....

On the train to Norwich, Archangels Simon and Darren had told me about a wine they selected at a previous day like this one. And, apparently the wine the Archangels chose was really unpopular with the Naked Angels. It literally "bombed". I did not want to be responsible for choosing a wine that the Angels don't like and I didn't want to let Eamon and the team down! 

We were instructed to use the spittoons and make the right decision. No pressure then.

I really hope that we made the right decision. Because the task was much more difficult than I'd anticipated!

Gorgeous Eamon laying down
the law. This was serious
business (I promise)

For starters, never before had I tried so many wines in such quick succession. Now, I'm a drinker and I've done a lot of tasting! But, we had to whittle 37 wines down to one which would go on sale on the website that evening! 

Our group initially had 12 wines to taste, then we tasted the 6 shortlisted rosés from all the groups and finally we selected one. I felt like I was literally tasting one wine after another after another! (I know, it's a hard life!)

Look how serious we were
Archangels Darren & Sarah

In addition, we had to keep in mind that we were helping to select a wine that would be popular with Naked Wines Angels. So, we had to consider the cost of the wine as well as whether it would be something that Naked customers would want to buy and would expect from a Provencal Rosé.


However, a few of the wines really stood out. And I was really pleased with the wine we chose. 

The Chateau Saint Hilaire Provence Rosé by Bruno Lapierre was mouth wateringly zingy with fresh strawberry fruit flavours, pale and blushy-pink in the glass and would be dangerously drinkable on a summer's day in the garden. 

My Archangel friend Ray
We finally met for the first
time that day!

In fact, 3,600 bottles went on sale that evening as a marketplace deal and nearly all of them had gone in just a few days, which hopefully showed we made a good choice.

I had such a great day and it was definitely worth the train fare and the total of 8 hours of travel to get there. I've also learned loads more about rosé wine (who'd have thought that a third of the wine drank in France was pink? They definitely have good taste). Thanks Naked Wines for an absolutely amazing afternoon (an AA afternoon).

A wine tour with Virgile Joly (a day spent with the beautiful people)

On a recent trip to the South of France, I thought I would visit a few of the winemakers whose wines I have particularly admired on the Naked Wines website. So, of course, I had to visit the wine legend that is Virgile Joly whose cellar door is in Saint Saturnin de Lucian.

Views from Saint Saturnin

Saint Saturnin couldn't be more French if it strung some onions round its neck and wore a beret. The town consisted of a restaurant, a hotel, Virgile's cave, the church and a few stone houses. Everything was fading slightly at the edges and pretty much the only person in sight was a slim lady brushing up some leaves from the restaurant floor (in a very laid back, unhurried fashion). It was like a scene from a movie (something arty in French that I probably wouldn't understand!)

Camille in the Vines

But then Magdalena, Virgile's partner who I had met at a wine tasting in the summer, arrived followed by our tour guide, Camille Renault. Both were incredibly welcoming, spoke amazing English and were, frankly too attractive!

Camille drove us to a vineyard overlooking Arboras which is where Virgile has his actual winery. In the car, I said to my husband "didn't she have the most beautiful eyes"? 

It was a gloriously sunny day and the view over the vines was completely stunning. The plants looked green and lush and the sun was glinting off the leaves. All the plants looked amazingly uniform, like they had been perfectly tamed to grow in little lines in identical shapes. All around the air was filled with the buzz of little tractors putting around the countryside assisting with the harvest. 

The grapes being sorted

We then proceeded to meet Virgile and see some of the wine production. In the car on the way, I said to my husband, "why don't we live somewhere like here?"

I'd never been lucky enough to visit a winery during harvest and everything was in furious, focused production. Two men were effortlessly scooping up ginormous crates of luscious looking grapes and emptying them onto a conveyor belt that took the grapes for sorting. The whole building and courtyard smelt very sweet and fruity.

Virgile showing us around
the winery (with his
dreamy hair)

Virgile was kind enough to spend quite a lot of time with us. I'm sure he must have been extremely busy with the harvest. But he never seemed as though he was pressed for time and was extremely generous with his attention. 

We tried some of the juice from the grapes that had been picked yesterday. I've never had the privilege of trying day old wine before, but the liquid was clear, crisp and incredibly sweet. I could have drunk it all day. Virgile spoke passionately about his organic methods and how he does his best to respect nature. Producing quality, unique and individual wines of which he was very proud.

The ridiculously
stunning view from the winery

He told us that he was worried about how some of his wines were fermenting. And he wasn't sure whether to add more oxygen or to change the temperature. Evidently, he is serious about his art and wants to make the best wines possible. I get the impression that he worries a lot.

Finally, we went back to Saint Saturnin to try some wines. In the car on the way back, my husband said "now there is an attractive man, I am very jealous of his hair."

The range of wines we tried

We went into another building (how many buildings does Virgile have?) to try the wines. Camille with the beautiful eyes explained to us that all of Virgile's wines are very distinguished and have a "feeling" of the man that runs through them all.

Camille spent a great deal of time "helping" us to smell and taste the wines. Sadly, despite us enjoying wine and spending a lot of time talking about it, we are clearly complete heathens when it comes to describing the subtleties of the wine. But she was very patient and kind and the whole experience was really enjoyable and the wines were delicious.

Tasting the wines

My personal favourites were, despite me not being a massive pink wine fan, his Saturne 2015 rose which was fresh, light and perfectly dry. I also enjoyed his Carthagene Rose Liqueur wine which had a wonderful pinky-orange colour and tasted of lychee and rose. One of the nicest sweet wines I've tried in a long time.

Lunch at Le Pressoir

Part of our tasting package was to have lunch at Le Pressoir restaurant over the road. I think we were the only English people in there and lots of the people around us looked as though they had just stepped in from the harvest to enjoy a glass of pastis. The food was delicious, but mostly I have no idea what I ate. I couldn't even read the hand written menu board, let alone translate it into French. Poor waitress had to resort to "moo" and "baa". We washed it all down, whatever it was, with a bottle of Virgile's Saturne Rose. A great experience.

We had the most wonderful time and I would encourage anyone to visit Virgile and try his wines. However, be prepared to feel slightly unattractive, slightly unworthy and very, very English. And also, just a tiny bit in love with Virgile Joly....

You can buy Virgile's wines in the UK on the Naked Wines website. And, he is such a complete legend that there is also a book about him which is available on Amazon. But be warned, you may be more in love with him and Magda after reading it!

A day trip to Hambledon Vineyard

I first met Ian Kellet from Hambledon Vineyard at a Naked Wines tasting event. My husband and I enjoyed several glasses with him and bent his ear about English Sparkling wine. So this summer we thought we'd pay the vineyard a visit since it is only down the road from where we live.

Beautiful vineyard in rolling
Hampshire countryside

We contacted them via their website and discovered they had a range of wine and food events as well as a vineyard tour which is what we opted for. 

Despite it being a fairly dark and dank day when we visited the vineyard, the Hambledon estate is absolutely stunning. Long rows of vines stretching seemingly endlessly down across virtually unspoiled countryside views. Who knew we had such beautiful wine country here in England?

Bottles fermenting

Arriving late (as usual) we missed the start of the tour. But I guess there was about 15 people on the tour. My husband laughed when he saw everyone and said "Typical English people, getting dressed up to the nines to walk round what is essentially a farm in the rain". Too true.

Felix conducting the tour

Winemaker, Felix, conducted the tour. He clearly had a passion for winemaking and the production methods at Hambledon. Interestingly, despite this being an English vineyard, nearly all the machinery and many of the wine makers are French. It seems that, English wine production is still relatively speaking in its infancy. 

But it's led by Ian who is a Yorkshire man and all of the marketing team we met were English. So I guess there's a balance. 

Tasting some of the
good stuff

I'd never been on a Sparkling wine vineyard tour, so most of the production method was new to me. Especially as nearly everything they do at Hambledon is by hand. To make a sparkling wine, apparently there is a second fermentation in the bottle, with every single one of the bottles being stored at an angle and turned by hand every day (riddling). Labour intensive stuff and evidence of the care and love they put into the production.

They planned to start harvesting the grapes the second week in October which is apparently a month after France. But with the warmer weather in England this is a really exciting time for English wine production. And all the team seem really excited about what the future holds. 

Finally, we got to try some of the good stuff. Sadly, we only got to try one glass and none of the Hambledon wines. But I guess English Sparkling wines is pricey stuff and there were quite a few of us on the tour that day. Ian has subsequently told me that it's not really viable to open too many bottles. And perhaps doing wine flights and charging slightly more will be something they will consider in the future. 

We actually tried a glass of Meonhill Grande Reserve which was absolutely delicious. 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay, with tiny bubbles and a really crisp, fresh and sherberty. This wine was grown on an estate that Ian and the team recently purchased and apparently is the English Sparkling wine that Virgin Airways has chosen to serve in upper class.

They have a number of wine events between now and Christmas. Including the chance to make your own Sparkling wine for Christmas. 

A lovely vineyard to visit and the wine we tried was absolutely exquisite. Very much looking forward to trying the wines we bought on the day!

Naked Wines calls on members to pledge their pounds for the future of English Wine

At 8pm on 25th August, Naked Wines is launching a very exciting new proposition for their members (or Angels). They are asking Angels to put their money where their glass is and invest in the future of English Sparkling wine. 

Here's what they're doing...The hope is that, if enough Angels pledge their pounds, then Naked Wine Growers Charles and Ruth Simpson will have enough money to produce a new English sparkling wine exclusively for Naked. 

Not only does the Angel money fund the production of the wine. They also get to help decide the branding, blend and name for the wine. Let's hope they use their power for the good (thankfully, Winey McWineface has already been overruled)! Plus, all investors get anywhere between 2 and 6 bottles from the production of the first fizz which will be delivered by Christmas 2018.

Charles and Ruth Simpson

I've recently become a Naked Wines Archangel. Which meant the bosses ran the crowdfunding campaign past us prior to launch. And, although there was widespread excitement from the Flight, there was some concerns. Will members be willing to invest in a wine that they won't be able to sip until 2018? With the British weather so unpredictable, will this be too much of a risk?

Well, I for one hope it will be an amazing success. With English sparkling wine more popular than ever, this feels like a real opportunity to be part of something at the very beginning. And, who knows, if this is a success, maybe there will be more crowdfunding opportunities for the public to invest in English wine.

So come on Naked Angels, press that green buttonhttps://www.nakedwines.com/marketplace. We only need 1,200 of you to make history! I'm so nervous, it's enough to drive you to drink....

My first ever Naked Wines Tasting Tour

At the beginning of the tasting

Ever since I joined Naked Wines in April 2012 I've wanted to go to one of the events on their tasting tour. But for one reason or another (work, then pregnancy then babysitter) I've been unable to go.

So, I was delighted this year when I was neither pregnant nor working and the tour was coming to Southampton, on a Sunday!

The tasting programme

The pre-event marketing claimed there was going to be 30 wine makers and 139 wines to try. I literally could not have been more excited! Plus, all the Angels on the Naked Wines forums were chatting about it and I literally could not wait. I was so excited that I had three cocktails beforehand, which in hindsight was an error....

The tasting started at 2pm and all the visitors joined an orderly queue outside the Guildhall in Southampton (we are so British!). When we got in, there was a huge hall full of wines. It was just fabulous.

139 wines to try

I've been to lots of tasting events before and they have often been pretty snobby. However, it immediately became clear that this was not that sort of event. In fact, the organisers were actively encouraging us to take selfies with the winemakers (I'm yet to discover if I won the selfie competition!). 

With Serena from Cordero
wines and ArchAngel Leon

Plus, nearly all of the people working the stands were the winemakers themselves, not just some rep or agency staff. I guess some of that comes down to the whole Naked Wines ethos. The money that the Naked Wines Members (or Angels) invest into Naked Wines goes towards funding independent wine growers. So, I guess for most of the winemakers attending the event, this was an opportunity to promote their wines to their key audience.

Rocking it like a redhead with
Jen Pfeiffer.

Either way, I had an amazing time. I chatted to loads of winemakers, other Naked Angels and also some of the Archangels (Archangels are the elite members of the Naked Wines crew and their job is to help promote Naked Wines via the forums and events such as the tasting tour). Everyone was super friendly, no-one mocked my pitiful wine knowledge and most of all I tried some delicious wines!

My highlights included (and there were loads, so I'm sorry if I've missed you out):

Ian Kellet and son from
Old Winchester Hill

- Meeting Serena from Gianfranco and Serena Cordero wines. We got married in Italy and we are a bit obsessed with Italian wines. In fact, I am drinking one of their Barbarescos that we bought at the tasting as we speak! She was so friendly and I'd never tried any of their wines before and I loved them.
- Rocking it like a redhead with Jen Pfeiffer. Jen Pfeiffer is an Australian winemaker and something of a legend on the Naked Wines Forums. Again, I'd never tried any of her wines before and I especially loved her "The Rebel Bubbles", which was light, fresh and zingy and my new favourite sparkling wine.

Rod Easthope, an absolute
legend

- Trying Naked Wines' first English grown wine. For ages, Naked Wines has been promising us an English wine. And, finally we have one and it is grown just down the road from where I live. Ian Kellett was there with his son serving his new "Old Winchester Hill" sparkling wines. At the end of the tasting, we ended up stood chatting while drinking a bottle of Gerd Stepp Reisling. Absolutely delicious and what a nice man. I hope his venture is a huge success.
- Meeting one of my favourite Naked Wines growers, Rod Easthope. I love his pinot noirs, I love his Sauvignon Blancs and I got to try his Merlot Cab Franc which I'd never tasted before. The man lived up to my expectations! 

Lovely Serena from Cordera

- Finally speaking face to face with some of the Naked Wines Crew. Highlights were (very slurred) thanking the event organiser Seb for organising such an incredible event. And meeting some of the Archangels including lovely Leon who even indulged me with a selfie. 

Overall, it was a great event. The brochure encouraged us to use the spittoons. However, to my chagrin, I did not and drank far too much. I lost my brochure, I broke my selfie stick. I took photos of people and have no idea who they were. 

Who are these people? Does
Anyone know?

If you get the chance to go along to one of the events, I'd really urge you to. The tickets were only £15 and you got the price of those back if you ordered a case of wine (which we did). And, for that price you get a lot of really high quality wines, great conversation and a lot of fun. My advice though? Use the spittoons and don't have three cocktails beforehand.....

Getting sloshed with Port Sippers

For my birthday, my friends at Hintons Home gave me a set of four Port Sippers. I'd never seen these beasts before, but frankly, I was very excited as I love port and I love fancy glasses.

I waited until New Year's Eve to try them out. We were spending the evening at my brother's house, who, frankly, loves a good drink. So, I took them to his house with a bottle of Montaria Tawny Port from Naked Wines and brought them out with some delight after lunch. 

We were all a bit sloshed by then anyway to be honest (as you can probably tell by the quality of the photos!) and they were met with some hilarity (especially as they look a bit like some apparatus you might choose to use for illegal activities!). 

My brother had also bought a bottle of Tawny Port from Berry Bros which we ended up drinking instead of mine. So we filled up our glasses (to the top!) and off we went.

The first thing I would say is that the capacity of these glasses is quite large. And, filling them to the top was, perhaps, an error of judgement! Hence why we all got so drunk! 

The blurb said that the sippers were supposed to bring out the flavour of the Port. "By sipping port from the bottom it reduces oxidisation and greatly improves the taste of your tipple." Well, the Port was delicious, but I honestly couldn't tell you whether it tasted better or not. We were all too drunk to remember.

However, I would say it was hilarious drinking out of the little spout and, like sipping it through a straw, it slipped down rather quickly. We laughed all the way through the experiment! 

I will definitely use my Port Sippers every time I drink Port from now on. They are a bit like a kid's sippy cup, but for adults! And, I promise to do a proper taste test in the future. When I'm not so drunk. And can remember what the Port tastes like! 

The Port Sippers are available from Hintons Home online  and they also have a lovely shop in Broadstone in Dorset.

Oh, and drink sensibly and that....

What I drank this Christmas

I'm currently having a dry January, so I thought I would reminisce about some of the fabulous wine I drank this Christmas. 

I always find that everyone tends to splash out a bit more over the Festive Period (including me!) and this one was no exception. So I thought I'd make a little note of all the ones I enjoyed the most.

At the beginning of December, I wrote about how I'd ordered the Christmas mixed case from Naked Wines. Without a doubt, my standout bottle from the hamper was the Hacienda Don Hernan Rioja Crianza 2012. Smooth, fruity and full of vanilla. We all absolutely loved it and I loved having something so rich and dark coloured in my glass. And, not too expensive at £13.99 a bottle.

Many of you may have read that I got married in Italy. My brother, who has fabulous taste in wine, bought all of the wine for after the meal. And, as usual it was all delicious. He'd originally been to Greve in the Chianti region to buy the wine, but on New Year's eve he produced two bottles of the red as a surprise for my husband and I. What a treat. The Villa Calcinaia Chianti Classico Riserva was as yummy as I remembered, all fruity and rich and brought back wonderful memories of our wedding day. Available from Berry Bros for £24.99. 

It wasn't just red wine that I particularly enjoyed. I had quite a few delicious bottles of white wine too. My favourite was almost certainly this bottle of Saint Clair Pioneer Block Sauvignon Blanc 2014 Marlborough which is £19.99 from Majestic. It just tastes expensive and I can assure you it is worth the extra pennies (and you get it a bit cheaper if you buy six bottles or "mix six" as they like to call it). Dry, elegant and packed with gooseberry fruits. Seriously slurpable. 

I can't talk about Christmas wines without mentioning a fizz. I drank a lot of very poor sparkling wine over Christmas, I really don't know why people buy cheap Champagne, because IMHO, it is nearly always rubbish. You're much better off buying a Prosecco or English Sparkling wine. As an example, I was sent a bottle of Valdobbiadene Prosecco Spumante DOCG as part of my membership of the Aldi Wine Club. At £7.49 a bottle, it is an absolute steal. Light, fresh and creamy - you honestly wouldn't guess this was so reasonably priced nor from a no frills supermarket. I also really enjoyed the Sacchetto Prosecco Col de L’Utia Brut 2015 from Naked wines at £14.49 a bottle.

Finally, a sticky! On New Year's Eve, we enjoyed the William Pickering, 20-Year-Old, Tawny Port from Berry Bros (£26.95). A fairly sweet and nutty port, with notes of caramel. Dangerously drinkable. We had a lot of fun drinking it with our Port Sippers from Hintons Home. I'll review these in a later post, but they are fab! 

Anyway, these were just a snapshot of the wines I drank over Christmas. And, as my birthday was just before, I can assure you, there were many, many more! My liver hurts! Hence why I am now having a dry January! Did you have any wines over Christmas you'd like to share? Just let me know.

Oh My Gin. A Spanish Gin?

I'm a bit of a creature of habit when it comes to gin. I nearly always buy Bombay Sapphire as I like the clean, crisp taste and there is also a distillery near where I live so I feel like I am buying local. If there isn't any Bombay, then I'll always try to choose a London Dry Gin like Tanqueray. 

So, when the Naked Wines Christmas case included a bottle of gin from Spain, I was intrigued. Had I ever tried a gin from Spain? I don't think so.

The Rambla 41 Mediterranean Dry Gin is made in a small, artisan distillery in Spain by Stefan Lismond and Philippe Geeraert and is made just for Naked Wines. 

According to the blurb, all the ingredients come from the Catalan region near Barcelona. The base spirit is made from Grenache and Carignan wine lees (the left overs from the bottom of red wine tanks). It is then infused with botanicals like Almonds, Juniper and Angelica which are apparently gathered by hand from the hills around Priorat. They then add orange and lemon peel and some special water from the gin makers' well. All impressive stuff.

I've never really looked at the ingredients of gin before, but much of the base ingredients seem similar to others I've tried. For example, Bombay Sapphire is made with Juniper, Angelica, Almonds and lemon peel. So although the method of production is more artisan, it shares many of the common ingredients to gins I've tried before.

However, the biggest difference in production seems to be the filtering method. Rambla 41 is non-chill filtered whereas most big brands chill-filter their gins as a cosmetic procedure in order to make the spirit clear.

Because Rambla 41 is non-chill filtered, it is slightly cloudy as the botanicals have not been stripped out. 

Ok, so enough about the ingredients. What was it like?

Well, the bits floating around in the gin didn't bother me at all. I mean, once you've squished some lime in your gin, it always ends up slightly foggy anyway.

If you look carefully, you'll see
the botanicals floating about

But I have to say, it does have a unique taste. It is very aromatic and fruity and quite unlike any gin I've ever tried. It is also very smooth and not at all harsh. 

But at £34.99 (£24.99 Angel Prices), it's not cheap. So is it worth it? Oh My Gin, I loved it. A really delicious treat that I will definitely buy again. On the Naked website, Angels can review things they've bought. And 98% of the 224 people who have reviewed this gin say they will buy it again. Which is a pretty strong accolade IMHO.

The gin makers recommend serving it with Fever Tree tonic, lime, a grape cut in two (presumably because a whole one would be a choking hazard - jokes) and some orange zest. I'll give that a go next time I buy some.

The bottle is also very beautiful (label below) if you like that sort of thing.