Professional Grade 6 Piece Wine Set -

Wine Journal

Vacuvin Rapid Ice Wine Cooler Silver -

The Old Wine Shades (Richard Jury Mysteries) (Richard Jury Mysteries) Customer Review: Now that’s one diappointing book!
I’m a huge Jury fan, and have been for years. But, Ms. Grimes, what happened to this story?? It grabs you and keeps you interested, but doesn’t move along like other Grimes/Jury books. And the conclusion is terrible! I don’t recommend this book at all. Ms. Grimes, I’m disappointed. Please give us the Richard Jury and plot development that your loyal fans have come to expect. I’ve heard of very famous authors letting lesser know writers use their names for experience. Hopefully that’s not what’s happening here.
Customer Review: I feel cheated!
The beginning of that book is absolutely brilliant, you are drawn ito the mystery and you enjoy the spirited dialogues. The twist towards the end is as unexpected as it is fascinating… but then it’s all downhill. This is a book I closed with an overwhelming sense of frustration.

Rouge 02 Electronic Wine Breather -

Penin Guide to Spanish Wine Customer Review: Missing the most important information!
The guide is very much standard in terms of layout - begins with notes about the tasting and rating processes, gives an overview of Spanish wines, and then delves into the various regions giving an overview of each, together with listings of most estates and their wines. The book ends with a nice list of top wines, and an index that seems to work well.

However, on page 9, the author states that with each rating he also gives the price range of the wine, as well as a rating of the value for money (1 to 5 stars). Umm, nice… but where is this information? It seems to me that the publishers of this English-language edition simply removed this information for what can only be commercial reasons and protection of import monopolies in your country.

As most of us who buy this book do not live in Spain itself, the price and value for money information is of utmost importance (is my local importer ripping me off, is this special offer really a good offer, am I paying too much for a 92 point wine, etc). Very disappointing - especially in a guide that is meant to stand above commercial interests and inform the consumer for his or her benefit.

I would imagine that the Spanish original would have this information. May be worth getting it just for that, and learning a bit of Spanish won’t hurt you either.

Bormioli Rocco, Crystal Glass, Altea Aria Wine, 24 cl -

Reflections of a Wine Merchant: On a Lifetime in the Vineyards and Cellars of France and Italy

72 Bottle Wine Rack Kit - Dark Stained Oak -

Cognac (Mitchell Beazley Classic Wine Library) Customer Review: Brandy is for heroes
The next stage book for wine lovers. After the wine, then the cognac. Nicholas Faith takes the reader through the topic with seriousness and frivolity. If you want to know the secrets of a good cognac, this book tells you. And it’s fun to read.

Hen Night Gift Wine Glass(new) -

How to Choose Wine Customer Review: An excellent guide and reference book
I wanted to learn more about wine and happened to see Vincent Gasnier on a TV programme promoting this book. It manages to be both a useful introduction to the world of wine appreciation (which can appear intimidating to the novice) and also a good reference guide to wine types from around the world. There are useful sections on appreciating wine, buying and storing wine, and matching wine with food. It’s well written and comprehensive and I’ve already learnt a great deal from it. Excellent

Dartington Wine Master Flute (pair) -

The New France: A Complete Guide to Contemporary French Wine (Mitchell Beazley Wine Guides) Customer Review: Perceptive, enlightening, witty: wine with soul
This book is brilliant on so many levels that it’s hard to know where to start.
First up, it operates as a guide to French wine. It explains French wine law (why labels on wine tell you what they do), it gives you vintages assessments for every region in recent years, and it lists recommended producers from every region in France (and even which within their range are worth trying). The information here will bypass absolute beginners, but will still please a broad range of people, from those with just a drop of knowledge to geniune connoisseurs.
Second, it is a wonderful evocation of France. Time and again, descriptions of scenes and moments drip with atmosphere: Jefford’s witty, eloquent prose is a pleasure to read. And he’s strong on describing the current issues in the French wine industry.
Yet what’s most significant is that Jefford is a man with a thesis whose implications are in their way both moral and spiritual. In the new France he envisages, wine should become more truly reflective of the terroir from which it grows. Far from lambasting the AOC system (tying labelling to terroir rather than grape-variety), he rejoices in it.
And this delight in the invidivuation of wines, to reflect every nuance in the land, leads him to lament two things: first, the increasing branding of wine, which inevitably seeks to iron out variation.
His vision is to get rid of the marketing departments: let the vignerons become both viticulteur and salesman. Let those who understand the land, and the wine from which it grows, be those who communicate it to the world. That way, truth lies.
His second lament is that of winemakers who do not acknowledge their land in which they work. He laments New World winemakers and British winewriters who seek only after ‘fruit’. Fruitiness in wine is for him a temporary, superficial pleasure, because fruity wine can come from anywhere. Wine should emphasise its terroir, for only that piece of land can produce that bottle of wine. Choice of grapes should therefore not be decided on by what pleases the public, but by what best draws out and delineates the terroir from which it comes.

It is possibly an elitist argument, but in the five years since the first edition of this book was published, it has been substantiated rather than damaged. Chasing the consumers led to widespread planting of chardonnay in the last 90s, only for consumers to head away to sauvignon blanc and viognier. The Robert Parker inspired Merlot phenomenon led to hectare upon hectare of Merlot but “Sideways” led a counter rebellion against it.

For Jefford, yes, grow Merlot, but only where Merlot draws out the land. His heroes are those who insist on, Carignan, say, in Provence, because that’s what works there. The vigneron should submit himself to the land, not try to make the land grow what is not ‘true’ to that land: that is too arrogant. Jefford’s not uncritical of the AOC system - it’s clumsy and slow to change in many places - but the fact that it that has preserved pinot noir in Burgundy, chenin blanc in the Loire, and syrah in the Rhone etc. is something for which he rejoices.

In exploring this thesis, the whole book is transported beyond a guide to French wine to something much deeper and more profound. I didn’t agree with all of it, but in its quirky way it’s made me think more than almost any other piece of non-fiction I’ve read in the last five years.
A brilliant book, then, full of pleasures and with much to ruminate on. One you will keep wanting to dip into.
Customer Review: Should have been called The Real France
This book could be summed up in two words - France and terroir. Yet to do so would be a massive injustice on such an and obviously well-researched book.

Firstly, to France. The author, Andrew Jefford takes you on a memorable tour of the wine regions of France, as well as a background of the history of French Wine Law. For each region that he visits, he explains the history of the area, what is good about it, some myths and common accusations, and gives details of the top producers.

Then there’s the terroir. You cannot help but come away from this book understanding that the soil, climate and history of a region are intrinsic to the production of a wine, much more so than in other countries. And it is the history of French wine makers, who care passionately about what they do (if a little arrogantly in the past), that has produced these efforts.

The most impressive aspect of the book, however, was it’s style - I found it to be a breath of fresh. Most other wine books are full of facts, figures, maps and diagrams, with precious little in the way of decent narrative. This volume, on the other hand, paints a vivid picture of the vineyards of Burgundy, the landscape of Alsace, and the beauty of South West France. I almost felt as though I was with Mr Jefford as he described tasting white Burgundies in the cellars beneath Corton-Charlemagne.

Overall, a very good effort, and a recommendation.

Save the wine vacuum pump and stoppers 0905577-0905578 -

White Stone, Black Wine: Life Among the Ancient Vineyards of the Quercy Blanc Customer Review: Mouthwatering
I’d just like to second D Paul’s review. I loved the author’s descriptions of the local markets and those endless, convivial meals - I can well imagine she is an accomplished chef. She really gets the juices flowing and makes you want to hop on the first available train/plane. It’s also refreshing to read a book ostensibly about moving to France but which isn’t full of tales of woe about trying to find builders, trouble with the septic tank and so forth, nor poking fun at the locals. Instead, she focuses on the extraordinary warmth and generosity her neighbours. This book is more a celebration of life in rural France, while also covering a fair bit of local history and evoking the Lot’s stunning landscapes.
Customer Review: A delightful romp through one of France’s prettiest corners
Holiday-makers passing through Quercy’s seductive villages and vineyards, its little market towns and rambling old farms, its wild limestone plateaus and deep woodlands fantasize what it’s like to actually live here year round. In White Stone Black Wine, Amanda Lawrence spills the beans in a light-hearted account of everyday life in the Lot. An accomplished chef, her passion for the seasonal bounty, local markets, the Black Wine of Cahors, and long lazy lunches comes out in every chapter, woven with tales of exuberant village f?tes, local history and peasant wisdom, and what happens when one gets sucked unknowingly into a lady’s cleaning products party. Even if you’ve lived in this little nook of southwest France for years (as we have), White Stone Black Wine is a refreshing reminder of just why you moved here in the first place.

RTA Wine Rack Circolare 12 Bottle Wine Rack -

How to Match Food and Wine (Mitchell Beazley Wine Made Easy)

Vacuvin Vacuum Concerto Wine Saver (1 pump,2 st) -

I Don’t Know Much About Wine, But I Know What I Like Customer Review: Invaluable Advice
After attending one of Simons wine tastings at the ‘Taste of London’ tour in 2007 i purchased his book to learn more about his particular style of wine tasting. Simon pretty much teaches us how to enjoy wine, for our enjoyments sake, NOT as some poncy lifestyle choice.

I’ve spent a few years investigating the smells and tastes of wine but i’ve never read a book that cut it all down to the basics, so much so that my own boyfriend started to take an interest in wine. Its not dusty, arrogant or prejudiced. It is pure advice. And good advice at that.

Simply put, this is a book for people who dont care what vintage/soil/country/brand a wine comes from as long as it tastes nice. It helps you distinguish what flavours you fancy so there isnt a case of picking up a random bottle and being severely disappointed in future. It also sheds light on why wines taste different and that its impossible to say ‘i dont like red wine’ for example, because there are many different flavours.It advises on the best place to try varieties of wine and why it is so so so important to experiment with what you taste. What you hated 10 years ago, might be nice today.

This is a very practical, charming book. An ideal light read, or gift, one which will be referred to again and again. Simply invaluable to anyone who wants a glug of good wine but isnt taking up wine as a serious hobby.
Customer Review: An easy “in” to the world of wine
I was given this book as a Christmas present and pretty much dismissed it at first. I’ve since actually read most of the book & can’t believe how wrong I was. It’s really interesting, SO easy to read and above all, demystifies the world of wine.

It’s written in a really readable way and gives some good comparisons (e.g. if you think that taking the cork out of a bottle of red means you’re letting it “breathe” it’s the same as saying you think sitting with your mouth open is the same as you breathing! - by the way, it’s only if you decant the wine into something that it gets to breathe)

I work in the beer industry and think it was about time someone wrote a similar book for the world of beer.

It’s a great buy, click on “ADD TO BASKET” now.