Many years ago back in the summer of 2005 I married my beautiful wife Anna. Our wedding breakfast was a sumptuous hog roast in a marquee in my parent’s garden in Kent . The weather glorious and there was wine and beer a plenty. By the time the Elvis impersonator came on our guests were in very merry spirits.

In those heady days we dinkies (double income no kids) and the pound was riding high in the international money exchanges. Given the strength of the pound I went with my dad and a friend to Sainsburys in Calais and purchased a 100 bottles each of Torres Vina Esmeralda and Penfolds Rawson’s Retreat Shiraz Cabernet, two very quaffable wines and the cost approximately £2.50 a bottle.

Since these days the pound has lost much of its value against the Euro and with the big supermarkets squeezing the margins of the producers to offer more competitive prices to their consumer, the booze cruise has seemingly become a thing of the past. Although every bottle of wine is taxed £2 tax in the UK this is can easily be eaten up by unfavourable exchange rates even more so with the expensive varieties; not to mention the expense of getting over to France with petrol so expensive. I dropped into Sainsbury Calais on a day trip to La Touquet a couple of years ago and other than a checkout girl I was there only person in there. Back in 2005 the aisles were bristling with people from the UK making bulk purchases. It came as no surprise when I heard Tesco, Oddbins and Sainsburys have since closed their Calais operations. Oddbins of course since having closed all their operations (but this is a different story!). Majestic are the only UK retailer left standing.

Having just returned to the UK from a village called Angles 20 or so miles north of La Rochelle I realise I was perhaps a little premature penning the obituary of the booze cruise. Browsing the wine aisle of the ‘Super U’ supermarket in La Tanche Sur Mer, I was quite taken aback by the good value of the wine on offer.

Other than a few varieties of Jacobs Creek and a few Blossom Hill presumably for unadventurous Brits abroad, the wines on offer were not the same as those on offer in the UK. Aside from these branded wines everything thing was exclusively French; the French seemingly unable to recognise the merits of any wine from outside their own borders.

A familiar wine I did spot was Les Armes Des Chablis at €5.50, so about £4.80 a bottle. A quick Google on the iPhone reveals a the same wine albeit a different vintage was selling at Tesco for £8.99 a bottle. Chablis always carries quite a high price tag and in my opinion does not always offer value for money. This however was a good clean crisp Chablis and under a five I wasn't going to argue. On the next visit I filled up my trolley.

Angles is very close to the Loire Valley and Nantes famous for the Muscadet grape. Figuring where better to find decent Muscadet since the prices ranged from as little as €2.75 to a giddy €3.50 I took the opportunity to put a few varieties into my trolley to find the best on offer. Muscadet has a reputation for lacking complexity, so I only selected Muscadet Sur Lie. The ‘Sur Lie’ bit meaning the wine was left in contact with the lees (dead yeast) to add body and complexity, a similar process also used in the production of Champagne . These were all good quaffing wines perfect for a hot day in France and or a UK wedding. The best on offer I would say was Domaine de la Jousseliere Sevre & Maine sur lie 2009 at €3.15.

I tried a few more expensive varieties. With memories of the impressive M&S Burgundy Mersault 2008 still in my mind I selected a bottle of Mersault 2009. This was not quite as impressive as the M&S offering but at €18.50 over £10 less expensive than the M&S Mesault.

In the UK I will drink far more red than white, but in the French sunshine around a private pool drinking white is far more conducive.  This said I we did purchase the odd reds to go with the steaks on the barbecue. A nice Mercurey I purchased roughly half the price of a similar UK version, so too a rather nice Gigondas from the Rhone region.

One thing I will give a word of warning on, UK supermarket wine buyers in my opinion are better than their French counterparts and a few duds were encountered alongside these bargains. If you're buying wine in bulk for a wedding then make sure you taste first.

I've been invited to these events before but for various reasons this was the first one I had actually been able to attend. I was expecting a couple of dozen wines, a room full of journalists and a PR person singing the praises of the wines on offer with flowery prose. The reality was different, we were taken to a large room with 150 wines laid out on tables and told to help ourselves.

I had a look around at my fellow tasters and chatted to a few, most it seemed were wine advisers from M&S stores around the UK. They had come to experience first hand the wine they will soon be recommending to their customers. A few journalistic types did turn up a bit later on, unsurprisingly they all seemed to know each other.

Tasting and making notes on all 150 wines was going to be hard work, but not being afraid of a bit of hard work I got stuck in straight away...

It soon became apparent that there was no way I was going to be able to make meaningful notes on all 150 wines, so I decided to just pick out the highlights and report back on these. Being new to this 'mass wine tasting', I then realised the 'highlights' were invariably the most expensive wines. When you're tasting lots of wines alongside each other the difference in quality is very apparent, and the quality more often than not matches the price. I therefore decided to change tact and go for value for money or QPR (quality price ratio).

Here is my pick of the bunch, I have tried to include links but many of these wines aren't on general sale yet or aren't available in these vintages:

Whites

PX Elqui 2010 - £4.99

An Chilean white using the Pedro Ximanez grape; a grape more usually associated with Sherry. Not the most complex of wines but very good value at under £5. Pale lemon wine with a fairly pronounced aroma apples and green fruit on the palate. Medium to short finish but leaves you wanting lots more, great party wine or for a BBQ when the weather warms up. (7/10)

M'Hudi Sauvignon Blanc 2010 - £8.99

Pale lemon in colour, typical of Sauvignon Blanc. Very crisp, tastes of goosebury and grapefruit, very herbaceous with a nose so fruity and pronounced it is hard to believe they only used grapes to make this wine. Good long finish, a great alternative if you getting a bit bored of NZ Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. (6/10)

M&S Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2008 - £8.99

The best of the Marlborough SBs on the day, not quite up there with Jackson Estate and Cloudy Bay (in my view the best of the Marlborough SBs available in the supermarkets), but less expensive and a fine example. Very fruity, herbaceous with citrus and gooseberries on the palate. Produced by Wither Hills in partnership with M&S. (7/10)

English Bacchus 2009 £10.99

In truth I only mention this one because it is English. It was however crisp and peachy, a high level of acidity as you would expect from a wine from a cool climate. If it was £8.99 I would probably be singing its praises, but £10.99 puts it into a price bracket where there are a better wines available. The yeild on English vines is low making it expensive to produce, so if you're feeling patriotic during the Royal Wedding and don't mind paying a bit over the odds for the privilege of drinking a decent English wine then go for it! (6/10)

Vermintino IGT Lazio 2010 - £6.99

This one is not available until April, it is something to look forward too. Very aromatic, crisp with high acidity but balanced well against the pronounced citrus fruit palate. (7.5/10)

M&S White Burgundy 2010 - £6.99

I have been drinking M&S White Burgundy for years and every vintage is good, consistently providing excellent value for money. The 2010 vintage is no exception. Citrus and apples with a long honeyed finished, crisp and high in acidity but perfectly balanced. Good White Burgundy can be very expensive and so a £6.99 price tag for wine of this quality is all the more astounding. (8/10)

Mersault 2008 - £29

I know look at the price tag. I very rarely paid this much money for a bottle of wine and when I do it is usually a red wine for a special occasion. I would have previous never dreamed of paying this much for a white, however tasting this wine has changed my mind. Quite simply this wine is glorious, the finest example of white Burgundy. Rich and buttery, delightfully oaked the most exquisitely subtle vanilla finish. Sigh....if only I could afford to drink wine of this quality all the time. Outstanding. (10/10)

Reds

Altos del Condor Malbec 2009 - £7.49

This Argentinian Malbec really focused my attention and I without a doubt be purchasing some as soon as it becomes available. A typical and fine example of a Malbec. Deep red almost black in colour, full bodied with a plum like aroma and taste, with a long vanilla oak finish and good strong but well balance tannins. Perfect with Steak or Beef Stew. (9/10)

Los Nucos Carminere Shiraz - £5.49

A bargain red from Chile, excellent value for money. Deep ruby red, medium bodied, medium tannins and quite high in acidity well balanced with red cherry fruit taste. (6/10)

Canelo Cabernet Sauvignon Carminere 2009 - £6.99

A Fair Trade wine and another good value wine from Chile. Deep ruby red, pronounced blackberry fruit taste with a hints of spice, medium tannins and medium bodied. Very nice. (7/10)

Tobiano Pinot Noir 2008 - £19.00

Chile has always made some decent Pinot Noir, nothing special but usually well priced. Given how difficult Pinot Noir is to grow this is some achievement. Even a half decent Red Burgundy usually fetches at least £20. This Pinot Noir is the exception. Burgundy like, silky strawberries on the palate, delicate tannins and a long spicy finish. Exceptionally good wine and a bargain even at £19. (9/10)

Dolphin Bay Shiraz 2010 - £4.99

Light Ruby in colour, medium body with medium tannins. Silky smooth, tastes of red cherry and dark chocolate, medium length warm and satisfying finish. An absolute bargain at under £5. (6/10)

Freedom Ridge Monterey Shiraz 2009 - £8.49
Having shaken off my prejudice to Californian wine, I keep finding myself increasingly impressed by the quality of the wine coming out of there. This wine is no exception, a deep purple/ruby colour, blackberries and spice with a long warm caramel chocolate finish. Highly recommended. (8/10)

Domaine Goerg Rafael Napa Cabernet Sauvignon - £2001 - £30

Fantastic 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Napa Valley in California. Very deep ruby colour and rich blackberries and plum aroma, tastes of opulence. Lovely balanced tannins and acidity - a world class wine. Expensive, but perfect for a special occasion or to impress a friend at a dinner party. (10/10)

Ebenzer & Seppelsfied Shiraz 2009 - £11.99

Everything you want an expect from and Australian Shiraz and more. You will struggle to find a better one at any price. Deep Ruby colour, full bodied black fruit and spice aroma, rich ripe blackberries with delicate vanilla from being aged for 20 months in American oak. My wife will love this one! (9/10)

Rioja Perez Burton 2007 - £9.99

I'm been on the look out for a good Rioja since my favourite Vina Pomal Reserva seems in short supply - if you know where it is on sale drop me a line. This is good example ruby coloured but already started to turn a tad tawny despite being less than 4 years old. Fresh red cherry flavours, medium bodied, mediums tannins. You can taste the oak but not overpowering, not much sign of the vanilla that overpowers a lot of Rioja these days. (7/10)

Nebbiolo d'Alba 2007- £7.99

Made from the Nebbiola grape the same grape that make Borola and Barbaresco and also from Piedmont in Italy. Light Ruby coloured, strong in flavour - vegetal and earthy, balanced with cherries. Quite tannic and good balanced acidity, I recommend alongside Italian tomato based foods. Good value for money. (7/10)

Renato Ratti Nebbiolo 2008 - £12.99.

Another good Nebbiolo and a notch up from the last in terms of quality. Medium Ripe almost dried fruit - red cherries and raspberries the spice from the oak is apparent and well balanced, very good. (8/10)

Chateau Gillet Bordeaux 2009 - £5.99

A decent bargain basement claret. Medium ruby appearance, pronounced aroma and very fruity. Fresh red fruits - strawberries and red cherries. Good acidity and medium tannins a great party or BBQ red wine. Very good QPR! (6/10)

Cotes Du Nuits Villages 2008 - £13.99

Decent Red Burgundy is very expensive, so at £13.99 this is a good entry level bargain basement Red Burgundy. Light bodied but spicy and fruity, pronounced strawberry, red fruit and I thought I could taste eucalyptus. Very good was my conclusion, until I tasted the next Red Burgundy on show... (7/10)

Gevrey-Chambertin 2007 - £29.00

Outstanding Pinot Noir from Burgundy, everything you hope and expect from a top end Red Burgundy. Delicious strawberries and a smooth long, warm, spicy and satisfying finish. Expensive, but you can pay a lot more for a Red Burgundy of this calibre. (10/10)

Baigorri Crianza - 2005 - £10.34 if you buy 12 bottles otherwise £11.49

Surprisingly mature for a Rioja Crianza, but 2005 is a fine year throughout Europe and this is a fine Rioja. Very fruity aroma with red cherry and plum palate, lovely vanilla finish from being aged in French and American oak for 14 months. An M&S Wine Direct wine so only available online or through their monthly subscription programme. (8/10)

Chianti Poggio Piano 2008 - £6.74 if you buy 12 bottles otherwise £7.49

This was in my opinion by far the best of the Chianti on offer and remarkably good value at under £10. Good Chianti is not cheap and believe me this is a very good Chianti. 100% Sangiovese, as with most Chianti you are first hit by the oak aromas, but then the ripe plum fruits and come through with a few swishes of the tasting glass. The palate is very fruity with red cherries and plum, the tannins are present but not over powering and nicely balanced with fruit. High acidity, perfect for Italian food. Only available through M&S Wine Direct. (9/10)

Hunky Dory Pinot Noir - £9.89 if you buy 12 bottles otherwise £10.99

Good value New World Pinot Noir from Marlborough in New Zealand. More full bodied and jammy than a Red Burgundy, but plenty for fresh red fruit in there too. Gentle tannins and a nice long finish. Only available through M&S Wine Direct. (9/10)

Nieto Bonarda 2009 - £11.49 .89 if you buy 12 bottles otherwise £10.99
Full bodied red made from the Bonarda grape, a grape originally from Italy but now almost exclusively grown in Argentina. Deep purple in colour blackberries and plum palate with a rich caramel and spicy vanilla finish. Fairly good tannins so match with red meats and stews. Only available through M&S Wine Direct. (8/10)

Champagnes and Sparkling Wine:

Champagne Desroche NV - £25.00

45% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir and 30% Pinot Meunier. Good Non-Vintage Champagne creamy in texture and gentle yeast. Well structured and good value. (8/10)

Herbert Beaufort Brut Carte d'Or Grand Cru NV - £30

Due to the location in Bouzy this Champagne is Pinot Noir dominant and excellent citrussy champagne, lovely fine bubbles. Aged for 24-30 months. (9/10)

Saint Gall Vintage Premier Cru 2004 - £29

In my view the best of the Champagnes on offer, matured in cellars on the Lees (with the dead yeast), this is buscuity with subtle citrus fruits, very complex. (10/10)

There were a handful of Rose wines on offer. To me Rose is something for a very hot day at a BBQ with grilled meats and salad. Two Rose's perfect for this scenario were the Valdepomares Rioja Risado 2010 - £5.99 and available from May 2011 and the Navarra Rosada 2010 - £6.99.

So there you have it, my pick from 150 wines! More reds than whites but not surprising since I tend to drink red more than white. A good selection and I think something for everyone. This was my first corporate wine tasting but it definitely but it won't be my last, so you will be the first to get the low down on all the new season's releases.

Oddbins is next up I believe!

At a recent dinner party our host, a wine enthusiast, pulled out a white wine he'd selected to go with his King Prawn Pad Thai. Carefully ensuring I couldn't see the label and eager to test my wine knowledge following my enrolment in a wine tasting course, he set me a challenge - to guess what grape this wine was made from. My only clue being it was from Argentina.

Trying to remember all the steps in the "Systematic Approach to Wine Tasting", I looked at the colour of the wine - clear pale lemon. This only told me the wine was relatively young.

Step 2, I gave it a good swish round the glass and stuck my nose right in inhaling deeply. The aroma came as somewhat of a surprise, not the citrus/lemon smell I was expecting from a Sauvignon Blanc, or the mango and tropical fruits smell you'd expected from an Argentinian Chardonnay. The aroma was very floral, peachy and intensely aromatic and not quite like anything I have smelt before.

The wine was the same on the palate, intense with peach and apricot stone fruits, quite complex. I didn't have a spittoon and didn't want to spit on the carpet so I swallowed. The closest thing I could compare it to was a Voignier. I offered this as my answer knowing I was probably wrong, instantly I could tell by the smile on my host's face I was right - I was wrong.

The grape it seemed was "Torrontes" and it went fabulously with the King Prawn Pad Thai. That point aside, "Torrontes" I exclaimed, "what the hell is torrontes!?". 

It seems Torrontes is a grape that is uniquely grown in Argentina. The next day I decided to do some research. Apparently this grape makes up about 20% of all the wine sold in Argentina, but I'd never heard of it. What fascinated me the most was it was only produced in Argentina, with the exception of a few less successful attempts in neighbouring Chile. I'd always been led to believe that all grapes originated from Europe or North Africa. There are certainly no grape varieties native to Argentina or the Americas, so how did this grape get to Argentina without seemingly leaving any relatives in Europe?

As it turns out, a few years back a number of researchers thought it would be interesting idea to DNA test all the various grape varieties to see when they originate from. Not really relevant to this story but something else I discovered during my investigation is that Zinfandel famously grown in Californian, is the same grape as Primitivo from Southern Italy!  Anyway I digress. It turns out the DNA tests on Torrontes revealed that its origins are in the Eastern Mediterranean. How it got to Argentina still seems a little bit hazy, but presumably it was taken over by Spanish Settlers.

The DNA research goes on to reveal that there is 'high probability' that the grape is most likely a cross between two grape varieties. 'Muscat of Alexandria' originally from Egypt and these days mainly used for producing raisins, and a grape called Criolla.

It seems the Criolla grape is known for being disease resistant and able to withstand environmental stresses such as low water availability and high salt concentrations. Perhaps the sort of grape you might take with you if you were planning on settling in a new country with a potentially harsh and unpredictable climate! The Torrontes grapes thrives in dry and very windy conditions, loves high altitude and so is especially suited to the Andies mountains in Argentina. Some torrontes vineyards are excess of 1700 metres above sea level, significantly higher than Ben Nevis.

Torrentes must have been created by pioneering viticulturists looking for the perfect grape to thrive in this unusual environment, and produce great wine. This grape seems so highly adapted to its unique location high in the Andies mountains it is not viable to grow elsewhere.

Give this grape a try I suspect it will be the next big thing to emerge from Argentina following the success of Malbec.

Incidentally the wine at the dinner party was called Crios Torrontes 2009 Susana Balbo.

I was recently chatting with Rhonda the chef of one of Chorleywood's finest gastronomic delights; the Rose and Crown. A delightful little pub and restaurant (more restaurant than pub) on the common. Both of us share a passion for cooking, her a talented professional and me an enthusiastic amateur. Steering the conversation towards wine I commented on how most restaurants get their wine from smaller suppliers, so you tend not to recognise any wines when presented with the wine list. This inevitably prompts the a charade I'm sure most of us are familiar with; seemingly considering each wine like a Master Sommelier, then ordering the second cheapest bottle. One reason restaurant like to sell wine you've never heard of, as Rhonda pointed out was so the customer doesn't realise the mark-up.

I'm now pretty confident I know my way around wine in the supermarket or on sale with the major retailers. I'm certainly not short of new recommended wines I want to try. But ordering wine in a restaurant for me, like it must be for most people, is a risky business. I do however have two crucial rules to reduce the risk:

1. If the wine is from an prestigious appellation such as Chablis, Sancerre, Chateauneuf-Du-Pape or an expensive grape and region combo such as a Pinot Noir from Burgundy, then I give it a wide berth as it is usually either a) out of my price range or b) not very good.

2. Next is food pairing. Full bodied Shiraz or Malbec for beef, a slightly lighter red for lamb such as a Rioja or Chianti, a more buttery white wine for white meat such as Chardonnay and for fish something a little more crisp and citrus such as a Chenin Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc With a curry it is usually a pint of Cobra.

And there you have it, my guide to ordering wine in a restaurant!

Anyway coming back to mark up on wine. Rhonda's point was proven to me very recently. After a rather disappointing experience at the Grove in Watford, my wife and I decided to try a new restaurant called 'Friends' in Pinner. When I say new, I mean new for us. Judging by the numerous AA rosettes around the place stretching back to the 1990s to the present day, the restaurant has been around for some time. The food is French/Modern British and was very good, not quite the same level as some of the really good restaurants you get in the West End, but good none the less and at a fraction of the cost. The 3 course set menu was £31 a head and 25% off if you booking through Top Table. All in all very good meal. Unlike most restaurants though, Friends in Pinner did not buy their wine from a small retailer, they bought it from a retailer I am very familiar with; Majestic. Many of the wines on the wine list have been reviewed on this website, so I was also very familiar with their price..

My wife was having steak and I was having lamb so we ordered a Rhone - Côtes-du-Rhône Belleruche 2007, a wine highly praised by Robert Parker no less. This is a pleasant wine and one I have bought on occasion from Majestic. The online price £6.99 for two bottles, in the restaurant £25. The funny thing was if I'd not known the cost before ordering I'd have thought nothing amiss with the price. I spotted another favourite of my the Alomos Malbec 2007 and as the Jane MacQuitty from The Time points out "this tasty red oozes with lively, ripe, spiced plum and loganberry fruit", however £27 on the wine list and £7.49 in Majestic (albeit a different year). The Chateauneuf Du Pape on the wine list was £35 and as per rule 2 gave it a wide berth. Now I rarely if ever pay £35 for a bottle of wine, and if I did I'd have very high expectations in a restaurant or otherwise. If we talking about mark up of 350% or more, we're looking at a £10 bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape in the supermarket. In my experience a £10 bottle of Chateauneuf Du Pape is not good value for money (even at £10). I'm guessing you need to pay at least £50 in a restaurant for a well chosen Chateauneuf Du Pape.

I think I was happier in blissful ignorance, but I suppose this is subsidises the food.

A lot has happened since my last update including the birth of our second son. It is very time consuming looking after a baby and a toddler and leaves little time for blogging. I will give you an abridged version from then to our two weeks holidaying in small town in Italy called Dicomano,Tuscany.

In my last update I briefly mentioned my wife had given birth to our second son. I won't go into too much detail - I'm sure you don't want the graphic details and if you do there is plenty of information elswhere on the internet.  I shall try to focus on wine! Suffice to say I received a call from my wife at midday 29^th June to say  she was getting twinges, by 3pm a got a second call "leave immediately" by 9pm it was all over and I was proudly holding my second son.

Back onto the theme of wine, my ever trusty father was soon over with a chilled bottle of Champagne to celebrate -  Joseph Perrier a rich creamy wine chardonnay based champagne. Not bad, but I suspect he got it as a present, it was the sort of champagne you get with flowers and chocolates from Interflora.

Since my last update I have also been welcomed into the warm embrace of the wine bloggers world! Andrew Barrow who runs amongst other the www.spittoon.biz invited me to A.R.S.E.2 - Andrew's Really Secret Event 2. This as the name suggests was the second such event, the location secret until the last minute and quite conveniently was the a few stops up from me on the Chiltern Line. We tasted some very good wines, since this is an abridged version of what has happened I ask kindly that you read Andrew's review of the event for fuller details (click here). It was a great day, I met some very nice people and could finally walk around sniffing wine, swirling iit n the glass, swishing it about in my mouth talking 'lingering tannins' without risk of being called a prat. Andrew put on a great spread as well (well Waitrose Entertaining did) and one of his friends baking a great selection of cakes.

Sitting around at home I have had the following wines. Rustenberg John X Merriman 2007, very nice deep ruby red wine made from the Shiraz grape. Fruity on the first sip with some acidity which fades leaving that very light tannins, I'm told this bottle will age well and their blurb on the back says it can be laid down for up to 15 years.

I was recommended the Koonunga Hill Seventy Six 2008, this is not the standard Koonunga Hill which has become fairly mediocre over recent years but a homage to the original Koonunga Hill of 1976 which I'm told was legendary, I'm too young to have experienced it firsthand of course. The Koonunga Hill Seventy Six is everything you hope and expect from and Australian Shiraz, rich full bodied thick blackberry flavours, a long finish and subtly tannic. This wine is available at Waitrose for a bargain £6.74 as part of their 25% off sale - normal price is £8.84.

The Tim Adams Protégé Shiraz has been frequently on my shopping list since being 25% off at Tesco (£7.50 reduced from £10) great at a tenner, even better at £7.50! Now winter is here I'm getting back in to big Aussie Shiraz. Like the Koonunga , the Tim Adams is a another rich, very fruity dark forest fruits with a long finish and quite spicy. Similar to the Koonunga Hill but more spice and a longer finish so comparing the two I'd say this just about shades it. 

Our long awaited holiday in Tuscany finally arrived, a bit of a risk taking a plane journey with a 2 year old and a 3 month year old but not as bad as feared. The 3 month year old slept through most of it and the 2 year old was bribed by chocolate buttons; he couldn't  believe his luck.

Tuscany is  home to the Chianti region of Italy, famed for it's bold full bodied and usually oaked reds. The Chianti region is split into 9 sub- regions  Classico, Colli Senesi, Colli Aretini, Colli fiorentina,  Colline Pisane,  Montabano, Montespertali and Rufina. We were situated in the Rufina area.

The first week was staying in a vineyard called Il Lago. We first discovered Il Lago whilst staying at in the are 5 years before. We popped in to taste some of their wine and noticed they also have holiday villa sprinkled amongst their 400 hectares of land. My memories of the wine tasted are somewhat faded, however it must have been quite good since we left with quite a few bottles. The wine upon my return was not as good as I remember, I did enjoy their Pian de Guardi but at 15 Euros a bottle at source I would expect it to be good. I've had better for under £10 in the UK. 

Whilst the landscape was fantastic the accommodation could have been better, we arrived in the middle of the night and were told we'd been 'upgraded'. I suspect the people who had originally booked our apartment turned it away upon arrival. The accommodation was very basic to say the least. I would consider going back as the location was fantastic, but not in the same villa.

The second week we stayed in a place called Il Nidi Belforte, this was not a vineyard but an Agritourismo- a style of vacationing in farm house in Italy although other than a few olive groves I saw very little evidence of farming. The accommodation was on a different level to Il Lago and quite deservedly won Best in Class in the area. We had a 3 bed farmhouse with a great big lounge and kitchen/diner area and it's own private garden just a few yards from a swimming pool, which unlike the swimming pool in Il Lago was cleaned meticulously every day. At Il Lago you had to swim through a sea of dead insects and my wife nearly swallowed a praying mantis.

I tried numerous Chianti's whilst I was out there, one that particularly sticks in the memory was Poderi del Paradiso Chianti Colli Senesi 2009. We had this at a restaurant in a carafe whilst having lunch in St Gimignano a fantastic walled medieval hill town near Siena. I was surprised how good it was for a house wine and found out where I could buy it. It was on sale for 5 Euros a bottle, a brilliant bargain at that price so I stocked up for our return to the farmhouse, all the more suprising as I generally found the decent Chianti wines to be a bit expensive (dare I say over priced?). A quick Google search shows it is possible to buy this wine in the UK for £9.50 a bottle from a firm called Great Western Wines.

I will finish up but before I do though I have to recommend one place that in Tuscany that is a must for any wine enthusiasts in the area. The Wine Museum in Greve, a wine cellar with dozens of bottles of wine set up in sampling machines. You buy a prepayment card and can sample the wines with the cost of each sample being deducted from your card. The sample is the same size regardless of the cost of the wine but the amount taken off you card increases the more expensive the bottle, so for 5 euros you can try a 200 Euro bottle of wine. An experience I would never have otherwise! Check out their website it even has a little film showing you what to do.

My updates will be more frequent from now on...

I refer of course to England's shambolic performances in the World Cup. They thoroughly deserved their defeat at the hands of Germany and no wrongly disallowed goal is going to change that. Perhaps it is the demands of the domestic game, but they were poor from start to finish in the tournament.

For the final game my wife and I were invited to a BBQ at our friends Justin's house (not Justin from India). He'd borrowed a projector from work to show the game on his dining room wall and  had a 32in flat screen in the kitchen. To placate the children there was a TV in the lounge showing Peppa Pig, Thomas Tank Engine and outside in the garden a paddling pool and various toys.
My William spent most of the afternoon covered from head to toe in sun block happily pushing cars around the garden, whilst I concentrated with the other Dads on the serious business of football.

I purchased a bottle of Rustenburg John Merriman X 2007 a highly rated South African red to get in the spirit of the World Cup (this wine rarely seems to be available online but they had a couple of bottle in Waitrose Rickmansworth). When I mentioned my intention to drink this wine on Tom Cavanagh's wine forum I was told that I'd probably be better of aging it a little more before opening it. Taking this information on board and the fact my wife has just entered week 40 of her pregnancy I decided to tuck into a full bodied red at 14.5% alcohol at this point in time was probably not well advised in case I needed to make an emergency dash to the hospital. Instead I decided to take along another highly rated wine, a Dr Loosen Riesling and a wine originating from Germany our opponents on this day (very disloyal I know).

It is very unusually these days to have a low alcohol content wine. The full bodied wines championed by Robert Parker and other are often close on 16% - a fortified wine. The Dr Loosen Riesling is remarkably only 8.5%, meaning I could have a couple of small glasses over the course of the afternoon and still be safely under the limit should I be called upon to make the emergency dash. I've had this wine many times before. It has won awards and has had praise heaped upon it by those wine writers in the press. I know most of you will be put off by the low alcohol content but I urge you to give it a try. The wine is smooth, fruity and floral with a slightly effervescent quality -great with a curry incidentally.

Here are a couple of other wines of note I have tried since my last update:

Penfolds Bin 28 Shiraz - This wine for me typifies the best of Australian Shiraz, full on thick and rich, lusciously plumy and fruity with rounded tannins and a lengthy finish.

Mount Difficulty Pinot Noir - My son bought me this for Father's Day and a very choice it was especially so as he is only two years old! This is not a cheap bottle of wine £20.89 online more like £24 if you buy it in store, however good Pinot Noir is a notoriously difficult grape to cultivate and because of this it carries a high price tag. This wine has a fruity red cherry taste on the initial sip followed by a long smooth velvety finish with very subtle tannins and light acidity. A good Pinot Noir is probably my favourite wine and I would happily drink this all the time - unfortunately I can't afford this wine other than on the odd special occasion.

In between writing this update and posting it online my wife gave birth to another baby boy - Sam 9lb 12oz - a big one. I have a bottle of Joseph Perrier NV Champagne to celebrate and will be sure to include tasting notes in my next update.

My Birthday week didn't exactly get off to a flier - Charlton were dumped out of the League One play offs on penalties.

One highlight of the evening though was meeting up with an old university pal and fellow Charlton fan, Justin at London Bridge.  I usually see Justin about once a year. We travelled to India together in 1996 and he never returned except for occasional visits to see family and friends. We arranged to meet at the All Bar One situated right outside London Bridge station for pre-game pint amongst all the City workers stopping in for a post work pint. Sipping my cold Peroni, I noticed amogst other things they stock Mad Fish Pinot Noir, Green Point NV (both very good). I was only on the beer tonight though.

The game started well 2-0 up 20 minutes, to go with the opposition down to 10 men - a place at Wembley seemingly a certainty. Then against the run of play Swindon scored making it 2-2 on aggregate. When Charlton had a player sent off I got the feeling this wasn't going to be our night. Sure enough extra time played its course with neither team scoring and then the Charlton captain was the only player to miss a penalty.

It's a long way back to Chorleywood when you've just been dumped out of play offs on penalties. 

Things did improve. The next day my wife had secretly booked a babysitter and a table for two at Gilby's in Amersham to celebrate my birthday. I've not been here before, but it was fantastic food, as good as some of the top London restaurants I used to occasionally frequent before the advent of parenthood and the end of my social life.

To start I opted for pickled breast of wood pigeon, lentil & bacon salad with Jerusalem artichoke crisps. Mrs T had Pan-fried scallops, crisp Cumbrian ham, pea puree and lemon & mint dressing. For the main I had Guinea Fowl with bubble and squeak, Mrs T had roast & pressed pork belly, baby spring vegetables, pommes puree, apple. The pork belly was the best pork belly she'd ever tasted apparently.

As to the wine. my options when ordering wine were a little limited ! I was in the mood for red. My wife wasn't drinking due to being pregnant, so not wanting to order a full bottle to myself the following options were available by the carafe:

MAS DE LA SOURCE Reserve 2008, Pays d'Oc, France

LA TOURELLE MERLOT 2008, Vin de Pays d'Oc, France

PRIMITIVO DI GUGLIA 2008, Castellani , Italy

ARABELLA Cabernet Sauvignon 2007/9, Robertson , South Africa

LA CHAMIZA 'Polo Professional' Reserve Malbec 2008, Mendoza , Argentina

BOURGOGNE Pinot Noir 2006, Domaine Dubois , France

I was tempted by the Domaine Dubois Pinot Noir, I've been sampling a fair bit of Pinot Noir from Burgundy (Red Burgundy) recently but experience has taught me that you're unlikely to get a good Red Burgundy for less than £15 from the supermarket, so I figured given the mark up that most restaurants charge £24.40 is far too cheap to be any good.

If anyone knows of a good Red Burgundy for under £15 please let me know ASAP

- and I've tried Louis Latour Borgogne Pinot Noir 2007 (£9.99).

In my opinion if you're on a budget you're better off looking to New Zealand or Australia for a Pinot Noir try some of the Yering Station Pinot Noir from the Yarra Valley £12.49 and fantastic. If it was from Burgundy it would be twice the price!

Please don't think I normally spend this much on wine by the way, except for special occasions, I'm a sub £10 man.

Anyway I digress, I opted for a 50cl carafe of the Argentinian Malbec lured in by the tasting notes - "Rich, full, generous - typically 'big' Argentinean flavours". I do like Malbec and this went down a treat, the blurb was not wrong - a big powerful full bodied red with dark chocolate fruits, outstanding. I opted for another glass when the waiter offered a post meal coffee and was back home and in bed with a warm Malbec glow.

The rest of the week was fairly quiet on the wine front. I did meet up with another great friend (and best man) Gavin at the Cotswolds Safari Park near Burford in Oxfordshire. We try to meet up regular despite being separated by some distance so on the sunny weekend of the 22^nd and 23^rd May we had a picnic with our families at Cotswolds Safari Park near Burford in Oxfordshire. This location was selected as it was half way between his house in the West Midlands and ours in Hertfordshire. The safari park is in a beautiful setting, in 160 acres of gardens and parkland surrounding a Victorian manor house. With the picnic we opened a nicely chilled bottle of Zalze Chenin Blanc 2009 from South Africa (currently £6.16 from Waitrose). 

I would describe it as instantly refreshing and crisp on the tongue with the first sip, similar to a good New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc being very fruity on the pallet, but bit more subtle. A great wine to drink in the sun with salad, recommended with a BBQ or cold chicken. Carolyn Hart from the Telegraph describes it thus "I am not sure why something this good is so cheap. Don't tell the winery - just revel in the lush tropical flavours".

That was a good enough endorsement for me to make a purchase and it won't be the last time. A good wine to get in the spirit of the World Cup in South Africa. Take it to those World Cup BBQ/Parties!

You may already be readers/fans of Jose's blog who writes regularly on this website.  Jose is a family friend and former business partner of my dad, both recently retired. Jose's updates very entertaining - he leads the lifestyle I hope I will be able to lead one day - with time and finances to enjoy plenty of wine, holidays, theatre, sport and good food.

I work full time, have a (lovely) two year old son called William, a very pregnant wife called Anna who runs her own recruitment business and is due to give birth to our second child at the end of June. Together we live in Chorleywood with our 4 cats (don't ask!), so we have neither lots of spare cash and even less time on our hands.

My 'blog angle' and stage in life is very different to Jose's and I hope will give a different view but still entertaining view on the whole wine experience.I am very much on the cusp of my wine tasting journey!

A bit of more background - I have been drinking wine since my late 20s (in my mid 30s now) and I have tasted wine at vineyards in Bordeaux, Bergerac, Chianti, Paso Robles and even in the Borossa Valley in South Australia.  Whilst I can tell the varying degrees of quality and very clear on what I like, my attitude has always been somewhat cynical of people who claim to taste exotic fruits and smell such aromas as tobacco and leather in wine.  

I recently went on a free wine tasting evening at my local Majestic in Amersham which changed my view of this. The wine tasting evening was great by the way and I was amazed by the knowledge and enthusiasm of the Majestic staff. You could tell they are not only doing a job, they are truly passionate about wine and this really flows through. Anyway I digress, I realised with some careful guidance I can pick out the particular flavour and aromas these wine experts refer to - that fruity/oaky taste you get in a lot of New World Chardonnays can quite legitimately be described a tropic fruits and melon, that unmistakable zesty fruity taste you get with Sauvignon Blancs, particularly those you get from New Zealand, can definitely be described as herbaceous and gooseberry like. The tingling on the side of your tongue you get with some wines is the acidity and the slight numbness on the gums in some reds is the tannins. It was all starting to fall into place!

Unfortunately the lesson was only two hours long and the amount that could be fitted in was limited. Since I was not driving the amount I could remember after six or seven glasses was also quite limited. I did remember enough to realise this was just a little inkling of what there is to know about wine.

It is my birthday next week and for my birthday my wife has agreed to buy we a six week wine tasting course at the London Wine Academy. I think this is a good place to start my journey with you.

In terms of what I'm drinking now Vina Pomal is ever present in my wine rack. The 2003 was good, the 2005 in my opinion is even better, a ruby red Rioja, very smooth juicy black fruit. You can taste the oak and that it is unmistakably a Rioja but it is quite subtle. One of the guys in Majestic told me that this was going for 20 Euros a bottle in Spain but the vineyard owner (Codorniu) want to break in the UK market (the 2nd biggest Rioja market in the world apparently) so they're allowing it to go cheap in the UK to get a foothold (one of the buyers told him this). If this is true or not I don't know, however when you taste the quality of the wine you can believe it. The price has crept up over the last few months - it was £6.99 for two, now you're looking at £8.99 maybe we're heading toward the 20 Euros prices tag - I hope not!

For my son's second birthday I got some wine in bulk at around a £5 for my guests (cheapskate I know). The children had sandwiches fruit, birthday cake and a bouncey castle, whilst the adults had my home made beefburgers, and the following wines I purchased:

Domaine Tranquillité 2005 how this is selling for £4.99 I don't know - rich but fruity with soft summer berries. The fruitiness belies the age, the soft delicate tannins however show that this wine has aged to reach perfection.

Clos d'Yvigne Bel Ami Rosé 2008 Bergerac - I really pushed the boat out with this one £7.99. A great summer garden drink, take chilled on a picnic or as I did have a barbecue. Fresh, fruity, dry with raspberries.

Fairfield Hills 2009 - again £4.99 if you buy two. If I do go for a Marlbrough Sauvignon Blanc it generally has to be Jackson Estate however £10.99 a bottle for JE is a bit much to stretch to for my guests (sorry guests). This stuff is great for the price, typically fruity NZ Sauvignon Blanc - gooseberry laden and herbaceous.