Wine Tasting Weekends - April, May, June at Thistle Haydock

Three new dates have been added for ThirtyFifty and Thistle hotel's wine tasting weekends at Haydock, Merseyside. The 2 night stay is superb value at £149 per person, based on 2 people sharing, and includes a full day of wine tasting on the Saturday. The price also includes dinner on Friday night, all your meals on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday. The new dates are 2-4 April, 28-30 May and 18-20 June 2010.

For more details and to book visit www.thistle.com

Mother's Day Gift Vouchers - treat your mum!

ThirtyFifty wine tasting vouchers will make the perfect Mother's Day gift for mums who enjoy wine but might like to learn more. Coming up we have an Introduction to Wine & Wine Tasting in London on Tuesday 30 March as well as One Day Wine Courses with lunch included - a fantastic idea for mother and daughter to attend together! If you can't fix a date now you can purchase open-dated vouchers at £25 or £75 each which can be redeemed against evening courses in London and Bristol or our One Day Wine Course in London. All vouchers are emailed to you, normally within 24 hours, free of charge.

For more info click here or see dates below.

Click here for an open-dated £25 voucher for an Evening Session
Click here for an open-dated £75 voucher for a One Day Wine Course

Waiter's Friend Wine Gifts Discount Code

If you are into purchasing interesting wine gifts and gadgets do check out the Waiter's Friend Wine Gift Centre at www.winegiftcentre.com. ThirtyFifty newsletter subscribers can claim a 15% discount on orders by typing in the code ‘3050’. Visit The Wine Gift Centre.

World Cup - June 2010

If you are planning to entertain clients during the World Cup in June and watch some games on the big screen TV how about a little pre-match beer or wine tasting to kick things off!

Nearly all competing football countries produce beer and over half make wine so it makes sense to sample what they have to offer while going head to head in our drinks challenges to score goals for your own team! We can come to your offices or to a suitable venue with pricing from £30+vat per person for a minimum of 10 guests. For more info call us on 0208 288 0314.

Wine Tasting Courses for 2010 - London & Bristol

ThirtyFifty evening sessions are fun and interactive and can be attended as single evening classes or as a 2 week course (Introduction & Intermediate). The object is to pass on our knowledge and give you essential tips and tricks for getting the most out of wine. You'll also meet like-minded wine drinkers and learn in a small group of 16 in an informal setting.

Tickets are £25 per session. If you are buying as a gift and you can purchase an open-dated voucher rather than specifying a date.

To book a tasting simply click on the date you want to attend below to add the tasting to your shopping basket. Please select 'No Delivery Charge for wine tasting vouchers' and we will email you the voucher together with your booking confirmation.

London dates:

Bristol dates:

Numbers are strictly limited to 16 places.
Start time is 6.45pm for a prompt 7pm start.
Each tasting is a 2 hour session finishing at 9pm.

One Day Wine Course - London

Our One Day Course in London led by Chris Scott is a great introduction to wine and wine tasting with still and sparkling wines from around the world and a 3 course lunch. The day is £75 per person and will make the perfect birthday or anniversary gift for budding wine enthusiasts!

Results from last month's poll

How confident are you when it comes to choosing wine?

Poll ran February 2010

Comment by Chris Scott:
While we originally asked this question in January 2008, I was always surprised by the number of people who felt at ease with wine. But the much larger sample of 276 (89 in 2008) a more expected result occurred with less people totally at ease and more comfortable with wine and being able to get by.

Luckily only 15% are not confident at all leaving it to someone else. Thankfully that means 85% get by and pick their own wine. Confidence is a state of mind. I am confident when choosing wine. Not because I know what every wine on the list will taste like, but because I often pick a wine I am unsure of, simply to try it. You might say I'm confident in my ignorance. But this is what wine is about. While many claim to, few actually know a lot about wine, it is a journey and the fun bit is the discovery.

The poll had 276 entries

This Month's Poll

The Scottish government wants to set a minimum price for alcoholic drinks, is this a good thing where you live? Follow the link to have your say!

Chris's picks are in teal. We have recently added a number of new wines, both from Spain and England. While it will take a while for enough ratings to be built up before they appear on the list, Chapel Down's English Rose has stormed up the charts. It is defiantly worth a look if you want to try a great Rose

The ThirtyFifty Top30 is based on all ratings for the vintage. Wine must have at least 30 ratings before they appear in the list. Wines under £10 are highlighted in bold. While an average ranking system is good, some wines can be great but only a few people enjoy them. If you would like us to help you select any wines specific to your tastes please give your Wine Consultant a call or call Chris direct.

Wine News

Pernod Ricard Accepts Responsibility
Pernod Ricard UK has launched a campaign to tackle underage drinking as part of initiative to encourage responsible drinking.

Children's charities back minimum pricing
Children's charities in Scotland join forces to back plans to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol.

Tim Atkin MW moves with The Times
Tim Atkin MW is moving to The Times newspaper after 17 years at The Observer.

New 'Malbrontes' wine blend

Brits drink more South African wine than French

Prosecco laws leave M&S without fizz

UK Wine Show

UK Wine Show 197 Tim Hanni MW sensory perception 2
Tim Hanni is a MW and chef, we talk to Tim about how we perceive wine and how he has created a radically new way of judging wines for competitions.

UK Wine Show 196 Tim Hanni MW on Umami and sensory perception

UK Wine Show 195 Tim Hanni MW on food and wine matching

UK Wine Show 194 Sonia Fernandes of ViniPortugal on Portuguese wines

UK Wine Show 193 Jamie Hutchinson of The Sampler

Wine Knowledge - Malolactic Fermentation

In this month's spotlight we look at Malolactic Fermentation, a winemaking technique often used to soften wines and control the mouthfeel Winemaking Techniques

Wine tips - Wine at Easter

This Easter indulge in most indulgent of dark chocolates alongside a glass of red. The best pairing we've found is Rococo's Valrhona No 1 Grand Cru Manjari Pure Criollo paired with Pinot Noir. The French company Valrhona leads the world in production of fine dark chocolates made from rare bean varieties. This chocolate is made from Criollo beans and has a sharp taste with hints of fruits. It goes perfectly with Pinot, try a fairly young new world Pinot with lots of fruit flavour to stand up to the chocolate. The chocolate melts in your mouth banishing away any tannins. Handily Pinot Noir is also just the right wine to serve with your Easter lamb.

Book Reviews

Red, White and Drunk All Over by Natalie MacLean
92 out of 100

What a book! It gives a real feel for the wine industry that you do not get from other books, fun and educational, an excellent read.

Read More >>

Spotlight On

Producer - Hollick
Hollick is a family-owned wine producer in the southeast corner of South Australia’s Coonawarra region. The business was launched in 1983 by Ian and Wendy Hollick and today Ian oversees the 50,000-case production winery and vineyards and Wendy is the cellar door manager. Since 2006 their daughters Kate and Mel have also worked in the business.

Hollick has three core vineyards: the 12-hectare Neilson’s Block, planted by Ian and Wendy in 1975, and the Wilgha with 45 hectares of vines, which was purchased in 1987 and features an Italian Block where varieties such as Sangiovese, Barbera and Nebbiolo have been trialled for their suitability in Coonawarra. The third is the Red Ridge vineyard at Wrattonbully, some 50km to the north. This has similar soils to Coonawarra, with shallow terra rossa over limestone but the climate is marginally warmer, meaning that grapes ripen on average two weeks earlier. Ian was convinced that the climate would be ideal for Shiraz and as a result planted 20 hectares of this variety in 1998. He was proved right when the 2006 Hollick Wrattonbully Shiraz won the International Judge’s Trophy at the 2009 Limestone Coast Wine Show.

Hollick produces two other icon wines, both of which are only released in exceptional years. These are Ravenswood Cabernet Sauvignon and Neilson’s Block Merlot.

Overall, red varieties make up 80 per cent of the vineyard and also include Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir and Petit Verdot. Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon make up the white grapes.

As well as a restaurant complex, the Hollick estate also features a historic cottage at the entrance to the winery, which Ian and Wendy restored in 1983. It dates back to 1860 and was the birthplace of the lyric poet John Shaw Neilson as well as the original cellar door.

Region - Riverland
Riverland is Australia’s largest wine-producing region, accounting for nearly 30 per cent of the country’s crush and nearly 60 per cent of South Australia’s grapes. Responsible for a major percentage of all Australian wine exported overseas and until recently known for the quantity of its wine, the region has now upped its ante with regards to quality in response to international competition.

This sprawling vineyard area surrounds the Murray River from Blanchetown, through Renmark to the border with Victoria. The climate is hot here with high evaporation rates and low rainfall so irrigation, with water from the Murray River, is essential. It is also continental, meaning long sunny days and noticeably cooler nights, so good for winegrowing and ensuring fully ripe fruit. There’s also little disease in the vineyards due to the lowish humidity.

Fertility of the soil, which is red-brown sandy loam often overlaid with limestone, is moderate and it is the restriction of this as well as moisture that has helped to improve quality in the region, as has getting the correct mix of grape varieties. Chardonnay, Mourvedre, Grenache and Shiraz are the main ones, with varieties like Colombard, Chenin Blanc and Verdelho being increasingly used to lift the quality of white wines and Merlot and Ruby Cabernet showing potential for reds.

Riverland wines are usually labelled with the catch-all South Eastern Australia description.

Grape - Barbera
Barbera is a versatile Italian red grape variety that so far hasn’t been fashionable with drinkers. Generally, it’s cited that the grape originated in Piedmont in the northwest, specifically Monferrato, though ampelographer Pierre Viala puts its birthplace as Otrepo Pavese in Lombardy. Whichever is the case, there’s evidence in the archives of the cathedral chapters of Casale Monferrato of contracts leasing vineyards in the mid 13th century.

This very productive, relatively late ripener is important for everyday wine in Italy, making lots of basic vino da tavola that’s not worth shouting about. However, at its best, in Piedmont, it can produce something positively exciting requiring extended cellaring that’s powerful and intense, deep purple in colour, with mouthfilling fruit as well as tinglingly high acidity. It’s this latter quality – its principal characteristic - that has made it popular in hotter climates.

Asti, Alba and Monferrato are the three DOCs zones for Barbera in Piedmont. Asti gives its best vineyard sites to this grape, while in Alba this honour goes to Nebbiolo. Since the beginning of this century Nizza has been a specific subzone within the DOC of Barbera d’Asti with stricter regulations, recognised because it produced the ripest and best Barbera.

The grape is also prevalent in Lombardy, in particular in Otrepo Pavese, where it makes varietal wines of varying quality and spritziness and is also blended with the softer local Croatina or Bonarda. It is also often blended with Bonarda in the Colli Piacentini of Emilia-Romagna, particularly in the Val Tidone for the red Gutturnio DOC. The Bologna and Parma hills also have plantings of Barbera, producing mostly varietal fizzy wine. Most of central Italy’s Barbera plays a bit part in blends featuring locally indigenous grapes. A Barbera Sarda is grown in Sardinia.

Outside Italy, there’s Barbera across the border in Slovenia, primarily in the Primorski coastal zone, but little elsewhere in Europe. However, Italian immigrants took it to parts of North and South America, particularly Argentina, and California is quite fond of it. Other new world countries grow some too, namely Australia and South Africa.