12-18

The notes of bright red fruit and spice on the nose. On the palate it`s raspberry and pink Sparkles sweets.

Country: South Africa

Region: Western Cape

Grapes: 92% Cinsault, 8% Grenache

ABV: 12%

Food pairing: sourdough margherita pizza, sweet and sticky pork ribs.

Deep ruby garnet. Bright cherry and dark berry on the nose with notes of white pepper, dried herbs, cloves and leather. Red berry and cherry follow on the palate with subtle vanilla oak. The finish is elegant and perfumed. Medium to full bodied with soft, supple tannins.

Country: South Africa
Region: Western Cape
Grapes: Shiraz and Grenache
ABV: 14%

Food Match: Grilled and barbequed beef or game; pan roasted duck breast or hearty stews and braised meats.

Lemon yellow colour with flecks of green. Aromas of stone fruits peach and apricot, tropical fruits mango, passion fruit and melon. On the palate it is light, with balanced sweetness and acidity and a tropical fruit finish.

Country: Georgia

Region: Racha, Khvanchkara

Grapes: Tsolikouri

ABV: 13%

Food Match: Spicy dishes such as tagines or Thai Curries, fruity desserts such as pavlova or summer pudding or just fresh cut fruit.

Giuaani Winery is located in the historic village of Manavi, the heartland of Georgian wine producing region, Kakheti. The Manavi village, cradled by the southern slopes of the minor Caucasus, is a home to one of the 29 PDOs (Protected Denomination of Origin) of Georgia. Its unique soil composition and microclimate provides perfect conditions for vine cultivation, especially for Kakhuri Mtsvane grape variety, and for the production of Manavi PDO white dry wines.

Light easy-drinking white from South Africa. Unoaked clean Chenin with notes of yellow apple and apricot going into the mineral finish. It`s crisp on the palate and the acidity is balanced with the fruity notes.

Grape: Chenin Blanc

Country: South Africa

Region: Stellenbosch

ABV: 13%

Vegan

Delicious, semi-sweet red from Georgia's largest wine region, Kakheti. The wine is supple and very easy drinking with lots of red berry, cranberry and black cherry aromas and flavours.

Country: Georgia

Region: Kindzmarauli, Kakheti

Grapes: Saperavi

ABV: 12%

Food Match: Goes perfectly with a cheese board full of hard, soft, fresh and aged cheeses accompanied by fruit preserves as well as dried and fresh fruits such as dried apricots and fresh green grapes.

Read all about Penny's recent trip to the cradle of wine, Georgia in her blog here.

An aromatic nose of ripe stone fruit (apricot and yellow peach) with floral hints of honeysuckle and orange blossom. Rich and velvety n the palate, with flavours of tropical pineapple and mango. Texture and creamy with a crisp, refreshing finish.

Country: Chile

Region: Maule Valley

Grapes: Viognier

ABV: 13.5%

Food Match: Grilled white fish or creamy seafood pasta

A leading influence in the Maule Valley’s renaissance as a fine wine producer, Las Veletas is a traditional Chilean estate making expressive, award-winning wines from very old
vines. Situated in the dry San Javier sub region on ancient granite and clay soils, and with exceptional 80-100 year old Pais, Carignan and Cabernet Franc vines, Las Veletas's
quality has been led by the highly-decorated winemaker, Rafael Tirado, backing up owner Raul Del'Oro's vision. 

Pale, lemon yellow colour, fresh, light and zippy with an aromatic and herbal note. Aromas and characters of roses, red apples, citrus and white flowers.

Country: Italy

Region: Sicily

Grapes: Zibibbo (Muscat D' Alexandria)

ABV: 12.5%

Food Match:  Salads, seafood, fish, olives.

Just delicious! Deep amber/walnut in colour. Aromas of toffee, fig preserve, coffee and raisins. A grapey, fortified sweet treat. Great with hard, strong cheese. 

Country: Australia

Region: Riverina, New South Wales

Grapes: Muscat

ABV: 18%

Food match: Aged strong hard cheese or creamy blue cheese

From Teliani’s more experimental ‘Winery 97’ project, this amber wine is a blend of four varieties that you can’t pronounce – luckily the rich dried fruit and nutty flavours and long dry refreshing finish are much easier to get your mouth around! Don't chill it, you'll just bring the tannins forward at the expense of the lovely flavours - serve cool, not cold!

Beautiful amber, golden coloured wine. Aromas of vanilla,tropical fruit, ripe stone fruit, with hints of orange zest and orange peel. On the palate, lovely dried fruit (apricot) flavours with nutty hints. The finish is fresh with soft, grippy tannins.

Country: Georgia

Region: Kakheti

Grapes: Rkatsiteli, Kakhuri Mtsvane, Khikhvi and Kisi

ABV: 12.5%

Food Pairing: Kakhuri N8 is a The wine pairs especially well with fish dishes and cheeses. Serve cool, not cold.

A blend of 4 Georgian indigenous grape varieties – Rkatsiteli, Kakhuri Mtsvane, Khikhvi and Kisi, harvested in Kakheti, east Georgia. Grapes are exclusively hand selected and only the highest quality, fully ripe grapes are used for production. The wine is made using old Kakhetian traditional winemaking method with skin contact. Fermentation on skins takes place for 7-10 days, once the fermentation is finished the grape skin remain with the wine for 6 months.

Read all about Penny's recent trip to the cradle of wine, Georgia in her blog here.

Beautiful, delicate salmon colour. Exotic notes dominated by mature citrus, tropical fruits, gentle lemongrass and light spiciness. The palate is balanced and structured, with an abundance of light red fruits and flowers, light spiciness and a fresh fruit lasting finish.

Country: Bulgaria

Region: Struma Valley

Grapes: Melnik

ABV: 13 %

Food Match: On its own or with Asian and Mexican cuisine, fish, seafood, white meats and
salads.

Redolent and full bodied with apricot, nectarine and floral aromas, but with a saline
minerality and bright acidity, an exciting and captivating new wine from SA.

Country: South Africa

Region: Robertson

Grapes: Albariño

ABV: 12.5%

Springfield Estate

A delicious, super easy drinking red which is full of ripe red and black fruit aromas and characters.

Country: South Africa

Region: Sondagskloof, Hemel en Aarde

Grapes:   Merlot 

ABV: 13%

You might have heard of the quaint beach town of Hermanus, situated on South Africa’s
famous Whale Coast. Between 1855 and 1902, it was called Hermanuspietersfontein. In
1902, the local postmaster decided to shorten the name of the town to make addressing
letters to the locals easier.

150 years later, the wine farm Hermanuspietersfontein, or HPF for short, craft outstanding wines with a serious sense of place. Their grapes come from Sondagskloof (they produce 90% of WO Sondagskloof wine), which competes with Elgin and the Ceres Plateau for South Africa’s coolest wine growing region. This area is perfectly suited to Bordeaux varietals and, with the exception of Shiraz, is exclusively planted with them. The Afrikaans wine names might look like a bit of a mouthful, but they are good fun; Bloos (‘blush’), Kaalvoet Meisie (‘barefoot girl’), Kat Met Die Houtbeen (‘cat with the wooden leg’), Posmeester (‘postmaster’), Kleinboet (‘little brother’) and Swartskaap (‘black sheep’).

Aromatic blend of grape varieties with a clean zing of citrus on the finish.

Country: Italy

Region: Friuli Venezia-Giulia

Grapes: Chardonnay, Friulano, Müller Thurgau, Pinot Grigio, Ribolla Gialla, Sauvignon Blanc

ABV: 12.5% 

Food Match: Goes well with roast meats red or white

Bright juicy fruit with a hint of spice on the nose.

Country: Italy

Region: Friuli Venezia-Giulia

Grapes: 

ABV: 12.5% 

Food Match: Goes well with roast meats red or white

Gorgeous, salmon pink colour. Elegant floral and red currant aromas on the nose  accompanied by herbal notes. On the palate, it is fresh, but textured with a long dry finish.

Country: Italy

Region: Piemonte

Grapes: Nebbiolo

ABV: 12.5%

Food Match: Light starters and salads, soft, creamy cheeses like feta or goat’s cheese.

Very Provencal in style! Dry and fresh, with red berry fruit character and a crisp finish.

Grapes: Petit Verdot blend with Tempranillo

ABV: 0%

Sweet, but balanced, powerful, rich and full bodied with aromas and flavours of blackberries, baked plum and sweet spice. Concentrated, long finish with notes of cocoa and baking spice. 

Country: Spain

Region: Castilla a Mancha, Jumilla

ABV: 11.5%

Grapes: Monastrell

Food Match: Dark chocolate mousse or Christmas pudding

The Gil family have been major wine producers in Jumilla since the early 20th Century. Bodegas Juan Gil is dedicated to producing powerful, yet approachable and modern wines, mainly based on Monastrell (aka Mourvedre) which is grown on about 80% of the vineyard.

The winery has invested heavily in its Organic and Sustainability programmes in recent years.

Slightly off dry, fresh, zippy and full of lime citrus aromas and flavours. Perfectly balanced.

Country: Germany

Region: Rheingau

Grapes: Riesling

ABV: 0%

Great with Thai curries!

Read all about Victoria's recent trip to Germany in her blog here.

Country: Chile

Region: Curicó Valley

Grapes: Chardonnay

ABV: 12%

Food match: great with fresh Ceviche.

A rich and textured Sauvignon having been fermented in oak. Aromatic and grassy nose, notes of passion fruit, nettles and a slightly saline, long finish.

Country: South Africa

Region: Sondagskloof, Walker Bay

Grapes: Sauvignon Blanc

ABV: 13%

Food Matching: Seafood and fleshy white fish dishes

You’ve probably heard of the quaint beach town of Hermanus, situated on South Africa’s famous Whale Coast. Between 1855 and 1902, it was called Hermanuspietersfontein. In 1902, the local postmaster decided to shorten the name of the town to make addressing letters to the locals easier.

150 years later, the wine farm Hermanuspietersfontein, or HPF for short, craft outstanding wines with a serious sense of place. Their grapes come from Sondagskloof (they produce 90% of WO Sondagskloof wine), which competes with Elgin and the Ceres Plateau for South Africa’s coolest wine growing region. This area is perfectly suited to Bordeaux varietals and, with the exception of Shiraz, is exclusively planted with them.

The Afrikaans wine names might look like a bit of a mouthful, but they are good fun; Bloos (‘blush’), Kaalvoet Meisie (‘barefoot girl’), Kat Met Die Houtbeen (‘cat with the wooden leg’), Posmeester (‘postmaster’), Kleinboet (‘little brother’) and Swartskaap (‘black sheep’).

Bright pink colour . Fine and persistent perlage. Delicious notes of red fruits on the nose.
The palate balanced, complex and refreshing.

Country: Italy

Region: Eastern Veneto

Grapes: Pinot Noir

ABV: 12%

Residual sugar: 8-12 g/l

Food Match: Fish dishes, especially crustaceans, and white meat.

Nestled in the heart of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG area, the Althea Winery is surrounded by beautiful Rive or hills which are recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

A rich amber colour. Fascinatingly complex with a light Christmas pudding nose of dried fruits, nuts, and a well flambéed crust. The rich concentrated flavours and tangy acidity are softened by a sweetness on the palate which brings it all together in a wonderfully balanced way.

Country: Spain

Region: Jerez

ABV: 15%

Grapes: Palomino Fino 80% and Pedro Ximenez 20%

Food match: Christmas Pud!

Tangy, zesty flavours of green apple and citrus followed with the classic yeasty, bready and saline notes of Manzanilla. Enjoy it as a refreshing aperitif on a hot day, or as the locals do along side some mixed tapas such as prawns, jamon, garlic clams and padron peppers.

Country: Spain

Region: Jerez

ABV: 15%

Grapes: Palomino Fino

Manzanilla is a style of Fino sherry originating from the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda where the close proximitiy to the sea and the high humidity contribute to a stronger growth of flor. Made from 100% Palomino, this Manzanillia spent 8 years going through the criaderas and solera system under flor. A lovely pale straw colour, this wine has a pronounced nose of almonds with hints of white peach and distinctive aromas of flor. The palate is light and dry with salty, nutty flavours which are perfectly balanced by a restrained citrus acidity and a pleasant bitterness that lingers on the finish.

New wave Sherry! Diatomists was founded by three friends - Antonio Antonio Morenés (7th Generation Jerezano!) and his friends George from Oxford, and Tommy from Barcelona They all share a passion for wine produced in Andalucía and have over 20 years combined experience in the wine trade, the Diatomists team explore every corner of this southernmost point of Spain in search of winemakers committed to excellence.

.A beautiful salmon pink colour, this lovely rosé is fresh, clean and fruit driven. Yum!

Country: South Africa

Region: Sondagskloof, Walker Bay

Grapes: Malbec and Merlot

ABV: 12%

Food Matching: Seafood and fleshy white fish dishes

You’ve probably heard of the quaint beach town of Hermanus, situated on South Africa’s famous Whale Coast. Between 1855 and 1902, it was called Hermanuspietersfontein. In 1902, the local postmaster decided to shorten the name of the town to make addressing letters to the locals easier.

150 years later, the wine farm Hermanuspietersfontein, or HPF for short, craft outstanding wines with a serious sense of place. Their grapes come from Sondagskloof (they produce 90% of WO Sondagskloof wine), which competes with Elgin and the Ceres Plateau for South Africa’s coolest wine growing region. This area is perfectly suited to Bordeaux varietals and, with the exception of Shiraz, is exclusively planted with them.

The Afrikaans wine names might look like a bit of a mouthful, but they are good fun; Bloos (‘blush’), Kaalvoet Meisie (‘barefoot girl’), Kat Met Die Houtbeen (‘cat with the wooden leg’), Posmeester (‘postmaster’), Kleinboet (‘little brother’) and Swartskaap (‘black sheep’).