Loire Wine Tours

Simon's blog - Further additions to our wine portfolio. This time its from our Spanish producer Hacienda Villarta in the Mentrida area. Hacienda Villarta Bodega Villarta is located near the Alberche River in Escalona, Toledo, only 84 km from Madrid. Its Appellation of Origin is Méntrida which is extended in North-West of the Community of La-Mancha. […]

Simon's blog today is about residual chemcals on grapes. The report in the Daily Mail is actually abouteating grapes not wine grapes but I question whether it id the same with wine grapes. I have talked about this before on anumber of occasions and All I can say about wine grapes is that there are […]

Simon's blog. . Today I'm introducing Languedoc wines from the Chateau Abbaye des Monges in the Languedoc region of France. The Baron de Chefdebien’s vineyards consist of both these estates. Saint Pierre is situated at Puissalicon in the Herault  department and the site of an historic Roman villa. This domaine has been in the Chefdebien family for more […]

Simon's blog today is a further addition to our portfolio of wines. Today its from the Chateau Abbaye des Monges in the Languedoc region of France. The Baron de Chefdebien’s vineyards consist of both these estates. Saint Pierre is situated at Puissalicon in the Herault  department and the site of an historic Roman villa. This […]

Simon's blog. Today is about our wine portfolio and the news that we have extended our range to include Burgundy wines. Let me begin with an introduction to our new wines starting with Manoir de Mercey in Côtes d'Or Burgundy country. Manoir de Mercey Domaine Berger-Rive The domaine Berger-Rive estate lies at Mercey in the […]

Simon's Wine blog – wine quality can be judged by its bouquet and taste. The bouquet is the total aromatic experience of the wine. Assessing a wine's bouquet can also reveal faults such as cork taint, oxidation due to age, overexposure to oxygen, or lack of preservatives and wild yeast contamination due to yeasts. Although […]

Simon's wine blog. Today is about legs. No, not women's legs! Much as I am a 'leg man' I'm talking strictly about the wine legs on the inside of a glass. The wine that clings to the glass after swirling or drinking. They are caused by the difference in the rate of eveporation and the capillary tension […]

Simon's wine blog. Today I'm blogging about chemicals found in fruit and veg. Although not directly related to grapes it highlights the issues surrounding spraying of chemicals on our raw food and how these are retained on the skin and within the food. A recent study by the Agri-food and Biosciences Institute in Northern Ireland examined whether food […]

Simon's blog. One method of ageing wine is the solera process. Named after the barrels or containers in which the wine is contained.  In the solera process, a succession of containers are filled with the product over a series of equal ageing intervals (usually a year). One container is filled for each interval. At the […]