Category Archives: Entertainment
Buy organic wine: Berry Bros and Rudd
If you ever ask any of the renowned wine critics about a top independent wine merchant in London, their top of mind would be ‘Berry Bros and Rudd’. Jancis Robinson, a writer behind a wine encyclopaedia ‘Oxford Companion to Wine‘ and also a regular contributor to Financial Times wine section, always put them on top…
Wine Tasting Experience: online at Vinoa
You know, it feels rather awkward when you stumble upon a service that you have been nursing in your mind for months and months, but never figured out how to approach this? That was the case when an ad appeared in my Facebook – that was Vinoa! I was indeed thinking about how to get…
Buy organic wine: Lidl
Lidl is currently increasing their presence and we see more and more stores opening up. In addition to that, they started to promote their wine range, which is currently divided into the usual wines (I saw a few priced at below £5) and their so-called Wine Cellar. After reading a few positive reviews from reputable…
Buy organic wine: Ocado
Ocado is another brand that does not need much introduction. Many consumers still believe that it is a spin-off on Waitrose, but it is not true – they offer basic Waitrose range, yet much more on top. What I love from that extra range is that you get much more organic brands and produce to…
Buy organic wine: Laithwaites Wine
Laithwaite’s Wine is one of the biggest online wine retailers (or, as some used to say in the past, mail order). Their flagship store is still located on the South Bank in London, so you can browse through and check out the bottles in real and not just online. Laithwaite’s Wine was already featured on…
Buy organic wine: Oddbins
Oddbins is definitely a new or no-name store. Having had a few ups and downs lately, some of the shops consolidated their efforts and you can see a shift to provide a better service, but also an interesting choice of wines and craft beers. I have been visiting a shop in Clapham several times and…
Buy organic wine: Humble Grape
It was a sunny afternoon in South West London when me and my partner needed to walk our dog a bit; on our way to Clapham Common we have encountered an independent wine shop / bar, which I’ve never been to yet. Shocking experience, knowing that we live 15 minutes away! Humble Grape is located…
Wine Tours: experience unexpected in Catalunya, Spain
I have been reviewing wines after my glorious tour in Priorat, one of the two greatest DOQ regions in Spain, yet this time it is to tell you more about the tour experience itself. It started with truly breathtaking views I cannot describe by just putting some words together. Mountainous area with narrowly laid roads…
Organic Wine Tour to Priorat, Spain
A wine tour to Priorat exploring some fantastic organic wines could not been better. That was possible thanks to Catalunya Wine and their recommendation of SweetEasy wine tours, so I have had a pleasure of visiting a few amazing wineries in Priorat this July. Yet let’s take it step by step, I will focus more on the wine tour and…
Buy organic wine: Majestic Wine
Majestic Wine does not require any additional introduction when it comes to a wine retailer. As a consumer I will remember their set of advertisements, where they have tried to deal with the image of wine being a snobby and expensive product. Indeed they provide a very democratic and friendly service and I am mostly…
Buy organic wine: The Wine Society
When asked via Twitter (@IBlameTheWine) about the favourite wine merchant and wine club, the majority was quite firm in their opinion – it is The Wine Society. I remember quite a few years ago a journalist actually named them as a best place where to invest £40 in wine experience. The trick is that The…
Buy organic wine: Vintage Roots
Just off A33, in the middle of it between Reading and Basingstoke, there is a rather unique wine merchant – Vintage Roots. The uniqueness comes from their total organic specialisation – they are calling themselves as The Organic Wine People. If you have a quick search at the exclusive All Organic Wines tool, you will…
Buy organic wine: The Sampler
The Sampler was a place where I first discovered the beauty and the benefits of using enomatic machines for tasting wine. Have you ever wondered how would a 50 or 60 years old wine taste like? Imagine, if you like Rioja, you get to sample a tasting measure of a quality Rioja dated back to…
Buy organic wine: Vagabond Wines
I still remember the time when I first discovered a shop, which offered wine tasting in-store. That was done using enomatic machines. For those, who think it is too complicated, I elaborate: it is basically a wine preservation apparatus, which dispenses the wine by a dose (can be adjusted to accommodate different measures), and prevents…
Wine Wars in Priorat: a role-playing wine game
Do you think you can play games and learn more about wine as well? Wine Wars is my new print to play wine game, which is based on the popular ‘Mafia’ game. The game file contains an instruction manual, 12 cards and a host card (instructions for a narrator). Simply download this PDF file, print…