Tasting events give our customers the chance to try before they buy, sample some wines they usually wouldn’t place in their basket. The feedback is always excellent, which is why we have continued to expand our events up and down the country.

If you haven’t been to one of our tastings yet, there are plenty more events left in 2013, just visit our tasting page to find the event closest to home. Not only will you have the chance to taste plenty of wines, but you will also have the chance to talk with some winemakers and wine producers who are responsible for the wines you love!

Here are a few snapshots we took from each event!

London Tower Hill

Cardiff

Newcastle

Leeds 

Belfast

This week we have a little helping hand with our food and wine match. We turned to Britain’s leading mail order and online meat supplier, who also hold a Royal Warrant to supply Her Majesty The Queen. Who better to produce a fine recipe to match with one of our delicious wines. Donald Russell source their beef, pork and lamb from farms here in the UK, and their master butchers only deliver the finest cuts from the finest meats.

Today Donald Russell has produced a deliciously refreshing recipe for our customers to try their hand at during the Summer months. If you do try your hand at this, please let us know about it on Facebook or Twitter.

Marinated Rump Medallions with Apple, Asparagus and Mint Salad

Serves 4

8 Rump Medallions

1 tsp Ground Paprika (smoked)

½ tsp Ground Cumin

2 Cloves of Garlic (crushed)

2 tbsp Olive Oil

For the Apple, Asparagus and Mint Salad:

2-3 tbsp Walnut Oil

1 tbsp Sherry Vinegar

1 tsp Mustard e.g. Dijon

1 pinch Sugar

2 firm Apples e.g. Granny Smith /Gala (cored and cut

into thin slices)

200g Asparagus (blanched and cut into bite sized pieces)

10-16 Fresh Mint leaves

 Method

Mix paprika, cumin, garlic and olive oil and brush the meat with the mixture all over. Leave to marinade in the fridge, covered with foil, for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Before cooking allow the meat to come to room temperature and pat dry with kitchen paper. Heat a large frying pan to the highest setting and cook the meat to your liking (see table below) remove from the pan, cover with foil and leave to rest in a warm place.

For the salad, combine the walnut oil, vinegar and mustard in a large bowl.  Add all the remaining ingredients and mix carefully; season to taste with salt and pepper.  To serve,

divide the salad between plates and place the medallions on top.

Serve with sweet potatoes, or some fresh crusty bread.

Recommended Steak Cooking Time Guide

The times given here are a guide only and refer to a steak that is approximately 2½ cm or 1″ thick. Thicker steaks may require a longer cooking time and vice versa for thinner steaks.

Wine Match

Finca Manzanos Seleccion de la Familia Rioja Crianza 2008

There’s a lovely juiciness to the fruit of this Crianza from Finca Manzanos that will match up perfectly to the marinated medallions and the freshness of the overall palate won’t overpower the lovely salad. Open half hour or so before serving to allow the wine a little time to open up and show at its best.

There have been many crests and troughs in the history of our favourite Spanish region, but the last low pressure front, that left pricing at an all time low two years ago was notably awful.

The bottom fell out of the market leaving prices in freefall and bulk traders free to pile in. DOC Rioja was changing hands at very silly looking, unsustainable prices. The knee-jerk reaction was that these periods of equalisation are necessary to bring the market into true. But after more careful examination of what can, and did, happen it’s clear that there was a degree of devaluation of the brand that will be very hard to reverse in the short term.

Yes, there are always poor wines trading off the label, but it must be understood that these are in the minority and do not represent the region as a whole.

The majority of activity supports and bolsters the reputation of the region and shows off the proud and rather fabulous traditions in winemaking. And this is what marks Rioja out in many ways: it makes a very tradition style of wine that we absolutely adore.

The barrel and bottle aging laws that govern labelling, give rise to wonderfully harmonious, warm, rich, seductive and, at the oldest end of the spectrum, comforting wines. The accent is on soft delivery and the overall effect is demonstrably Rioja in its engagement.

From crunchy, fresh Joven wines right through to the most venerable and grandiose Gran Reservas, not only is there something for everyone here, there is also a graduated spectrum of style that will meet almost any occasion.

Where else can you buy a wine that has been aged for three years in barrel and two years in bottle, by law, for something northside of a tenner?

The glut of low-cost, poor quality wines have all but dried up now fortunately, so we’d ask that you keep the faith and help us to celebrate the tradition and the cracking wines of this amazing wine region.

Go Rioja.

It’s no coincidence that Spain is becoming one of the go-to places to pick up not only some of the most vibrant and exciting whites out there, but whites that represent superb value for money too. We’ve scoured Spain to bring you their best value whites that will hopefully make you pause for thought before once grabbing that Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc everyone else is drinking. Or at least make you consider taking the chance to pop something less familiar and a whole lot more exciting in your basket!

The movement across Spain has been rapid. Producers have finally dropped the ‘old styles’ where oak was a key component that created wines with a more rustic and traditional feel. Instead many now take a more modern approach to winemaking, looking for freshness and purity of fruit, much more in keeping with the requirements of the today’s wine drinkers.

I get the feeling that more and more people, (thankfully) seem to be looking for the ‘lesser known’ when it comes to stocking up on crisp whites for the summer months. Folks are starting to hunt out the very best value for money, which is often not at their local supermarket. With that in mind I am going to say something quite bold…

Looks no further than Spain.

Look to today’s offer!

Today’s Spanish Whites Case showcases exactly what all the fuss in the industry is centred around with Spanish white wines! And me?  I LOVE Spanish whites. So here are a few lines on my personal highlights of today’s hand-picked case (which is actually only available for the next 24 hours – be quick guys). You should give these wines a try before the sun shies away!

Finca Manzanos Seleccion de la Familia Rioja Blanco 2011 – I’ve been working and visiting this family owned bodega for the last 4 years and have been enthused by their young team, making a real name for themselves in a congested region where competition is nothing less than fierce. This is their take on modern White Rioja – a bright, ultra fresh pear and apricot scented white. Perfect for fish dishes and summer salads. A guaranteed find in my fridge door!

Atalaya do Mar Godello 2010 – Galician producers, just north of Portugal on the Atlantic coast, have been hammering out indigenous varietal-lead wines that have captured the attention of buyers all over the world. Outside of the almost household name ‘Albarino’, there’s a little known variety – Godello. It is making a charge for the top! Select fruit from some seriously old vines delivers a raciness with citrus and orchard fruit in combination with a richly textured palate. An amazingly mouth-watering aperitif, or try as a partner with a Warldorf salad.

La Multa Blanco 2011 – Garnacha Blanco is another of Spain’s lesser known white varieties now making waves. After spending time in South America and New Zealand, Master of Wine come winemaker Norrel Robertson, fell in love with Spain and bases himself in Calatayud, South of Zaragoza. In his own words, the collection of small growers and wild landscape was “simply awe-inspiring”. Not satisfied with sticking in one place, Norrel began exploring the country as a whole and unearthed a small plot of high altitude old bush vines with untapped promise. La Multa Blanco is the exciting result of his explorations. An immediately fresh wine that is altogether charming. Great with a roasted chicken or bbq’d fish served with green beans, olives and a garlic butter.

Irius 100ft Somontano Gewurztraminer 2011 – I really like this stuff! Irius comes from an amazing, brand new winery that is gravity fed with tunnels stretching 100 feet underground. A real feat of ‘no expense spared’ engineering! Vineyards are often tempered by the effects of large bodies of water, bringing overall temperatures down and maintaining freshness and balance within grapes. This is so, so, so important when looking to make modern whites. But it’s not a body of water that tempers here – it’s the altitude. Lowering daytime temperatures keeps the natural freshness in grapes, and that very freshness is at the core of the finished wine. There’s lightly honeyed fruit with rose petal and a touch of spice that you can’t quite nail down to a specific. The palate is light and vibrant with an excellent depth of fruit. The best food to enjoy with almost all Gewurtz is Asian cuisine. Bring on the Thai green curry!

That’s just a few highlights from today’s Spanish Whites Case, a great taste of what Spain has to offer in terms of refreshing whites. If nothing else, I hope this has inspired you to look outside the norm and jump into Spain for a glass of pure refreshment this summer.

You can follow Dave on Twttier @DR_virginwines

Meanwhile here on the blog, we’ll be getting our wine buyers to share their thoughts on Spain, Spanish wines and what makes them so special – look out for these later in the week.

To kick things off today let us introduce you to Spain with our top 5 facts:

• Garnacha is the Spanish name for the red grape Grenache
• La Mancha, in the hot middle region (The Meseta) of Spain is home to the world’s most widely planted grape variety, Airen.
• The town of Jerez in Southern Spain is the home of the fortified wine, Sherry.
• Spain has more land dedicated to vines than any other wine growing country in the World.
• Cava is the name given to sparkling wine produced in Spain. It is made in the same way as Champagne, but using local Spanish grapes.

To find out more about this fantastic winemaking country, visit our WineZone!

Here at Virgin Wines our English range features three fantastic sparkling wines made by our friends at the Ridgeview winery based in the South Downs.  Ridgeview was founded in 1994 and has since grown to become a producer of internationally award winning English Sparkling Wine.  In fact, all of their wines were awarded medals at the recent International Wine Challenge (IWC), International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) or the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).

Ridgeview Cuvee Merret Bloomsbury Brut 2010

Picking up a Silver medal at both the IWC and IWSC and a Bronze at the DWWA this year, this bubbly is a serious rival to Champagne.  Made with traditional Champagne grapes of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, it is a real talking point which will be perfect for any grand occasion or when wanting to show off in front of French friends or relatives.  The wine also featured in Jamie Goode’s top 50 Champagne and Sparkling Wines in the Sunday Express in April.

Ridgeview Merret Grosvenor Blanc de Blanc 2010

Made entirely from the Chardoanny grape, this tasty sparkling wine has received a great deal of praise from the press.  In the recent review of English Sparkling wines by Decanter Magazine, it was chosen as the number one wine, achieving a near perfect score of 97/100.  What’s more, it was also awarded a Silver award at the DWWA, IWSC, and at Chardonnay du Monde, and a Gold Award at the Sommelier Wine Awards.  High praise indeed!

Ridgeview Fitzrovia Rose 2010

This pink bubbly is incredibly elegant and refreshing, and with tasty red fruit flavours of redcurrant, raspberry and cranberry, it makes a perfect match for smoked salmon dishes or strawberries and ice cream.  And it’s not just us who thinks it’s fantastic – it was recently awarded Silver medals at the IWC, IWSC and DWWA.

Making plans for these ‘government bonus’ weekends is fraught with disappointment as it tends to end up lashing it down, so any fun plans that involve being outdoors flies out the window, (inside the window might be more apt!) Numerous previous weather fails of my own, and I’m sure I’m not alone, over long weekends won’t stop us rounding up the troops for a get together in a nearby park for a classic BH experience! Plans will involve all manner of park-related sports, including the obligatory hamper, which I’ll get to soon.

More importantly though, your activity pack must include – a frisbee (preferably an Aerobie), petanque set (the plastic ones are a little tacky but do the job well enough), a football (mitre delta circa 1988 edition gets bonus points) and last but not least a bat and ball set!

So, join me in keeping fingers and toes crossed, or anything else you superstitiously do, especially if, like me, you have arranged something fun for your three days off!

The Hamper!

I think there’s something really special about putting together a picnic hamper. Whether it’s just a simple effort or something more grandeur, it’s always pretty exciting. Like the sporting equipment, there’s a few things I consider having ‘must pack’ status…

‘Must packs’  include – honey roast gammon sandwiches (if you roast a joint yourself you’ll be a hero, ask my mate Dom! Great value too). A whole roast chicken (easy to do and hack it and pack it how you see fit), crisps and dips (naturally), a wide range of cheeses (pack some crackers and pickle), a fruit salad (strawberries and cream as an addition).

There’s bound to be a fussy feller present at your picnic, commonly known as a vegetarian. So you’ll need to do a few obvious ‘meat free’ sandwiches.  Chuck it all in a cool box and if the sun doesn’t come out… curse this global warming we are clearing suffering! Option B is obviously to pick someone’s pad and lay it all out indoors. Still tasty.

Right… onto the wine….

The suns out (or to be honest, we’d settle for it just being dry) and the lovingly prepared hamper is set to go (not kicked to the kerb because it rained):

FIZZ is essential. Budget up to you, however, personal experience says no one will be bothered either way.

Feeling flash – Champagne Gremillet Brut Selection NV

Looking for value – Le Dolci Colline Prosecco NV

A good Rose is well worth packing.

Catering for the masses – Gypsy Lee Rose White Zinfandel 2012

Looking after yourself and the few that do care – Domaine de Rimauresq Provence Rose 2012

Crisp white #1 (exactly what I’d pack) – Chateau Sainte Radegonde Muscadet Sur Lie 2010

Crisp White #2 (alternative) – Bel Olivier Sauvignon Blanc 2012

Easy drinking red – Famille Perrin Cotes du Ventoux 2012

Something a little pricier (also easy drinking) – Fincas del Sur Malbec 2011

Essential – SHERRY – Fernando de Castilla Classic Amontillado NV

You can keep this as simple as you like or go to town. However you plan your long weekend, make sure it has some exciting wine packed in!

Make sure you follow Dave on Twitter @DR_VirginWines

Jay Wright (Middle), celebrates his man of the year award with VW Wine Buyers Andy Baker (Left) and Dave Roberts (Right)

Jay Wright, our very own Managing Director , has been named as “Man of the Year” at the Drinks Business Awards 2013. The announcement was quickly followed with celebratory drinks and high fives all around (as well as some spilled drinks as a result).

The award was announced at the Drinks Business Awards ceremony held at the London International Wine Fair yesterday lunchtime. At 43, Jay is reported to be one of the youngest ever recipients of this award.

The Drinks Business Man of the Year award aims to recognise individuals whose contribution to the wine and spirits industry over the last year had set them apart from the rest. Judges were looking for unparalleled leadership and business acumen.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, Jay said:

“I am delighted to win this award. Working at Virgin Wines is my hobby and my passion as well as my job and I feel incredibly fortunate to spend every day doing something that I genuinely love. As the old adage goes ‘you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with’ and at Virgin Wines I am surrounded by some of the best, most dynamic people in the trade”.

Jay’s career in the wine industry started in 1997 when he set up World Wines Direct, a new mail order wine business for The Greenalls Group plc. Jay managed this business for three years before leaving in 2000 to start his own business, Warehouse Wines. By the summer of 2002 Direct Wines had spotted the potential of Warehouse Wines and purchased a majority shareholding, before buying the business outright in 2006. In 2008, Jay took on the role of Managing Director at Virgin Wines where he currently has direct responsibility for 145 colleagues across two locations and has achieved a record turnover of in excess of £38 million. In addition, he has spearheaded many major business innovations which have placed us in a powerful position, with consistent profits and steady growth in a challenging business climate.

Also at the Drinks Business Awards, we were shortlisted in the Best Consumer Campaign and the Best Drinks Company of the Year categories.

Make sure you follow Jay on twitter @jaywright1969

This week it’s all about White Wine and we had a chance to see the same grape type perform differently when cultivated in different climates.

We’re going to look at Gewurztraminer If you can’t look away and spell it, you can’t drink it. Well that’s the rule here at VW HQ but we’ll let you off on that one.

None of the following are from what’s widely recognised as the real home of this fragrant grape, Alsace, but it will show you how much there is to enjoy within a single grape variety.

First up…

Vina Leyda Gewurztraminer Reserva 2010

Leyda is one of Chile’s most exciting regions, especially for white varietals. Why? It has incredibly close proximity to the Pacific Ocean, which tempers the climate. The vineyards are cooled further by daily occurring ocean mists. They shroud the vineyards in cloud keeping the intense sun at bay for long periods of the day. The resulting wines have some of the most vibrant aromatics the wine world has to offer, especially beneficial when working with Gewurz.

Dave Roberts (Wine Buyer) tasting note – look for rose petal (Turkish Delight/Lokum) hints of apricot and peach and just a little citrus. The palate is super fresh, light and crisp. Very moreish!

Belmonte Gewurztraminer 2009

We’ve championed the wines from the Forrest Estate for a decade – they make wines exclusively for us. They genuinely don’t do that for many other businesses. They’re vineyards are smack bang next door to Cloudy Bay and I’m still amazed at how much cheaper they are. They make a minute quantity of Gewurz each vintage and we snaffle a little portion they make available to us. Look for the stylistic difference to the offering from Vina Leyda – a little more sweetness.

Dave Roberts (Wine Buyer) tasting note – plenty of stone fruit, a little lychee and some delicate floral notes. The palate is soft, round and mouth coating leading onto a rich yet clean finish.

100ft Somontano Gewurztraminer 2011

I talk about the oceanic influence when I looked at Leyda’s Gewurz and in the vineyards of the Iris Winery something similar occurs. It’s not a body of water that tempers here – it’s altitude. Lowering daytime temperatures, keeping the natural freshness in the grapes, with that freshness is at the very core of the finished wine.

Dave Roberts (Wine Buyer) tasting note – lightly honeyed fruit and again you’ll find rose petal and a touch of spice that you can’t quite nail down to a specific! The palate is light and vibrant with an excellent depth of fruit. I really like this stuff!

The best food to enjoy with almost all  Gewurztraminers  is Asian cuisine. Bring on the Thai green curry!

The idea this afternoon is to look at the differences within the wines and there should be enough for everyone to try all three to compare.

David Williams writing for The Observer featured our Tabali Late Harvest Muscat 2010 as a perfect wine for Mother’s Day. About the wine, David said, “Tabali’s position in the uncannily cool (it’s very dry and sunny) Limari Valley helps give this seriously good value, unctuously sweet wine its extraordinarily lift and floral, muscat perfume.

In the York Press, Mike Tipping wrote about our Belmonte Gewurztraminer 2009 in his column “Three wines from New Zealand” saying that “This is rich and full but not as overpowering as some examples of the grape from Alsace that I’ve tried.  It is almost off-dry, which helps it pair with spicy food, and brimming with flavours of ginger, lychee, tropical fruit and rose petal perfume”.

In a separate article Mike picked three wines to go with steak and included our Perez Cruz Cot Reserva Limited Edition 2010.  He described the wine as “This is a rich and full bodied creation from the Maipo Alto region of the country.  It has balance, length and a nice freshness too.  It doesn’t skimp on juicy fruit flavours either: think blackcurrant, brambles, black cherry, with floral notes, some toasty oak influence and sturdy tannins.”

Meanwhile, Malbec Day was the feature of the month with several writers reviewing our Fincas del Sur Malbec 2011.  Sam Wylie Harris of the Press Association described it as “A wine that greets you with arms wide open” adding that it “Is delicious from beginning to end”.  While Jane Clare of the Liverpool Daily Post commented “Ripe tannins, packed bunches of plums and a frizzling of malbec spice bring an elegance to this Mendoza wine”.

The Guardian’s wine writer Fiona Beckett, writing for the June edition of Easy Living magazine, featured our Monte Schiavo Coste del Molino Verdicchio Classico 2011 in an article on wines to match with pizza.  She described it as a “delicious herby, lemony Italian white” and suggested it would make a good match for seafood and vegetarian pastas, as well as mini potato pizzas.

Jamie Goode also had an Italian theme to his article in the Sunday Express S Magazine where he featured our Elisa Gavi 2011 describing it as “A particularly good bottle with lovely, precise flavours”.

Finally, “Hard to get much better than this” was what Decanter Magazine had to say about our Ridgeview Merret Grosvenor Blanc de Blanc 2010 which was Highly Recommended and awarded an average of 18 out of 20 points in their UK Sparkling feature.

Here’s hoping many more of our wines are enjoyed by wine writers in the coming months.

Name:  Gavin Seymour

Job title:  Personal Wine Advisor

Favourite grape type: Shiraz

Favourite bottle of bubbly for celebrating:  Dom Perignon 2003

Best wine and food combo:  Lamb and Malbec

Wine producing country you would most like to visit:  USA – I think they are producing some fantastic wines at the moment.

Most used phrase in the office:  A nod’s as good as a wink to a blind bat

Phrase you dislike the most:  “basically”

Best thing about your job: Talking to my customers. I love to hear how they are and what wines they are drinking at the moment.

How do you take your tea/coffee:  warmishy / coldishy with two sugars

Top 3 wines of the moment:

Vat 27 Reserve Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2008

Zinification Shiraz Zinfandel 2011

Famille Perrin Luberon Blanc 2011

Whipped up by Whitney the Sheila (Online Marketing)

Our third recipe in our new series features something a little bit special from our resident Australian. A party dish designed to share with friends and family. A small snack that will have you licking your lips. Every now and again we’ll pop together a delicious recipe, give you all the information you need to recreate the masterpiece and we’ll even recommend a lovely wine to enjoy alongside your meal. If you decide to try your hand at this recipe, why not take a picture and send it along to us, either on our Facebook page or our Twitter page.

Ingredients:

1 x Cob Loaf

1 x White Onion, chopped

6 Rashers of Bacon (trimmed & chopped into bite size pieces)

250ml of Sour Cream

250g of plain ol’ Philadelphia

Few BIG handfuls of grated cheese!

Serves 2-6 (Depending on the Cob)

 Method

1)      Preheat that oven to 180 degrees.

2)      Grab that cob. Cut off the top of the cob loaf (give it a lid) then hollow out the bready loaf. Scatter these pulled out bread pieces onto a large baking tray, with the cob loaf as the centrepiece.

3)      Fry the bacon & onion in the pan. Let it cool off the heat.

4)      In a separate bowl mix the cheese, sour cream and Philly together thoroughly.

5)      Add the bacon & onion to the mixture. Stir it up.

6)      Fill the hollow cob with this glorious mixture. Pop on the lid. Shove in the oven.

7)      Bake for 20 mins, then remove the lid and bake that bready cob for another 20 mins, lid off this time.

8)      Behold your Dippy Damper! Use the roasted chunks of bread to dip at first, then begin gnawing away at the outer cob and finally the base, until nothing . is. left.

Wine Match

Clarity Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2011

While you’re elbow deep in this cheese loaded cob you’ll need something crisp and refreshing to cleanse that palate so you can continue to dip.

Sticking with the country of both origin of recipe and writer I’ve selected the partnering wine from Oz.

I’ve chosen a zingy, super-fresh Savvy crafted by Steve Grimley, from the best grapes the Adelaide Hills can deliver. Lovely aromatics of cut grass, green pepper and white peach and a palate that is ripe with perfectly balanced acidity. It’s an exclusive VW drop too!

(Dave Roberts – Wine Buyer)

Both events had an amazing turnout, so thank you all for taking the time to come down and say hello.  The events are always great fun with us supplying the wine, a friend of ours supplying some nibbles and our loyal customer base supplying the fun!

For our first event we popped down to Bristol on the 18^th of April, which was closely followed by a trip over to Southampton as the Virgin Wines tasting bus rolls on. If you haven’t managed to attend a tasting yet, then don’t panic, we still have a lot of tasting left in 2013 and there are still plenty of tickets available to be snapped up, just click HERE.

We’ll leave you now with just a small sample of photos taken from our latest April Tasting events.