The Wine Merchant's Blog

Taryn, the newest member of our Retail team was in South Africa over Easter and got to visit Stellenbosch and the Swartland to catch up with two of our very popular wine producers, Journeys End and AA Badenhorst. Journey’s End is a producer that operates close to the ground, has a deep understanding of the […]

The two main schools of thought when it comes to wine making:  minimal intervention (mostly organic or biodynamic producers) and interventionist, where the winemaker adds certain elements to the winemaking process in order to add his or her own individual “stamp”. Both styles have their merits and in search of balance, the JN Retail team […]

Wine making in Lebanon has recently transformed the countryside and opened the way for attractive business opportunities. Long established wineries and a host of newcomers have helped cement Lebanon’s reputation as a centre of excellence. We at Massaya are neither an old name nor an eager novice and we are proud that during the past […]

Pikes was delighted recently to welcome back the men from Vinsonus, a truly innovative and successful South Australian company. Vinsonus’s High Power Ultrasonic (HPU) barrel cleaning technology has been an invaluable tool in helping Pikes not only improve wine quality but also significantly reduce its spending on new oak products, one of the costliest aspects […]

Spring is just around the corner so our staff have chosen some new wines to reflect the change in the season.   Jane Macon Charnay, Les Chenes, 2015,  Manciat Poncet 75cl, £14.95 Coming into the Spring, this is the perfect wine to enliven the senses. Floral notes combine with citrus and peach on the nose. […]

Cabernet Sauvignon; king of wine grapes. Core foundation of Bordeaux’s greatest estates, the main contributor to the great cult wines of California’s Napa Valley and of major importance to the “Super Tuscans” of Bolgheri on Italy’s Etruscan coast. We all love Cabernet Sauvignon; it is to wine what Frank Sinatra is to music; timeless, full […]

Spain has always been a great place to look for high quality red wines at an affordable price point. But what about Spanish whites? Having played second fiddle to the full-bodied reds of Rioja and the Duero, Spanish whites are starting to take their rightful place centre stage. From the consistently fresh Albariño’s of Galicia […]

The wine industry has long been governed by strict laws that have influenced the nature of the final product that we decant from the bottle or sip from the glass. These laws (known as Geographical Indications or Appellation Laws) are relevant to the specific and wider wine-growing regions of the world and can restrict growers […]

As wine merchants, we are asked regularly “should I decant this wine?”, “How long does this wine need decanted for?” and various other queries about the age old tradition of transferring your wine from bottle to decanter before serving. Decanting serves two key purposes; one is to remove the sediment from an old or unfiltered […]

Tannins occur naturally in the skins of wine grapes and are the compound that creates a drying sensation in your mouth as you drink.  People that are sensitive (or even allergic) to this sensation as well as that of bitterness can be put off red wines entirely for fear of encountering these tannins.  However, there […]

With every change of the season we all pick a new wine to reflect the time of year.  For Winter 2018 we have chosen a selection of old favourites and new discoveries. Aidan Rustenberg John X Merriman 2013 £14.69 A great example of a New-World, Merlot-dominant blend that does an excellent job emulating the style […]

January is usually a time of year when people decide to make a few healthy changes, at least in the short term; dieting, exercise and abstinence from alcohol are common. You may also find that you have quite a bit of wine left over from the festive season, either received as gifts or unopened leftovers […]