There is so much to say about the fair it will become a many post item. Grainger Fine Wines were present at the fair on the stand with Domaine de Rocheville. Philippe Porche decided to take a stand to showcase his wines and his decision paid off when the wines he submitted to the International Wine Challenge scooped a silver for his ‘La Dame’ and a commended for his ‘Le Prince’. That is a real achievement amongst all the wines in the show considering he only had five wines and some stands had one hell of a lot more. Hundreds in case of the big negotiants. We are really priveleged to have these wines exclusively in our portfolio. Currently ‘La Dame’ is on offer on the website at £15.49. That is a real steal for such a fine wine.  We have limited stock so grab it while you can. Even the management team from one of the supermarkets who tasted at the stand agreed it was a real stunner. When its gone its gone.

Further news to all our trade customers coming to see us at the LIWF. Philippe Porche of Domaine de Rocheville will be personally presenting his wines at the fair with us.

The wines he will be presenting are:

2010 Cabernet de Saumur AOC  ‘Le Troubadour’ pink

2008 and 2009 Saumur Champigny AOC  ‘Le Page’  red

2008 and 2009 Saumur Champigny AOC  ‘Le Prince’ red

2006 Saumur Champigny AOC ‘Le Roi’ red

2009 Saumur AOC  ‘La Dame’ white

Philippe has included consecutive vintages of the ‘Le Page’ and ‘Le Prince’ to allow comparison of the merits of each one. They are distinctive and there will be some who will prefer one to the other and visa verse which makes these wines so special and unique. There is no effort as in most other countries to try and make year on year bland similar vintages with no enjoyment or excitement. These will be tastings that will excite the wine connoisseur (and we believe our retail customers as well) and lead to some debate as to the merits of each vintage. That’s why these boutique winemakers are so damn good at making wine and in our view why the appellation system is also just as important. In each vintage the essence of the Saumur Champigny style is retained as the cornerstone of the appellation giving in each vintage the elegance of the wine as something to be savoured and enjoyed, and that is what Philippe has manged to accomplish very well indeed.

We look forward to meeting our customers and guests at the fair on the 17 to 19 May at ExCel. See you there.

Just to let all our trade customers know that we will be at the LIWF on 17 to19 May on Stand G60. Look forward to seeing you there. We’re showcasing Domaine de Rochville wines and tasting the new 2010 vintage with the owner Philippe Porche.

Our spring trip back to see our winemakers will soon be upon us. We’ll be travelling over on Sunday. Sunday is a good day to travel in Fance as lorries apart from essentials are not allowed on the motorways. Generally its quiet and an easier trip.

We will be visiting all our winemakers and catching up on progress of the 2010 vintage. Early signs are that this will also be a good year. That’s two years in a row and lucky for all you lovers of our Loire wines. Our crackers of 2009 are fast running out so bag a bargain on the website before we run dry. We’ll be tasting from the Vats and will report back via the blog over the next few weeks. We will be selecting the new wines for sale in the UK. Its hard work this wine tasting business!

We will also be meeting up with Philippe and Agnes Porche from Domaine de Rocheville to discuss the forthcoming London Interantional Wine Fair at Excel on 17-19 May. We will be on Stand G60/1J with Domaine de Rocheville so anyone in the trade who is coming please pop along to see us. There will be some of the new vintage to taste.

Follow our wine blog forsome great wine offers. Check out our wine website for some amazing spring offers with free delivery to most of UK.  We have a fabulous Cabernet de Saumur from Domaine de Rocheville ‘Le Troubadour’ on offer from £10.99 a bottle to £9.49 . A lovely tender award winning dry Rosé wine delicious with pork, poultry, salads and especially with a Moroccan tagine.

For £7.99 we offer a lovely Anjou Rouge wine and an Anjou Blanc wine from Domaine de Saugourde. The rouge is a light to medium bodied fruity wine and can be drunk with fish as well as meat. The blanc is a medium dry fresh white with notes of green fruits and perfect for fish, lobster and salmon.

Even our gold award winning Saumur Puy Notre Dame from Domaine de L’Enchantoir is on offer at £11.99. Don’t miss it, only reduced whilst stocks last. A smooth medium red wine with a mouth of red fruit and slight tannins. A perfect accompaniment to red meat, particularly a grilled steak. Follow the link  www.gfwine.co.uk

Hope you are enjoying our wine blog. More from our wine blog coming soon. K

Our red sparkling wine went down a storm at LBWF last weekend. One Marylebone, a converted church, looked amazing. Our glass bar was amazing and showed off our wines to perfection. Simon, Ben and I, with the help of Wendy, served over 500 glasses. Fortunately, Rhubarb, the wedding and party caterers, supplied and washed the very elegant glasses. Many thanks to them.

Lots of visitors to our bar liked the medium dry red,  cuvee “Chateau de Chaintres” 2007, a Saumur Champigny AOC wine from Chateau de Chaintres, a natural accompaniment to red meats and game.  Also our lovely dry rosé from Domaine de Rocheville ”Le Troubadour” 2009 a Cabernet de SaumurAOC wine, perfect with pork, poultry and cheeses. K

www.gfwine.co.uk