Did you know that our lovely government takes a large chunk of tax from the sale of a bottle of wine. Duty on still wine is £1.81 a bottle and then you add the VAT on the duty so thats £2.17. Then  there’s the VAT at 20% on the overall price.  So on a £5.00 bottle of wine thats £1.00. Now go and buy your wine at one of our well known supermarkets for £5.00. Before anything take off  the £3.17 for duty and vat. That’s £1.83 left in the pot. The cost of a bottle, cork, label etc is 80p so we are left with something like a quid to cover the cost of label the grapes, making the wine, the bottling cost, the shipment cost, the distribution cost, the warehouse cost and the profit for all. I say the wine cost nothing. WHAT ARE YOU DRINKING I ASK? CRAP I’D SAY. What else costs nothing?

No better reason then to buy wine from Grainger Fine Wines where you know what you are getting for a very good price. Don’t be fooled by the big supermarkets. Generally their offers are for basic wines with no known provenance from big wine dealers who have little knowledge of what is in the wine because they buy wine from other people and stick it in a big tank  all together and call it Chateau Sewerage or something more marketable.

We see more and more the wine writers and commentators being sucked into the Big Boy marketplace. They review the supermarket wines with regularity and what do they say apart from the taste. Actually what may lurk in that bottle? We read recently that  the wine from so and so was only £5.95 supplied by a negotiant. Be careful because these wines have to be taken for what they are.  A mix of  wines from a number of producers all thrown together with a liberal dose of sulphite to stop them oxidizing. BUT what is in that wine. The negotiants are just  buyers of bulk wines and they don’t know what is in the wine because they did not grow the grapes or make the wine. So what chance do we have. What chemicals lurk within?

It is time to properly consider a wine not just on its taste but what it contains. If you follow our route at Grainger Fine Wines of only offering wines to you which have a known provenance you can be sure what you are drinking. So have a look at what we offer. Wines directly sourced from small winemakers who grow their own grapes, make their own wine and bottle it themselves. WE KNOW WHAT IS IN OUR WINE. DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS IN THE BOTTLE YOU HAVE JUST DRUNK?

Past experience has taught me that a quickie is great but not the best. Today a quick run to Domaine de Saugourde allowed us to venture into Francois’s wineroom to sample a great simple but effective sweet wine from the Coteaux du Layon appellation. This appellation is the  all encompassing sweet AOC of the Anjou region. It has in its repertoire a complete range of sweets from just so to very very sweet and it all depends on the level of Noble Rot bacteria that attacks the grape in the Autumn. More about this again but Francois produces a simple ‘take me as you find me’ Layon which sits so well with a light dessert. Like tonight with our six guests over dinner the wine complemented the creme brulee brilliantly. Karin’s tart freshly picked blackcurrants and the sweet custard  with the caramelised  topping was so well balanced. All loved the pairing. Thanks Karin and Francois. Its available from Grainger Fine Wines at a decent price so why not try some now. Your Health.

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.

Great news all I have managed to secure a great location and some awesome canapes to show case some of our award winning wines

We have hooked up with Gorgeous Foods in Wimbledon and arranged an evening of Fine Wine and Canapes, and it’s going to be held at Wimbledons Premier Private Sports club, The Wimbledon Club.

Details of the wines and canapes to follow.

Book now as there is limited space!!!!

Grainger Fine Wines in association with Gorgeous Foods



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

Luella’s Boudoir has teamed up with Cosmopolitan Bride for the second time, to host The Luella’s Boudoir Wedding Fair, at the beautiful, One Marylebone, in London. Afternoon tea on Sunday 20 March 12 – 5.30pm OR cocktails on 21 March 4 – 9.00pm. This year the event is being held in support of the Eve Appeal and features fashion shows and entertainment. Grainger Fine Wines will be hosting a tasting of sparkling red and rosé wines: the perfect celebratory drinks for your wedding. http://luellasboudoir.co.uk/blog/our_wedding_fair_2011/ Simon, Karin and Ben will be available to discuss your wedding wine requirements and will have a selection of still wines for tasting in addition to the sparkling wines. We can arrange a private wine tasting at your home within the M25 area.

Our full selection of wines is available to view on our website www.gfwine.co.uk . Please contact us if you would like to book an appointment. K

Wow, Domaine de Rocheville are receiving well deserved accolades for their fine wines. They were awarded 2 more Gold Medals at the Paris Concours Général last week: one for Saumur Blanc ‘La Dame’ 2010 (they already had a gold medal with La Dame 2009 last year)  and the second gold for Saumur Champigny ‘Le Roi’ 2010.

They have submitted three of their wines,  La Dame 2009, Le Prince 2009 and Le Roi 2006 to the International Wine Challenge, whose results should be published in May.  Of course we hope they will be successful there too…
Many congratulations to Phillipe, Jerome and Agnes - long may their successes continue.

You can read a profile of them,  their vineyard and their wines at Grainger Fine Wines http://www.gfwine.co.uk/domains/view.php?id=6

This is an extract from le Guide Hatchete for their La Dame 2009

Deux étoiles pour la DAME 2009:

” La Dame de Rocheville a été récoltée manuellement en plusieurs passages, puis élevée 10 mois en barriques avec bâtonnage pour lui conférer gras et puissance. Et en effet, voici un vin blanc de caractère au nez intense, vanillé et fumé, riche, doux et corpulent en bouche. Cette dernière prolonge avec persistance les notes boisées de l’olfaction, agrémentées de nuances briochées et minérales. Un “sec tendre” comme on les aime, à déguster dès aujourd’hui ou dans 2 ans sur un fromage à pâte molle ou un poissonj en sauce. Superbe.”