Wine Insiders |

I am very lucky to live in such a lovely town which is on the South Coast.  To the south of my house I have the English Channel which is only 5 minutes away by car and to the North I have the beautiful Sussex Downs.

I love going to the beach, especially on a cold day when the sea is really rough.It gives me time to blow all the cobwebs away and take stock of everything that is going on.When the summer finally arrives, it’s not much fun because all the tourists converge on our town, but luckily there are still some private coves I can escape too.

As though all of that wasn’t enough to be glad about, within walking distance of our house we have a few pubs and plenty of restaurants so if I want to go out for a drink when I have finished work, it’s really easy.

Each year during spring, one of the local pubs puts on a massive wine festival.With spring now just around the corner i haven’t got long to wait now and am counting down the days to the festival.Last year I was stunned at the huge array of wines on offer, some from countries I didn’t even know produced wine!

As the event is becoming so well loved, you have to now purchase your ticket way in advance.  It’s a pretty good deal though because for a couple of Pounds I get to drink as much wine as I like.

Last year (early on in the day I hasten to add), I can remember sampling some German Wine, a lovely Portuguese Wine and some tasty Italian Wine. Anything I consumed after this has been forgotten, due to the fact I had drunk too much of the Italian wine!

This year, I think I may just have to pace myself a little bit better, after all it’s not every day you get to sample so many delicious wines and get change from a Ten Pound Note!!

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Like us, we know you appreciate delicious food and fine wines.  There is nothing more relaxing than enjoying a good meal and a glass of your favourite wine at the end of a long working week.  It’s the perfect way to unwind. indulging yourself with a great bottle of wine brings a little bit of the vineyard to your table.

First hand experience of La Rioja

Imagine how much more your appreciation would be enhanced if you could experience the sights, sounds and flavours of your favourite wine region first hand.you don’t have to be a massive wine connoisseur, just a fan!   There are dozens of wine tasting holiday packages available, ranging from the commercial tourist treks that  whisk you  through the terroir on an air-conditioned coach to the more intimate walking holidays that give you the space and time to walk through a wine region, drinking in the atmosphere and sampling the local food as well as tasting the wines.

La Rioja

We think an active holiday for wine buffs is best done at your own pace.  For a truly personal holiday, we like companies that offers tailor made packages to the smaller, beautiful and often underappreciated regions of Spain, such as La Rioja for example.going with a small group of friends and a trust worthy guide will help you appreciate wine even more.

Why La Rioja

The gateway to La Rioja is Bilbao, famous for Frank Gehry’s titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum and the magnificent Mirador de Tolono is less than an hour away with magnificent views across the wine growing region.if you head down into the valley of Rio Ebro your right amongst the wine production are in La Rioja where a combination of wine tasting and walks and meals can be enjoyed.The local food comprises of seafood from the northern coast and meats from the plains to the south of Rioja.sommeliers serve up each course with a different wine to compliment the food.

Visiting traditional wineries in the region can also give you an insight into how much love, care and attention goes into putting that bottle on your table.one the oldest wineries called Muga uses traditional methods in winemaking, using only oak barrels and casks.   La Rioja offers the perfect active holiday for wine lovers everywhere.  You can immerse yourself in the culture and history of the region and experience the lifestyle behind the wines. Packages of varying lengths can be booked, but if nine days walking in the countryside, even if it is to drink some superb wines, sound like too much effort there are shorter weekend options that take in the main attractions and deliver a more intensive, but equally rewarding, experience.

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At Classic Wine Direct we’re pretty upfront about what we do – we can’t compete with supermarkets on price so we offer wines from off the beaten track instead. wines are more flavoursome and interesting. people who drink wine don’t really know the true value of wine.

the chief executive for the wine trade confirmed many of the deals are a rip off.

The fact that a leading player in the wine business had admitted that consumers were being conned caused many a raised eyebrow.

half price deals are not in fact deals at all according to Spiret. simply, a bottle reduced from £7.99 to £3.wines are more likely to be worth £3.99.the first place of 99.

Retailers use a policy called “marking up, only to mark down” where they put a product on sale at a high price in a select number of regional outlets for a long enough time to ensure they can legally claim the product was being sold at that price before then offering it nationwide at a lower ” was/now” price. The customer will then beleive he is getting a quality wine for a bargain price. Confused? thats what we think generally.

The industry beleives that the “mass market” wine drinker is obsessed by the £3.99 price point and this affects the way that retailers are selling us wine and the way that some suppliers are now producing their wines.

consumers really know what is going on but they just carry on doing it. this leads to the wine trade not havng any money.

Spiret’s gives us an inside view of the true tricks in which wine is sold by the big retailers. it gives the impression that big retailers view their customers to be lazy and ignorant.

In many ways Spiret was simply highlighting the types of marketing practices that are in play in many industries and it would be unfair to single out the wine trade as unique in using such tactics.

due to the fact that supermarkets represent two thirds of the sales in the UK, this changes the public perception of the value of wine.

If the regular wine drinker believes that he is getting £7.99 of value from a £3.99 bottle then it follows that it will be much harder for the independent wine retailer to sell something whose real value is (and always was) £7.99.

there is no end to this type of fraudulent marketing.

However, if the political mood continues to be against discount selling for alcohol, it will be interesting to see how the big retailers find a real price for wines they have knowingly mis-sold for the last 10 years.

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