Blog | Joanna Simon

Apr 18

Doppler Pet Nut 2021, Štajerska Slovenija, Slovenia

£17.99, House of Townend Let’s get the name out of the way: Pet Nut is the Doppler winery’s jokey name for this gently sparkling, lightly...

Apr 11

WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine la Borie Vitarèle Les Terres Blanches Saint-Chinian 2022, Languedoc, France

£19.95/£17.95, Lea & Sandeman Everyday supermarket Saint-Chinians can be good value, but this estate-produced, organic wine is in a...

Apr 4

WINE OF THE WEEK: Kir-Yianni Assyrtiko 2022, Florina, Macedonia, Greece

£14.99, Laithwaites Assyrtiko from mainland Greece can come seem a bit underpowered in comparison with the volcanic mineral intensity and...

Mar 28

WINE OF THE WEEK: Kleine Zalze Shiraz Mourvèdre Viognier 2021, Western Cape, South Africa

£9.99/£7.49, Waitrose Almost everything I said about the 2016 vintage of this Cape red when singing its praises back in 2018 holds true...

Mar 21

WINE OF THE WEEK: La Nouvelle Lune Chardonnay 2021, Val de Loire, France

£15.99, Adnams This lovely, willowy Chardonnay couldn’t be more Spring-like. With drifting floral, quince and cashew-nut aromas, supple...

Mar 14

WINE OF THE WEEK: Finest Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rhône, France

£21, Tesco I scoured both front and back labels for the vintage of this Châteauneuf-du-Pape before it dawned on me that, very unusually...

Mar 7

WINE OF THE WEEK: Château Favray Mathilde de Favray Pouilly Fumé 2022, Loire, France

£19, Ocado, Marks & Spencer The 2022 vintage was a cracking year for Pouilly Fumé, Sancerre and the other wines of the Centre-Loire. It...

Mar 5

Standing Taller Than Ever: the Old-Vine Wines of Torbreck in the Barossa

The journey through Torbreck old-vine Barossa wines with chief winemaker Ian Hongell at Noizé restaurant in London in February 2024...

Feb 29

WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine Vavril Côte de Brouilly Cuvée de l'Héronde 2022, France

£16.15/£14.35, Haynes Hanson & Clark My encounter with Domaine Vavril’s Gamay Noir Beaujolais Villages last autumn was love at first...

Feb 22

WINE OF THE WEEK: Laurent Savoye Mâcon-Chaintré Les Perrières 2020, Burgundy, France

£21.85, Private Cellar Laurent Savoye is best known for his Domaine des Combiers Beaujolais wines, but in 2020 he made this creamy,...

Feb 15

WINE OF THE WEEK: Caliterra Pétreo Carmenere 2020, Colchagua Valley, Chile

£13.45–£14.90, ND John, NY Wines, Hic!, Vinvm, Just in Cases Ever since the Chileans discovered in the 1990s that almost all their...

Feb 8

WINE OF THE WEEK: Castel Mimi Animaliens Viorica Feteascā Alba 2022, Moldova

£12.50, Tanners Wines This is only the second Moldovan wine to occupy the Wine of the Week slot and neither of the grape varieties has...

Feb 1

WINE OF THE WEEK: Joostenberg Estate Klippe Kou Syrah 2020, Paarl, South Africa

£19.05, Corney & Barrow The way Klippe Kou Syrah is aged was changed in the 2020 vintage, with the total time cut from 18 to 10 months...

Jan 30

Lightly Does It: Reducing Bottle Weights and Alternatives to Glass

A Costières de Nîmes weighing in at under 420g, which is the average figure that a group of international retailers, including Sweden's...

Jan 25

WINE OF THE WEEK: Domaine l'Ancienne Cure Jour de Fruit Bergerac Sec 2022, France

£16.15, Yapp Brothers The Roche family are better known for their Domaine l'Ancienne Cure Monbazillac but they have long produced very...

Jan 18

WINE OF THE WEEK: Denis Jamain Les Pierres Plates Reuilly Pinot Noir 2022, Loire, France

£16.95, Berry Bros & Rudd Reuilly is better known for its Sauvignon Blanc, of which it produces more than twice as much, but its Pinot...

Jan 11

WINE OF THE WEEK: Mancura Guardián Carignan 2020, Valle del Maule, Chile

£11.49/£12.99, Laithwaites I was going to do a Pinot Noir this week on the grounds that wine drinkers who aren’t doing dry January might...

Jan 4

WINE OF THE WEEK: Macerao Naranjo 2021, Valle del Itata, Chile

£7.49 on offer, Waitrose My first Wine of the Week for 2024 is for anyone who has yet to try an orange wine, anyone who has yet to find...

Dec 21, 2023

WINE OF THE WEEK: Contino Rioja Reserva 2018, Spain

£22–£26, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Morrison, North & South Wines and other independents If you haven’t got your red wine for the...

Dec 19, 2023

The Festive Sweet and Fortified Wine Guide 2023

There's just time to get in some sweet and fortified recommendations in for Christmas, together with the all-important pairing...