OK they didn’t look like winning and Ronaldo replicated Rooney in the under-performing favourite stakes. But despite Portugal’s dismal performance there are still other positives to lift the country’s morale. So toast the excellent whites being produced and try the lovely 12.5%, dry, refreshing and minerally Adega de Pegoes 2009, £8.99, from the Terras do Sado region. Stockists: City Beverage, Tel: 0207-729-2111, Kevin O’ Rourke Wines, Tel: 01908-337975. Staying on the western side of Portugal, the Tejo area is producing a range of stylish whites including Quinta da Lagolava Talhao 1 2009, £9.25, a light, citrus, exotically flavoured blend of indigenous grapes, including Arinto, with familiar names like Sauvignon Blanc and Verdelho.Stockists: www.slurp.co.uk, www.greatwinesbytheglass.com. Travelling across to the massive Alentejo region, which covers a third of Portugal but only has one-twentieth of the population, where serious reds are balanced by some well made whites like the Solar dos Lobos 2008, £7.99, blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Arinto and Antao Vaz, which is the perfect dry, crisp, easy drinking patio white for those of you no longer succumbing to the footie. Stockist: www.incewines.co.uk. Cheers!.

South Africa may be out of the World Cup but they are definitely in the vino knockout. There is no doubting that their wine popularity will continue to grow in the UK because they have a range of wine styles, regions and producers who are hitting the back of the net consistently. So make initial contact and welcome your palate to the following: Vredenhof Chardonnay 2009, Western Cape, £5.99 is a gentle,dry, straight-forward easy drinking style that will reintroduce Chardonnay to the ABC crew. Stockist: Waitrose. De Grendel Sauvignon Blanc 2009, £9.99 is made in Durbanville, which is close to the coast and Cape Town. This Sauvignon Blanc

has lovely pure grassy, herbaceous and minerally flavours, with balanced but assertive acidity and a high quality finish. Stockist: Oddbins. Check out the accommodation in Constantia and make sure your taste buds run into the classy, cool climate Groot Constantia Sauvignon Blanc 2009, £10.99, a delicious, full bodied and stylish example of how well this varietal performs in South Africa. Stockist: Majestic. Now turn your attention to the

reds and take on the full bodied, well structured, intensely fruity and spicy La Motte Shiraz 2007 £12.99, which is produced in the picturesque town of Franschhoek. Stockist: Majestic and Tesco. If your preference is for a well made medium bodied red with attractive black cherry flavours, soft tannins and subtle spice then Houdamond Pinotage 2008, £8.99, from Stellenbosch is your answer. Stockists: Marks&Spencer and Marks&Spencer online.

The nation’s footie and non footie fans will be settling down at 3pm tomorrow to watch, we hope, a smooth transition for England through the group stages of the World Cup. After the lethargic and inhibited performance against Algeria, the English football punditry team has been out in force dissecting the current mood of Capello’s squad.
However it is now time to focus on the positives and support our team, not only on the field but make the move from gripe to grape and take your place on the English Wine supporters’ bus. Apart from The World Cup, why now? The timely 2009 vintage marked a strong team performance on quality and volume, with 3.1 million bottles produced after a couple of challenging seasons in 2007 and 2008, when only 1.3 million bottles were made. The English wine industry has now selected its grape varietal equivalents of Rooney, Gerrard and co, and is producing quality sparkling wines, dry, appealing aromatic whites and an attractive midfield line up of refreshing, fruity roses. We must also mention the youth team development programme because the English wine industry is burgeoning and, with the vines that are being planted now, production will have doubled by 2015.
Back to the big match and my wine selections for England (12/1) v Slovenia (250/1):
Three Choirs Rose 2009, £6.49, Waitrose. Whilst the players are warming up and before the vuvuzelas start, enjoy a dry, refreshing glass of this competitively priced rose.
Chapel Down Bacchus 2009, £9.99, Majestic and Waitrose. During your mid match break try this dry, flowery, spicy and full flavoured white. A lovely wine for the stay-at-home supporter who doesn’t want to leap about in the pub.
At half time don’t forget to put your bottle of English sparkling, in a bucket of ice and water because you will need 45 minutes to get this chilled.
Ridgeview Cuvee Merret Bloomsbury 2007, £19.95, Waitrose. Perfect to celebrate the hoped-for English victory, so at the end of the match crack open a bottle of this sparkling, which is dry, elegant and creamy.

And if we don’t get the result we want, switch channels as it’s a perfect match for Wimbledon!
Come on England!

Yesterday seminars at Taste were great fun and thanks to everyone for participating. As I said, South Africa is a great country to visit for wine tourism and for those of you thinking of booking your next holiday in South Africa go to www.southafrica.net/ . There were an impressive array of wines on show yesterday, with several different regions, varietals and blends on taste and as promised here is a list of the featured wines:
White Wines.
Coop Lyngrove Sauvignon Blanc 2009, £5.99. Stockist: Coop.
Vredenhof Chardonnay 2009, £5.99. Stockist:Waitrose.
Zalze Chenin Blanc 2009,£6.49 and on offer to £5.19 until 13/7. Stockist: Waitrose.
Crowns Fountain Chenin Blanc 2009, £7.99. Stockist: M&S and M&S online.
Ken Forrester Sauvignon Blanc 2009, £8.70.Stockist: Great Western Wines Tel: 01225 – 322800.
Springfield Estate Special Cuvee Sauvignon Blanc 2009,£8.99.Stockists: Majestic, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose.
De Grendel Sauvignon Blanc 2009, £9.99. Stockist: Oddbins.
Groot Constantia Sauvignon Blanc 2009,£10.99. Stockist: Majestic.
Rose
Zalze Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz, £6.49. Stockist: Waitrose.
Reds
Vredenhof Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, £5.99. Stockist: Waitrose.
Zalze Pinotage 2008, £6.99 and on offer at £5.99 for 2 bottles in a mixed case until 31/7. Stockist: Majestic.
Zalze Shiraz/Mourvedre/Viognier 2009, £6.49 and on offer to £5.19 until 13/7. Stockist: Waitrose.
Houdanod Pinotage 2008, £8.99. Stockist: M&S and M&S online.
Ken Forrester Shiraz Grenache 2005, £9.70. Stockist: Great Western Wine Tel: 01225 – 322800.
Groot Constantia Shiraz 2007, £12.49. Stockist: Majestic from mid August.
La Motte Shiraz 2008, £12.99. Stockists: Tesco and Majestic.

The weather is looking great for Taste London in Regents Park and there are over 30 great restaurants at the show including Salt Yard, Yauatcha and L’Anima. I would make sure you attend The Taste Theatre where some of the top TV chefs on are show including Jun Tanaka and Gary Lee.
As the Food and Wine Matching Buff for Taste London I’ll be busy presenting wine seminars at the tasting tables on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for Vini Portugal, Kleine Zalze and South African Tourism. These will be lively and fun.
There are plenty of quality wine stands to take your interest and visit The Boutique Wine Stands area.
Get along and find out all the details for Taste London on the link.
See you there! The Wine Tipster.

Whilst I’ll be featuring England later in the competition there is plenty to settle down and enjoy from the current favourites for The World Cup. Spain has plenty of diversity, so kick off with a glass of chilled Tio Pepe Fino Sherry £9.99 and enjoy the dry, nutty and tangy flavours. Stockists: All major retailers, with Waitrose at 25% off until the 16th June . At half time you may want a sparkling option and Freixenet Cordon Negro Cava Brut NV, £8.99 delivers an appealing dry, refreshing and citrus flavoured style of cava.Stockists: All major retailers with Waitrose at 25% off until 16th June.For the post match analysis, chill out with some Torres Vina Sol Rose, 2009. Stockist: Majestic, £6.49 buy 2 save £3. Torres are fine winemakers and this dry rose with red fruits and a touch of spice and has the weight to match up to spicy food. The serious analytical football pundits should look out for Cune Rioja Imperial Reserva, 2005. Stockists: Majestic: £13,99, Waitrose £12.99, with 25% off until the 16th June.. 2005 was a star vintage in Rioja and Cune have produced a well structured medium to full bodied red with dark fruits, spice, vanilla and lovely balance. This is a red for meaty debating.

Been on the rail all week and started with

The London Restaurant Festival at The London Eye. Presented the G.H.Mumm range to journalists and then to lunch at Brasserie Joel, in The Park Plaza at Westminster. Brasserie Joel sees the return of Joel Atuenes, formerly of Les Saveurs, and now back in London. Joel’s food was delicious and for example, we enjoyed scallops with pea shoots and mushrooms, followed by lamb with artichoke. After lunch I then railed to Bristol to present to 40 very knowledgeable and enthusiastic Majestic managers. I repeated the same gig in Birmingham the following day. To both The Thistle in Bristol and Birmingham I would like to thank them for excellent service and particularly point out the porter at The Thistle in Bristol, who has provided 27 years of service for the hotel. All the trains ran on time and whilst I’m a presenter on the rail, the guys in the pic will soon be on the road as Adam Franklin and Bolts of Melody, with Adam’s new album I Could Sleep for a Thousand Years.

Henry Cecil, the trainer of Bullet Train, who runs in The Epsom Derby tomorrow, has battled against ill health and experienced the relegation of his

training career from the premier league to the periphery of the championship. Rightfully, Henry is back at the top, with a good chance of training The Derby Winner with the progressive Bullet Train.
I was impressed with the way Bullet Train won The Lingfield Derby Trial and he looked the type of colt who will continue to improve throughout the season. This is most definitely not a vintage year for three year colts and Bullet Train, who will certainly stay the trip, has definite place chances tomorrow. Aside from placing an each way bet on Bullet Train, I will have a sentimental wager on Henry Cecil, who is a trainer with a great understanding of horses.
Selection: Epsom, 4pm, Bullet Train, 7/1 Each Way.

Whilst New Zealand may hold an uncomfortable juxtaposition with North Korea in The World Cup betting as the two countries at 2000/1, we all know that in the grape competition New Zealand would be good each way value. During this footie tournament I won’t be wearing a baseball cap reversed, nor will I be adopting the latest manic top ten chants at wide screen televisions. Instead I will be enjoying the grape performance of New Zealand and particularly the wines from St Clair in Marlborough.
This family business owned by Judy and Neal Ibbotson has been hitting the back of the net for some time now and having featured a couple of their wines in tastings recently this reminded me of the standards of wine making they achieve. St Clair Premium Sauvignon Blanc 2009, £9.99, is a classic example of delivering balanced, refreshing gooseberry and grassy flavours without varietal overkill. Stockists: La Cava Wines Tel: 01865-339599, Beaconsfield Wine Cellars Tel: 01494-675545. St Clair Premium Pinot Noir 2007, £11.99, has lovely cherry and damson fruit flavours, with soft tannins and medium weight. This should be your tournament match for barbecued spare ribs. Stockists: North Oxfordshire Wines Tel: 01295-750073, Wine Poole Tel: 01926-490970.

At The English Wine Week tastings I have been running this weekend at The Art, Design & Taste of Summer Show at Blenheim there have been plenty of people who had never tasted English wines previously. Having said that, once they have given the sparkling wines – Chapel Down and Balfour Rose – whites – Three Choirs and Brightwell – and rose – Three Choirs – a go their response has been very positive. The Chapel Down Bacchus 2009,spicy and citrus, with good weight,has received a rattling response in my World Cup wine tastings.
From my perspective, the 2009s whites and rose are showing well, with both the freshness and attractive fruit flavours proving an appealing cocktail.
English Wine Producers really need to

capitalise on the 2009 vintage, push Bacchus as a punter friendly varietal and continue to develop fans for subtle,elegant sparkling wines like Balfour Rose.