Great to see everyone enjoying these wines from the excellent Chilean producer Errazuriz in my Drinks Theatre session at the Foodies Festival in South Parks, Oxford yesterday. Thanks also to the lovely audience at my local Foodies. Look out for my column in The Oxford Times and I’m a regular presenter on BBC Radio Oxford too.

As promised here are the list of the wines and the stockists I presented in my Errazuriz: Premium Chile session:

Errazuriz Estate Series Sauvignon Blanc 2013, Aconcagua, £9.99. Stockists: Budgens, Majestic, Waitrose.

Errazuriz Wild Ferment Chardonnay 2011, Valle de Casablanca, £13.99. Stockists: Co-op, Majestic.

Errazuriz Estate Series Merlot 2013, Valle de Curicó, £9.99. Stockists: Booths, www.rhythmandbooze.co.uk, Majestic.

Errazuriz Max Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, Aconcagua Valley, £13.99. Stockists: Budgens, Tesco, Waitrose.

I also mentioned the Errazuriz Estate Series Carmenère 2013, Aconcagua Valley, £10.49, which is available from Majestic and Wine Rack .

We have had a great time in the Drinks Theatre at all the Foodies shows and we will

be in The Old Truman Brewery in London from November 28th-30th for the Christmas Foodies Festival. See you there!

Thank you to all the lovely people who came to the Tatton Park Foodies Festival and to the Drinks Theatre. One of the sessions I presented was Errazuriz: Premium Chile and here are the list of wines again with stockists:

Errazuriz Estate Series Sauvignon Blanc 2013, Aconcagua, £9.99. Stockists: Budgens, Majestic, Waitrose.

Errazuriz Wild Ferment Chardonnay 2011, Valle de Casablanca, £13.99. Stockists: Co-op, Majestic.

Errazuriz Estate Series Merlot 2012, Valle de Curicó, £9.99. Stockists: Booths, www.rhythmandbooze.co.uk, Majestic.

Errazuriz Max Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2011, Aconcagua Valley, £13.99. Stockists: Budgens, Tesco, Waitrose.

Great to see everyone enjoying these quality wines in the session and great to see the lady who didn’t like Chardonnay loving the Wild Ferment Chardonnay! Good to see people being honest too.

Thank you to all the lovely people who attended the Tickler Cheese and Wine Masterclasses at Taste of Christmas. Richard Newell, cheese maker from Tickler and The Wine Tipster had a great time over the three days presenting 21 Masterclasses with fabulous cheeses and wines. Richard Newell has over 20 years’ experience in the cheese industry and he is a man who knows his cheese. Each day, we presented two cheddar masterclasses including Tickler Cheddar, from their award winning Taw Valley creamery in Devon. Tickler is matured for up to 18 months, and is tangy, sweet, full of flavour and available from all major retailers.

For the other sessions, we were joined by an array of guests. On Saturday, The Wine Tipster presented with the lovely Alex James (pictured right), whose Goddess, Little Wallop and Farleigh Wallop are all rightly proving to be very popular cheeses. In other masterclasses, we were joined by Philip Stansfield, who presented his award winning Cornish Blue and moreish pate, whilst Cathal Murphy continued the blue theme with the delicious Cashel Blue and Crozier Blue. From Dorset, George Streatfeilds from Denhay Farm, waxed lyrically about their Dorset Drum. The Wine Tipster should also extend a big thank you to George for my daily breakfast, which consisted of a Denhay unsmoked streaky bacon sandwich. Yum!

With such an exciting range of cheeses we needed the ports and wines to match and a big thanks to Lorenzo Bakewell – Stone from Taylor’s Port, who included their First Estate Reserve, Late Bottled Vintage 2007, 10 Year Old Tawny (always great when you are getting people to taste Tawny Port for the first time) and the high class Quinta de Vargellas 2001.

Our wine travels took us to India, with the exciting Vallone Vineyards Anokhee Sauvignon Blanc 2011 from Namaste Wines, then we were on to Croatia and Franc Arman’s really meaty, full bodied Merlot 2008 and the creamy, classy white Kabola Malvazija Istarska 2011 Vrhunsko, which are both available from Croatian Fine Wines. From southern Italy, the Filadoro Fiano di Avellino 2010 is a creamy, peachy white from Campania and the red Taurasi 2008 made from Aglianico is full bodied and smooth, with both of these wines available from Ager Taurasinus. Staying in Europe, Château Vrai Gaillou 2009 Bordeaux Superieur from Bordeaux Undiscovered is another reason why punters should buy reds from this outstanding vintage at all levels. If you are looking for consistent good value at £6 a bottle then the Chat-en-Oeuf  (pictured left) selection from southern France, featuring a white, rosé and red will certainly impress your guests. Away from Europe. the southern hemisphere was on top form with the Two Rivers Convergence Sauvignon Blanc 2012 – a great Sauvignon Blanc vintage – and the Limited Edition Reserve Pinot Noir, Louis Vavasour 2008, Awatere, Marlborough, New Zealand, which is a wonderful example of how classy and refined quality Pinot Noir from Marlborough can be given the chance to have some bottle age. These two wines are available from the smart Antipodean Sommelier.

Look forward to seeing you at Taste of Christmas 2013. Cheers!

At Taste of Christmas Franc Arman’s Merlot 2008 from Croatia was a very popular red in the Tickler Cheese and Wine Masterclasses and if you are still undecided as to what to enjoy with your roast turkey then according to The Wine Tipster look no further. The Franc Arman Merlot 2008, Vrhunsko, abv 13.5%, £22.66 per bottle or £21.48 per bottle for a mixed case of 12 bottles is available from Croatian Fine Wines www.croatianfinewines.com . The Merlot vines are grown in Terra Rossa soil at the very top of the south side of the Mirna Valley in Istria, where the warm sea air from the Adriatic keeps the vines free from damp. The 2007 was Franc Arman’s first vintage  of Merlot, which was an impressive start, whilst his 2008 is excellent, with sweet fruits on the nose of plums, blackcurrants, blackberry, followed by spicy, herbaceous character with juicy damson and plum fruit on the palate. This full bodied well structured, yet smooth, silky red is an ideal match for your turkey roast.  Cheers!

Last weekend The Wine Tipster was at The Hampstead Butcher and Providore , which is a Delicatessen, Charcuterie and Wine Merchant. The owner, Philip Matthews, has a fine selection of wines from Portugal, including Azamor Alentejo 2008, Alison and Joaquim Luiz-Gomes, £13.75, which like many Alentejo reds I have tasted recently has a good balance of delicious fruit, soft tannins and is friendly on the power front. Azamor is made from Syrah, the very important Alicante Bouschet, Merlot, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Petit Verdot, and is aged for 7 months in French and American oak.

Further north in the Douro ‘Liceiras’ Douro Red 2009, £15.95, is the second wine of Quinta da Romaneira and is made from a familiar quartet in the Douro of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinto Roriz and Tinto Cao, with 18 months in French oak. Liceiras pronounced ‘Lisseirash’ is one of the most elegant and delicate Douro reds that I have tasted, with blackcurrant, cherries, spice, soft tannins and an alluring freshness.  The gentle style of this red will suit fans of Fleurie, Morgon and other Beaujolais crus.

Liz and Alan Burroughs, who are close friends of The Wine Tipster, were yesterday celebrating Alan’s 80th by having lunch at the wonderful Le Manoir aux ‘Quat Saisons. Le Manoir knows how to make guests relax and they will have enjoyed the Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut on arrival. The Burroughs are real food and wine enthusiasts and they have just returned from Croatia raving about the quality of wines both white and red. Alan was asking where he could buy Croatian wines and of course there are excellent wines available from the lovely Judith Burns and Trevor Long at Pacta Connect and also Croatian Fine Wines Ltd. The Wine Tipster showcased two of the wines from the latter’s portfolio at The Taste of Christmas Press Launch at The Cube on the top of The Royal Festival Hall (great place for a press launch). The white Kabola Malvazija Istarska 2011, £14.59, Croatian Fine Wines Ltd is dry, like a good Vinho Verde, with a refined intensity and a creamy, limey and leafy character, which was a fine match with Alex James’ Goats Cheese.Croatian Fine Wines’ Franc Arman Merlot 2008, £22.66 (pictured above), was a real winner with the guests. This high quality full bodied red, is well structured, with plenty of dark fruit and brambley character and will make a fine match with the Christmas roast. Cheers!

The 2009 vintage in Bordeaux has rightly been described as a vintage of a lifetime and yes if you wanted a bottle of Château Lafite Rothchild 2009 today it would set you back £1,047.67 from Grand Cru Store However, away from the first growths like Lafite Rothchild, Latour and Margaux there is plenty on offer at decent value from wines awarded Cru Bourgeois in Bordeaux. Many of the Cru Bourgeois wines are a handicap certainty for current drinking (with a few hours decanting), whilst others will be being able to sustain a top flight performance for many years ahead. For some immediate enjoyment take less than a tenner into Waitrose and buy a bottle of Château Segonzac 2009, Cru Bourgeois, Premières Côtes de Blaye, £9.99, save 20% until 14^th August to £7.59, to taste all the wonderful dark fruit flavours that this beautiful year produced in Bordeaux, coupled with some friendly

tannins and medium to full bodied structure. Moving up the price scale but still offering tremendous value is the Château Petit – Bocq 2009, Cru Bourgeois, Saint-Estephe, £150 case of 12 x 75cl bottles in bond delivered, www.justerinis.co.uk with silky smooth, yummy, refined fruit, subtle oak fine structure, needs decanting and will provide real enjoyment for the next five to seven years. This was a terrific match with quality rib eye on Saturday. One of my consistent favourites is Château Cissac 2009, Cru Bourgeois, Haut Medoc, £17.99, The Sampler, whilst Château La Haye 2009, Cru Bourgeois, Saint-Estephe, £25.00, www.swig.co.uk is a wine that needs to be included in your next Bordeaux case.

There are numerous other Cru Bourgeois wines to look out for from wine merchants like The Wine Society, Haynes Hanson & Clark and Tanners.