Great session on BBC Radio Oxford today with Phil Mercer on the Garden Cafe show. Here are the four wines for Autumn that we featured:

Finca Flichman Reserva Malbec 2012, Mendoza, Argentina. Stockist: Waitrose £9.99.

Beronia Rioja Reserva 2008, Rioja, Spain. Stockists: Waitrose £12.99, Ocado £9.74 until 3rd December.

Edmeades Zinfandel Mendocino County 2010, California, USA. Stockist: Hedonism £18.10.

Quinta do Vallado 2010, Douro, Portugal. Stockist: winedirect.co.uk £23.

Really impressive selection. You can listen again here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01kfj57

Thank you to all the lovely people from Chadlington, Charlbury, Finstock and Billericay who came to The Wine Tipster’s Charity Gig for Friends of Chadlington School and Greatwood Caring for Retired Racehorses. The punters at the packed Chadlington Village Hall consumed Gordal olives, Marcona salted almonds from Brindisa and fabulous mini-pizzas from Cafe de la Post in-between tasting eight wines on sparkling form.

First up was the elegant Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut NV, Champagne, France on offer in Waitrose at £29.99 until April 2nd, followed by Esk Valley’s Sauvignon Blanc 2012, Marlborough, £9.99, Cafe de la Post, The Oxford Wine Company, which really does express the quality of

this New Zealand vintage. We moved on to the well-priced, elegant Planalto Douro Reserva 2011, Portugal (pictured right), £7.99, Majestic, with citrus and peachy flavours, whilst the Mâcon Charnay, Réserve Personelle 2011, Burgundy, France, £9.99, Cafe de la Post, The Oxford Wine Company, with soft, buttery and vanilla flavours is quality, good value Burgundy under a tenner.

Then Zalze Cabernet /Shiraz Rosé 2012, Coastal Region, South Africa, £7.99, Waitrose, full flavoured with attractive red fruits and spice raised the flag for the pink corner, with the wine options round revealing the soft, elegant, rounded and abv friendly 12% Aurora Reserve Pinot Noir 2012, Serra Gaûcha, Brazil, £9.50, Stevens Garnier. Interestingly, many people guessed Pinot Noir and chose Chile instead of New Zealand.

The final part of our journey ended in Europe with the smooth, Beronia Rioja Reserva 2008, Rioja, Spain, £11.99, The Oxford Wine Company, Cafe de la Post and the stunning Ramos Pinto Collectors Port, Douro, Portugal, £13.99 The Oxford Wine Company, Cafe de la Post.

A big thank you to all the wine producers, S.Pellegrino, Cafe de la Post, The Oxford Wine Company and Alex James, Craig Ogden, Ed Fenton, Nicola Leyland, Cheltenham Food and Drink Festival, Chadlington Quality Foods and The Tite Inn for the raffle prizes.

Finally, a big thank you to Robina, Lois, Jo and Steve for organisation and pouring.

You may have just waved goodbye to the relatives and not had a chance to consider your New Year’s Eve vino so here are a few time saving selections from The Wine Tipster. If champagne is your fizz of a choice then Harvey Nichols have a few bottles left of the stunning Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut Millesime 1998 at a great price of £52.50. Of course you might be throwing a party and looking for ground pleasing bubbles for under a tenner then The Wine Tipster would rather go with the dry, applely, characterful Prestige Cava Brut NV, Penedes, Spain, £8.99, M&S, than a prosecco at the same price. For pink fans, the Moscato Rosé 2012, Bosman Family Vineyards, Wellington, South Africa, £8.99, M&S, is creamy, with ripe strawberry fruit, only 8% abv and a fun wine to kick off New Year’s Eve.

To keep your party rockin’ it is worth having a couple of crisp, fruity whites at home like Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Mâcon Villages 2011, Burgundy, France, £6.99 or Domaine Félines Jourdan Rousanne Chardonnay 2011, Côteaux de Bessilles, France, £7.99 or £7.59 when purchasing any 12 mixed bottles, The Oxford Wine Company.  Alternatively, if you want a more aromatic style then go for the peachy, lychee, spicy McManis Viognier Family Vineyards 2010/2011, California, USA, £10.99, Waitrose, Majestic £10.99 down to £8.79 if you buy 2 bottles of still Californian wines under £20.

Of course a still rosé must be on hand and the Zalze Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz Rosé 2012, Coastal Region, South Africa, £7.99, Waitrose, has just the right easy drinking, fruity, crowd pleasing style , whilst for the tinto fans, these have been some of the most consistently enjoyable reds of the year for The Wine Tipster starting with the Portal da Águia 2009, Tejo, Portugal, £8.00, Oddbins, from Rioja the medium bodied Campo Viejo Tempranillo 2010, Rioja, Spain, £8.29, – look out for offers – Tesco, Asda, Ocado, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and the excellent, well priced Negroamaro 2011, Puglia, Italy, £6.49, M&S

As the party organiser you need to think of some lower alcohol wines like the Dr. L Riesling 2010 Loosen Brothers, Mosel, Germany, abv 8.5%, £7,99, Majestic  or Tesco Finest Vinho Verde 2011, Portugal, abv 11.5%, down from £7.29 to £5.00 until 1/1/13.

Have a great time and here’s to a fruitful and fabulous 2013. Cheers!

At the London Jazz Festival The Wine Tipster ran a very successful Wine, Canapés and Jazz Matching session. The wonderful people who organise Choc Live in Charlbury have invited this ex punk rocker and devoted music fan to select eight wines to match a range of 45rpm and 33rpm vinyl selections brought along by the audience on Friday 30^th November at Charlbury Memorial Hall, start time 8pm (doors open 7.30pm)  www.chocfilms.info/  Tickets now available for £8  from:  Evenlode Books Tel: 01608 – 819117 or www.wegottickets.com/choc

Thank you to all the lovely people at The Discover a World of Difference Wines of Portugal Tasting at Oddbins London Bridge for their vinyl choices to match with some wonderful wines – including Filipa Pato’s FP 2011, Barriada, £11.50 and Quinta dos Roques 2009, Dao, £12.Names mentioned  were The Beach Boys, Jethro Tull and the theme tune to Jaws!

Richard Mayson is a top guy who has written five books on Portuguese wines and who recognised sometime ago the potential of the Alentejo region. In 2005 Richard rewarded his judgement and bought Quinta do Centro, located in Reguengo in the Portalegre sub region in the north-east of Alentejo, forming a new wine company Sonho Lusitano with the very influential Portuguese winemaker Rui Reguinga.

On Thursday evening The Wine Tipster presented a Discover a World of Difference Tasting at The Oxford Wine Company, Cirencester including Richard’s Pedra Basta 2009,  Alentejo, £14.49, a blend of Trincadeira, Tinto Roriz, Alicante Bouschet with less than 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in new and one year old French oak. The 2009 is a wonderful, complex, top flight Alentejo red with plums, damsons, vanilla and spice balanced by the trademark elegance of the wines from Sonho Lustiano. Drink 2012-2018 Stockists: The Oxford Wine Company Cirencester branch, Hanging Ditch Wines, The Wine Society.

You should also try Richard’s Pedro e Alma 2009, £24.60, a high class blend of Trincadeira, Alicante Bouschet and Aragonez from 30 year old vines.  Stockist: WineBear.com

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.

Earlier this week we had a fun and lively evening at the long established and very popular Bleeding Heart Bistro – there is also a restaurant and tavern. The Wine Tipster was presenting a selection of Portuguese wines with the theme of Discover a World of Difference, matched with excellent dishes from The Bleeding Heart. We kicked off with the creamy, fresh, dry Pato Frio Seleccao 2011 white Ribafreixo from Alentejo with probably the most popular dish of the evening Migas with Portuguese Chourico. With the next course the Bacalhau cut through the intensity of the Alvarinho 2009, Quinta de Pacos,Vinho Verde, followed by the match of the evening Quinto do Pinto 2009 Touiriga Nacional, Lisboa, with Grilled Sardines and Confit of Lemon Zest (pictured right).  Drinking red Vinho Verde was a new experience for many and Quinta da Raza’s 2011 Vinhão (grape variety) is full of delicious, intense fruit, low tannins and crisp acidity, served with Smoked Chaves -village in Trás- os-Montes Presunto Croquettes, whilst the Callabriga Alentejo 2009 blend of Alfrochiero, Alicante Bouchet and Aragonés was a definite crowd pleaser with pork rillettes with Apricot and Sage (pictured below). Travelling up to the Douro and Pôpa Old Vines 2008, which is a blend of 21 different varieties made by the charming and influential Luis Pato – check out their Tinto Roriz 2009 -A smooth, full bodied tinto low on assertive tannins, with plums, spice and flinty character. We finished an excellent evening with the stunning Sandeman 20 Year Old Tawny Port, Waitrose £35.49, served with Trás-on-Montes Terrincho Cheese.

Photos courtesy of Sam Lynas, Bleeding Heart Yard

The Wine Tipster is looking forward to presenting at The Oxford Wine Company, Botley Road, Oxford on Tuesday 30th October at 6.30pm. Tickets are £10 and contact Lee on Tel: 01865 – 249500 or email: lee@oxfordwine.co.ukThis Wines of Portugal Tasting will be an exciting tour around some of the key regions in Portugal including: Vinho Verde, Dao, Beira Interior, Lisboa and the very exciting wines from Alentejo in the south of the country. You will have the opportunity to taste high quality whites and reds made from some of the wonderful indigenous varieties in Portugal.

Looking forward to my Discover a World of Difference Wines of Portugal Tasting Session at S.H. Jones tonight in Banbury. Punters will have the opportunity to take a wonderful journey through several regions of Portugal, taking in a diverse range of varieties from producers like Terra d’Alter, Bacalhoa, Quinta da Lagoalva, Luis Pato’s Quinto do Pôpa and Boas Vinhos. A great way to spend a Friday night and The Wine Tipster looks forward to seeing you there.