November 23rd, 2011
Award winning Fine Champagne – Ayala Majeur Brut Rosé

…well we’ve done it again – another very ‘hard-to-find’ exclusive Champagne brought to you by Vin Vino Direct ..and this one has won 2 awards; BRONZE MEDAL WINNER at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2008 and BRONZE MEDAL WINNER at the International Wine Challenge 2008!

A family producer since 1860 founded by Edmond de Ayala located in the heart of the Champagne, a small jewel in a great terroir. Nicolas Klym has been the Cellar Master of Champagne Ayala for over 25 years and pays particular attention to the quality of the grapes in order to produce great cuvees.
Located in Aÿ, in the heart of the Montagne de Reims vineyards, Ayala naturally focuses on Grand Cru Pinot Noir for its Brut Majeur and its Vintage Brut. Ayala is a “small” house, the artisan of champagne-making. Its small size enables Ayala to produce “haute couture” by sourcing its grapes mainly in Grand Cru – (17 in total) and Premier Cru vineyards (44 in total out of 319 villages).

Ayala Majeur Brut Rosé

Ayala Majeur Brut Rosé

The origin of the grapes, the selection of only the very best juice (the cuvee), a special gift for blending, long ageing in the cellars and a true passion for wine : these are the elements that guarantee the quality of the champagne made at Ayala. Longer ageing on the lees gives Ayala a vibrant zesty style with strong emphasis on black Pinot Noir fruity flavour.

Tasting Notes: Pure 100% Pinot Noir grapes macerated to give an intense, salmon-coloured rosé Champagne that is packed with soft berry fruit flavours. Underlying these flavours is a persistent, creamy mousse, which lingers seductively in the mouth. Under the ownership today of Bollinger…hence the guaranteed quality.

What the Press say…

“toasty, elegant, red berryish.” Recommended by Anthony Rose, The Independent, May 2008

“…a desperately sexy wine to wallow in.” Recommended by Matthew Jukes, Money Week, February 2008.

“…such a pretty wine…” Recommended by Susy Atkins, The Sunday Telegraph, February 2008

Priced at only £28.99, this is an absolute giveaway and ideal for the Christmas celebrations! – click here to order.

We don’t pretend to stock the mundane Moet Chandon champagne or Lanson champagne – we specialise in Veuve Clicquot vintage champagne, Laurent Perrier Rosé champagne, Bollinger champagne, Vintage Dom Perignon champagne, Krug champagne, and Krug Clos du Mesnil …for all your champagne gifts and to buy champagne online, please visit our website.

 

Taste the difference with Vin Vino Direct… exclusive online wine merchants with a huge selection of specialist, fine and rare wines from around the world – we have wines from boutique growers that you cannot find from any other online wine merchant.

We have one of the largest collections of French claret wines in the UK…plus, an amazing range of Italian fine wines and French fine wines. We carry wines covering over 66 grape varieties, including the favourites of Shiraz, Merlot, Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Pinot Grigio – all available to buy online for your wine cellar today. We are internationally accredited as Bordeaux specialists and renowned for our exclusive and unique fine wines online at all prices.
For those special wine gifts we have a large range of champagne, wine gift vouchers and mixed cases of wine
With an original portfolio of boutique wine making growers, we are the only online wine merchant in the UK offering these exclusive wines to you. Buy wine online with Vin Vino Direct and tantalise your taste buds today…

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November 20th, 2011
It’s all in the bubbles …the science of Fine Champagne!

Champagne

Champagne...it's all about the bubbles

Well it’s official at last …the tiny bubbles in our beloved Champagne do actually give the drink flavour, and glasses that promote bubbles will improve the drinking experience, scientists say.

And now the science bit….research shows there are up to 30 times more flavour-enhancing chemicals in the bubbles than in the rest of the drink. Wine experts say the finding changes completely our understanding of the role of bubbles in sparkling drinks. The study is reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Commenting on the research, Dr Jamie Goode, founder of wineanorak.com, said: “In the past, we thought that the carbon dioxide in the bubbles just gave the wine an acidic bite and a little tingle on the tongue, but this study shows that it is much more than this.”  According to Dr Goode, the research demonstrates that using fluted glasses for sparkling wine and Champagne is more than simply a matter of etiquette.
“Glasses that encourage more bubbles to come up are going to be better,” he says. “At the bottom of proper Champagne glasses, they put a little bit of (rough) glass, which encourages the nucleation of the flow of bubbles.”

Essence of Champagne:  Dr Gerard Liger-Belair of Reims University, France, is one of the authors of the PNAS report. He said: “It’s the very first time that we have been able to detect the fine chemistry of champagne aerosols which are really the essence of Champagne.”

decxmas04Dr Liger-Belair admits to having been “obsessed” with bubbles all his life. He used an ultra-high resolution mass spectrometer to study the detailed chemical composition of the aerosols emerging from sparkling wine and Champagne.
The research could lead to even better tasting sparkling drinks – “The flavour of sparkling wine is determined by the contribution of hundreds and hundreds of different components. We have to detect which of these components are important in the aerosols.”   Dr Liger-Belair and his colleague Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin, of the Institute for Ecological Chemistry and Molecular BioGeochemistry in Neuherberg, have studied five Champagnes and high-quality sparkling wines so far. They discovered that in all cases the bubbles were very much richer in the essential flavours of the wine.

Krug Champagne

Krug Champagne

According to Dr Goode, the findings may explain why champagnes and sparkling wines produced using the “Champagne method” taste so nice.   “It seems that the traditional Champagne method ensures that there is a fine stream of bubbles, which, presumably, will give you a more enduring aromatic lift.”

The next stage of the research is to compare the raw scientific data with the subjective reactions of expert wine tasters to discover the precise chemicals in the bubbles that give the best tasting drink, and then to explore the possibility of making Champagne and sparkling wines taste even better.

For a wide choice of Champagnes, visit Vin Vino Direct – we have a wide range of prestigious Champagnes available…from the rare 1989 Krug Clos du Mesnil, the opulent 2000 Vintage Dom Perignon, through to the little known award-winning Ayala Majeur Brut Rosé – an expansive collection to indulge yourself with.

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November 18th, 2011
Christmas Champagnes – a trendy collection from Billecart Salmon

billecart salmon logoFounded in 1818 the Billecart family has lived in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ since the mid-sixteenth century. The House was established when Nicolas-François Billecart married Elisabeth Salmon. The Grande Marque quickly established an international reputation with a US subsidiary being set up in the early 1840′s. Russia became the company’s major export market but this trade collapsed after the 1917 revolution. Eight years later the decision was made to sell off the firm’s vineyards and the money raised was invested in the winery and cellars.CHA054

The fifth generation of the family still own and run the company today. The style of House – less ‘dosage’ and quality fruit ageing for longer on the lees….the wines; light, fragrant and full flavoured with great complexity and longevity…..

This featured Champagne is the Billecart Rose….a truly romantic Champagne. A pale pink colour adorned with glints of gold – fine notes of red strawberries with a biscuity and creamy finish.

 Grape Variety: 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay. To start off the Christmas festivities…click here to order.

 We also have 3 more great Champagnes from Billecart Salmon to entice you;

  1. Billecart Brut Reserve - Tasting Notes: 41% Pinot Meunier, 34% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay 40% of Reserve Wines are used, aged for a minimum of 4 years – reflections of bright yellow, floral freshness, lemony, mouth filling taste of ripe pears.   Click here to order

  2. Billecart-Salmon Grand Cru Blanc de Blanc - Tasting Notes: Issued from five Grand Cru of Côte des Blancs, Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger, and a blend of two different years. Light gold – aromas of white greengages. Well evolved finishing with a citrus minerally freshness.  Click here to order

  3. 1998 Grand Cru Vintage Billecart-Salmon - Tasting Notes: The quest for “finesse, balance and elegance” has always guided the making of the Billecart-Salmon Champagnes. Made from 100% Chardonnay with a 9/10 rating for the 1998 vintage. Luminous gold colour, revealing citrus, fresh almonds, gingerbread and white chocolate on a palate of rich fruits with apple and lychee -  a true masterpiece.   Click here to order.

We don’t pretend to stock the mundane Moet Chandon champagne or Lanson champagne – we specialise in Veuve Clicquot vintage champagne, Laurent Perrier Rosé champagne, Bollinger champagne, Vintage Dom Perignon champagne, Krug champagne, and Krug Clos du Mesnil …for all your champagne gifts and to buy champagne online, please visit our website.

 

Taste the difference with Vin Vino Direct… exclusive online wine merchants with a huge selection of specialist, fine and rare wines from around the world – we have wines from boutique growers that you cannot find from any other online wine merchant.

We have one of the largest collections of French claret wines in the UK…plus, an amazing range of Italian fine wines and French fine wines. We carry wines covering over 66 grape varieties, including the favourites of Shiraz, Merlot, Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Pinot Grigio – all available to buy online for your wine cellar today. We are internationally accredited as Bordeaux specialists and renowned for our exclusive and unique fine wines online at all prices.
For those special wine gifts we have a large range of champagne, wine gift vouchers and mixed cases of wine
With an original portfolio of boutique wine making growers, we are the only online wine merchant in the UK offering these exclusive wines to you. Buy wine online with Vin Vino Direct and tantalise your taste buds today…

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November 8th, 2011
Billecart Brut Reserve Champagne

decxmas04Billecart Salmon Champagnes
Founded in 1818 the Billecart family has lived in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ since the mid-sixteenth century. The House was established when Nicolas-François Billecart married Elisabeth Salmon. The Grande Marque quickly established an international reputation with a US subsidiary set up in the early 1840’s. The US agency, however, handled the business badly and cost the House a small fortune, which set the company back for many years. Russia became the company’s major export market but this trade, too, collapsed after the 1917 revolution. Eight years later the decision was made to sell off the firm’s vineyards and the money raised was invested in the winery and cellars.
The fifth generation of the family still own and run the company. The style of House – less ‘dosage’ and quality fruit longer ageing on the lees.Billecart Salmon brut
 
This featured Champagne is the Billecart Brut Reserve….41% Pinot Meunier, 34% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and 40% of Reserve wines are used, aged for a minimum of 4 years – reflections of bright yellow, floral freshness, lemony, mouth filling taste of ripe pears…. a fantastic start to any Valentines Day celebration…click here to buy online.

 We also have 3 more great Champagnes from Billecart Salmon to entice you;

  1. Billecart Brut Rosé - Tasting Notes: 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay - a truly romantic Champagne. Pale pink colour adorned with glints of gold – fine notes of red strawberries, biscuity and creamy.  Click here to order

  2. Billecart-Salmon Grand Cru Blanc de Blanc - Tasting Notes: Issued from five Grand Cru of Côte des Blancs, Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger, and a blend of two different years. Light gold – aromas of white greengages. Well evolved finishing with a citrus minerally freshness.  Click here to order

  3. 1998 Grand Cru Vintage Billecart-Salmon - Tasting Notes: The quest for “finesse, balance and elegance” has always guided the making of the Billecart-Salmon Champagnes. Made from 100% Chardonnay with a 9/10 rating for the 1998 vintage. Luminous gold colour, revealing citrus, fresh almonds, gingerbread and white chocolate on a palate of rich fruits with apple and lychee -  a true masterpiece.   Click here to order.

We don’t pretend to stock the mundane Moet Chandon champagne or Lanson champagne – we specialise in Veuve Clicquot vintage champagne, Laurent Perrier Rosé champagne, Bollinger champagne, Vintage Dom Perignon champagne, Krug champagne, and Krug Clos du Mesnil …for all your champagne gifts and to buy champagne online, please visit our website.

 

Taste the difference with Vin Vino Direct… exclusive online wine merchants with a huge selection of specialist, fine and rare wines from around the world – we have wines from boutique growers that you cannot find from any other online wine merchant.

We have one of the largest collections of French claret wines in the UK…plus, an amazing range of Italian fine wines and French fine wines. We carry wines covering over 66 grape varieties, including the favourites of Shiraz, Merlot, Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Pinot Grigio – all available to buy online for your wine cellar today. We are internationally accredited as Bordeaux specialists and renowned for our exclusive and unique fine wines online at all prices.
For those special wine gifts we have a large range of champagne, wine gift vouchers and mixed cases of wine
With an original portfolio of boutique wine making growers, we are the only online wine merchant in the UK offering these exclusive wines to you. Buy wine online with Vin Vino Direct and tantalise your taste buds today.

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May 21st, 2011
Food and wine matching – the seafood starter…

Seafood

Mussels, oysters, scallops, prawns, potted shrimps, langoustines, crab and lobster (crikey, I’m salivating just writing this!!) are all an excellent excuse to crack open a variety of palate-pleasing whites. Bone-dry Muscadet sur Lie is a perfect appetite-teaser for washing down shellfish and seafood platters.

 For a more sophisticated marriage, Chablis, Pouilly-Fumé and Sancerre are great, as is the floral and peach-scented Spanish Albariño.

seafood2New World Sauvignons can also work a treat, especially with spicier Asian-influenced dishes. Crab salads and crab cakes feature salty-sweet flesh which works well with Riesling and Viognier.

Rich lobster dishes or humble potted shrimps cry out for full-bodied white Burgundies like Mersault – or high quality New World Chardonnay alternatives from Australia, New Zealand or South Africa. Otherwise, almost all shellfish and crustacea are sublime with Champagne…and do we have some cracking Champagnes – we have a wide range of prestigious marques available…from the rare 1989 Krug Clos du Mesnil, the opulent 2000 Vintage Dom Perignon, through to the little known award-winning Ayala Majeur Brut Rosé – an expansive collection to indulge yourself with.

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