The Spinach and Feta Pies with Toasted Pine Nuts, with the recipe in yesterdays Sunday Times, were selected specifically to accompany this interesting wine I picked up in Waitrose. A Pinot Blanc from Luxembourg of all places.

Unaware that Luxembourg actually produced wine in exportable quantities it is quite a find; hearty back-slaps and raucous cheering for the Waitrose team who tracked it down.

Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: Clos des Rochers Pinot Blanc, 2006, Moselle, Luxembourg
Stockist: Waitrose Price: £8.99 [More Adegga / Snooth]
A spritz to the creamy, full-ish, palate. While weighty there is also a delicacy to the fruit and texture. A touch of lime, a smear of pear, a little apple and, on the finish, a subtle nuttiness and a creamy texture. Just a hint of sweetness I think.

In style a cross between Alsace and German; picking the best bits from each! Must be the first wine from Luxembourg I have tried. Very enjoyable it was too - both on its own and with the Spinach and Feta Pies with Toasted Pine Nuts.

Alcohol 12%.

Scribblings Rating - 92/100 [4 out of 5]

Many of Marks and Spencer's ready meals are on double offer - buy one get 1 half price plus a 1/3 discount and includes the Gastropub King Prawn, Cod, Salmon and Smoked Haddock Pie and Chunky Chips. Throw in a bottle of wine and a meal for two worked out at just over a fiver-a-head. Which also includes 5p for a carrier bag.

Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: M&S Australian Chardonnay, 2007, South Australia
Stockist: Marks & Spencer Price: £5.99 [More: Adegga / Snooth]

Generously flavoured - all guava and pears with a nice dash of apple and crisp, stone fruits. A small part has seen some oak for 'a subtle dab of extra richness'. Full, firm but balanced with good acidity.
Produced and bottled by the Yalumba Wine Company, states the small print, for this, like all M&S wines is an 'own-label'. On-line a case of 12 is listed at the equivalent of £4.49 a bottle - great value (add 2 value points to the rating). Alcohol 14%.


Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 88/100 [3.5 out of 5]

Maybe just a touch too flavoursome for the fish pie but the creamy elements in both wine and food really complimented each other. The wines acidity at the same time cutting through the richness. Hell, its mid-week, who cares! Buy and enjoy.

Sadly though it will be just a temporary planting.

The McGuigan City Vineyard will grace the centre of Liverpool Street and is open to the public, for free, over just 3 days in July (9th - 11th). As the name suggests it is a unique marketing event to launch two new wine ranges from the Australian McGuigan vineyard.

Visitors to the vineyard will be encouraged to walk amongst the 50 year old vines, visit the cellar door and taste through a selection of new wines under the guidance of the McGuigan winemakers. The new ranges being the £6.99 McGuigan Classic range (Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz and Merlot varietals) and McGuigan Discover at £7.99 each (Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc, Langhorne Creek Shiraz Viognier, Victorian Pinot Grigio, Limestone Coast Cabernet Rosé and South Eastern Australia Moscato).

The McGuigan City Vineyard website should be live on Wednesday. The image is an artists impression; I don't think he has got the vines looking old enough...

For a wine match a rosé seemed the obvious choice.

Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: Torre Beratxa Garnacha Rosado, 2006, Navarra, Spain.
Stockist: Threshers Price: £5.49 [More on Adegga]

A touch of paint on the nose but little else. Deep red fruits, a smidgen of licorice and a tannic splash on the finish. A touch of sour cherry, a little blackcurrant all mixed with a soupçon of raspberry. Fresh, crisp and lively.
100% Garnacha/Grenache. Alcohol 13.5%.

Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 86/100 [3.25 out of 5]

Like many this month Wine Blogging Wednesday caught me unprepared; nothing to hand to fit Dr. Debs choice of Rhone varietals. Threshers then. Of course when in said Threshers you have to make use of the buy 2 get a third free else the prices are a little steep. No Rhone whites on the shelves and precious little else that caught the eye. I exited with a bottle of Spanish rosé and an Italian Pecorino. The third bottle being a South African Viognier; a little ubiquitous but with a saving grace of being Fairtrade.

Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: Origin Fairtrade Viognier, 2007, Western Cape, South Africa
Stockist: Threshers/WineRack Price: £6.99 [More on Adegga]

Origin is Threshers own-label range; so this has immediately clouded my thoughts with some negativity. But the Origin Viognier ain't that shabby. The bonus through is being branded with the blue, green and black logo; a real plus point for me. The range of FairTrade wines in the UK has grown marvellously over the years from a little under 150 wines available in 2003 to over 2000 today.

A pea-pod and honeysuckle aroma, nice weighty palate too. An edge of spice - quite gingery on the finish with a finishing 'bite' very reminiscent of the ginger beer tasting. Apple and apricot flavours add to the enjoyment. By the time I realised there might be a touch of residual sweetness, adding to the weighty mouth-feel, it was too late. Bottle emptied! Alcohol 13.5%.
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 90/100 [3.75 out of 5]

Through buying Equality Fairtrade wines, the producers are guaranteed to receive a fair and stable price plus a premium which a democratically elected farmers committee ensures is used for projects that directly benefit farmers, workers and the local community.

By choosing Fairtrade wines, consumers are supporting growers to receive a fair price for their grapes, improving access to health care for the Cooperative members and their families, increasing access to education for the workers' children, delivering a higher standard of living for the workers and their families and assisting in housing projects.

Such knowledge has taken centre stage following a stream of alcohol related articles appearing in the press (notably ones highlighting the health concerns surrounding our love of a few drinks) and the recent nationwide Department Of Health 'Know Your Limits' campaign.

Press articles have to be viewed with some scepticism but recently The Evening Standard published an article warning that soaring alcohol intake is responsible for an increase in breast cancer in the UK and the Daily Mail printed statistics that 1 in 3 employees go to work with a hangover.

The Market Place, a 6 year old bar situated near Oxford Circus, launched Measure Up yesterday. This is a (working) week-long initiative running through to Friday 13th June 2008 to make their customers more aware of the number of units they consume whilst at the bar.

An initiative that the industry should perhaps replicate on a more permanent basis? On beer mats?

The Market Place will place on the glass or bottle of every alcoholic drink served during the Measure Up Week that specifies the number of units in the drink. Although no mention is made of the recommended maximum units for men and women.

But sensible drinking is the key . The owner of Market Place, Richard Bigg, explains:

We may be in the business of selling booze, and essentially rely on the drinking public's desire to keep drinking, but we say little and often! Binge drinking isn't good for anyone, and you only have to look to the Mediterranean to see how right they've got it: people live longer and with healthier hearts because they have a good diet and drink a glass or two of wine with most meals, food being key to slow down the absorption rate. Very rarely will you see a Spanish person intoxicated. We're not trying to launch a policing exercise or an AA clinic, but how many people actually know how many units they consume in an evening? We value our customers and want them to be aware of the facts and ultimately live longer, sustainable lives!"

Customers will also be invited to choose what size drink they want rather than automatically be served the larger option by bar staff

In short a bar being-active in helping to educate their customers by making them more aware of their alcohol unit consumption.

• A pint of ordinary strength lager (Carling Black Label, Fosters) - 2 units
• A pint of strong lager (Stella Artois, Kronenbourg 1664) - 3 units
• A pint of ordinary bitter (John Smith's, Boddingtons) - 2 units
• A pint of best bitter (Fuller's ESB, Young's Special) - 3 units
• A pint of ordinary strength cider (Woodpecker) - 2 units
• A pint of strong cider (Dry Blackthorn, Strongbow) - 3 units
• A 175ml glass of red or white wine at 13 percent strength - 2.3 units
• A pub measure of spirits - 1 unit
• An alcopop (e.g. Smirnoff Ice, Bacardi Breezer, WKD, Reef) - around 1.5 units

Source: www.dh.gov.uk

Each ginger beer was tasted blind and ranked out of 5, with 0 being undrinkable and 5 being damn tasty. The average scores are detailed below with the products listed in taste order. The tasters, who incidentally were of a wide span of ages (from early teens to 'getting on a bit'), were encouraged to write a few words some of which are quoted.

Review0.3Ginger Beer 1 - Whole Earth Sparkling Organic Ginger (can) Score 3.6
"lacks body/light", "fizzy, long after-taste", "subtle taste, pale in colour" "my favourite"

Review0.3Ginger Beer 2 - Fentimans Botanically Brewed Ginger Beer (bottle) Score 2.6
"odd smell" "really strong taste of ginger", "ginger kick", "strong after-taste"

Review0.3Ginger Beer 3 - Bunderberg Diet Ginger Beer (bottle) Score 1.6
"lemon like smell", "cloudy, very lemony", "too much lemon", "a ginger kick on the finish but why so lemony?"

Review0.3Ginger Beer 4 - Belvoir Fruit Farms Organic Ginger Beer (bottle) Score 0.8
"smells horrid", "dirty water smell", "unpleasant", "chemicals, burning aftertaste", "yuck!"

Review0.3Ginger Beer 5 - Old Jamacia Ginger Beer (can) Score 3.4
"Best, if slightly sweet", "quite nice", "very sweet, very pleasant, syrupy"

Prior to organising this tasting I had tried the Belvoir Fruit Farms version; and was astounded at just how terrible the drink was - a smell of dirty washing up water, and an unbelievably bad, dirty, taste made worse by the ginger kick that is suddenly sprung on you. So bad, so undrinkable yet sold at a premium at various delis. I actually thought I had an off bottle but it would seem not.

Personally either of the two canned products I would be happy to drink as they are over ice. The strong ginger kick in the Fentimans would be my choice for a cocktail mix, as in some of the Pimms cocktails.

With thanks to the various members of the extended Barrow-clan for conducting the tasting.

Perhaps because they are so expensive, people simply do not purchase them in quantities required to grasp a profit. But wouldn't reducing the price entice people to buy more?

As an example, this half bottle of sweet Muscat costs £6.99. A full bottle therefore would retail at around £12. Why so expensive?

Many would baulk at paying this for a Sunday splash out wine let alone a simple, dessert wine. One that also happened to be the cheapest off the dessert wine shelf at my local supermarket. With long lived, small production, wines such as Sauternes the high prices are comprehendable; but for a relatively simple, are I say bog-standard, wine...?

Don't misunderstand; it's a nice enough wine. I just ponder the elevated price.

Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, NV, Rhone, France
Stockist: Waitrose Price: £6.99 half bottle. [More on Adegga]
Simple, lightly honeyed with a slightly elderflower, grapey aroma. Sweet palate with a correspondingly cleansing level of acidity that keeps it fresh and clean. Floral, lemons, lychee's. Reasonable length. Alcohol 15%.
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 84/100 [3 out of 5]

Half this bottle was used in the making of Baked Figs with Muscat; a rather nice dessert that was a little too sweet to match harmoniously with the wine. The baking reducing concentrating the sugars I guess.

Although they don't own their own vineyards the wines are made in conjunction with the winemakers from the Flagstone winery.

Showing a distinct 'estate' character and an over-riding style, the wines come highly recommended. The style encapsulates a new-world level of sweet upfront fruit married with old-world structure - exactly what one should expect from a decent South African wine.

Ses'fikile 'we have arrived'. These three words are built on a foundation of personal and communal struggle, yet they also look forward positively, with the hope of a better tomorrow. Most importantly the words sparkle with a sense of adventure. This is a pioneering exploration of new South African opportunity in one of our most glamorous and exciting industries."

Other wines from Ses'Fikile are listed by Marks and Spencers.