Over the weekend I went to the Three Wine Men event at Manchester Town Hall. This was a festival of all things wine hosted by the Three Wine Men – Oz Clarke, Olly Smith and Tim Atkin. There were two huge rooms full of wine to taste and to buy. I went along with my friend and fellow wine enthusiast Pippa to discover some new wines. I’ve chosen my favourite wines from the day, some of which will definitely be gracing my festive table this year.
Very good vino
From decent everyday wines, to something special to go with Christmas dinner, there were hundreds of wines to choose from. Here were six of my favourites –
Cantina di Monteforte Soave Superiore Classico (Veneto, Italy) from Rude Wines – £8.99 a bottle. This is a beautifully balanced Soave, well rounded with a splash or citrus. An excellent every day drink and perfect for a warm summer evening.
Irresistible Limestone Rise 2015 (Surrey, England) from the Co-op priced at £7.99. I’m delighted to find such an affordable English wine at the Co-op, I love English wines, generally they are dry and a little flinty which is something I like in a wine. The Limestone Rise is produced in the Surrey hills by award-winning English wine producer, Denbies and is made from a blend of Bacchus and Ortega grapes. At £7.99 it is a good value wine and one I’ll be looking out for.
SPAR Gavi 2014 (Piemonte, Italy) priced at £8. Gavi is one of those names you look out for and they can be on the pricey side. This Gavi from SPAR is very affordable and worth seeking out if you have a SPAR local to you.
Spreitzer “Oestricher Lenchen” Riesling Kabinett 2014 (Rheingau, Germany) this was enthusiastically recommended to us by none other than Oz Clarke, who nigh on evangelised about German wines. This flinty little number is available from GK Winehouse and costs £19 per bottle.
Gran Vista Garnacha 2015 Campo de Borja features in the latest edition of BBC Good Food Magazine. It’s a very easy drinking and wonderfully affordable red which costs just £4.99 from the Co-op. Rich and fruity, it is light on the tannins which makes it easy drinking. This is definitely one to look out for.
The last of my wine picks is this cracking red from the Co-op. The Château Sénéjac 2012 (Haut-Médoc, France) is an excellent wine to have with Christmas dinner. Priced at £16.99, this is a bottle with depth. Packed with blackcurrant, cherry and hints of vanilla, this is a bottle which will please red wine lovers.
Festive Fizz
Despite trying all the fizz at the festival, I just kept coming back to the same bottle. It’s pink, it’s girlie looking, but it’s an astonishingly good quality fizz from the Co-op. The Borgo Molino Rose NV (Veneto, Italy) is £9.99 a bottle and is available in just 500 Co-op stores.
Crisp, refreshing and the most prefect way to kick off the festivities this Christmas this is top of my shopping list (and perfect for my forthcoming spa break with some friends next weekend). It’s even better than the Co-op prosecco, which was until now my favourite fizz. Track down a bottle and treat yourself. You won’t regret it!
Something special
Three Wine Men was mostly wine, but there were some fortified wines and spirits. I love a good gin and the Warner Edwards Victoria’s Rhubarb Gin was a fruity favourite. It would be great with prosecco or in a lovely cocktail. It’s around £35 a bottle (though I have seen it cheaper online) and something a little different for your cocktail cabinet.
No Christmas dinner would be complete without a drop of port and a good cheeseboard. The Co-op have once again come up trumps with this 10 Year Old Tawny Port NV (Douro, Portugal) at £13.99 a bottle. I’m not much of a port drinker, but this tawny port is one which suits me, deep and spicy but not over the top. It had me dreaming about wedges of Stilton on good crackers and a roaring log fire!
Tickets to Three Wine Men were £27.50 which gave you three hours to enjoy the festival and the chance to sample all of the wines and spirits in the building. If you are a wine lover or a wine learner, it’s a fantastic way to spend an afternoon and will leave you rosy cheeked and giggling on the tram home.
We had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. Three Wine Men introduced me to some new wines and it helped to get me out of my wine buying rut, which is no bad thing.
You can find out more about the Three Wine Men festivals on their website.
What will you be drinking this Christmas?
We were invited guests of The Co-op, but all images and opinions are our own. Each wine mentioned I genuinely loved and will buy again (and again).