Autumn Wines at Costco UK

I know a number of our readers and tasters have Costco cards.  We buy a lot of food there for our large Village hall wine tasting dinners.  I really like the selection of wines at Costco in Reading and here below are my top recommendations of the ones I have tasted recently.  My top recommendation is a Rioja as good as any I have ever tried and it is under £15 (inc VAT) at Costco.   Don't just take my word for it - click here for our tasting notes last Christmas.  It is the Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza Reserva Especial 2001 - don't miss this one.

A fantastic Rioja

Another of my current tipples and at just under £10 (inc VAT)  is Jim Barry's The Cover Drive, a lovely Cabernet Sauvignon from South East Australia.  It has a good cassis flavour and makes an excellent pairing for your Sunday Roast Lamb or autumn barbeque.

A current favourite

There are also some other lovely wines at over £20 which I recommend for that special occasion.  These include the Errazuriz Don Maxiimiano which is\another gorgeous complex Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile.  I also love the Hamilton Russell Vineyards Pinot Noir from South Africa which is made in the Burgundy style.  For Italian fans there are still a few left of the Tenuta San Guido which is the fantastic second wine of Sassicaia a prestige Super Tuscan maker.

Three top wines at good prices

Happy autumn drinking!

Our dog Harley this morning in autumnal scenery at Puttenham Common

TONGHAM TASTERS FRENCH WINE TASTING COURSE

During the next 52 weeks, I’ll be doing a weekly blog on the wines of France, gradually covering the main wine regions. If you follow the course over 2011 you’ll gradually learn the basics of French wine. The blogs will be short and to the point. The best bit is that I’ll be setting you homework each week – a bottle of wine from the region to buy and try. This way you can gradually catch-up on the Tongham Village Hall wine tastings you may have mixed over the years. The wines will all be available in UK supermarkets or national wine shops such as Majestic so anyone in the UK should be able to do their homework diligently.

So what do we have to look forward to over the next 12 months -

Sancerre Pinot Noir Grapes

January - Bordeaux

February – Loire Valley

March - Languedoc-Roussillon

April - South West

May - Rhone Valley

June - Provence

July - Alsace

August - Champagne

September – The East, Jura & Savoie
October - Burgundy
November - Beaujolais & Macon
December - Vins de Pays

And this month :

January week 1 – Bordeaux Basics
January week 2 – Bordeaux Right Bank
January week 3 – Bordeaux Left Bank
January week 4 – Bordeaux Dry Whites
January week 5 – Bordeaux Sweet Whites