Latest news with #Chardonnay
The Independent
12 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
14 best supermarket wines, chosen by experts and sommeliers
Whether you're after a crisp French rosé for a summer dinner party, a zesty Chardonnay to enjoy at a barbecue or a softly bubbly pét nat to try, the wine selection from supermarkets has never been better. From the viral 'chicken wine' (La Vieille Ferme Rosé) and Asda's tongue-in-cheek alternative to Whispering Angel, Screaming Devil, to Aldi's £9.99 orange wine, social media has helped democratise the wine world. 'Consumers are becoming more knowledgeable, more savvy; they can look anything up on the internet,' says Libby Brodie, wine consultant and columnist. 'Wine is a whole aisle now, as people want more variety as well as value, and supermarkets have wisely chosen to invest in their wine buyers and relationships with producers – because this is how most of us buy our wine.' This means that supermarkets are catering to more refined tastes, explains Sinead Murdoch, sommelier and co-founder at Tasca. 'Now top wine buyers are working for supermarkets, and the growing competition is raising the standard of what ends up on the shelves.' But discovering a truly great bottle at a supermarket is still tricky, so I went to the experts. From sommeliers to wine influencers, these are the best vinos from the local shops, as chosen by industry heavyweights. Meet the experts I spoke to qualified wine consultants, restaurant sommeliers, TikTok-viral influencers and wine critics to find the best bottles to sip in summer 2025. Libby Brodie is a qualified wine consultant with years of experience in the industry. She is the founder of Bacchus & Brodie Wine Consultancy, which personally curates wine selections for individuals or events. Katie Brook is a journalist with a specialism in wine and a decade of experience as a wine reviewer. She is the founder of Run To Wine - a London- and Surrey-based running club that ends its sessions with a wine tasting. Sinead Murdoch is a sommelier and co-founder of Tasca, a restaurant in London. Following a formal training, she headed up front of house at Shoreditch restaurant Bistro Freddie. She then spent time in Provence at Gallifet Art Centre, where she curated the wine list. Lucy Hitchcock is the wine enthusiast behind the @Partnerinwineuk social media account. She has nearly 100k on Instagram and 65k on TikTok, with her reviews of Aldi or M&S bottles regularly going viral.
Forbes
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
This Summer, Celebrate Jaws And Shark Week With A Ferocious Wine
While watching people swim through shark-infested waters, sip a Juggernaut Chardonnay. Juggernaut Wines If you're excited about Shark Week or planning on celebrating the 50th anniversary of Jaws , there's a wine brand for that. Juggernaut Wines launched in 2018 as a brand with bite with the Bogle Family Wine Collection. 'Each of the wines in the Juggernaut portfolio features a different alpha predator,' says Jody Bogle, vice president of consumer relations of the Bogle Family Wine Collection. The Cabernet Sauvignon features a lion, the Pinot Noir has an osprey, the Sauvignon Blanc, and the Chardonnay, which made its debut in 2023, boasts a giant shark practically jumping out of the water and off the label. A bottle of the Chardonnay retails for $16. 'The shark was a fitting selection as they can often be found off the Sonoma Coast AVA, where the grapes for the wine are grown,' Bogle says. It was also fitting, then, that Juggernaut joined in to help commemorate the 50th anniversary of Jaws . 'Jaws is an iconic summer film and with the 50th anniversary this year, we wanted to join in the celebrations,' Bogle says. 'We felt uniquely suited, since our Juggernaut Chardonnay features a great white shark on the label.' Jaws is an iconic movie that became a cultural touchstone after it first aired in 1975. It marked a new style of Hollywood blockbuster, and it launched Stephen Spielberg's career. To mark this milestone, Juggernaut worked with the Martha's Vineyard Chamber of Commerce, and the brand sponsored two of their marquee Jaws 50th anniversary events: JAWS: The Afterparty and JAWS in Concert. The afterparty, which was hosted by National Geographic, was the official party held after the screening of National Geographic's documentary, Jaws @ 50. 'We were the official wine sponsor, and we served wines by the glass,' she says. The concert featured a special screening at the Winnetu Resort on Martha's Vineyard, with the Cape Code orchestra playing along to the movie score and even a surprise visit by actor Richard Dreyfuss. 'We had a dedicated Juggernaut wine bar with special tastings for VIP attendees, and we also served wines by the glass,' Bogle says. Juggernaut also sponsored summer Jaws movie parties at the Alamo Drafhouse Cinema's 42 locations around the country, and the brand sponsored this year's summer parties at the Jane Pickens Theater in Newport Rhode Island, which hosts Jaws screenings annually. 'Juggernaut Wines grows grapes in extreme conditions to create wines of untamed character and unrestrained complexity,' Bogle says, noting that this matches the themes of the movie. Though the celebration of Jaws started on June 20, the festivities continue all summer, Peacock also is streaming Jaws all summer. A recent Gallup poll suggests that 78 percent of American adults have already viewed the film. It's not known how many of the remaining 22 percent of adults might watch this summer, nor how many others will re-watch it. Besides Jaws , Shark Week starts this Sunday on Discovery Channel. Though Juggernaut isn't sponsoring this, its Chardonnay still would provide a perfect sipper for viewing shark-infested waters and adventures. 'Plus, popcorn and Chardonnay is a perfect pairing for movie night,' Bogle says.
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
When it comes to pinot noir, the only way is Essex (believe it or not)
If anyone asks me where I grew up, I generally answer 'perilously close to Essex'. Sleepovers in Chigwell, avoiding nightclubs in Epping, house parties in Theydon Bois (if you were wondering, it's pronounced boys). Needless to say, at the time, my wine drinking wasn't sophisticated, but who cares? I really did think Lambrini was pretty chic. But Essex is much maligned. It is, in fact, one of the country's most beautiful counties. It may not have rugged cliffs or craggy hills, but in its rural corners you'll find the landscape that inspired Constable, and on its easterly edges a soft, yielding coastline whose estuaries give way to the North Sea. And it's in this landscape that something remarkable is happening in English wine. The southern London counties have often claimed the headlines on wine: Kent and the Sussexes, I'm talking about you – and for good reason. But London's north-easterly neighbour is quietly gaining ground. In looking at my map of The Vineyards of England & Wales that was published in 1981, there were a total of fifteen vineyards mapped in Essex; there are now over fifty-five, with the highest density centred around the Crouch Valley, located to the south-east of Chelmsford. This area in the Crouch Valley is garnering quite a lot of attention for being a perfect site for creating still wines, especially pinot noir and chardonnay. It's a holy trinity of factors that make this area so special: its proximity to the Crouch river gives it protection from extreme frosts and cold winds, the moisture and nutrient-retaining rich, heavy clay soils, and last, but definitely not least, its wonderfully dry and sunny microclimate. This is one of the sunniest and warmest spots in the UK. The wider wine world is taking notice. It was a huge step when Jackson Family Wines (JFW), best known for their Kendall-Jackson label, announced in 2023 that they would be investing in and planting 27 hectares of vines in the Crouch Valley. JFW are a huge global wine player. Still entirely family owned, they are deeply passionate about sourcing the best sites for production, and have operations spanning the globe, including the US, Australia, France, Italy, Chile and South Africa. Just this week, it was announced that one of Burgundy's finest producers, Domaine Duroché, is creating a joint venture with Danbury Ridge vineyard. This relationship developed after Duroché tasted the 2021 pinot noir and was deeply impressed. But he's not the first Burgundian to note the potential of this area. Bernard Moreau et Fils, an outstanding producer of some of the world's finest chardonnays, now under the helm of fourth-generation Alex and Benoit Moreau, is working with Missing Gate Vineyard to produce a new chardonnay. While the wines are not cheap, you have to remember that land is at an absolute premium, and the intensity of the work that goes into making these wines is next level. They are completely worth their price tag, and offer great value for money for the wine in your glass, and, whisper it, offer better value than Burgundy at the same price, especially for the chardonnays. With such thrilling and dynamic wines being produced, it's time to finally banish the old tropes of this wonderful county – these winemakers don't see Essex as a joke. Furthermore, this Essex girl is proudly ordering a glass of chardonnay. Just make sure it's from Essex, please. Long-Player, Chardonnay, Crouch Valley, Gutter & Stars, Crouch Valley, UK, 2022 Available from Gutter & Stars, £33, 12 per cent ABV Made by one of the most exciting winemakers in the UK, Chris Wilkins, who can be found in his urban winery in Cambridge, this Essex chardonnay is upfront and unashamed in its initial tropical kick, and I love it! On the palate, the pineapple, passionfruit flavours are supported by bracing lemon citrus acidity, wafts of smoke and wooded vanilla spice. It's both generous and decadent, and I'm utterly seduced. Marbury Chardonnay, Crouch Valley, UK, 2023 Limited availability through St Swithins, £38, 12.5 per cent ABV This is Jackson Family Wine's first release from carefully sourced grapes neighbouring their vineyards. This has a delicate nose of lime blossom and lemon curd, which is supported by restrained flavours of white peach, swirls of vanilla cream and a beautiful saline edge. House on the Hill Chardonnay, Great Wheatley Vineyard, UK, 2023 Register interest to purchase on release (expected in the coming weeks) 12 per cent ABV Okay, so I appreciate that it's unconventional to recommend a yet-to-be-released wine, but I had the opportunity to taste Great Wheatley's chardonnay and was so impressed – it's too good not to share. It has an expressive nose of golden apples, tangy citrus and sweet vanilla, which is supported by a generous palate of toasted hazelnuts and salted caramel. There's mouth-watering acidity supporting this supple and generous wine – a stunning example of Essex's capability. Danbury Ridge Pinot Noir, Essex, UK, 2022 Available from The Wine Society, £39, 13.5 per cent ABV A wine to contradict any ideas about English reds being thin and watery. This is full of rich, ripe blackberries and concentrated black cherries, alongside a sweet cinnamon and smoky edge. It was a warm vintage in the UK, and you can certainly feel the Costa del Crouch sunshine in your glass. The Dark End of the Street, Pinot Noir, Gutter & Stars, Crouch Valley, UK, 2023 Available from Gutter & Stars, £33, 11 per cent ABV A restrained nose that is poised with amarena sour cherry and redcurrant, on the palate this reveals a more enigmatic profile of autumn leaves and black pepper spice alongside the concentrated sweeter red fruits.
Time Out
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Le Beaujolais
Le Beaujolais is about as far away as you can get from London's new wave of natural wine bars. The restaurant downstairs is a members -only venue but the ground floor bar is open to all. A central London mainstay since 1972, this robust timewarp comes complete with rustic French tables that are pleasantly well past their best, a chaotic seating arrangement, scrappy chalkboard menus and ties hanging from the ceiling, as if the last 1980s yuppie has only just been asked to leave. It is, in other words, pure Keith Floyd-core. Sure, there's a food menu of classic French cuisine; croque monsieurs, steak frites and boeuf bourguignon, but people aren't really here to eat, they're here to drink bottles, carafes and glasses of the Frenchest of wines. The list is exclusively French, and broken down by region, from the Loire to Bourgogne, via the Rhône, Bordeaux, and of course, Beaujolais. Time Out tip If you're after some 'Old Soho' energy – now only matched by the likes of the French House – swing by Le Beaujolais at 3pm on a weekday to soak up some Chardonnay with a crowd of old school Soho characters.
Daily Mirror
11-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Aldi shoppers will notice major change in over 1,000 stores
People will start to see the change take place across stores throughout the summer and the rest of 2025 Aldi has announced its plans to make a change to its own-label beers to reduce something unnecessary. The change will take place in all of the supermarket's stores across the UK - totalling more than 1,000 locations in England, Scotland and Wales. The UK's fourth largest supermarket is introducing Snap Pack packaging on its own-label beers – a move expected to eliminate 412 tonnes of packaging per year. This innovative format uses glue to hold the cans together, replacing the traditional cardboard sleeves. The switch will be rolled out across stores in 2025 and applies to four packs of Aldi 's Galahad, Sainte Etienne, and Brasserie beers. Right now, each multipack comes with a cardboard sleeve keeping the cans in place - but that is all about to change. Luke Emery, national sustainability director at Aldi UK, said: 'We know our customers care about the environment, and so do we. That's why we're constantly challenging ourselves to find smarter, more sustainable ways to package our products. By switching to Snap Pack packaging, we're taking meaningful action to prevent waste - without compromising on quality or convenience. It's a small change that makes a big impact.' The initiative forms part of Aldi's broader sustainability commitments. Earlier this year, the supermarket partnered with sustainable wine brand The Hidden Sea to launch its own-label Chardonnay. For every bottle purchased, the equivalent of 10 plastic bottles is removed from the ocean. What is Snap Pack packaging? Cardboard beer packaging is generally considered more environmentally friendly than plastic, but it's not without its drawbacks. While cardboard is biodegradable and recyclable, it can still contribute to greenhouse gas emissions if not managed properly, and its production can also lead to deforestation Pioneered by Carlsberg, the core idea behind Snap Pack is to minimise or eliminate plastic completely. Instead of plastic rings or shrink wrap, the cans are bonded together with a strong, yet easily separable, adhesive. This reduction in plastic usage contributes to a smaller environmental footprint, cutting down on waste and reducing reliance on fossil fuel-based packaging materials. While reducing plastic, Snap Pack maintains the ease of handling and separation of individual cans when needed. In other Aldi news, shoppers have been gearing up for another round of SpecialBuy products that were refreshed on Thursday, July 10. This wave of products includes a £69.99 gas-powered pizza oven with a matching £12.99 set of tools needed to cook and serve pizza creations at home. On top of this, the viral Roosters chicken range has been inspired by a well-known restaurant chain with items sold for as little as 79p. Shoppers can grab a selection of southern fried chicken goodies suitable for air frying - like burgers, thighs, drumsticks and popcorn - as well as tasty side dishes like fries, gravy, sweetcorn and coleslaw.
