Simon Woods Wine Writer Brands


As I finally sit down to some wine I’d choose to drink, here’s a final verdict on the UK’s top wine brands based on my experience with them over the past three weeks. So counting down from the – let’s be polite – least good to the least bad…(numbers in […]

Day Twenty-Two – The Verdict



Not much time for writing on this, my penultimate evening of Big Brand-dom, so I’ll get straight down to business and a pair of Aussie Shirazes. Lindemans Bin 50 Shiraz 2007, South Eastern AustraliaI enjoyed Lindemans Bin 65 Chardonnay but I’ve found the reds (see Days 15 and 17) just […]

Day Twenty – giddy kipper time



‘Bored with Shiraz? Why not try [fill in grape of the moment].’ I really wish there weren’t articles that began in such fashion. Chardonnay is probably the grape that attracts the most flak, but when you question those who pronounce themselves members of the ABC – Anything But Chardonnay – […]

Day N-N-N-N-Nineteen


The whites are all finished and today it’s the final pair of pinks. That wine is governed by fashion is undeniable. The latest vintage in Bordeaux gets all the praise and prices soar in the en primeur madness, while wines from the same châteaux that are just as good and […]

Day Eighteen – the age of majority


Whatever happened to The Regents? Can’t say I miss them, but I am missing ‘proper’ wine, as in wine I want to enthuse about. While most of the brands so far have been drinkable, in general they’ve been the liquid equivalent of lift music. But at least I’m on the […]

Day Seventeen – and not yet a woman