Simon Woods Wine Writer Brands


…would have been to share the delicious Castello della Paneretta Chianti Classico Torre a Destra 2002 that Jill was smiling along with during dinner. She said it was perfect with my shepherd’s pie, in which a lot of the meat is replaced with chopped-up mushrooms – don’t tell the kids, […]

Day Four – a great way to finish the weekend…


White Zinfandel… For a wine enthusiast to confess to drinking it is like a music critic saying they like James Blunt, or for a film fan to put Porky’s II at the top of their all-time must-watch list. But it does have its advocates. Long ago, before he gave up […]

Day Three – handbags at dusk


It’s Friday evening, and I’d usually sign off work early, head for the kitchen and begin cooking, with lubrication being provided by something appropriately soothing yet stimulating. However, today my kitchen companions are the red counterparts of yesterday’s Chardonnays…. Blossom Hill Soft & Fruity Red (non-vintage)‘Soft & Fruity’ is pretty […]

Day Two – something for the weekend?



So here I go, how long can I survive on just Big Brand Wine? I’m aiming to pour myself a glass of two different wines each night I’m at home. And yes, it is just me – Jill will be drinking whatever she likes. Tonight she’s on Mud House 2007 […]

Day One in the Big Bottle House…


OK, the Top 10 UK wine brands – here’s how they currently stand:- Rank Brand Owner 1 Hardys Constellation 2 Gallo E & J Gallo 3 Blossom Hill Percy Fox 4 Jacob’s Creek Pernod Ricard 5 Stowells Constellation 6 Wolf Blass Fosters EMEA 7 Lindemans Fosters EMEA 8 Banrock Station […]

The Winal Countdown


An e-mail from David Williams, editor of Wine & Spirit, that thwopped into my In-Box earlier this year began thus. “We’re dong [sic] a ‘big issue’ in May, a kind of sister issue to our small producers number, focusing on the world’s biggest producers.” Since getting married a couple of […]

The things we do for love….OK, money