Azienda Giribaldi Mario is a very conscientious producer of high quality wines in the Langhe region of Piedmont in the north west of Italy. "Piedmont" translates as "foot of the mountain" and here it refers to the foot-hills of the Italian Alps. The Langhe, an area of gentle hills and valleys, is the plural of the Italian word "langa" meaning a low lying long hill. It lies to the south of the town of Alba and to the south and east of the River Tanaro in the province of Cuneo. This area is famous for its food, cheeses and white truffles foremost, but also its wine, being the home of the DOCG wines of Barolo and Barbaresco among others including Langhe DOC wines that are made from non-traditional grape varieties and/or production methods. 

Clotilde Davenne is a qualified oenologist who has been making wines in Chablis since 1989. In common with another Burgundy renegade Patrick Piuze she does not hail from a background steeped in the tradition of viticulture and wine-making. Clotilde grew up on a farm but as a teenager she was attracted to a more sensory path than could be provided by a career in agriculture and so she decided to study oenology. Having gained her diploma she spent some time in California making sparkling wine and then, with an eye to the future, decided to pursue further studies in viticulture and marketing back in France before gaining some more work experience in the wine producing region of Beaujolais.

Ch. Martet is a wine estate in the small 250 hectare appellation of Sainte-Foy Bordeaux sandwiched between Bergerac a few miles to the east and Entre-Deux-Mers to the west and about 18 miles to the south of St. Emilion. The appellation produces both dry red and white wines the quality for which has improved considerably in the last two decades and consequently the wines represent good value for money. The original Château Martet itself has a long history having originally been built in the 13th. century by the Knights Templar as a monastery and having been used as a place of rest by pilgrims on their journey to and from Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. 

Canadian Patrick Piuze has a compelling story, from running a wine bar in Montreal to making AOC Chablis wines with chardonnay grapes that have gained admiration from respected wine authorities such as Jancis Robinson MW and Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. Attracted to both the wines and the beauty of Burgundy he spent some time working for Olivier Leflaive, the renowned négociant based in Puligny-Montrachet, before studying at the CFPPA in Beaune to get a formal education in his new career before going on to make Chablis for Leflaive. 

Jean-Paul Brun produces traditional Beaujolais wines at the Domaine des Terres Dorées which is located close to the village of Charnay some 40 miles to the north of Lyons in the southern part of the Beaujolais AOC region. Taking over his father's mixed farm which included just four hectares of Gamay planted vineyards in the area known as ‘La Region des Pierres Dorées’ (the region of the golden stones) locally in 1979 his growing enthusiasm for winemaking has resulted in him expanding his vineyard holdings to more than thirty hectares today and he now owns parcels not only in Beaujolias but also in the Beaujolais Crus districts of Morgon, Côte de Brouilly, Moulin à Vent and Fleurie. 

The Domaine Robert-Denogent is a small but tenaciously quality-driven producer of Chardonnay wines based in the Mâconnais village of Fuissé in the warm climate of Southern Burgundy. Situated approximately 70 miles south of the better known Côte d’Or, an area that produces the most celebrated and expensive Burgundy wines, the most famous wine of the Mâcon sub-region is Pouilly Fuissé AOC which is not to be confused with the Pouilly-Fumé produced in the Upper Loire wine region. The Domaine Robert-Denogent's vineyards were established almost a hundred years ago, following the cessation of hostilities of the First World War, by Claude Denogent, the grandfather of the current owner Jean-Jaques Robert who assumed control in 1988. 

Château Méaume is a wine estate situated in the Bordeaux wine region just south of the village of Maransin and 15 km. to the north of Libourne, the centre of the wine trade in Pomerol, and a similar distance to the north east of St. Emilion. The château has a history dating back several hundred years with the vineyards having formerly grown white grapes for distillation into cognac. When its current English owners Alan and Sue Johnson-Hill bought the property in 1980 the vineyards were growing mostly red grapes to be sold in bulk to make generic Bordeaux wines. The new owners, however, were on the cusp of realising bigger plans for their new acquisition. 

Château Puy Castera, in stark contrast to many other Bordeaux wine producers, does not have a centuries old tradition of wine-making history. Having only been established in 1973 by Henri Marès, and developed with the advice and co-operation of the famous Bordeaux oenologist M. Emile Peynaud, this 28 hectare estate, situated between the two famous wine communes of Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe close to the small town of Cissac-Médoc, achieved the remarkable feat winning the Haut-Médoc Cru Bourgeois classification in just five years. 

Although understanding an Austrian wine label is similar in many ways to reading a German label there are nonetheless some important differences to take into account regarding the terminology used and indeed of Austria's wine classification system itself. As with German wine the most important grape variety in relation to the best quality wines, historically at least, is the noble Riesling variety although it only accounts for less than 4% of the total area under vine. 

D'Arenberg Wines is located in the McClaren Vale area of the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia, where grape growing and wine production has a history dating back to the early 19th C when John Reynell planted the first vines here in 1838. It was in 1912 that a teetotaller, one Joseph Osborn, purchased Milton Vineyards, a well known estate of 25 hectares. Such was the success of the business that his son Jack left medical school to work at the property and subsequently increased the area under vine to 78 hectares. Grapes were sold to wineries in the area until he was in a position to build his own which was completed in 1928 and production of both dry red table wines and fortified wines began, principally for export to Britain. 

It’s happened to us all – we sit down for a glass of wine with someone we didn’t realise was an expert and suddenly feel like a six-month-old child holding a Rubik’s Cube. We’re happy to send wine gifts online to friends and family just as we’re happy to order the odd wine case delivery, but when it comes to knowing the apparent ‘proper’ way to drink wine, we freeze up.

Learning how to pair every possible meal combination on the face of the Earth with a specific wine isn’t plausible for most…even our experts at The Cardinal's Cellar can’t go that far! However, this doesn’t mean that anyone with a taste for wine cannot learn a few simple rules for making suitable wine pairings every time. So if you’d like to take a more educated approach next time you buy red wine with a particular meal in mind, take a look at the following tips and we guarantee you will not go wrong:

While most wine drinkers are happy to quaff their latest purchases with little thought to anything but pure enjoyment, others see wine as more of a collectable. Wine collectors come in a variety of guises – some are just out to stock their cellars with the finest wine on the planet, some buy red wine exclusively and others buy in bargain wines they might find by the case.

As far as red wines go, there are few that have as many deeply obsessive fans and followers as Pinot Noir. We’re happy to admit that we’re a well-established member of this deeply devoted group and just love inviting newcomers along for the ride. Like many things in life, it’s impossible to enjoy Pinot Noir to its fullest until you truly understand its standout qualities. The world is full of generic wines thrown together for the lowest possible price and with no sense of tradition to speak of - Pinot Noir is an example to the absolute contrary.

The Great British spring – a time that evokes blissful daydreams of wonderful greenery, new life across the land and some of the most delightful food of the whole year. There’s no better time to make the most of those fresh and delicious vegetables we know we should be eating more of anyway – spring really is a time of plenty for anyone interested in doing their health a favour.

As a newcomer, the world of wine treads a very fine line between the exciting and the downright intimidating. You know you like the odd bottle of wine from the local supermarket and you’re starting to develop a taste for quality – traversing the divide into full-blown wine-buff territory is however another story altogether.

Think wine tasting and chances are you’ll be thinking high-society and elite circles the likes of which may have all the sophistication in the world, but where’s the sense of fun? In reality though, wine tasting hasn’t been an elitist sport for a few decades now and you’d be surprised just how much fun a wine tasting party can be for pretty much any occasion you can think of. With such huge availability of wine online and even next day delivery wine for those last-minute celebrations, there’s really no scenario that isn’t suited to a wine tasting party.

Is it really necessary to spend a small fortune to invest in a bottle of pure pleasure? Not at all – don’t ever let anyone make you think quality wine has to cost the Earth…especially when buying wines online. We’ve been in the wine business for quite some time now and over the years it’s become apparent that quality standards in general are improving all the time. It’s perfectly possible to spend comparatively little and still end up with a great bottle of wine to enjoy with friends, pair with your favourite foods or even store away for a rainy day.

Chances are you wouldn’t eat a bowl of spaghetti with a teaspoon and nor would you tackle a bowl of broth with a fork. This is to a large extent the same kind of logic that should be applied to wine as while you can of course drink from any vessel you won’t enjoy it nearly as much if you use an inappropriate glass.

The fact that good quality wine is no longer a rare and expensive commodity is quite frankly a wonderful thing. No longer are everyday wine fans limited to the bargain-basement lines on the supermarket shelves that have clearly been thrown together with nothing but profit margins in mind. Thanks largely to the growth of online wine retailers in the UK access to quality wines has never been greater.