Proper wine storage is key to your wine  tasting as good as when it was purchased, and in many cases improving over time. Who hasn't bought a bottle or case anticipating opening it for a special occasion. Avoid the worst case scenario of opening a highly anticipated bottle only to find it spoiled by following a few simple guidelines.

Knowing the different styles of wine available is fundamental to enjoying any wine experience, especially when considering your food and wine pairing.  The following wine styles and the varietals and blends identified with those style serve as a basic guide to help further your enjoyment of wine. source: Wine Folly - The Essential Guide to Wine and Red Wines Boldness Chart.

The following is a suggested food and wine pairing guide to assist you in selecting a style of wine based on your food selection. Besides making the most of your meal, this may help narrow down your choices from a long wine list, and give you a conversation starting point with your Sommellier or Server.

We hope the following glossary of wine terminology is helpful and informative. If you have a term in mind, simply click on the corresponding letter below to see the terms starting with that same letter.  

Rioja Wine Tour

Rioja to Salamanca route, a 7 night self-drive independent tour in Spain. Hop from castle to castle and wend your way through Spain’s most prestigious wine regions, names to conjure with Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Toro and Rueda. Visit the great wine centres of Laguardia, Haro, Logroño, Peñafiel and Valladolid and ‘drink in’ the traditions and beautiful landscapes.

Wine Tasting

What are you looking for in evaluating wine? Appearance first, then smell, impression in the mouth, total flavor in the mouth, and aftertaste.Appearance consists of a wine's clarity and its color. As red wines age they fade, going from deep purple to, eventually, a brick color, whereas white wines grow darker.

Brunello di Montalcino - Wine Tour

Leaving from your accomodation, we will pass through the ancient road Cassia(ss2), direction South. Once past Buonconvento, turning right we will start to climb towards Montalcino  (placed at more than 500 m above sea level). By then, we will be in the production area of one of the world's most famous wines: the Brunello of Montalcino.

Wonderful Winelands

The only question mark over a day spent in the Winelands is where to go. You can't miss Stellenbosch, the second oldest town in the country, with its stunning architecture steeped in history, but then again there's Franschhoek developed by the Huguenot refugees. A valley with an array of wine estates and a fascinating little town filled with art galleries, award winning restaurants and wine estates.

Yarra Valley, Australia

Start your day with a lovely wine taste at 1. Helens Hill Estate cellar door, nestled in a lovely native bush setting surrounded by gum trees and vines – sample Sauvignon Blanc, Rose, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Merlot…Then on to the Mediterranean styled 2. Dominique Portet to sample a great range of wines – from a sparkling Brut Rose to the 5 star (James Halliday rated) Shiraz.

Marlborough Region, New Zealand

9.45am  Collection from your accomodation in Blenheim and around the Marlborough wine region.(please contact us for details of Picton collections). Start the day with a visit to the boutique winery of Te Whare Ra where owners and winemakers Jason and Anna Flowerday have built a strong reputation on aromatic whites and divine Pinot Noir.  

Wine Tours

What is more fun than a wine tour? Exploring new country, tasting new wines, touring wine cellars with all the wonderful sites and smells, hearing each wineries story and philosophy, the list goes on!  Presented here are some of our favorite one day to one month tours of wine growing regions that create unforgettable experiences and further add to our appreciation of wine.