The Tokaji region is 200 km Northeast of Budapest in Hungary, and includes 28 villages, covering 5,500 hectares of gently sloping hills formed by ancient volcanoes. It has been described as “Burgundy without signposts”, yet it remains hauntingly wild and remote.

In 1700, Tokaji became the first European vineyard to be classified, its uniquely varied terroirs and climates rated “Primae Classis, Secundae Classis, Tertius Classis.” The soils are largely clay, with a volcanic substratum. The three principal grape varieties grown in Tokaji are Furmint, Harslevelu, and Muscatel, the latter used as a seasoning, as in Sauternes.

The first Tokaji Aszú wine was created in the 1600’s, perhaps by accident, a harvest delayed by threat of enemy invasion. “Aszú is the Magyar term for “dried berries,” referring to the botrytis-infected grapes. For maximum botrytis and the almost fiery intensity of great Tokaji, yields must be kept at 10 hectoliters per hectare. In some years no Aszú wines can be made, as botrytis cinerea requires high humidity and a long, warm autumn, with foggy air rising off the nearby Tisza and Bodros rivers.

The Aszú berries are hand-picked and sorted into “puttonyos”, or wooden tubs holding 20 liters of the shrivelled, raisiny, botrytised fruit. “Puttonyos” are used as the measurement of sweetness of the final wine: The more puttonyos, the sweeter, richer, rarer, and more expensive the Tokaji. The berries are crushed and the syrupy Aszú paste is added to each gonci (140-liter barrel) of base wine or “Tokaji Szamorodni”, which was made the previous year from unaffected grapes. The mixture is stirred repeatedly for two or more days to extract the natural sugars and aromas of the paste. The small casks are then stored in the cellars, where a second fermentation is caused by the addition of the Aszú paste. This can take several months to several years, due to the cold cellar temperature and the high sugar content of the wine. [Read more...]

Loannis Boutaris

The Boutaris family has been a powerful force in the Greek wine industry since Loannis Boutaris released his first Naousa in 1879. The first to bottle wine in the region, Boutaris created a legacy that has grown with each new generation. Headquartered in Thessaloniki , Ioannis opened his first winery and cellars in Naousa in 1906.

In 1935, Ioannis’ son Stelios took over the operation, expanding an already growing product line into foreign markets. Under his management the family business achieved the strong domestic position it enjoys to this day. [Read more...]

Ice Wine by Guntrum

• Tradition since 1648
• From the Town of Woerrstadt to Nierstein.
• 8 Generation to achieve and being able to produce some of the finest German Wines.
• Top quality year by year,
• Total care starts at the vines in the vineyard right to the end at the time when the finest
  juice is filled into the bottle and shipped to the furthest corner of the World.
• Reliability, service and a premium selection are some of the aims of the Guntrum Family.
• What more can you expect from a vineyard which still includes tradition and year on year
  produces an excellent drop of wine which you won’t forget.
• From the finest Riesling to Penguin Ice wine.

Oppenheimer Sacktraeger, Herrenberg, Hiersteiner Oelberg, Hipping and Pettenthal are some of the finest vineyards and are part of the Guntrum Holdings, only to name a few.

RI – Wine of Ascot is proud to have these fine wines on offer.

[Read more...]

Cyril de Biournet, Alexandra Marnier – Lapostolle

Casa lapostolle has been founded by the Marnier – Lapostolle family from France and the Rabat family from Chile in 1994 through Alexandra Marnier – Lapostolle, her husband Cyril de Bournet and Don Jose Rabat Gorchs. Today Lapostolle is owned 100% by the Marnier – Lapostolle group.

The Marnier – Lapostolle family founder and owners of the world renowned liqueur, Grand Marnier are known for producing spirits and in creating Casa Lapostolle, the Marnier – Lapostolle family has pursued the same uncompromising approach to quality that made Gran Marnier a world wide success. Their objective is simple as it is ambitious to create world class wines using French expertise and the superb terroir of Chile.

The whole venture started when Alexandra and Cyril had a ‘ coup de coeur ‘ for the Apalta vineyard in Colchagua. Chilean climate is perfect for vine growing. The vines have never been grafted. It was a revelation to discover that a good number of very old vines were still growing in the vineyards. These original cuttings were brought over from France in the last century and arrived in Chile before the dreaded phyloxera louse attacked the parent stock in Europe.

As a result, the old vines in Chile are healthy and descendant from great French. Today, casa Lapostolla owns 300 ha in three different vineyards and produce a total of 150.000 cases spread over Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenere and Syrah.

Casa Lapostolle wines available from RI-Wine

• Classic Selection
• Cuvee Alexandre Selection
• Clos Apalata – limited availability

RI-Wine of Ascot has been looking after the interests of Hester Creek for a number of years and has stocks available in the UK. These beautiful wines are not only enjoyed by connoisseurs but also by people who appreciate quality wines.

Hester Creek Estate Winery, is both one of the British Columbia’s newest and oldest Estate Wineries. The 28-year-old Vineyard was purchased in 1996 and was renamed after the Creek that runs along the entire south border of the property. Hester Creek’s 71 acre property is located just south of Oliver on a spectacular piece of bench land referred to as the ” Golden Mile “. The ” Golden Mile ” is so named for its rich mineral content and its ability to produce top quality grapes and wines. Hester Creek is recognized as a # 11 classification for grape site suitability as defined in the Grape Growing Atlas of the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. [Read more...]

The story of St Francis began in 1971 when Joe Martin turned from white-collar executive to grape grower with the acquistion of the 100-acre Behler ranch vineyard in Sonoma County in the historic town of Kenwood

Lloyd Canton joined Joe in 1972 as his partner and together they grew grapes and sold their fruit to local wineries until 1979 when they completed their own winery named after Saint Francis of Assisi .

St Francis wines are made only from Sonoma Valley fruit and are an exceptional expression of the complex relationship between soil, climate and site.

Over the years St Francis has established itself as a winery of distinction producing handcrafted wines of depth and elegance. The carefully selected vineyard locations, temperate growing season, proper varietal selections plus the knowledge and dedication of the vineyard and winery staff, under the supervision of Tom Mackey, ensures the required continuity of supply of St Francis wines.

Carneros Brut

Domaine Carneros was established in 1987, a joint venture between Champagne Taittinger and Kobrand Corporation – one of the foremost players in the U.S wine industry.   This impressive venture was a fulfilment of Claude Taittinger’s dream after he visited the Carneros region and realised its potential to produce world class sparkling and still Pinot Noir wines.

All the wines from Domaine Carneros are made from 100% Carneros fruit.

When founding Domaine Carneros, the intent was to focus specifically on sparkling wines.  However the Pinot Noir fruit produced on the Domaine Carneros estate vineyard was of such high quality that a still wine was produced.  1992 saw the inaugural vintage of the highly acclaimed Famous Gate Pinot Noir.

The winery also houses an excellent visitor centre and runs a wine club in the U.S.A which offers exclusive food and wine events to members.

Conundrum “Wine & Food”

Conundrum was born from a core idea: why couldn’t a wine mirror–in complexity and creativity–the dishes being invented by a new generation of chefs who had no allegiance to the traditions and rules of the past? For the first vintage, 1989.

After experimenting with eleven different white wine grapes Jon Bolta chose the three that he still considers the main wine ingerediants: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and (for its intriguing floral/tropical character) Muscat Canelli. Then from his ’spice cabinet’ he added small amounts of Semillon and Viognier to complete the combination and hopefully- solve.

The eponymous conundrum. The proportions vary slightly in each vintage but the goal is always the same: a highly styled wine that is excellent as an aperitif and pairs beautifully with the wide range in, global dishes we are eating as chefs continue to experiment.

Bulgarians have been cultivating vines for more than 3000 years but everything came to a halt under Moslem influence between 1396 and 1878. Just after the 1st World War Bulgaria started to produce wine again and recently the wine industry is been supported by new investment and it has been recognized, that wine from this country will be exported more and more.

Bulgarian Vineyards

Bulgaria ’s Wine industry is split in four regions which are the south , the north, the east, the south east & the Sub – Balkan region which contain vineyards like Stambolovo – Domaine Boyar.

Grape Varieties

Austria was always seen as a wine country similar to Germany . It went through the ‘anti freeze scandal’. In 1985 and looking backwards it was some type of god send since the wine industry was under a lot of pressure. With the introduction of tough new measures the wine industry today is one of the safest one in the world.

Wine lovers have always recognized, that Austria produces some of the greatest botrytised wines in the world. Over the last few years Austria has started to produce Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay also to very high standards. This also includes the obscure grape variety St. Laurent. [Read more...]