Wine:Set in the Huguenot heartland of Franschhoek the Forge Mill collection of local vintners have produced a wonderful range of Cape classics of all colours since 1945 showcasing the great value South Africa offers.2007 Cinsaut/Cabernet SauvignonSoft ripe Cabernet with a fresh burst of clean cherry Cinsaut fruit – very gluggable indeed and a fantastic all-round red.Set in the Huguenot heartland of Franschhoek the Forge Mill collection of local vintners have produced a wonderful range of Cape classics of all colours since 1945 showcasing the great value South Africa offers.2008 Sauvignon BlancNew World Sauvignon at it’s crisp crunchy best. Take a hint of kiwi fruit bundle in some green apples finish with a clean crisp finish and there you have it.

Wine:The Murphy family migrated from Ireland in 1909 and were some of the first settlers in Mildura. They decamped to the Murray River Valley in the 1960s where the limestone soils give wonderful balance – a former winner of ‘Best Tourism Winery’ two years running!2007 Murphy`s ShirazRich plum and damson filled Shiraz of the highest order; a gentle touch of black pepper on the long balanced finish.2008 Murphy`s ChardonnayFull ripe but fresh white packed with fresh peach apricot and pineapple fruit. A glassful of Aussie sunshine.

Wine:Domaine des Clairneaux 2007 Sancerre BlancA delicious stylish balanced Sancerre that drinks beautifully early on and develops well with age. Quite a ripe style for Sancerre with almost New Zealand like gooseberry fruit along with pear and apple. Zesty but ripe acidity lovely minerality anchoring it firmly in Sancerre! and a clean long finish.Jean-Marie Berthier created this domaine from scratch in 1980 in the north of the appellation. He grows the two classic grape varieties of the Sancerre appellation Sauvignon Blanc for the whites and Pinot Noir for the rosé and reds on the slopes above Sainte-Gemme-en-Sancerre. He aims for delicate refreshing wines that reflect their origins in this classic Loire valley region. His 8 or so hectares are fifty-fifty chalky clay and flint and are exposed to long hours of sunlight so his wines have a combination of ripe fruit flavours as well as expressing the lovely natural flintiness of Sancerre.

Wine:Vinedos Errazuriz Ovalle Colchagua Valley Chile Vinedos Errazuriz Ovalle Colchagua Valley ChileThe Errazuriz family have owned the majority of the vineyards situated at Marchigue which is within the famed Colchagua Valley for over 100 years. The climate is fantastic and the soils are predominantly clayish / pumatic but until recently they were content to sell their grapes off in bulk. In 2000 they built a brand new state of the art winery and since then they have been producing high quality but affordable wines from various varietals. The Sierra Cruz range has been chosen for its clean fruit driven unoaked style.2006 Sierra Cruz Cabernet SauvignonMedium/ruby red. Hints of cassis and red fruits. Fine tannins structure red fruits. Good structure on the finish

Wine:Cantina Terlano was founded as a co-operative back in 1893 and now numbers over 100 contributing producers all farming tiny plots on terraces cut into the slopes of Mount Schöggel at altitudes of up to 1000 metres. These south-facing slopes strewn with crystals and volcanic rock give rise to wines of wonderful elegance complexity and minerality and give spectacular views into the Bolzano Valley below – this is where Italy meets Germany in more ways than one. What is so striking about Cantina Terlano is the consistent excellence of the wines produced vintage after vintage and the varietal character that marks every single wine without oak to cloak the aromatics. ‘Kellermeister’ Rudi Kofler aims for wines of typicity and longevity and he achieves this with impressive regularity.Pinot Blanco 2007The Pinot Bianco benefits from the coolness of vineyards between 300-600 m on free draining and warm sand and gravel soils. Six months ageing on the fine lees adds complexity and length to this orchard fruit apples and pears scented wine. In 2006 the Pinot Bianco was awarded the honour of best value Italian white by the influential Gambero Rosso guide and this is just as good.

Wine:Spaniard José Manuel Fournier was attracted to Argentina by Mendoza’s proliferation of older vines including a high proportion of Tempranillo. The winery is situated in the now highly-fashionable Uco Valley in the south of Mendoza rising to 1400m above sea level beneath the snow-capped Andes. Winemaker José Spisso has played a masterstroke in combining the old-vine Tempranillo with high-altitude Malbec – a grape which the Uco Valley does as well as anywhere in the world – to produce some of South America’s greatest reds. The range stands out as ‘interesting’ wines with real character in stark contrast to a lot of the fruity mass-produced stuff on offer from much of the rest of Latin America.2006 A-Crux MalbecNobody does Malbec like Fournier – a wonderful dark brooding plum pudding-packed dream of a wine. Bring on great steak for a match made in Argentina.From very humble beginnings in the 1960s Antoine Olivier’s estate has grown into quite a serious venture with vineyard holdings in Savigny-les-Beaune Pommard and Nuits St Georges. These are classic burgundies that really display their origins beautifully – elegant fragrant Pinot Noirs and wonderfully stylish Chardonnays.2007 Meursault `Les Pellards`A beautiful rich ultra-elegant example of this wonderful village. Classic rich apple and acacia underlined by roasted hazelnut and gentle vanilla. A Cote d’Or jewel.

Wine:Te Mata Hawkes Bay North Island New Zealand Te Mata is New Zealand’s oldest winery dating from the early 1890s and it remains a family owned business today. The hillside soils are a mixture of volcanic ash clay and gravel and the vines growing on these north-facing slopes produce some of the best fruit on the island a fact recognised by the legal protection given to seven of these vineyards which are designated the Te Mata “Special Character Zone”. It’s not the most original title ever but it does the job.John Buck a hugely important man in the formation of the modern wine industry in New Zealand has been in charge here since 1978 and together with winemaker Peter Cowley has overseen something of a rejuvenation of the property. Among the most important decisions he made was to select the correct varietal clones for the vineyards. Doing so has paid dividends Te Mata’s wines have clean ripe flavours and set the standard in the region.2008 Woodthorpe Vineyard Sauvignon BlancWoodthorpe is a 210 hecatre vineyard with an ideal aspect on elevated north-facing river terraces in Hawkes Bay – originally a colonial settlement militia encampment and staging post! Lovely aromatics on the nose ripe tropical citrus notes on the nose. Minerally with ripe fruit and zesty fresh acidity – dry clean finish. Delicious on its own with fish or light meats.

Wine:Champagne Bauget-JouetteBased in Epernay this Champagne house dates back to 1822 when they would sell their grapes to other Champagne houses. They have been making Champagne from their vines since 1949 and by the early 1980s demand for their wines had grown to such an extent that they started also buying grapes from other high quality growers in the region in order to produce enough Champagne to satisfy demand.These days the estate is run by Jean-Pierre Bauget and his wife Beatrice who own 14ha of vines around Epernay where Chardonnay is the predominant variety planted. They still use the original 18th century cellars which are dug 27 metres into the chalk below Epernay.

Wine:From very humble beginnings in the 1960s Antoine Olivier’s estate has grown into quite a serious venture with vineyard holdings in Savigny-les-Beaune Pommard and Nuits St Georges. These are classic burgundies that really display their origins beautifully – elegant fragrant Pinot Noirs and wonderfully stylish Chardonnays.2007 Bourgogne Chardonnay Clean ripe and elegant – very stylish indeed and a beautiful vintage for white burgundy.2007 Bourgogne Pinot Noir There’s a lovely savoury earthy feel to this wonderful Pinot Classic berry fruit gentle spice; irresistible.David and Hélène Barrault took over this vineyard perched on slopes overlooking the River Gironde two weeks before the ‘challenging’ 1997 vintage not too far from Sainte-Croix–du-Mont. Since the 2003 vintage in particular they have been making terrific wines. As the Gault Millau guide says of Ch. Tire Pé; ‘these are very very good ‘simple’ bordeaux wines’; something most of us spend our lives searching for without much success!2005 Chateau Tire Pe90% Merlot plus Cabernet Sauvignon. Luscious plummy fruit on the nose with minty notes. Lovely richness on the palate; ripe blackberry and cherry fruit silky tannins quite full with medium long balanced minerally finish.

Wine:Az. Agr. Valle Reale 2008 Cerasuolo RoséQuite full-on for a rosé; Tim Atkin in the Observer has described this as “pink wine for grown ups”! Medium weight with round strawberry and rhubarb fruit. Great on its own or to accompany a barbecue.