I don’t think there’s a week that goes by when someone doesn’t ask me what my favourite wine is. Of course, it’s impossible to say as there are so many, I do however, have a real passion for Burgundy and Champagne but I also love the Albarino and Godello grapes from Spain and the diversity of Italy. Then there are the Central Otago wines from New Zealand, the top icon wines from Chile and the underrated Portuguese and German wines. Not to mention the classic Bordeaux blends from South Africa.

You see, I told you there were too many to mention and when you consider that I would never buy a wine for our portfolio that I wouldn’t be prepared to take home and drink myself it gets even more difficult. However, this section is not about all of them, it’s about a select few.

Morton Viognier- £13.95- Click here to buy this wine.

''This is a fantastic expression of Viognier, perfect climate for it in Hawkes Bay, it has all of that lovely peachy, nectarine character that you would expect with a bit of orange blossom thrown in for good measure…  The elegance really comes through on the palate with gentle but good acidity, balancing out all of that rich fruit, oh give me a glass with my creamy Thai chicken dish tonight please!''

Billecart-Salmon Brut £34.67- Click here to buy this wine.

All this talk of Champagne Friday’s is making me thirsty!!  I’m afraid I can’t say what my favourite fizz is as there are so many that make my mouth water, however,  I purchased a bottle of Billecart Salmon Brut recently and I had forgotten just how good it was.  A lovely persistent mousse of fine bubbles, leading to a rich toasy palate that finishes elegant and long.  Owned by the original family who ensure quality and control of production.

Morton Blanc de Blanc £15.99, Click here to buy this wine.

Well, what can I say…. except, if I had a £1 for every time someone asked me what my favourite wine is then I would be a very wealthy woman. All I can say is that I have been incredibly lucky to have tasted thousands of wines during my 19 years in the wine trade and hopefully over the next few months I can share some of those delights with you. I will, however, say that I love fizz, I love white Burgundy and I love Sauvignon Blanc. 

Fontodi Chianti Classico £19.75, Click here to buy this wine.

After just arriving back from a trip to Tuscany I had to continue the experience by sharing a bottle of one of my favourite wines tasted out there, the Fontodi Chianti Classico.  This is not your average Chianti Classico, the vineyards at Fontodi are situated in the Conca d’oro area, translated as the Golden Shell, an area of high altitude, which benefits the grapes.  The Manetti family have owned Fontodi since 1969 and are very proud of their 70 hectares of vineyard.  The wine was truly delightful, smooth, elegant and full of rich cherry fruit on the nose.  The palate oozed with mocca and spice and the finish was both smooth and elongated.  Now, I sampled this in Tuscany with some of Fontodi’s own beef that was reared on their farm, however, at home I am going to try it with a rich lamb casserole and maybe a little cheese to finish. 

Brachetto d'Acqui Araldica Cavallino 2008 £9.96, Italy- click here to view product

Sometimes I am in the mood for something a little lighter in alcohol, especially if it’s a summer daytime barbecue and this wine was the star of the night at the ‘Timperley Summer Reds’ tasting in August. The Brachetto grape is native to Italy and is sourced from some of the most prized vineyards on the Araldica estate. Firstly, the bottle shape is tall and elegant and you sort of imagine quality olive oil to go in there not wine, next the lovely ruby appearance is vibrant in the glass and, yes, you can see that there is a hint of spritz in this wine. The palate is medium in style with fresh acidity to balance, which makes way very quickly for the wonderful strawberry, raspberry and red cherry fruit that busts out of the glass. The fruit flavours are balanced perfectly on the palate and leave you with a dry finish that brings to mind fruit sorbet! The best thing of all – This wine is only 5% in alcohol, therefore a great if you are watching your alcohol consumption.

Orben Rioja 2006 £22.98, Spain- click here to view product

I suppose after my trip to Rioja recently I had to choose a Rioja wine, and this one certainly pleased the taste buds after tasting it again. Instantly, there were hints of mocha, dark chocolate and spice, some lovely cherry and black fruits coming through on the palate too. It’s quite a grippy wine, full of structure; however, the tannins are nice and velvety and give way to a long smooth finish. I starting to think nice grilled lamb here but if you had a dish of chocolate mousse it would marry perfectly. By the way, you may be wondering why it’s not called Crianza, Reserva or Gran Reserva as it’s had 12 months in Oak and a further couple of years in bottle before release, well, that’s because they don’t feel they need to put that on their label to sell it and when you taste it you’ll see why

Vin Ruspo Rosé Tenuta Di Capezzana 2007 £12.70, Italy- click here to view product

This is one of my favourite Rosé wines, why, because it’s just not like a rosé, it’s so deep in colour and full on the palate you could easily mistake it for a light red wine. There are lovely cherry hints on the nose from the Sangiovese grape, which is dominant in the blend, then the Cabernet Sauvignon gives it the body and structure, which makes this a fantastic wine to have with food. There is a small amount of Canaiolo Nero grape in there, an indigenous Italian grape variety that was often used in Chianti. The palate has cherry notes following on from the nose, paired with a little peppery spice and blackcurrant. It’s perfectly balanced with good acidity and fruit to carry it through an array of dishes, such as antipasti, light meat or vegetable based pasta dishes, grilled meats, meaty fish and chicken, oh, almost forgot, it’s great with Thai food too…

Pitchfork Chardonnay 2009 £12.50, Australia- click here to view product

A fantastic Margaret River Un-oaked Chardonnay new to the Corks Out range this summer. On first tasting this in May at the London Wine Fair I was taken by the level of quality for its price, especially from this area, which is famed for quality Chardonnay. It has bright, clean fruit flavours with lovely tropical hints of pineapple and mango, supported by citrus and melon that finishes clean and fresh, not heavy or overblown like some. I recently tasted it again at our Summer Tasting and imagined tuna salad, humus and roasted vegetable wrap or just a deckchair!!

Staete Landt Viognier 2008 £17.75, New Zealand- click here to view product

After a recent visit to a New Zealand wine event, I spent quite a bit of time tasting the new vintages of our current wines and I think one that stood out for me was the Staete Landt Viognier, it has always impressed me but on tasting again I was in heaven. The ripe Marlborough fruit really shows through here with lovely peachy character, honey and acacia, typical of quality Viognier. The texture on the palate is smooth, yet rich and full and is a must for food such as Asian pork dishes. If you are passionate about Condrieu but your wallet won’t afford it then this is a perfect substitute.

Alain Thienot Rosé Champagne NV £37.74, France- click here to view product

I headed on down to the Champagne tasting in London earlier this year and can you believe it but over 10,000 bottles of the lovely fizz were opened for buyers and journalists to taste their way through. I must admit it was quite a mixed tasting for me, there were some very average Champers there, some of which certainly didn’t appeal in terms of value for money. In fact I could have counted around 15-20 that pleasantly surprised me, one of which was the Alain Thienot Rosé and the Vintage. But it was the Rosé that I decided to serve at a recent dinner party and boy did it go down well, it was even raved at by the non-champagne drinkers (are there any, I asked myself?) It has a lovely light but consistent mousse, it’s certainly not overpowering in acidity like some and has bags of summer fruits and in terms of quality it knocks the socks off the big brands out there!! Recently, a customer who visited Ramond Blanc’s Le Manoir Restaurant and wanted to find the Champagne they had drunk (Thienot) were directed to Corks Out, now that makes me smile!!

Los Gansos Gewurztraminer £7.99, Click here to view product.

''Well I must say I was really disappointed when I found out that the Explorer Gewurztraminer from Concha y Toro was no longer available, however, they presented me with the Gansos Gewurztraminer and I got all excited again, especially as it’s a £1 cheaper than the Explorer.  It has a lovely peachy, tropical character, rose petals and hits of Turkish delight come through.  It’s not as oily or as full on as the Alsace Gewurztraminers out there, sort of an un-leaded Alsace so to speak, which makes it easy to drink on its own.  It’s a super choice if you are having Thai, Chinese or Indian food or if you just want something that’s not too dry.''

Chateau Musar Jeune White £10.72- Click here to view this product.

''I first sampled this at our Chateau Musar Gourmet Dinner in November 2010 and was surprised at its quality and value for money, it still has that Musar character but is perfect for early drinking and much more approachable than some of the older white Musar vintages.  It’s also perfect on its own or as an aperitif – Best thing of all for me is the fact that it’s only 11.5% in alcohol and after the festive period that’s perfect!''