BBC Good Food Show Winter - The Video

The BBC Good Food Show Winter at the NEC in Birmingham was a very busy event for French Connection Wines. Check out our video to see just how busy!

Visitors flocked to meet our winemaker Nick Butler and to taste the delicious range of wines. Many people were stocking up for bottles to drink with their Christmas meals or to give as presents.



Nick and Phil ready to talk to all the visitors



Thank you to everyone who came down to see us. We really enjoyed meeting you all and finding out about your favourite French Connection wines.

Enjoying French Connection Premier Cru Champagne

Have a fantastique Christmas and see you in 2011!

Languedoc-Roussillon progress check

This month I took a trip over to the Béziers area of the Languedoc in southwest France and then down to the Roussillon to check on the progress of our wines with our producer partner, Vignerons Catalans. It was a trip beset by beautiful autumnal weather: the days were bright, clear and sunny but crisp – perfect for reflection on the wines.

The purpose of the trip was mainly to look at the 2010 whites and rosés and see how they are progressing; the reds are not finished yet as most are still going through malolactic (secondary) fermentation.

I was really pleased with the style and quality of the wines. The Chardonnay has good fruit and a really fresh style with less heavy ripe melon characteristics. This will be brilliant for the French Connection Reserve. I selected the components which give the fruit and fresh characteristics, which are ready to clean up for blending. I also assessed the ‘texture’ components for treatments such as lees stirring and oak.

The Sauvignon Blanc is also shaping up well, although we had some really challenging, hot days over the summer. It is a fresh but wonderfully full style. I selected the components to leave ‘sur lie’ (on the lees).

I had a sneak preview of the reds too: the Syrah is the champion of the vintage with fantastic colour and fruit. It’s a fresher style with perfumed top notes and bright blackberry fruit on the palate. Merlot is the most challenging variety this year but I was really encouraged to find a fresh, crunchy style to the fruit – the hallmark of our French Connection style. Richer, fuller ripe fruit components are also available.

I then travelled over to the Roussillon to review the progress on the Vignerons Catalans wines there. The Roussillon blanc and rouge are both good, rich, bright wines and should be of a very high quality this year. The whites will be very fresh but still have rich, exotic flavours and the reds will be nicely full-bodied. I also tasted tanks (cuvées) of Côtes du Roussillon Villages from Rasiguères, Terrats, Vinca, Estagel and Caramany; there is really good quality potential here. Lastly, I sampled wines from Gascogny (sometimes used as components of French Connection Selection and, of course, our Sauvignon Blanc), Colombard, Ugni Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Gros Manseng; they are all very bright and fresh and lighter in body than typically and with higher acidity.

I am really encouraged by my trip and look forward to returning to the beautiful Languedoc-Roussillon in a month for the really exciting part - making the French Connection blends.

Nick Butler

BBC Good Food Show Winter 2010

Come and see us at the BBC Good Food Show Winter at the NEC in Birmingham between Wednesday 24 and Sunday 28 November 2010. French Connection wines will be exhibiting on stand H41 and you will have the opportunity to sample and purchase a variety of wines from the range at special show prices. And if that wasn’t enough, on certain days you will be able to meet the winemaker behind the brand, Nick Butler.

The BBC Good Food Show Winter is the UK’s biggest celebration of food and drink and will be packed with so much to see, do, taste and buy. Come down to the French Connection stand, take advantage of the fantastic offers and stock up for Christmas.

Don’t miss out - get your tickets now: http://www.bbcgoodfoodshow.com/

We look forward to meeting you there!

Come and see us at the BBC Good Food Show Winter at the NEC in Birmingham between Wednesday 24 and Sunday 28 November 2010. French Connection wines will be exhibiting on stand H41 and you will have the opportunity to sample and purchase a variety of wines from the range at special show prices.

Nick’s Vintage Trip

Autumn is an exciting time for me as a winemaker as it signifies the start of vintage – a time when the grapes are harvested for new wines. I always get involved in this process and work with our suppliers in France to keep a check of how the grapes are looking for the French Connection range. I spent last week visiting our wineries in the Rhône and Roussillon to see how things were going. The trip started on Tuesday with our supplier G.M.D.F in the Rhône. The weather was beautiful with clear, bright sunny autumn days followed by crisp fresh nights. There were still a few workers hand-picking grapes in Gigondas and everyone’s spirits were high. All the French Connection wines are looking good and they’re not even ready yet! The reds were still in maceration, whilst the white wines were finishing fermentation and starting to taste more like the final product.

Summer had not been particularly hot in the Rhône this year, which means both red and white wines will be fresh and bright with higher acidity than normal. I was impressed with the good flavour and colour in the red wines; the Shiraz and Grenache were outstanding whilst the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon may be more of a challenge! I’m confident of some fantastic 2010 French Connection wines…

After a few days with the guys in the Rhône I headed down to Roussillon to catch up with Vignerons Catalans. I stopped by several cellars in the Roussillon Villages region with the sun still shining. It’s typically hotter down in the Roussillon, but I could tell the seasons are turning with the fresh nights and an autumnal tinge to the leaves on the vines. Give it a few weeks and the vineyards will be awash with golden yellows and reds. It’s a beautiful time of year. The Roussillon is slightly down on production as it is their fifth year of drought. Not good for thirsty vines but regardless of this, the quality of the wines are looking fantastic with concentrated flavour showing in the Shiraz, Grenache and Carignan grapes. The 2010 whites are fresher with higher acidity than normal which gives them great potential.

It was a great trip with promising signs for an impressive 2010 vintage for French Connection wines.

Nick

Autumn is an exciting time for me as a winemaker as it signifies the start of vintage – a time when the grapes are harvested for new wines. I always get involved in this process and work with our suppliers in France to keep a check of how the grapes are looking for the French Connection range

Welcome to the new website

Welcome to the new website! We hope you have had a good ‘surf’ and like what you see. You’ll have seen that we’re passionate about what we do and strive to bring the best French wines to you in a no nonsense way.

Going forward, we want this blog to be not just about our wines, but about all the other great things that you love about France. Whether you post your favourite recipes, holiday memories, or questions for winemaker Nick, we want you to get involved, leave comments and ask questions. So what are you waiting for? Get posting!

What do you think to the new website?


Welcome to the new website! We hope you have had a good ‘surf’ and like what you see. You’ll have seen that we’re passionate about what we do and strive to bring the best French wines to you in a no nonsense way.