And the medal goes to….French Connection

We are running out of frames to put all of our certificates in following a fantastic round of results in the recent international wine competitions announced at the London International Wine Fair. French Connection wines won medals across the range in the recent competitions, which is a great testament to the hard work of our winemakers.

Every wine entered into the International Wine Challenge and the International Wine and Spirit Competition, from the French Connection range, won an award. French Connection scooped nine medals in the esteemed International Wine Challenge including a gold medal for French Connection Classics Saumur Champigny and a silver for French Connection Classics Croix Milhas Rivesaltes Ambré. The three French Connection Champagnes (Premier Cru, Brut and Rosé) were all medal winners too.

It was not only the Classics range that scored well in the competitions as French Connection Grande Reserve Shiraz 2009 was selected as an ANIVIN International Best Value Vin de France 2011.

Félicitations/congratulations to all of the team!

We are running out of frames to put all of our certificates in following a fantastic round of results in the recent international wine competitions announced at the London International Wine Fair. French Connection wines won medals across the range in the recent competitions, which is a great testament to the hard work of our winemakers.

National Wine Month

Here at French Connection Wines, we are proud to be supporting National Wine Month this May. It’s a fantastic event organised by the Wine and Spirit Education Trust and aims to encourage more people to explore more wines and broaden their normal wine habits.

www.maketimeforwine.org is the new National Wine Month website and has details about events happening in your area throughout May, as well as tasting tips to help you learn more about wine, an online 3 minute wine school and much more.

There are also lots of competitions with the chance to win great prizes, including a case of our very own French Connection - www.maketimeforwine.org/competition.

So if you like wine (particularly French Connection!) and want to learn more, why not Make Time for Wine this May?

Here at French Connection Wines, we are proud to be supporting National Wine Month this May. It’s a fantastic event organised by the Wine and Spirit Education Trust and aims to encourage more people to explore more wines and broaden their normal wine habits.

Make some room on the mantelpiece

We are all over the moon here at French Connection HQ as we’ve just found out that French Connection Grande Réserve Shiraz 2009 has been selected as an ANIVIN International Best Value Vin de France 2011. ANIVIN is the French trade organisation for Vins de France and helps to develop this category of wines in the UK and around the world.

Then hot on the heels of this honour, the 2010 Grande Réserve Shiraz was awarded a bronze medal in the National ANIVIN competition in Paris. These awards are proof of the hard work and dedication of our winemakers.

We’re pleased as punch/wine!

We are all over the moon here at French Connection HQ as we’ve just found out that French Connection Grande Réserve Shiraz 2009 has been selected as an ANIVIN International Best Value Vin de France 2011.

Salon des Vins de Loire

The Salon des Vins de Loire (or Loire Valley Wine Trade Fair) is an annual event held in Angers each February. I enjoy going as it’s a small fair with an intimate feel. There are about 600 exhibitors and it takes place over 3 days – so plenty of time to taste the 77 AOCs that make up the third largest wine region in France. Open and friendly, the Salon des Vins de Loire is the first international ‘get together’ in the annual wine calendar. Everyone is in good spirits - I guess they are all still fresh from the Christmas break!

I came to the fair to catch-up with our partner winery, Alliance Loire, and to check out the new vintage Loire wines. The 2010s are looking good so far.
@InterLoire Pascal Girault


Here are my thoughts on what I’ve tasted:

WHITES
The whites are fresher and more typical compared to the 2009s which were very ripe and softer than usual.
• Muscadets are showing fresh pineapple and melon fruit, bright acids and typical minerality. Most 2010 tasted are tank samples and some wines are still ‘sur lie’ but they will be fantastic with some mussels in a few months’ time.
• Touraine Sauvignon Blancs are racy with lifted aromas and a fresh prickly palate feel and good flavour depth. Again, most are tank samples and are not complete but the potential is clear – certainly a good year.
• Saumur Blancs have an exotic fruit, rich pineapple, honey and white floral lift. There is a rich palate there with lots of flavour and acid to play with. Again they are showing good characters that should be appreciated by the British palate.

REDS
2010 is a greener year with fresher character than 2009. With careful handling, the results look potentially good to very good.
• Saumur Rouges have bright fruit notes on the nose, a touch of twiggy spice and surprising weight and smoothness on the palate – this seems to be the hallmark of the reds this vintage from the Loire.
• Chinons also have a smooth density to the palate carrying the flavour with good length. The best wines have fine tannins.
• Saumur Champigny has bright cherry notes with rich blueberry and mulberry. It has smooth, rounded fruit weight with good flavour and a touch of green spice which, handled with care, will integrate well. It will certainly be fantastic with some roast lamb – delicious.

Right! Back to the tasting.....


Nick Butler

The Salon des Vins de Loire (or Loire Valley Wine Trade Fair) is an annual event held in Angers each February. I enjoy going as it’s a small fair with an intimate feel. There are about 600 exhibitors and it takes place over 3 days – so plenty of time to taste the 77 AOCs that make up the third largest wine region in France.

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.