Petit Verdot, although originating from the South West, is today predominately used in Bordeaux to bring spice to the wines, but only in small quantities, up to 6% (usually 2 to 3%). The grapes tendency to mature too late and today's demand for earlier maturing/new vintage wine has led to it being discarded by many Chateaux - In the 1960s most of the Petit Verdot vines in Bordeaux were uprooted and...

  Located in the southern Rhone valley, the Châteauneuf du Pape AOC is one of the earliest official wine appellations, established in 1929. Both town and appellation lend their name to it being chosen as the summer residence for the Pope's court during the early 14th century. (Translating roughly as 'The Pope's new castle') Chateauneuf du Pape itself differs from other Rhone appellations in that 13 types of grape are permitted...

We have a NEW Crémant de Bourgogne available at Pierre Hourlier Wines, so we wanted to take the time to compare this to the other Cremants we offer.

Sulfites in wine indicates Sulfur Dioxide has been added to the wine. This has been widely used in winemaking for having antibacterial and antioxidant properties, which helps the wines to stay fresh. This can be seen as a great additive for wines which have great ageing potential.

As we have expanded our French Wine range, we have expanded to wine producers of the Malbec grape and we wanted to find out why this grape is so popular across the world.

Do you know about the accommodation in France, which is a converted wine barrel? This accommodation is owned by one of our suppliers - Château de Bonhoste in Saint Emilion, Bordeaux.

Happy International Grenache Day! We thought we would celebrate the day by helping you learn about the Grenache Noir grape variety. Being the most widely planted grape in the Rhone Valley and around the world, with 80% of the Roussillon vines being Grenache Noir. This grape needs to be planted in hotter climates with dry conditions.

The time of year has arrived again, where we are preparing our latest annual wine list. We have 3 new wine producers, which are all talented and unique in their own winemaking. After winning the IWC Highly Commended Award for our Languedoc-Roussillon area, we wanted to expand this with more high quality and creative wines, which highlight each unique aspect of this wine region.

   Being our first year entering the International Wine Challenge Awards, we were very anxious to learn of the outcome! But our fears were alleviated as we were highly commended in the 'Specialist Merchant of the Year' category for our Languedoc-Roussillon collection. Although we did not win the award itself, we are proud to have been awarded this status and for us being highly commended is a huge honour.   We would like to thank all of our customers...