Is Perfect Desirable?

We've all heard the stories, whipped up by anti-European media, about imminent legislation to ensure that fruit and veg is perfect in size, shape and colour. We've also heard, and experienced, lack of flavour, homogeneity of size and shape and most probably asked ourselves is this what we really want...

Paul Henry, in his excellent blog, Wine Hero, recommended a couple of wines yesterday specifically because they were a little flawed. One of the wines recommended, Domaine A Cabernet, is a wine with which I am very familiar, and it is a wine that tells a story of a battle against climate, established wine trade wisdom and consumer perception. It is the story of the ambition, passion and dedication of one man, Peter Althaus and the fact that it is exceptional but not perfect, makes it all the more intriguing.

Given that we are now in an age of apparent austerity, it is fitting that on those occasions when we want to spend a little more, we should be looking for wines that really deliver - and by deliver I don't mean deliver plush fruit, seemless tannins, 100 points from someone we do not know and an "international" appeal that is a euphemism for uniform, soul-less and uninspiring. What I mean is wines that are undoubtedly excellent, wines that speak of where they came from, who made them and what inspired them. They may well be wines that are not perfect, but it is those flaws of character and minor imperfections that turn the beautiful into the captivating.

Happy New Year!

After one of the most challenging December trading periods ever, 2011 is upon us and, as I write from Edinburgh, the snow is back.

The freaky weather that much of the UK struggled with over December certainly put huge strains on the supply chain and on some days made deliveries all but impossible. However, bucking the industry trends, December turned out to be our biggest month ever and what looked like a potentially poor Christmas turned into a surprisingly good one. A huge thanks to all of our customers who had to be a little more patient than normal and also to the distribution team who worked ceaselessly to make sure the wine got on the road and into client's premises.

2011 will kick off in similarly frenzied activity - NZ in London on 11th Jan, Australia on the 19th and then our regional roadshows throughout February - check our website, www.alliancewine.co.uk for details of the dates.

We hope to see you there to sample some cracking new wines.....

Cheers

Giles