After visiting Italy a number of times and tasting with numerous Brunello growers we have selected the Abbadia Ardenga winery for our portfolio.

Michel Drappier, President of Champagne Drappier, has been named Commandeur of the Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne. The transfer of office took place at the premises of Champagne Drappier in Reims in the presence of an important delegation of the Conseil Chapitral and several leaders of the Champagne trade

At the end of May the abfw portfolio will be strengthened by the addition of 7 new wines from 3 growers across New Zealand

After tasting wines from dozens of growers across New Zealand we have selected 3 excellent wine growers from Marlborough and Central Otago.

Oz Clarke & Margaret Rand's recent book GRAPES & WINES has listed Apaltagua as one of the top producers in Chile.

They have also listed Apaltagua's Envero Gran Reserva Carmenére/Cabernet as one of the top ten Chilean reds containing Carmenére grapes. Trade buyers looking to secure a quality Chilean wine for your list can contact our sales team to arrange a tasting.

Mr Andrea Paoletti, Ornellaia Agronomist for many years, joined I Veroni in 2009 as Agronomist & Oenologist.
The 2009 vintage is the first to have been controlled from the vineyard to the bottle by Mr Paoletti and has just arrived in the UK this month at ABFW.

The wines available in 2009 vintage include:

At the end of January, Anthony Byrne and Gary McDonald visited some of our Loire Valley growers. Pictured below are tastings with growers at thee vineyards from this region: (Left - Right)

Alain Pabiot (Jean Pabiot, Pouilly-Fume)
Michel & Stephanie Naudet (Domaine Naudet, Sancerre)
Jerome & Frederique Gueneau (Domaine Jerome Gueneau, Sancerre)

Just catching the end of summer, Andrew Jefford of the Financial Times concludes his rosé review by declaring Château Minuty one of the "masters of pink":

"the style is crisper and more incisive... the flavour spectrum mingles orange, lavender and pink grapefruit with the peach."

In a list jostling with fine whites and reds it is often easy to overlook their pink cousins. These delicately dry wines are more than capable of holding their own with a variety of foods: in Provence, the home of ABFW's top selling rosé Château Minuty, it will frequently be found partnering a robust bouillabaisse!

Apaltagua at IWC 2010

We are pleased to announce that Chilean grower Apaltagua has received two Gold Medals at the prestigious International Wine Challenge (IWC) 2010. ABFW have long been committed to selecting delicious, good value wines for your business. We would be pleased to supply the award winners on your next list!

February brings the availability of several new Italian wines from the Casetta family to the ABFW portfolio:

• La Fattoria - Rosso
• La Fattoria - Bianco
• Barbera D'Alba
• Nebbiolo D'Alba Rivere
• Barberesco 2004

Please contact your sales rep for more details on tasting or ordering these wines, or for new business enquiries please contact the team.

Our first tastings of the year, January 10 - 13th, celebrated the best of white wines. All featured wines, including the excellent 2006 are in stock under bond, ready for ordering.

We were delighted to welcome five traditional French wine-makers to our November tasting. It is always a pleasure to showcase some of the best wines in the world, and being able to present wines from Domaine Lamy Pillot, Domaine de L'Arlot, Domaine Thibert, Domaine Bouzereau and Champagne Drappier certainly lived up to our customers expectations.

Our November visit took us to sample the delightful wines at Sury-en-Vaux. Expert wine-maker Michel was on hand to discuss the terroir, blending and passion that guarantee the distinctive flavours in every bottle. We feel it is important for your staff to be able to discuss the wines they sell, and visiting the wine-maker and/or our in-house training can really help to boost sales. Contact Gary McDonald if this would be of interest on telephone number 01487 811008.