When your husband offers you lunch on a Saturday, many women would raise an eyebrow. When he confesses he wants to take you to a brewery in Henley-on-Thames, then the penny starts to drop. But to be fair, Andrew then told me that as well as wonderful Lovibonds beer there's also a lot of chocolate on offer.....well what woman is going to say no?!

I wasn't disappointed. I sampled the Lovibonds Gold (wonderful and smooth with caramel and honey overtones) and the Lovibonds Special which is simply stunning. I can't wait until we can share it with you via Surf4wine. And the chocolate? Well Jeff Rosenmeier was playing host to Petra Barran of chocstar. She's taking chocolate products to people around the country to fit in with her love of a nomadic lifestyle. And there's nothing this woman can't do with chocolate! From ice creams to muffins and tips for Mexican food. Check out her website at www.chocstar.co.uk for more. And the best bit is - she can come to you! Click on the link below to hear my interview with her. Enjoy!

Petra Barran

Saturday was a busy one for me. Not only because there's the usual family stuff to do (well, I say family - more being a children's taxi service, really!), but because I had a trip out to Henley-on-Thames. It's now the home of a very interesting young micro-brewery called Lovibonds. Here at Surf4Wine we stocked their beers as soon as we tasted them! On Saturday I was the guest of the head brewer and founder of Lovibonds, Jeff Rosenmeier. His enthusiasm and hard graft has seen brewing and a very old name reborn in Henley. Here's the first part of my interview with him, where we chatted about where the name Lovibonds came from. Click on the play button below to listen.

Lovibonds part 1

And with local Michelin-starred restaurants and award-winning pubs catching on to what we knew years ago, it can't be long before the fame of this wonderful stuff spreads far and wide. It's all the more amazing when you think that Jeff doesn't come from Henley - heck, he's not even from the UK! Click on the play button below to listen to what brought him thousand of miles to rural Oxfordshire to make English beers with a European twist:

Lovibonds part 2

We fell in love with Lovibonds from the first sip, and now stock as much of the stuff as we can get our hands on. There are more details at www.lovibonds.com . The best way to find out why we're raving about this micro-brewery is to taste some. Click on the play button below to hear Jeff talk Surf4Wine through the range of beer he makes, and what they taste like.

Lovibonds part 3

On the dresser in my kitchen is a keg of beer. It's not a Watney's Party 7 (although many a student party in the 70s was oiled by that particular stuff, let's face it) but Lovibonds Henley Dark. It's a wonderful, traditional-tasting porter-style beer. But never mind the past - what about the future? Click on the play button below to listen to Andrew and Jeff talking about the problems with real ale, beards and sandals, and keg beers:

Lovibonds part 4

Feeling horrible today with a particularly nasty cold. But I'm told they are famous germs from one of Alison's radio friends, so that has got to make it OK then, right?!

Talking of radio, cold or not, I'm getting all excited as I'm back on Louisa Hannan's Sunday morning show on BBC Radio Oxford this week (30.03.08). We did a great show back in February (hoping to get a recording of that to go onto Surf4Wine when I go in on Sunday), so I've been itching to go back (it's usually bi-monthly)

Louisa used to work with Alison when Alison was a producer and presenter at BBC Oxford, so I know her and it's not too daunting, in fact it is pretty relaxed and we have a lot of fun. Oli Richings, from local country house hotel Fallowfields is joining us this week, so it will be very much wine AND food.

So, if you are near a radio on Sunday (it's on 95.2FM), or can get BBC Radio Oxford via the internet (it goes out live online, see link to BBC iPlayer on this this page), then tune in and give us a listen.

Now, thinking cap on Andrew... wines to go with Duck egg omelet (eggs, oh great, nice clash there. Red wine hates eggs usually. Anyone got any good ideas?)

Welcome to our latest video 'Australian reds', a theme that fits perfectly with our Antipodean Wine Festival

Taste with me three of my favourite red wines from down-under:
Willunga 100 Shiraz Viognier, reduced £7.59
Mitolo Jester Shiraz, reduced to £9.49
Rolf Binder 'Heinrich', reduced to £9.98

If you have tasted these wines and would like to add your tastings notes, please feel free using the comments section of this blog post

Check out my latest video: wines to drink this Christmas.

Suggestions for Christmas, from Christmas parties to Christmas lunch. To start the video press the play button in the middle.

Click here to see a list of wines tasted in this video.

Also see Christmas wine gifts from Surf4wine, and a huge selection of Christmas mixed cases to entertain you and your friends with over the festive period (plus, these mixed cases of wine make great gifts too!)

Something for everyone this Christmas at Surf4Wine.

It's cocktail hour as Andrew Chapman appears on Radio Oxford.