Why, when it's made from audulterated wine sold to look like Pinot Noir by fraudseters in the Languedoc wine region of France to major Californian producer Gallo!

I first got tipped off about this story by Alison when it appeared on the news wires while she was at work. It wasn't every long before it made the likes of Decanter online and the Guardian newspaper and even Radio 5 Live - thanks for the early tip Ali!

With such illustrious news content providers as those above i'm not going to comment much about the story itself. I'll leave that to Decanter editor Guy Woodward who labelled the episode a 'comedy' saying that this was Gallo's 'clumsy attempt to ride the post-Sideways Pinot Noir craze by peddling Red Bicyclette as an authentic French Pinot.'

'The world's biggest single wine producer being hoodwinked by a group of errant French vignerons is funny and depressing at the same time.'

'It doesn't say much for Gallo's professionalism that its buyers couldn't tell the different between Pinot, Merlot and Shiraz,' he said.

But it did make me think a bit about Pinot Noir. This is a grape variety that is very yield and site sensitive. To get the best out of it costs money in time and effort. Red Burgundy is the epitome of great Pinot Noir for most wine drinkers. Sure, the New World is fast catching up in many ways. In particular New Zealand Pinot Noir I think offers the best value Pinot Noir experience in the £15-20 bracket, but Burgundy is definitely where the heart is

In Burgundy especially it is the producer that is all important. Vintage matters, but even in so called 'off vintages' the good guys will make interesting wines.

Which is why we like to have people on the ground to taste the latest releases for ourselves, searching out the very best wines to offer to you here on Surf4Wine. We are just about to despatch our Burgundy buying team to check out latest release from some of our favourite producers - the likes of Christian Moreau in Chablis, Vigile Lignier in Morey Saint Denis, Vincent Bouzereau in Meursault, Bruno Colin in Chassagne Montrachet, Rene Lequin-Colin in Santenay and Bachelet-Monnot in Dezize les Maranges.

We'll try and post reports here direct from the vineyards, and then they'll be a full report on their return.

 Meantime, look out for wobbly red Bicycles! ;)

A bank holiday week-end AND a week off in sunny (well, mostly) Devon and I was back in the office with a huge spring in my step this morning, itching to put to work the ideas I'd dreamed up while drinking Doom Bar, drinking some fab S4W wines and eating fish down in Brixham.

Top of the list was to stop thinking about keeping the blog up-to-date, and start getting on with it...

I hadn't even read the zillions of emails waiting for me -and this was after keeping on topof them while away via my iPhone - and one of our favourite Spanish importers had arrived, laden down with various samples to try. As we're looking to develop our Spanish selection, the timing was perfect. Some of this will hopefully make the grade for S4W list in the coming months, once we've all chipped in with our views and tasting notes.

Highlights were the Naire white (100% Verdejo) and red (100% Tempranillo) pair which would be stunning value at £5.95 if we can do the right deal and get them down to that price. The euro not withstanding...

We tasted the amazing dry Botani Moscatel made by Jorge Ordóñez & Co in Malaga . Expensive, but very good - aromatic, but with a lovely spice and mandarin/lime zing to it too. Nice breadth and even richness for a Muscat, coming from being partly barrel fermented - and unusual winemaking technique for Muscat. Lots of aromatic wines are often spoken of as being great with Asian-inspired food - this wine really would work brilliantly. Very striking love it/loath it wine label too- it won a trophy for design at the recent Spanish New Wave wine awards.

Next up, the barrel fermented Cantocuerdas Albillo from Bodega Bernabeleva - although it looks like their web site is currently under construction. Albillo is a pretty much unknown (well, certainly in the UK) indigenous Spanish variety: lots of Burgundy-like flavours with minerality and zest to boot. A tad expensive at £18-19, but interesting and very good quality. In a sea of Sauvignon and Chardonnay it is wines like this that make Spain so interesting - especially as it is mostly red wines that we associate Spain with. In fact, we're not the only ones as the wine was recommended by Spanish wine guide Penin in a recent article in Decanter on white wines from Spain.

Of the reds the 100% Graciano from Vina Zorzal from Navarra was scented, plummy and rich while the Vina Marro Rioja from 100% Tempranillo was softly fruity and easy to drink, but with a core of firm tannins and minerality and just the right amount of oak.

The two stand out reds for me were Bajondillo - a blend of Tempranillo, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet with a cherry/damson nose and lots of ripe, dark fruits on the palate (se VERY gaudy label on bottom right of pic above), and  Paisajes V Rioja - cassis on the nose and a warm, spicy, curranty palate.

All in all, not a bad way to start the first day back to work after the holidays!

Just picked up this news story via a Decanter magazine exclusive. The International Wine and Spirit Competition previously partnered with Harpers trade magazine in the UK, but that media partnership was over when Harpers was sold to William Reed Publishing. See full story at Decanter via links below. Good news though, IWSC has new backing and so looks safe.

IWSC goes to Drinks Business
The International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) has just announced a partnership with trade publication the Drinks Business. [More...]

Up early today to take No.1 child's French Exchange student to train station to go home - and glad I did get up extra early as 15cm of Snow overnight!

A quick scout round my favourite sites with the first cup of tea of the day, while waking up and waiting for teenagers to move semi-consciously through the bathroom (at least they are washing, so I should be grateful I suppose!)

Anyway, a few stories I missed yesterday as I was at Wine+ in London all day talking to Viniportugal and others about social networking for wine, courtesy of Decanter magazine's news section...

First up, something unusual for Bordeaux-lovers and collectors...

For sale: Latour, Margaux and Mouton hidden from Nazis
UK auctioneer Bonhams is selling 1920s bottles of Latour, Margaux, Mouton Rothschild and Ausone that were hidden in a bricked-up cellar in Guernsey during the Second World War.

And more evidence of the recession hitting the wine trade...

Kendall Jackson cuts jobs
Large-scale job cuts have been made at Jackson Family Wines in California – with unconfirmed reports that 170 employees have been made redundant.

If it was April 1st I might be tempted to dismiss this next story. Whatever next from ultra-conservative Bordeaux...

Bordeaux to test Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc
Chardonnay, Syrah, Zinfandel and Chenin Blanc could be grown and produced in Bordeaux if the French appellations body approves trials of the grapes later this month.

In the tradition of a well-known UK news anchor; and finally...

Lucian Freud commissioned for Mouton '06
British artist Lucian Freud has created the label for the 2006 vintage of Château Mouton-Rothschild

Oh, and in view of the exceptionally Wintry weather in UK in last few days, we might all be glad of some hearty and warming comfort food. So this article from today's Times is very apt...

10 comfort food recipes
It's time to dump the diet and make some uncomplicated comfort food for cold nights — Times' cooks show you how

OK, that's the wine (and food!) news for now folks... catch you later!

PS, old beer news which didn't get blogged last week... I'm not sure if it isn't all just one grand PR exercise, but Marco does have something of a point re. the price paid for quality, craft-brewed beer vs. cheap and nasty bog-standard wine (although the world has gone truly mad when beer is £5 a pint!)...

A pint of hand-crafted, artisan beer seems a steal at £5 a pint

Some lunch time reading (magazine propped up while I eat my fish-finger sandwich and drink earl grey tea!)  just brought up this little gem from Decanter magazine: Vineyard in heart of Haut Brion to launch its own wine .

... A small vineyard in the middle of the Haut Brion domaine is to begin bottling its own wines. Haut Brion themselves were, unsurprisingly, unavailable for comment!