Whispering Wine

05/06/2026

About Wednesday night ….
# &parnell

04/06/2026

Some mornings remind you exactly why you fell in love with wine in the first place.

On Tuesday, I had the privilege of attending an incredible masterclass and tasting in London as part of the .vines Rioja Education Award. To spend the morning learning from and tasting alongside such an inspiring group of women was genuinely special.

A huge thank you to Maria Urrutia, fifth-generation family member of CVNE, for sharing not only exceptional wines but also the history, passion and family values that have shaped one of Rioja’s most iconic producers. It was a privilege to hear your story .

Thank you also to MW for her insight, knowledge and thoughtful guidance throughout the tasting (as well as humour). As always, she brought a depth of understanding that made every wine even more fascinating.

This wonderful event was made possible through the collaboration of CVNE, Curious Vines, and the brilliant whose ongoing work to champion diversity, inclusion and opportunities for women within the wine industry continues to make a real difference.

A special thank you to for her flawless organisation behind the scenes, and to Hatch Mansfield for providing such a stunning line-up of wines that showcased both the heritage and innovation of Rioja.

Most importantly, thank you to everyone in the room. Being surrounded by so many engaged, enthusiastic and talented female wine professionals was incredibly inspiring. The conversations, questions, shared experiences and collective passion for wine made the day something truly memorable.

Feeling extremely grateful 🍷.

WomenInWine

22/05/2026

Another year of bringing you the punter the best of Newcastle Wine Week ! 🥂

Customers will get heavily discounted glasses and bottles of wine 🥂

26/04/2026

I feel incredibly honoured and a little overwhelmed to announce I’ve been awarded the CVNE Curious Vines Rioja Education award !

I am genuinely grateful and extremely thankful to .vines curious.vines for creating opportunities like this that truly invest in people, education and the future of the wine industry.
A very special thank you to , your work to empower women and drive meaningful change across the industry is so important in opening doors and giving equitable access . The commitment to improving diversity and ensuring our industry becomes more inclusive for everyone including non- binary voices is something I’m proud to stand alongside .

My heartfelt thanks also go to CVNE for their generosity and for being such incredible custodians of Rioja. Their wines , history and continued dedication to quality make this award even more special. Also to Hatch Mansfield , thank you for your ongoing support in championing these wines and region and bringing their stories to life here in the UK.

As part of this experience, I’ll be heading to London to attend an unforgettable masterclass for broader understanding and expertise with and Maria Urritia, a fifth generation CVNE family member. To learn from@such inspiring figures, with such deep knowledge and personal connection to these wines, is an absolute privilege and something I’m hugely excited about !

Opportunities like this remind me exactly why I fell in love with wine in the first place . It’s not just about what’s in the glass , it’s the culture, connection and people. I’m thankful to be part of an industry that is evolving for the better and opening its doors wider to more perspectives and to more voices.

I can’t wait to continue learning and bring back that knowledge from Rioja to share with others .

18/04/2026

When patience is rewarded ……..and an ode to International Malbec day yesterday .
Even though this is a 2006 vintage , it’s really just right at the beginning of its drinking window … but what a great start !
Hailing from a high sub region of Mendoza in Lujan de Cuyo , the grapes come from a single vineyard named Finca Bizzotto which was planted in 1901 . 2006 was an excellent year for optimal ripening and this wine was bottled in 2021 after ageing for 15 years in Weinert’s deep cellars .
It’s powerful , with an incredible intensity and with a long life in front of it . It’s complex and perfumed with freshness , plush dark fruit, and with the beginnings of tertiary characteristics raising their heads .its moreish, delicious and has a wonderful length .
What a find ! ❤️🍷🍷
Purchased god knows when en primeur from .weinert

27/03/2026

It’s been a week ….. 🫣🫣🫣
Thank F*** it’s Friday !! dumont

17/03/2026

Get ready for the ultimate wine experience! 🍷
We're thrilled to announce our summer wine fair is back on June 5th, and this time we've teamed up with to bring it to Longbenton!
Join us for an unforgettable evening of fine wines, delicious food from , and fantastic fun.
Explore the world's top wine regions, discover new favorites, and revisit old classics. Don't miss out! Tickets are limited, so grab yours now (link in bio). We can't wait to see you there! 🎉🍾🥂🍷🍷🍷

16/03/2026

Semi Rant incoming……
I’ve sat on this for over a week and I think I’ll feel better once I talk about it because it’s an issue that keeps cropping up at public tasting events and wine fairs .
Last weekend, whilst I was taking images & video footage annual wine fair a woman approached me .
She told me she couldn’t believe the price of the ticket to attend and it’s the most she’s ever had to@pay for a wine fair . £27 ! She went on to say she’d been to another event locally that was entirely free . The event she referenced was an LWC TRADE event she had managed to blag her way in to .
I explained to her that £27 for a 4 hour tasting with 100
Wines on show was NOT expensive. I explained in detail about room@hire , brochure printing , glasses, linen , Independent merchants, many having travelled large distances with their wines to show up and pour some absolutely fantastic wines to the public is not “cheap”.

What I didn’t talk about was the rising costs for wine merchants given the absolute hammering the exchequer is giving merchants and hospitality venues serving wine . I didn’t talk about rate increases, I didn’t talk about the rising cost of rent , I didnt talk about the rise in national insurance for businesses but I did ask her where else she could access 100 wines for most of an afternoon at under £30?

This woman’s comments echoed another experience wheee I was told by a pretty tipsy attendee at another wine fair I hosted, that for £27 I should have put food on !

This undermining of the wine trade needs to stop . I have never encountered such hard workers within this trade and we need to call time of customers like this !

Please support your local wine merchant, bars and wine education providers and show them the respect@they deserve .

09/02/2026

Deserved a place on the grid ! A cracking 2013 Rioja Reserva Rosé from ! Everything you would expect from an aged well made wine ! It’s delicious ! 🤤
Purchased from

22/01/2026

NEWTS Sicillian tasting last night …. Minus the mag 🤣