With just under two weeks until our portfolio tasting, being held st London Paddington Stn Novotel, here is a little snap shot of what’s on offer. If your a wine trade professional you really don’t want to miss out.
First up is the lovely #Champagne from De St Gall. They only make 1er and Grand Cru wines, and with ownership of over 900 ha within the region they are the go to Champagne producer.
Moving to #Wales we have @montgomery_vy and their fabulous range of still and sparkling wines. Their wines are so popular that the demand is out stripping supply. With larger vineyards on the way this is a must have U.K. made product for the very best wine merchants.
Next the Loire Valley where we have a host of wineries for you. Sancerre, Jasnieres, Muscadet, Fieff Vendeens, Coteaux de Giennois & Valencay. Despite the very small crop of 2021 we have secured stocks from all these regions due to our long standing partnerships with our growers.
Now we take you to Provence. Chateau Maime is a small family owned property in the heart of the Var. The wines are very typical for the region and of course it’s all about the Rose. However we have their White and Red too!
Now we turn our attention to Burgundy and the widest selection of wines at our portfolio event. With 40 wines to try once again we are lucky to have very strong partnerships in the region despite the shortage from the 2021 vintage.
Now the other classic region of France & we are Bordeaux bound. Being half Bordelaise myself I will always have a soft spot for the wines. Moreover it’s the home our oldest & fondest agency. That is of course @chateaufilhot. We do of course have a broad range in all styles.
Next up and probably our most well known agency it is of course our Languedoc range. It’s needs little introduction but this year all the wines will either be new creations or new vintages. With 27 wines to try its going to be quite a discovery for some!
No tour of France would be complete without a quick dash to the Rhône Valley. Northern or Southern Rhône we have both!
Final stop in France is our diverse range of wines from the South West. We have added some outstanding wines to this part of our range over the past year and this tasting will be there first outing! Moreover organics come into its own here!
We now head northeast to are friends in Austria and Germany. The lighter style wines from these two countries are proving to be extremely popular with all our customers. From Gruner to St Laurent we have a broad selection on tasting. Take the time to discover the amazing wines.
Now back south to my second favourite part of the world and that’s Spain and Portugal. We have two completely new agencies here and more is in the pipeline. Our old favs from Priorat and Rioja will of course be present but we also have some newbies too! Hola nos vinos!
Time to leave Europe & go further afield now. Over the past 5 years we have developed a strong but small range of wines from North America. All sensible on price but offering exceptional quality. From Canada, New York State and California we have five properties that stand out.
Finally in our epic journey around the world in 200 wines we have South Africa and Australia. All three ranges offer something interesting and a break from the run of the mill wines you would expect.
I really hope you all find the time to come along. 211 wines from 11 countries with 20+ suppliers flying in especially to meet the U.K. market. See you on the 22 March!
That just leaves to say enjoy the sights of Stellenbosch with this little video I took a few years ago.
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Ok well @Helen_Whately and @RishiSunak I read and replied to the proposal. You have clearly stated they won’t be 27 tax levels in reply to the article but the Proposal clearly stated there would be 27 levels. So who’s lying? The proposal or the spokesperson?
As ever the government can’t be honest with business or industry and when they get caught out they gaslight. I am so very bored with the constant lying from this government. In this instance something that actually works well is being replaced with something that won’t!
I have been interviewed on national Radio a few times this week and the same question came up each time. Has the governments pledge to make importation easier materialised. The simple answer is no, it considerably more difficult. Here is the difference for the record.
Pre-Brexit (for wine imports) you required and Vat/EORI number and access to U.K. EMCS. That was it if you did it all in house and both were/are free to use.
Post Brexit requirements ,VAT/EORI number, U.K. EMCS, RORO licence, CHIEF/CDS access, haulier with GVMS access, & if you want to control your declarations both import and export fully, GBWK number, GBRC numbers. Your also need a full time employee trained to use all of this.
I have now had time to read why my stock was stopped on Monday evening and understand why. The new Government systems that came into force on the 1st Jan 2022 are straight out of George Orwell 1984, which Is ironic really because the same age as the U.K. Chief importing system.
Basically the government has linked three computer systems so that they don’t have to fiscally stop lorry drivers unless of course the system hasn’t worked. Now whilst the idea is actually clever as ever with this government nobody thinks about the practical use of the system.
So here how it works, CHIEF receives your pre advice importer info for what ever you have ordered in my case wine obviously. We now add the new coding (RRS01) in Box 44 (code box)header level. This then tell the CHIEF system to make the declaration available on the GVMS System.
I have been importing wine for years and after Brexit happened we continued with our imports despite the pain and endless documentation. Today for the first time my consignment was stopped by customs due to missing paperwork. I was somewhat surprised. 1/2
We do our documents in advance to avoid border issues. On checking all our documents had been created correctly. However HMRC changed the rules again & now you need code RRS01 in box 44. Zero notification from HMRC! We just avoided a £600 fine for delaying the lorry. 🤬#Brexit
Overnight I have seen yet another change with this consignment. The stock arrived in Dover at 23.47. I know this because even though the stock is bonded and we don’t get to check it until tomorrow, HMRC has cleared it down as arrived in full. What if stock is wrong/missing ? 🤬
Just so that @trussliz and @RishiSunak understand correctly. The UK wine trade works on a global basis & has a much better understanding of trading across borders than any government ministers like @Helen_Whately will ever have.
Just ask @VictoriaPrentis what happen when her department didn’t think it through with the Vi1 saga. She was made to u-turn. Now we have the same situation with the Excise Reform Proposal. This is a badly thought through piece of proposed law that should of never been published
Now @trussliz has been caught out in Australia because wine importers across the UK have been explaining the implications to there producers. Surprise surprise the producers have gone directly to the Australian government to voice just how pissed off they are at being conned.
I have actually taken the time to make a spreadsheet with the proposal for the excise reform proposal. My spreadsheet shows me that an average bottle based on 13.5% would cost the consumer £0.69 per bottle more based on all other costs remaining the same.
If that bottle has just 1% more ABV at 14.5% then the price increase per bottle is £1.03. Again with no other fix costs changing. Moreover the reduction on Fizz has almost no effect on the retail prices. There would be no benefit to the consumer.
So once again in the cold light of day this wonderful proposal from @RishiSunak is based on nothing but hot air. Higher prices for consumers, no gain on tax revenues, but an unworkable regime for the actual importers.