Christmas is all about spending time with your loved ones but it’s easy to get caught up in all the business of buying presents, going out for the work Christmas party and generally feeling frazzled. So when The Pip Stop offered to send me a wine tasting kit to enjoy at home, I couldn’t resist. It gave me the perfect excuse to spend a lovely evening in with my husband and try some new wines that the experts at The Pip Stop recommended.
A Blind Date with a Red Wine
We started with the red – the Anselmann Dornfelder Feinherb.
I had told the lovely guys at The Pip Stop that my favourite red wines are Pinot Noir, Pinotage and Montepulciano but I had no idea what wine they would suggest for us to try. It was a wine blind date!
They chose a wine similar in style to Pinot Noir but with a lighter flavour. According to the tasting notes they supplied, the Anselmann is an expressive fruity wine with a bouquet reminiscent of ripe cherries, blackberries and blackcurrants.
Now I can’t say that my palate is sophisticated enough to detect all of those flavours, but I can say that this wine is absolutely delicious. It is fruity, tasty, light and leaves no bitter aftertaste, furry teeth or red lips in its wake. I loved it and will 100% buy it again.
A Blind Date with a White Wine
Secondly, we tried the Emiliana Riesling Reserve.
Riesling is one of our favourite wines so we were thrilled to see a bottle of it arrive through the post, although we’ve not tried this variety before.
The tasting notes say that this wine has a bright lime and grapefruit pith bouquet, a rich, limey palate with mineral tones and a lime zest finish. That’s a lot of lime. I tested myself by not reading the notes before I tried this wine and I think that proved how terrible my taste buds really are! I couldn’t taste any lime at all.
I’m not sure how we really felt about this wine. It didn’t taste like any other Riesling we’d had before, but I’m not sure that was a good thing! It was perfectly drinkable but I didn’t find myself reaching for more. I thought the taste might be a little bit lighter, but I think that’s probably because we usually drink a Dr Loosen Riesling that is lower percentage.
The Pip Stop
If you like the look of any of the wines here, then there are loads more at The Pip Stop’s website. They also have a wonderfully stocked shop in Lanchester. The staff there can give you advice on what wines you might like depending on your existing tastes and price range.
They stock Cristal for almost £170 a bottle or prices start at £3.59 for the standard 750ml bottle. The majority of the wines are around £7 – £8 and they also offer beers, ciders and spirits.
Have you been to The Pip Stop? What wines have you got on your Christmas Day menu?
♥ JH
The wine and advice from The Pip Stop was provided to me free of charge, but all opinions about it are my own.
I’m usually not a big fan of red wine, but this post made me feel festive in an instant!
x Annabelle
travelsandtea.com
I’m so glad! Thanks for commenting 🙂
? JH
I hadnt heard of the pit stop Before but ill definItely consiDer it now. We have the same taste in wine so im guessing ill like it. We are parents to young kids so dont get to go out much, this would make a night in that bit more sPecial than just picking something up from the supermarket.
It does make a night in so much more special – and the recommendations are great. It’s nice to try something new rather than reaching for the same old bottles!
? JH