Arnold Holzer is the young winemaker at one of Austria's most exciting wine estates, Eschenhof Holzer. His modern approach to running the winery see's him give each wine its own distinctive identity, an identity that is tied to the very soil the grapes grow in and is the key to his success.

Ahhh, there's that crisp smell of winter in the air, then BANG! Christmas is here and you're tail-spinning into some awful supermarket wine deal! Resist! We've got you covered! Here are six Christmas Crackers to enjoy either on the day, or indeed at any time (or for some of you, all the time!) over the festive period. 

We are huge fans of Charles Smith Wines here at Whitmore & White. This former rock band manager turned wine maker is as innovative and interesting as he is funky and cool and his wines are a welcome expression of his personality.

We actually did it! We made our own gin! Today sees the launch of Whitmore & White Whitmore Gin, created by us and distilled right here on the Wirral. This has been six months in the making, so we're thrilled to have finally launched it today!

As we're a helpful bunch here at Whitmore & White we'd like to share with you answers to the most asked questions about our favourite drink - the G&T.  ImaGINe the possibilities!

We love our range of Riverby Estate Wines from Marlborough, New Zealand.  Their distinctive labels are easy to spot on our shelves showing either a fish or a moth.  I know what you're thinking; what has a fish or a moth got to do with fine wine.

What do Yogi, Teddy Bears, Ratty, Mole, families and couples all have in common? Yep, that's right, they love a picnic.  What's more rewarding than finding that quiet spot in an idyllic location, rolling out the obligatory tartan blanket and dishing out the goodies?

Orson Welles commented on the Negroni cocktail: "The bitters are excellent for your liver, the gin is bad for you. They balance each other." Negroni is a stunning gin cocktail aperitif, with equal measures of Gin, Vermouth and Campari. In West Kirby we are taking it further by aging it for twenty days in a brand new oak barrel. 

My wine of the month, El Primero Graciano-Garnacha, from Navarra, Spain is also in my opinion the best value for money red in the range. Graciano and Garnacha are grapes used with Tempranillo to make Rioja but here they take centre stage to produce a juicy fruit-bomb.