Stone, Vine & Sun Wine Merchants - committed to sourcing superb wines that truly reflect the land they are grown on.

This October we focus on Organics & Biodynamics.  By all means read the blog if you wish to know more about the growth of organic viticulture. In particular there is clear, sunny daylight between Europe and the rest of the world. In a table of the organic share of vineyard area, the nine countries with the highest proportion are all in Europe, with Mexico as the 10^th.  Europe really does lead the way: over the last couple of years we have shipped from 28 organic estates within Europe and not one from further afield. There’s something interesting going on here – at a deep, cultural level growers in Europe are deliberately eschewing chemicals in the pursuit of a more natural product. Here's a lovely selection of wines, from Catalan Garnatxa Blanca to white Burgundy; and the most graceful Bardolino to gutsy southern Rhône reds. In particular note recent shipments of superb northern Rhônes, both white and red, from Vendôme and Verzier, all with discounts of 10% by the six and 15% by a dozen.

A glaring omission in our portfolio has been Portugal. At last this is remedied by my colleague Michael Peet’s trip this July and subsequent purchases. We haven’t gone in at the cheap end but rather focussed on high quality Vinho Verde and a range of superb wines from the Douro. The quality of these wines, both white and red, make me kick myself that we didn’t we get stuck in before; especially as the Douro is a definitive Stone, Vine & Sun landscape, with dry-farmed, hand-tended vines planted on terraces on steep, granitic slopes under a baking sun.

Some of you might not yet have heard that we have opened a shop at No.1 The Vine in the High street in Stockbridge. Stockbridge is a pretty little town which lies between Winchester and Salisbury in the Test Valley on a Roman road, now the A30. Please do drop in - it’s open 10am to 6.30pm Tuesday to Friday and 9.00am to 4pm on Saturdays. Whether you come for fishing or pass by to avoid the traffic at Stonehenge, it’s a great spot to visit –  Stockbridge shop details.