Happy New Year!

We indulge New Year’s Day as bonus time to wring out the last dregs of the Christmas festivities while also ringing in the new year. Breakfast omelettes were washed down with a glass of the utterly magnificent Rathfinny Blancs de Blancs while watching the annual Philharmonic concert from Vienna before heading out into the crisp Bedfordshire air for a long walk, the obligatory pub stop and then home for the rest of the bottle and some topical telly.

Such frivolous activities are fewer and further between as we grind through the longest month. January, with all its new beginnings and resolutions, tends to act as a breakwater to the excesses of the start of winter.

Non-alcoholic wine is on the agenda more this month than any other, although throughout the year we seem to be fielding more questions on this divisive drink. We will be focussing on a few of our non-alcoholic wines throughout January and we will start with our most popular.

Luna de Murviedro is a brilliant sparkling wine from the wine producing juggernaut that is the Utiel-Requena region in Spain. Made by Bodegas Murviedro, who celebrate 100 years of winemaking next year, the Luna de Murviedro is one of the best non-alcoholic wines we’ve tasted. Made with a Tempranillo heavy blend of red grapes and charming rosé in colour, the wine is de-alcoholised using a technique that allows the original aromas and structure of the wine to shine.

We entertained good friends over the weekend that have recently embarked on Dry January and enjoyed the Luna de Murviedro with Nicola’s Spanish Sunday feast. Strawberry and summer fruit flavours, a creamy mousse and a refreshing finish - this is a wine tailor made for tapas or as an aperitif. A sparkling wine for any fun occasion - and not just for January…