July, August and December are the only quiet months for UK wine writers.  For the rest of the time, there may well be a wine tasting or wine event every day of the week, sometimes more than one, to the extent that Harpers Wine and Spirit, the trade magazine - contrasted to Decanter, the consumer magazine - along with the Circle of Wine Writers (of which I have the honour to be the current President) manages what is called The Wine Trade Diary.  Countries or companies intending to hold a wine tasting for the on-trade (hotels and restauraunts) and off-trade (wholesalers and retailers) contact the Diary to find out what would be a good day where there is little else of importance going on.

Such an idea was not much in evidence the second week of January, which is the annual week for tasting Burgundies from the last vintage but one, thus 2008 in this case.  The UK's foremost wine critic, Jancis Robinson, calculated that she had been invited to 27 tastings in the space of 7 days.  Luckily for her, she has an assistant, and they managed a good number between them.  Even at two a day, speeding between these events on my trusty bike in freezing weather, I did less than half.

This week is exceptional and many of the merchants are showing the same wines, so one can pick and choose.  What a writer/critic should not miss, however, are the National tastings.  New Zealand decided to highjack the Burgundy week by holding its annual tasting at Lords Cricket Ground, where the Nursery Pavilion is much favour for wine events, as it is full of natural light and sometimes there is a practice game going on to distract us.  It was very well attended, justified by the overall quality of the wines and the excitingly different directions the wineries are going in, away from just Sauvignon Blanc that still represents 70% of their exports.  Then in early February it is the turn of the Australians, the next week the Austrians, the week after that France under one Roof (again at Lords) and in mid-March, California. 

At tastings like these, both producers and importers have stands, perhaps a total of 500 wines on show and since it is impossible to taste more than one tenth of these, a selection has to be made.  I usually make my choice based on "what's new" and, due to the type of wines I cover for Decanter, seldom look at wines that retail under £10.  Even with these restrictions, I return home exhausted, for you can only get a broad impression by tasting widely.

Interspersed with the National Days are the Trade Tastings, where Liberty Wines, one of the top three importers of quality wine at all levels, held their's last week at another cricket ground, The Oval.  And for this coming week, I have two mornings tasting the Medoc Crus Classes from the highly rated 2000 vintage, ten years on, then two events held by London's two top-of-the-line importers:  Mentzendorff, owned by Champagne Bollinger and Maison Marques et Domaines, owned by Champagne Louis Roederer.

In future blogs I will report on what I think the current market trends are and which pleased me most.