James Bercovici - The Big Red Wine Company

OK, it's not the Oscars but, after last night's fiasco, it is probably better managed. Following our recent garlanding by Lux Magazine, we now find similar honours bestowed on us by Industry Insight Monthly, a quarterly publication which considers itself a resource tool for industry. I am not entirely sure what this means but they do have the same mailing address as Lux and, like Lux, they would like me to pay for a crystal trophy (a snip at £250) or give them some money for something or other (to be fair their is a free package but you have to look hard to find any reference to The Big Red Wine Company!). Anyway, I suppose I should be overjoyed at all this recognition and I can confirm that, when the results are officially published, on top of all the titles I was awarded by Lux, I am now... Best Fine Wine Retailer - East Anglia

I have been asked to blog more about wine with food and, as someone who enjoys cooking, I hope this will enliven things around here! Appropriate to the time of year, today I am writing about venison. Venison is popular in our house - with me, anyway. Buying it a side at a time (from Archers Butchers in Norwich) is a highly cost effective way to fill the freezer with the healthiest of meats. Compared with beef, it's leaner, has about half the calories and a fifth of the total fat and one-sixth of the saturated fat of the equivalent beef. It has around 10% more protein and higher levels of vitamins and minerals although it is around 20% higher in cholesterol. My freezer is currently  bursting at the seams with various cuts and, consequently, I have to think up different ways to present it to my family who, unlike me, would get rather bored of a slab of meat with some sort of carbs and greens put in front of them several nights each week. 1. Venison mince Mincing the scr...

January is traditionally the month for tasting and buying the new vintage of Burgundy, wines which are mostly still in tanks and barrels, having been harvested only 15 months earlier. This year was the turn of the much heralded 2015s. This was a year in which not much could go wrong and, on the evidence of the wines I have tasted, very little did. For me, I tasted extensively in the Chalonnaise, especially around Givry - I wanted to ensure that Domaine Joblot continues to be the best (it does) and, as a consumer, I have to consider that these are wines I can actually afford to drink. I also went to the so-called Ozgundians tasting in Soho where three Australians who make excellent (but by no means cheap) Burgundies were showing off their 2015s. A handful of other wines tasted confirmed, with all the above, that this is one of the great vintages. But you don't need me to tell you that when it's all over the wine press. What I can tell you about is the excellent 2015s from Do...