Advantages: Very good quality
Disadvantages: Price

...) and Gisborne. They owns to state-of-art wineries. The largest is in the new Auckland Winery and other Vineyard Park which was opened in 2005. Villa Maria has five distinct ranges: • Single Vineyard - vines created from vineyards of exceptional quality; • Reserve - vines from the best vineyards in New Zealand; • Cellar Selection - elegant food friendly wines; • Private Bin - a popular selection of varietals wines; • Vintage selection - limited selections of best selling vines. Bottle The bottle is very simple and traditionally looking, which I do like. At first quick look it's very similar to french red vine bottles. The colour of the glass is light green the only difference to French tradition is the luck of … cork. Well, yes! There is no cork at all, no aluminium foil! New World wine comes with new technology... Read review

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Advantages: Tastes amazing, not too expensive and it's alcohol!
Disadvantages: Drinking too much results in silly behaviour and possibly hangover next day!

...the middle palate to show rich fruit, finishing long and aromatic. It has enjoyed being a "household name" in New Zealand since 1990, when it was launched. The grapes for White Cloud are sourced from all of New Zealand's quality grape growing areas, namely Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Marlborough & Nelson. The wine is produced at Nobilo's Huapai winery North West of Aukland. I was immediately hooked. It's crisp, but not too dry and incredibly fruity (but isn't to sickly). It has a clean aftertaste and is perfect with salads, fish/chicken or light pasta/oriental meals. It smells great too (like pear and grapefruit) and tastes amazing. I have taken this to parties and have always been complimented on the wine and asked for details of what is was. One of my friends who will only drink more expensive brands was convinced that this was a very... Read review

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Advantages: Selection of wines not normally available through retail outlets
Disadvantages: Not for internet connoisseurs

...(David and his wife Hilary) enjoy meeting people and prefer to market their wines primarily through word of mouth, repeat orders and last but not least tastings. High volume is not the aim of the business. The Barlows love their New Zealand wines, enjoy their annual visits to meet the winery owners, to taste new varieties and then in turn, share the experience with others in the UK. If you would like to try something new in wines, extend the quality of your cellar then Barlows Choice is worth a visit. And if you live in central Scotland look out for their wine tastings and maybe try inviting them to do one for you – they might just say yes! PS David now tells me he's into whisky liquers!... Read review

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Advantages: Great with very many meals especially red meats
Disadvantages: Non

...UPDATED FURTHER!!!!!! I buy a lot of my wines direct from Laithwaites wine company based at New Aquitaine House, Exeter Way, Reading and they are great. There is one wine in particular as I am a red wine lover caught my eye on the laithwaites website that is only available from mid June to mid July each year called Pigassu nicknamed the black pig and comes from France. I have found it great with very many meals. It is very full bodied and has a very smooth sweet taste on the palette and the nicest of very many other french red table wines I have tried over the years. As far as comparisons against other French red table wines that I have tried over the years is it's unique quality. It is totally naturally produced from the best red french grapes, well matured 2002 vintage or whichever year you buy it after, like next years... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful setting, great wines and great fun for the family
Disadvantages: None that I can think of

...: Spiers wines have been recognised worldwide as being consistently of the highest quality. Wine tastings are conducted in English, Afrikaans and German. There area number of wine tasting options available, which are geared to educate people about the ins and outs of wine. The average prices range from R10 to R30 (£0.90 to £2.70) per tasting. The wine tasting centre is open from 10am to 4.30pm and they offer a great delivery service for both local an international visitors. With wines ranging from Pinotage to the Chenin Blanc, their wines are top class and suitable for an occasion. Dining: With 4 eating establishments, as well as a Deli serving the needs of the picnickers, the culinary services available are more than adequate to meet the needs of all but the most extreme of gourmands. Figaros: Is small by some restaurant standards... Read review

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Advantages: Great value boutique wines
Disadvantages: The on-line wine auctions are addictive!

...I have been buying from Virgin Wines for about three years and I have been consistently impressed with the quality and value for money of their wines. They have got a very good range of wines from all around the world, which vary in price from as little as £4 right up to £85 for a bottle of Dom Perignon 2000. I belong to their Wine Bank, which is effectively a loyalty programme. You pay £20 each month into the Wine Bank and every three months Virgin Wines will add another £20 in interest, so when you come to buy your wine you effectively get 25% off. You can pay more into your Wine Bank if you want to and you will be rewarded with a reciprocal amount of interest (i.e. £30 a month would attract £30 interest and so on). Because most of the wines they stock are generally small production 'boutique' wines, you cannot buy them anywhere... Read review

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Advantages: Great Taste!
Disadvantages: A bit sticky, Not That Chep

...I think we all know what Wine Gums are. If you don't know they are chewy sweet which come in all different flavours. They also come in different shapes and sizes. Maynard's Wine Gums have been around for ages and are a good quality and reliable sweet. Packaging + Cost: As far as I am aware you can buy Wine Gums in two different packets. Firstly there are the small tubes which are normally green with a picture of...you guessed it Wine Gums on the front. These packets cost around 40 pence. Secondly there are the big bags you can buy now. Which have the same sort of design as the tubes on the front. You get loads of sweets in these big bags and they normally cost around £1.20. (But loads of the time Woolworth's does Buy 1 Get One Free, Or 3 For Two etc). The Sweets: Now we get on to the important part the sweets themselves. As I... Read review

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Advantages: Good sized rooms, beautiful food, comfy beds!
Disadvantages: Expensive alcohol, poor air conditioning

...And the survey says....yes! After spending hours on the internet looking for a room for a night, I decided on the Quality Hotel in Wolverhampton. The quality hotel offers a variety of rooms, from a basic room with 1 single bed, to a family room if you have children. Prices start from around £50.00. It is situated within easy reach of Wolverhampton centre.The room I stayed in was a standard double room which cost £59.50, this was for room & breakfast for 2. Obviously you do pay extra for having breakfast, but if you pay for room only then decide to have breakfast, it costs £10.95 per person. On arrival the staff were very friendly and fast at dealing with checking in, however we discovered there are no lifts at this hotel, only stairs so this isn't suitable for anyone who is disabled, as there are no rooms on the ground floor. We stayed... Read review

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Advantages: reasonably priced, convenient location, nice pool areas.
Disadvantages: nothing really.

...We booked the Quality Inn through Virgin Holidays this year. On arrival at the hotel we were booked in promptly and were presented with some vouchers for some free meals, which was good. We were then taken to our room by a member of staff who took our luggage on a trolley for us. I was, however disappointed that we were located on the first floor as we had requested a ground floor. We have two children who were both under 3 so had pushchairs etc to contend with. We did manage fine though as is was only a few steps and the staff were always willing to assist. Our room looked over the gardens and was nice and quiet, unless you count the fountain just outside, but that was switched off at night. The pool areas were clean and there were plenty of towels. We did go to the bar, which was nice, but very expensive - we went... Read review

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Advantages: Wide range of dishes and good atmosphere
Disadvantages: Not very accessible for some disabled people,

...An excellent Japanese restaurant with a very wide range of sushi and other hot and cold Japanese dishes. This is a much better quality restaurant than other sushi chains, with a large menu, including many dishes to appeal to meat eaters and to children. The fun of choosing sushi from a moving belt, is enhanced at the evenings and weekends with unusual and interesting dishes alongside the more usual sushi type dishes. The hot options are also excellent includng an excellent eel dish. There is a good range of salad and vegetarian dishes alongside the fish and meat options. The prices of the hot meals have increased recently but the portion sizes have also gone up so it still very worth while. It is possible to eat cheaply but easy to be tempted to try new dishes. For more regular visitors, there are often special price offers... Read review

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