Elwood Wine Selections

When Karl established Elwood Selections in 2008, he drew upon the inspiration and experience he gained over 20 plus years in the wine trade to uncover the little-known estates that offer truly exciting wines that represent great value.

There are so many exciting wines from lesser-known regions and smaller estates, but their production levels are too small for the supermarkets to ship, so very few wine drinkers will hear about them. Unlucky for them, but good news for Elwood Selection’s clients.

Karl looks for the personality behind the label – the growers who make excellent wine with a history, small batch estates whose livelihood depends on the sustainability of their product. He works with modern winemakers who are not stuck in tradition, but make the wine that is true to themselves and loved by their buyers.

“Wine is for everybody,” says Karl. “There’s no right or wrong, it’s just opinion.” So Karl gets to know his your personal tastes, he suggests the wines he thinks you’ll love, never pushes wine and works in partnership to make sure the wine you spend your money on is everything you wish it to be.

Here are three of the most frequent questions that Karl gets asked:

1.Does glassware make a difference?  This can make an enormous difference to your enjoyment of a wine.  There are so many options available these days, but if want a really decent all-rounder that is reasonably priced, then I would recommend the Spiegelau Authentis White Wine Glass, which is usually around £35-40 for a box of 4.  There is no need to have lots of different sized glasses on the table and this should be all you need.  Tip: If you don’t fancy washing your glasses by hand, they will be fine in the top tray of the dishwasher, but don’t include a detergent and leave them to be washed in the hot water alone.  Works well for me, especially if I have lots of glasses to wash!

2. How do I know I will appreciate a more expensive wine?  Once you factor in the dry costs of a single bottle – think packaging, duty, VAT, shipping costs, retail margin and so on – the more you spend on the bottle, the more value you get from the wine within. Once you start spending over £9 a bottle, there are some really interesting wines to be had, especially in the £15-20 price range.  Here is a great way to test this out with your friends or family.  Buy a minimum of 3 wines, preferably from the same region and at three distinct predictions points.  For example, choose 3 Malbecs at these price points – £8/£13/£18.  First try them in ascending order of price and then again in descending order.  It’s a great way to discover how the quality compares at each price point.

3. What’s the correct temperature to serve wine.  There is no simple answer to this, but it is really important to get it right if you can. The old adage that “room temperature” is sound advice for reds is not very helpful.  The point to consider here is that this phrase was coined pre-centrally heated homes.  Given that many homes are heated above 20 degrees during the winter, that won’t be doing your reds any favours.  The ideal serving temperature does depend on the style of wine, but as a general guide, sparkling wines should be served around 7 degrees, white wines and roses about 12 degrees, with fuller bodied whites and lighter reds about a degree or so higher, and medium to full-bodied reds about 18 degrees.  That said, I do like to chill my reds in the summer!

For more information or to see our full range of wines, please visit our website www.elwoodwines.co.uk