Hi. I'm Rupert Upshon.
Welcome to my blog.

 

The whole purpose of this blog is to help people understand a little bit about wine. It can be quite a daunting and pretentious subject to get into and, for that reason, people often stick to what they know.

 

Having started to learn about wine in more depth, I’m often daunted by the scale of the job ahead of me. I’m following the WSET pathway, with the aim of achieving a Diploma.

 

But at each level of my journey the twists, turns and exceptions to the rules continue to confuse, surprise and delight me in equal measure.

 

At this stage in my wine education I’m confident that no one can know all there is to know about wine. Indeed, what a disappointment it must be to know there’s nothing new to learn.

 

But what has stuck with me is how much of the same wine is available to the everyday wine drinker.

 

People are reassured by familiarity but the fact that most of the wine sold in the UK comes from just a handful of grape varieties and is drunk within a few hours of purchase is a depressing thought for someone whose horizon has been broadened by just a bit of study.

 

So let me do the hard work for you and distil what I’ve learned.

 

This blog is a look at what is available in UK supermarkets and whether I think it’s any good or not. I’m not an expert by any means and I’ll never be a Master of Wine.

 

But most people stick with what they know. So I hope this is also a plea to try something different.

 

My wife asked me before Christmas last year if I could have just one bottle of wine to drink with my final meal, what would it be? After deciding this wasn’t a threat, my reply was that it’d be something I’d never tried before.

 

Your favourite wine is only your favourite until something better comes around.

 

So use this blog as a guide rather than a rule book and take some time to learn about exactly which wines are out there on the shelves next to your go to bottles.