Thursday 19 December 2013

What Are the Best Conditions to Grow Grapes?

At the Ideal Wine Company we recognise that wine as a concept is largely based around grapes. Without the grape vine, wine would never have become the drink that has played a part in every culture throughout human history.

This is why we make sure that the luxury wines that we have for you are based on the most premium grapes the world of viticulture has to offer. If you have a sub-standard grape then it stands to reason that you will have a sub-standard bottle of wine at the end of it.

However in order to have quality grapes, you need to ensure that they are grown in the correct conditions. So this leads us to the question, what are the best conditions to grow grapes in? This is a complex question with no absolute answers; however there are a few conditions that act as constants.

The first is climate. There are certain climates that facilitate effective viticulture. This is why countries such as France, Italy, Spain and Australia have grown to dominate the wine industry. They have the correct climates.
They have the correct environmental temperatures and weather patterns. These are the conditions that aid growth. Generally the grape vine needs between 1300-1500 hours of sunlight during the growing season.
Correlating with this is rainfall. Rainfall provides the water the vine needs to aid growth. Even some hotter climates don’t have the correct type of rainfall to facilitate effective viticulture. The average vine needs an area with around 27 inches of rainfall throughout the year to produce succulent grapes.

Then we have the type of soil. Soil is a surprisingly diverse subject which effects product growth as an entire field. If the soil isn’t correct, the vine won’t have the best start and you’ll be left with a weaker wine. Experts generally, although not in all cases, conclude that sandy loam soil is the ideal soil for viticulture. It drains effectively but also has all the necessary nutrients the vine needs to thrive.

There’s also a case to be made for the style of terrain the grapes of grown on. It is generally held to be a truth of viticulture that slopes make for better vines than flat terrain. This concerns the greater degree of exposure to sunlight a vine will receive on a slope.

At the end of the day viticulture is a complex practice. It needs to be to produce a drink that is effortless in its complexity. However a culture such as this wouldn’t have grown without these basic constants. This is why wine has endured. It’s versatile yet complex

Tuesday 3 December 2013

Ideal Wine Company Special Offer: Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 1982

At the Ideal Wine Company we’ve proven ourselves experts at picking wines. We bring together experience and knowledge to cherry pick wines that’ll sparkle as the jewels of your collection. Picking a good bottle of wine is an arduous task. You’ve got to put the research in. You’ve got to really know the bottle. At the end of the day you have to know what wine collectors want. We’re always looking for ways to enrich the lives of the international wine collecting community. Not only do we spend the time picking out the perfect bottles, we think up ways to get them to you. That’s why every so often there comes along a bottle of wine so superb we have to let you know about it. We have to put it on special offer.

The Ideal Wine Company special offer has two purposes. Firstly it brings stellar vintages to your attention. Secondly it gives you the opportunity to invest in this star bottle for less. We like to help our wine collecting customers any way we can and this is one way in which we do. Every so often there is a bottle so luxurious; we just have to put it on offer. That’s certainly the case this month. This month we have the Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 1982 on offer exclusively for you.

The Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 1982 is one of those bottles that doesn’t roll around every day. It’s one of those bottles that when it does come around, you have to grab it with both hands. Why, we hear you ask? Quite simply, it’s quality in a bottle. A classic red originating in the famous vineyards of Bordeaux, it’s the type of red that sits heavy and tempting on the tongue melting in the mouth and sliding down a storm as you taste that first sip. Silky in texture, rich in taste, fruity in composition and subtle in its undertones, its Bordeaux wine at its finest. This is the type of bottle you save for a special occasion. It’s not one to break out for a normal evening. We bring this opportunity of velvety sumptuousness in a bottle to you for a mere £300, a saving on the price it would usually fetch.


The Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 1982 is heaven in a bottle just waiting to be poured. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to experience it for yourself.