Pouilly Fume 'Les Champlins' 2006

So Mark Cavendish has gone home to rest up ahead of the Olympics, but the Tour goes on, and the new format seems to be keeping things interesting. Today's winner was Cyril Dessel, a French AG2R rider. He used to race for Jelly Belly - I could ride for them.

Time for a French wine. We had a Pouilly Fume 'Les Champlins' 2006. I've cycled through Pouilly sur Loire, it's pretty flat, not like today's stage. 2006 was wet. Very wet. You can just see my panniers wearing their little raincoats outside the Chateau in the centre of town.

The 'Les Champlins' is pretty good despite the rain. It's steely in that mineral way that the Loire has perfected, with some lemon and lime balanced by a weird but good honeyed apricot kinda thing going on. At 12% alcohol it's easy drinking stuff. At about £7.50 it's a reasonable price for this appellation.

Go Cav - Go Go Go and er ... Go!

Not bored of it yet!

Marvellous Mark Cavendish

Cavendish took another stage yesterday - hurrah! I'm low on English wines, but had one bottle of red that I'd picked up at the vineyard gate on my travels around the country. It was from a winery I'd been to before and I'd enjoyed good wine.

We cracked it open, we poured, we prepared it toast 'Cannonball Cavendish'. An odour filled our noses. It was odd. It was unpleasant. It wasn't cardboard, it wasn't barnyard. It was identified by the wine-curious teens as hot dog. Not the roadside snack but an actual dog that was hot. Not just any dog. It smelled like Patsy the Jack Russell after she'd been running around on a hot day.

I tried a taste. I've never eaten dog, so I can't tell you how it compared, but it tasted nast. Some fruit was there but so was a barrel-load of acid and a little creosote. I'll keep the producer quiet to protect their blushes. You'll have to settle for the photo of Cavendish winning a stage of the tour of Britain again. I'm not bored of it yet!

Gavi La Lancellotta 2007 - Celebrating with Ricco

Ricardo Ricco of Italy took the sixth stage of the Tour in an exciting last kilometre climb which saw the yellow jersey splatted into the road with a silly wheel clip mistake.

We celebrated for him with a Gavi La Lancellotta 2007. It's very pale with a zippy scent of grapefruits and peaches. Bone dry it had a zingy acidity, medium body and alcohol level. The flavour was intensely fruity with lots of fresh grapefruit backed by a little sweeter apricot. The flavour lasted well, and it was delightfully more-ish.

Not your standard forgetable bianco, this wine was a 'buy again' at £7.50, but it's currently on sale at Majestic for £6 in an Italian multibuy offer. If you're a fan of Sauvignon Blanc, but want to try something different that will still make your steely tastebuds smile give this a go.

Toasting with Ridgeview Merret Grosvenor 2004

Hurrah for Mark Cavendish who sprinted across the line to take the longest stage in the Tour de France today. A bit harsh on the breakaway who he sprinted past, but hurrah none the less.

Time for an English (yes I know he's Manx but you try growing grapes there) sparkling wine. A Ridgeview Merret Grosvenor 2004 which I bought last year when I drove through the Sussex countryside and saw a 'vineyard' sign. They gave me a few glasses of wine and let me wander around the vines taking nerdy photos.

It's a very good wine with a smooth mousse and distinct yeastiness which it's a cliche to call brioche. There's citrus too, but more grapefruit than lemon. It's one of England's more widely available sparklers as Waitrose do stock it when they can. The quality is unfortunately reflected in the price, expect to pay about £22, more than your average grande marque Champagne in a supermarket, but it's worth a try to dismiss any thoughts about English wines being inferior.

Oh, and it's an excuse to post the picture I took of Cavendish winning a Tour of Britain stage again.

France Overtaken

So France lost the yellow jersey today in the first time trial. I had English sparkling wine on ice ready for Millar to take over, but Stefan Schumacher rather spoiled that party. I have no German wine in the house, and as I'm told Schumacher has a skeleton or two in his cupboard (and it's mean to keep your mother and her prescribing pad in a cupboard), I'm not motivated to go out and get any.

France has little to celebrate today, not only losing the yellow jersey but in 2015 they're set to lose their title as the world's biggest wine producer to Spain. Maybe I'll have a Rioja and think that over.

Sainsbury's Lustau Fino Sherry

Le Tour est arrivé! Let the fun begin. The Tour de France kicked off (pedalled off?) yesterday with a new format encouraging a tighter, more assertive race.

Spain's Alejandro Valverde took the first stage, and my 'guest photographer' and chief Sherry pourer is a bit of a fan having seen him years ago cycling around Spain in the Vuelta years ago. I'm a big Sherry fan having gained a taste for it cycling across Spain.

Lustau is a big hitter in the Sherry world, and they've struck a deal with Sainsbury's to provide their 'Taste The Difference' range of Sherries. Not only does that mean great Sherry is available in the supermarket, but they also use 50cl bottles which are so much better for Sherry as the smaller bottle size means greater turnover in the fridge so fresher sherry. Hurrah.

This Fino is big and beefy, almost literally, it have that kind of Marmite style meatiness as well as a 'salt' level of Manzanilla proportions. There's bottle olive juice too, all in all a strong contender.

Look out for Valverde's bike today, he's brought along one to go with his new yellow jersey (that's confidence!), even the brake calipers are yellow.

Tesco 25% Off Deal

Tesco Winestore are offering 25% off all wine if you buy half a case this weekend, the offer is good in store too. They are including sparkling wine and sherry as well as anything that's already on special offer. If you have a favourite branded wine it's worth checking them out as they do stock a wide range.

Here's some Tesco wines I've tried in the past. Enjoy.

CVNE Rioja Rosado 2007 - Spanish Winner

Spain finally threw off their 'perennial underachiever' tag and won Euro 2008. We settled down to the final with a bottle of rose - the Germans play in white, the Spanish in red, it seemed like a reasonable compromise, or at least it might have been if it wasn't from Rioja. Like most of Europe I wanted Spain to win. They play nicer football and frankly, it was their turn!

A truth I hold to be self evident is that all Rioja is good, particularly CUNE, regardless of colour. Their 2007 Rosado doesn't disappoint. It's a beautiful shade of pink and it tastes of raspberries and strawberries with a zip of lemon and just a hint of grassiness. It's a whole summer picnic in a glass!

Majestic currently offer £2 off if you buy two bottles making it a £5.50 bargain. Stock up now and enjoy your summer.

Amazon Virgin Wines Voucher

The good people at Amazon sent me a wine voucher with my order again. This time it wasn't a Laithwaite's Voucher, but one for Virgin Wines. I've bought from them before, they're reliable, the wines are reasonable value and if you hate any of them they'll replace them (although I've never tested this promise).

All I have to do is go to www.virginwines.com/amazon40 using the codeAMAZWB40 and the password WINEBANK to get £40 off. They're tempting me with a super duper case offer that has an extra £20 off so I only need to pay £40 for a case of wine 'worth £40', although that's always subjective. I'll go have a look.

Tickled Pink By Wimbledon

Wimbledon is upon us. A chance to eat strawberries and cream whilst sitting in the rain listening to Cliff Richard, should you require one.

What better way to kick off the week than with an English wine. Welland Valley Wines produce the delightfully named 'Tickled Pink', a sparkling pink wine. It's a delicate rose pink, with a fine, enthusiastic mousse. It smells of strawberries and lemons. It tastes of strawberries too along with zippy redcurrants.

England's sparkling wines are proving to be a real success, and this is a good example. Unfortunately Welland Valley produces all of its wines on two acres of Leicestershire countryside. That's just a big back yard or outsized allotment. If you want some Tickled Pink - tough luck - it's sold out. Put an order in now for the next release, expect to pay around £20.

Freixenet Excelencia Brut Cava

So 'perennial underachievers' Spain have made it through to te semi-finals of the European Championships. It does seem like they've trademarked the phrase.

What better way to celebrate than with a bottle of Cava, a Freixenet Excelencia Brut Cava. It's made from the classic Cava grape blend in what I'm not going to call the Champagne method, it's the traditional method. It opened with a reassuring pop, and the bubbles were lively leaving a persistent mousse, which looks inviting.

It smells almost floral, alongside the more expected lemony-ness. The bubbles burst quite assertively, but no unpleasantly in the mouth, with plenty more lemon flavour and apple. The flavour is fresh and invigorating, and whilst it doesn't have the biscuity richness of some of its older relatives, it doesn't miss it.

Served cold on a summer evening it's good value for under a tenner, offering something a little different in the sparkling space.