It's a Bank Holiday in the UK, so having a slightly leisurely morning; although thinking I ought to be up and out as I've some errands to run, and even an emergency delivery to make. It's an awful day weather-wise, so not much chance on geting the Bar-B later out either.

Alison is doing a shift at JackFM, so just me and the kids until she gets home - maybe it's the perfect weather for a trip to the cinema? Or just some films on the TV...

With some extra time to hand I've been catching up on some of my favourite wine blogs. In fact, I just saw the Vouvray Sec 1995, Gaston Huet that we have on our list mentioned by Jamie Goode over at The Wine Anorak. Vouvray, made from that chameleon grape variety Chenin Blanc, is a lovely wine - produced, as Jamie points out in his blog post, in a variety of styles from bone-dry to lusciously sweet and everything in between. Vouvray can be, perhaps, a bit tricky for the novice wine drinker. Vouvray can be fiercely acidic in it's youth, and the sweeter styles often have their higher sugar content masked by their acidity or alcohol/ripeness, so can be difficult to asses when young. Vouvray's, both dry and swet styles, can age brilliantly with this natural acidity helping to keep hem fresh and lively - for decades in the right year. I have been lucky enough to try some pretty old vintages in a former life while Butler at The Queen's College in Oxford (now that was a job I enjoyed - almost as much as being a wine merchant!), and I have always been a bit of a Vouvray fan ever since (check out Surf4Wine's current Vouvray selection) - so it was nice to see them mentioned on Jamie's Blog.

Actually, having a bit of extra time to take look and delve deeper and think about wine blogging (normally it is a quick zoom through headlines/latest posts while having my first cup of coffee!), it struck me how lucky we are in the UK with the variety of wine blogs we have, blogging on everything from Best Buys to latest tasting notes and news. In fact, it's set me to thinking about an idea mentioned to me recently by Spanish wine blogger Ryan Opaz over at Catavino; a feature on the Best of British Wine Blogs. I think that could be an interesting idea to explore further on our blog here in coming weeks ... so, do you have any favourite UK wine blogs?

Everyday on my way to Surf4Wine HQ, AKA our warehouse, I pass the Q Gardens Farm Shop.

As the name suggests, it is a farm shop, and it sells fruit and vegetables from its own farm that surrounds the shop. (It does great Pick Your Own as well.)

But it doesn't end there, and that is what makes it such a great place to stop off and buy local foods.Yes, they sell their own local veggies and fruits - the surrounding area once teemed with numerous apple and pear orchards until they gradually disappeared as the supermarket cult took over and the great British public dashed headlong for convenience over flavour and local produce. Although thankfully that is beginning to reverse as more and more of us think about where our food comes from, how it gets to us and what goes in it and on it (and just for the record, I'm not anti-supermarkets or anything, they have their place... I just prefer to buy food local wherever possible). The area is still justly famous for its Harwell cherries.

One of Q Gardens Farm Shop's biggest draws, and possibly its best-kept local secret, is its in-house butchers. Well, I've jusy blown their cover! It's a proper butchers with skilled staff, selling locally-reared meat. There'll be a separate post on this in near future, with, hopefully, an interview with the butcher. I want to become good friends with him so I get the lowdown on the very best local meat. Definitely a carnivore me! We bought local rib of beef from them two Sundays back when we had the children's grandparents for lunch - utterly amazing, and I have to say, some of the best beef I have ever eaten. And that includes in some VERY expensive restaurants . It really proved the adage that good ingredients simply cooked really does take some beating. But it's not enough that the butchers has knowledgeable staff and fantastic produce. Best of all? They are open 7 days a week. Supermarket style convenience AND local food. Come on south Oxfordshire, what are you waiting for - buy local and support you local butcher! Indeed, our much-loved and admired Nigel Slater is espousing the virtues of supporting your local butcher on his latest podcast I'm listening to as I write this. I dare you to try Q's butchers and then go back to a supermarket. Yes, it's not as cheap, but you really do get what you pay for with fresh meat these days. (I have, in the dim and distant past when I used to buy meat at the 'meccas of convenience', had to, on more than one occasion, take back supermarket 'fresh' meat as it has gone off WITHIN ITS SELL-BY DATE. Quite scary really - but a very good reason to buy from your local butcher). And with quality comes economy. On Sunday we spent £11 on a free-range chicken. All 4 of us ate it roast on Sunday evening. Alison boiled the bones with carrots, onions, the neck of the bird, two bayleaves and a handful of fresh marjoram to create a stunning stock that made soup (stuffed with local vegetables) on Monday night and a chicken and asparagus risotto on the Tuesday. £11 for 3 meals suddenly doesn't look quite so expensive!

Q Gardens farm shop doesn't just sell your standard meat and veg. They sell local beers too. (We are looking at stocking some of them online too - but hey, I'm happy for competition and like to be transparent about such things!), And local wines (we don't stock any - yet...), local pickles, chutney's, condiments and preserves. You really must try Well Preserved's Award-winning (Great Taste Awards Silver) Seville orange marmalade. Thickly spread on top of some of Upper Norton Dairy's Jersey butter, that in turn is smeared over some of the fresh bread that the Q farm shop sells and you have a perfect accompaniment to your tea or coffee for breakfast.

Talking of breakfast... I stopped to 'Q-shop' (a new phrase in my vocab now for popping into Q Gardens shop as a pass by... funny how I seem to do that quite a lot these days...) last Sunday after unexpectedly appearing on Radio Oxford to review the Sunday papers (Alison was due to do it but a last minute migraine meant she needed an emergency sub, and as Phil Mercer and I have exchanged the odd word over the airwaves I was deemed an acceptable last minute sub.. it was FUN! And quite amazingly, they asked me back. Was it the quip about Ann Diamond becoming President of the National Obesity Society?). Anyway, I bought local bacon and sausages, as well as eggs from nearby Brook Farm (who have fab self-catering cottages), and trotted home with food and papers. Dashing into your local filling station for some long life OJ and Thick Sliced loaf just doesn't have the same allure for a proper Sunday breakfast!

I could go on and on about this foodie heaven, but I think I've whetted your appetite enough to tempt you to pop in next time you are nearby. And to help you find them, here's a map via the Oxford Farmers Market web site above. You won't be disappointed.

Update...
Q Gardens Farm Shop doesn't have a website it seems, but they do deserve a web presence so more people can find out about the wonderful goodies they have in store. And they have lots going on as we move from Spring into Summer with new season fruits, veggies and other tasty offerings. So I've made them a little page here on Surf4Wine. Hope it helps guys :)

Q Gardens Farm Shop page on Surf4Wine - click here

Q-Gardens Farm Shop photo's...Looking at adding some more photos here... the whole photo-taking think is very new to me. What do you think of first efforts above? Anyone any ideas on how i could set up a photo-stream of photo's on this page, as i add new ones. Is Flickr good for that?

Our techy team, AKA Kelvin our in-house resident web genius, has been busily putting the finishing touches to our new podcasting system over the last couple of weeks.

I'm pleased to say that this has now gone live - please do take a look - we think it's pretty neat!

It is place where we can take you to let you see and listen to all our audio and video, whether they are me on the radio or interviews with winemakers, or virtual wine tastings by video.

You can play them right there, or down load them in whatever is your preferred format - even into iTunes and onto your favourite mobile device or iPod.

Look out for more videos and audio to come very soon...

Have you caught the 'Thunder' yet? In case you haven't, check it out: Wine Library TV.

The web phenomenon that is Gary Vaynerchuck is sweeping all before it (use of 'phenomenon' is deliberate - Gary V is all over the web at the moment, from new media and technology conferences to his own web site, not forgetting Twitter posts every few minutes. Does he ever sleep??). Great article on Gary here: Wine, Video and the Cult of Gary

Definitely worth telling more people about Gary and his Thunder shows, and happy to try to do that on our little 'ole blog :)

Gary also posts on his personal web site, with some great insights about getting the passion out there. With honesty! And yes, I'm aware most wine bloggers will already know about Gary - I'm hoping we can let a few non-blogging wine drinkers know about him too. Although I'd say they could probably hear him 'Thundering' in America all the way over here in not so sunny UK - even without the internet! Yup, that Gary sure is loud - but hey, he loves his wine and wants you all to know. And that's all good in my book.

Livio Felluga 'Shàrjs' 2006, one of my favourite 'food' wines on our list, and just aching to be tasted for Wine Blogging Wednesday

The theme this month is white wines from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, hosted by Jack and Joanne of Fork & Bottle

Livio Felluga emigrated from Istria in Croatia, and established his property in Brazzano in the 1950s. Convinced of the winemaking potential inherent in Collio and the Colli Orientali of Friuli, he bucked the trend of the times and started buying vineyards. He now has an amazing property, covering 160 hectares in Rosazzo of which 135 are under vine. Recently revitalised by Livio’s four children (Andrea, Maurizio, Elda and Filippo), the estate is now well on the way to reclaiming its rightful place among the great producers in Italy. The energy injected into the estate by the younger generation has been harnessed by consultant viticulturalist/winemaker Stefano Chioccioli. As a result of their combined work, the whites have acquired more intense and focussed flavours, while the reds have a ripeness and suppleness that is seldom achieved in Friuli.

Livio Felluga 'Shàrjs' 2006 is made from 70% Chardonnay 30% barrel-fermented Ribolla Gialla. White peaches on the nose lead onto flavours of stone fruits with a distinct mineral edge. Lovely 'bite' of acidity adds freshness to the rich yet elegant palate.

Enjoyed this wine tonight with a stir-fry. The white peaches/mineral-style worked well with the vegetable, and the had enough flavour to cope with the Ginger, Chile and garlic. However, good as this was my perfect food for this wine is oven-roast sea-bass - very tasty and great match.