Melon de Bourgogne is its name. Or Muscadet as you may know it. There is probably more of this stuff produced in Loire Valley than any other wine. Not to be confused with Muscat, “Melon”, as it is nicknamed, originally hails from Burgundy, where its demise came in the 18th century after appellations laws dictated that it was to be destroyed.

Today, Melon is thriving in the far west of the Loire Valley, around the city of Nantes, edging into Brittany near the mouth of the Loire River. The main appellation is AOC Muscadet, producing a lot of uninteresting generic wines. The better vineyards are in the Sèvre et Maine subregion south and east of Nantes, where vines are planted on well-draining soils of shale and gneiss, over a bedrock of granite, helping to make for the finest quality Muscadet.

Skin contact, lees stirring and barrel fermenation for the best wines all help to give greater weight and richness. ‘Lees’ refers to dead deposits of yeast. Wines that have ‘sur lie’ on the label have been aged for some time on lees, providing a better depth of flavour. The best have subtle yeasty aromas as well as attractive green apple and grassy aromas. The alcohol level is moderate (usually 11.5-12%) and the acidity keeps the wine light, fresh and crisp. Some might even have a saltiness to them and a tingly light fizz from a touch of carbon dioxide.

All in all, Muscadet, or Melon, is neither great or Burgundian. It’s a pretty neutral wine, but that doesn’t mean that the curious wine drinker has no place for it. Far from it. Try it as an aperitif or with shellfish to get the full experience. Even if you don’t like the wine, you’ll fall in love with the aphrodisiac effects of the oysters – or so they say.

Nelly Marzelleau’s Presbyteres Muscadet Sevre et Maine, bottled ‘sur lie’ ensuring prolonged contact with fine lees, is well worth a punt at the price.

From a single vineyard where mostly Merlot (70% in this blend), Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon is grown on clay and gravel slopes near the river Garonne. This classic Bordeaux blend was aged in French oak barrels for 12 months. The 2004 vintage received 91 points from Galway based wine critic Frank O’Brien.

To view product page and for more details, click on Chateau Bauduc Clos des Quinze.

Our house red is made predominantly from a blend of Grenache and Syrah from the Vin de Pays de Vaucluse. Its easy-drinking and compatibility with food make it one of our most popular wines.

To view product page and for more details, click on Cuvee Jean Paul Rouge.

And we’re off! We’ve only been talking about it since we launched the site but we’re delighted to finally launch our tasting videos feature.

Those familiar with our product pages might’ve noticed some changes over the last month or two as we’ve added discrete page tabs along the top, for tasting notes, reviews and now videos.

If you didn’t believe that Matt and I take the arduous responsibility of tasting every single wine ourselves, well think again, as either or both of us will be in the frame from now on with our picks of the day.

Will we be biased? Er, yes, of course. We pick all Curious wines ourselves and are proud of them. But the purpose of the videos is to try and show in the simplest and non-geeky terms possible whether you would like to drink them. Let us know what you think, we’re open to all feedback and suggestions as to how to make them more relevant to the average wine consumer.

So first up, we thought of no better place to start than our house white, Cuvee Jean-Paul Sec from France’s Côtes de Gascogne, so here’s what I thought on my most recent tasting. Cheers

Get this – last weekend over 700 shameless French men and women stripped down to pose nude in Burgundy vineyards to warn the world about the impact of global warming on the French wine industry. It’s all part of the campaign to urge political leaders to take action in the lead up to the U.N.’s Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December.

So how, you may ask, is climate change affecting the French wine industry? According to a recent Greenpeace report, who helped organise the naked get-together, warmer temperatures mean that the harvest is taking place earlier.

“Wines end up having higher sugar levels and alcohol content while retaining less acids – which means they are unbalanced with an overripe flavour and heavier texture.”

Spencer Tunick was the man who organised the photography. He has plenty of experience in this field, having been organising these mass nude art pieces for more than 15 years all over the world. In 2007 he worked with Greenpeace to do one (at a cool 10 degrees C) with six hundred dedicated Swiss posing nude on a melting glacier (the Aletsch) in Switzerland. The objective, of course, to draw attention to global warming and the shrinking glaciers, although I can think of a few other shrinking things at that temperature.

In an open letter to President Obama, President Merkel and other heads of state, Greenpeace writes:

“We’re not asking you to take your clothes off in Copenhagen – but we do expect you to be there – to sign a fair, ambitious and binding deal to save the future of our planet. A half-decent climate treaty simply won’t do.”

I always said that the trilogy of red, white and rosé from Domaine de Pellehaut would be good enough to get any fan of New World wine onto drinking Old World. This is where to start whenever you want to try French wine. Experimental blends that work. The white won top blended white at the Paris show two years in a row.

Domaine de Pellehaut is one of the finest independent family producers in Gascony. Situated at the highest point in the district of Montréal-du-Gers (180m above sea level), this farming estate covers 530 hectares of which 220 hectares are planted with vines. It is run in a traditional way by Gason Beraut and his sons, Mathieu and Martin.

The vines are only situated on the slopes, with the lowlands being reserved for cattle and cereal crops. The straw from the local “Blonde d’Aquitaine” cattle (pictured) makes first rate manure for the vines, thus allowing the balance of organic matter to be maintained in the different parcels, whilst limiting the use of synthetic fertilisers. A stellar range, whether you’re an Old World disciple, or just looking to broaden your palate.

Domaine de Pellehaut Blanc: Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Colombard, Gros Menseng, Ugni Blanc.

Domaine de Pellehaut Rouge: Merlot, Tannat, Cabernet.

Domaine de Pellehaut Rosé: Merlot, Tannat.

Domaine de Pellehaut Ampelomeryx: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Petit et Gros Manseng.

Click here to view a recent post on Domaine de Pellehaut’s Ampelomeryx.

Ampelomeryx is an extinct mammal that lived during the Miocene period. It was a even-toed ungulate that had frontal and occipital appendages. It was similar to Tauromeryx and Triceromeryx. It was a herbivore, perhaps a browser (Wikipedia)

This curious beast, viewable on the bottle pictured, can be described as a cross between a deer and a giraffe. It lived over 17 million years ago in what would have been a very different looking sub-tropical Gascony. The male Ampelomeryx had two large canines and a horn at the back of his head. (Oh, and based on the fact that giraffes have no vocal cords, I reckon it sounded quite like a deer. Whatever that sounds like.)

It’s incredible to think that these animals were roaming the vineyards of Domaine de Pellehaut all those years ago, and 17 million years later, there’s a part of them still living in the Curious Wines Warehouse. Domaine de Pellehaut have dedicated their signature Vin de Pays (VDP) white blend to their fossil find of the majestic Ampelomeryx, with a label that, in my view, makes for one of the most enticing bottles we carry.

The 2006 is a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Manseng, the latter of which is a grape that is often used in dessert wines, and in the case of the Ampelomeryx, provides an incredibly rich roundedness, that’s further enhanced by fermentation of the juice from all of the grapes in old barrels. Whereas new barrels would impart stronger, pure flavours, the old barrels have added subtle, delicate flavours of vanilla, which are preceded by prominent aromas of white peach and apricot on the nose.

This is a special wine and a real find. It’s almost as special as finding a 17 million year old half deer, half giraffe buried at the bottom of your garden.  One that we would even pit against a white burgundy at twice the price. Now there’s a statement.

For a premium red VDP, check out the superb Dignite Syrah, and click here to view the Ampelomeryx in all its glory. Both have 10% off indicated prices until the end of August.

After a cracking June, hopes are high for a great Irish summer, so right on cue, we’ve some hot summer offers to keep you and your wallet as cool as a breeze.

Never mind spending piles of cash swanning off to France this summer – we’re bringing France direct to your doorstep with fabulous savings on all our French wines for July and August!

Fancy lounging in the garden with a relaxing Rosé, or sipping a chilled white by the seaside? Every bottle, every colour, every vintage is 10% off all summer long!

And it’s not just France that we’ve targeted for special prices on whites. We’ve these recommendations for summer sipping, all with cool discounts to make a stock-up a little easier.

Having trouble picking your own mixed case? Well, things just got a little easier.

We’re building a name as Ireland’s mixed case wine specialists, with permanent discounts on a range of pre-mixed cases from only €100, and with free delivery anywhere in Ireland. We’ve the established Curious favourites, with re-vamped Old World, New World, all Red and all White mixes, or check-out the newly launched Simply range, our recommendations on where to start if Australia, Chile, France or Italy is your thing.

Finally, we always keep the odd little offer, such as bin-end or limited availability wines, for our Newsletter subscribers. If you’re not signed up, you’ve nothing to lose but everything to gain by doing so – click here to find out more and to sign-up in one easy step.

Let’s keep this simple. France is a strange and complicated nation. For a start, they drive on the wrong side of the road, they call a “French kiss” an “English kiss” and, in 1386, they executed a pig by public hanging for the murder of a child (Oink!).

French laws covering the use of Appellation Contrôlée (wine regions) names rarely permit the naming of grape varieties. You may not have realised that all Chablis is made from the Chardonnay grape – and that’s by law! Head to the south west of France for those Vin de Pays (Table Wines) and expect to find much more open and less regulated winemaking.

They haven’t gone through much effort to simplify the laws that regulate their wine industry, and I’m not interested in boring you when trying to explain who can’t use oak or who can’t grow what. So here’s a glance at a number of the appellations and what they do best.

Bordeaux: Around 88% of wine produced here is red (known as Claret in Britain). White wines are typically Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc blends. Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the red wine blends, although Merlot is the most widely planted grape. Regions include Médoc, Graves and Saint-Emilion.

Burgundy: Great Burgundies, both red and white, are unblended wines made from a single variety – a major difference from Bordeaux. Wines from the wider Burgundy region are labelled as Bourgogne AC. Major varietals are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gamay (Beaujolais).

Rhône: The two great grapes of the Northern Rhone are Syrah, which you’ll find under Crozes-Hermitage, and Viognier, with Grenache based wines dominating the south, including Châteauneuf-du-pape (meaning “the Pope’s new castle”). Cote du Rhone is another popular red in the south.

Languedoc & VDP: The majority of France’s Vins de Pays wines are produced in the Languedoc, which borders Spain on the southeast. Grenache and Syrah are popular blends in Languedoc AC, but the freedom granted with labelling a wine VDP allows large volumes of inexpensive wines from international grape varieties to be produced. To the delight of us wine nuts!