Amps Blog
125 Birthday
The Amps family have a long history in Oundle which wouldn’t have been possible without all our loyal customers. So we wanted to say a massive thank you to all of you for choosing to shop with us and supporting us over the years. Cheers to the next 125 years! As an...
Reach for Ribera
by Philip Amps I attended a Ribera del Duero Masterclass with Tim Aitken in London recently. Tasting wines and discussing the region with other Independent Merchants. The wine region sits on the Duoro River that flows all the way to Oporto in Portugal and out to...
Explore Fino Sherry
Sherry Basics: Sherry is a fortified wine from Andalusia, Spain. It can be produced in a wide array of styles, each unique and offering something new. Most sherry is made exclusively from Palomino grapes (Pedro Ximénez is made from its namesake), which is a neutral...
A Trip to New Zealand
by Philip Amps 15 hours to Singapore and then 13 hours to Christchurch it is a long haul to get to New Zealand, but it is worth it when you get there. Even unpaved roads without Pot Holes! We first headed up to Nelson to park up the campervan close to the coast and...
Exploring Bulgaria
Bulgaria has a long wine making history dating back to the Thracians with some evidence suggesting they produced wine since 4000B.C. With such a long winemaking history then why haven’t these wines hit the mainstream in the same way French or Italian wines did?...
A Rare Ridge Monte Bello Tasting
On Friday 6th of March we opened six different vintages of Monte Bello as the next instalment of our Masterclass tasting series. The specialist Masterclasses are a way of us to open and share some truly special wines with our customers, and they are better value...
Spotlight on Southern Italy
When people think of Italian wine, their minds often drift to the rolling hills of Tuscany or the elegant reds of Piemonte. If you were to ask us what’s really exciting customers in our shops right now, we’d point you further south to sun-drenched vineyards,...
The UK’s Best Indies 2026
We’re one of the UK’s best independent wine merchants again! We are absolutely thrilled to be awarded one of the top independent wine merchants in the UK for a tenth consecutive year, especially among over 1,000 high-quality contenders. The judges said: “A...
A Flying Visit to Spain
by team member Simon After a very early start and a two hour delay at Stansted Airport, I joined the group of four independent wine merchants and our UK basedhosts at Alicante Airport, where we collected our hire cars and headed off for Bodegas Juan Gil in Jumilla,...
Perelada Join the Worlds 50 Best Vineyards
Each year The Top Fifty Wineries are judged and ranked by over 500 wine and tourism experts across five continents. “The ranking honours comprehensive wine projects that combine outstanding viticultural quality with high-value wine tourism initiatives” , it is a...
A Guide to Henners Vineyard
by team member Philip The Amps team have visited our great friends at Henners numerous times, but this was the first time we have taken customers to visit the Vineyards and Winery. This was very much a path finding trip for us to repeat and also let customers know...
Christmas Gift Service
We make gifting easy by delivering nationwide to individuals or businesses. As the festive season approaches, we know how busy things get so that’s why we make Christmas gifting simple, thoughtful, and stress-free. Whether you’re thanking clients, celebrating your...
What is orange wine?
As the leaves turn and the evenings draw in, there’s no better time to pour a glass of something golden, rich and a little mysterious... orange wine! Despite the name, these wines have nothing to do with oranges. Instead, their beautiful colour comes from the way...
James Bond and Bollinger
One of the most iconic partnerships we can think of, Champagne Bollinger and James Bond. The partnership officially began in 1979 with the film ‘Moonraker’, although Bollinger was mentioned years before in the ‘Diamonds are Forever’ book (1956). Since then the...
Nyetimber steals the stage at the International Wine Challenge.
The International Wine Challenge are globally recognised awards, with many different categories for Winemakers and Wines. This year Nyetimber took home two of the awards. Cherie Spriggs, the head winemaker at Nyetimber (who their Demi-Sec cuvee is named after) took...
A Masterclass with Murietta
by team member Ashley On the 12th September, we held one of our specialist tastings in our Market Place shop for just 14 guests, centred around the wines of Marques de Murrieta in Rioja. We were lucky enough to have Greg Askew, our supplier and brand ambassador...
Discover Alsace
by team member Maddy Alsace is a wine region rich in history, right on the border of France and Germany. Throughout history, there has been some contention over the political status of the region but in 1945 the region was returned to France. From a wine...
20 Vintages of Danielle!
Celebrate in our Oundle Wharf shop this Saturday. This September marks 20 years since Danielle joined Amps Wine Merchants. Starting as our Saturday girl while still at school, Danielle joined full-time straight after finishing her studies - even before she was old...
Bordeaux Uncorked: Left Bank vs. Right Bank
Bordeaux is home to some of the world’s greatest wines, but did you know the region is split into two distinct styles - the Left Bank and the Right Bank? The names simply come from which side of the Gironde and Dordogne rivers the vineyards sit, but the wines are...
Cabernet Sauvignon: The King of Reds
Loved all over the world, Cabernet Sauvignon has earned its crown as one of the most popular red grape varieties. But what makes it so special? Let’s start with some fast facts: Origin: Born in the Bordeaux region of France from a natural crossing of Cabernet Franc...
Zin & Grill – A Taste of California in Oundle
written by team member Danielle Earlier this month, on Friday 8th August, we brought a taste of California to the courtyard outside our Market Place shop with our first-ever Zin & Grill evening. From 4pm-8pm, guests gathered to enjoy a complimentary, relaxed...