Just back from a fascinating few weeks in Bordeaux visiting Sauternes, Graves and Saint Emilion. I'm always staggered by the vastness of France, the sense of space, the stubborn retention of tradition and the tranquility of the vineyards. We spent a day cycling around Sauternes, a charming village to the south-east of Bordeaux. Arriving bright and early for our first appointment at 10am we were met by a braying donkey and an irritable dog. A few moments later a château owner cycled past on his way to the boulangerie. Things though are about to get very busy. Next week the harvest will begin. A year spent battling the elements has led to the loss of a large amount of fruit. It seems the grapes are in good condition but there are hints that 2008 will not be a great vintage. A few observations: (1) the price of top end claret is now insane with no sign of price increases abating. The local wine merchant in Saint Emilion has shelves stocked full of wines priced north of £70 a bottle. Who on earth you may ask is buying all this wine? Wealthy individuals from Russia, North America and South-east Asia is the answer, leaving us mere mortals to look elsewhere. (2) The quality of Bordeaux white wine has never been higher. Crisp, zingy and light, it is both refreshing and extremely affordable. (3) It has finally dawned on the winemakers in Sauternes that their gloriously rich, sweet, pudding wine makes a rather fine accompaniment to Asian food. After years of enduring Sauternes and foie grois tastings it was a relief to taste it with mango salads and curried pork (more of that in a later column) but as one winemaker said: "Everyone loves Sauternes but nobody drinks it." I was reminded of a similar sentiment expressed by port producers last year.

Wine from the Amazon

News just in that Amazon.com expects to start selling American wine inside the US within a few weeks. According to Terry Hall, a spokesman for the Napa Valley Vintners Association, Amazon was "really looking to be the go-to website for wine sales", and that "they're fast-tracking it right now' and hope to sell wine in about 26 states". Although there are no plans to launch this in Britain a few of our mail order companies such as Laithwaites and The Wine Society will be looking nervously at developments. Wine lends itself to internet sales and I am surprised Amazon have not looked at it before.

Supermarket deals

There are a few deals worth looking at this week. The Co-op is reducing all its Fairtrade wine by 25%, while Somerfield has a few interesting offers. The new vintage of Blason Montagny Vieilles Vignes 2007 is half price, down from £11.99 to £5.99. Its classic-style Almena Real Rioja Reserva 2001 is also half price down from £9.99 to £4.99. Jacquart Brut Champagne is also reduced from £23.99 to £16.99.

Wine masterclass

Finally I will be hosting a series of masterclasses at this Saturday's Tesco Wine Fair at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange. To buy tickets visit www.tescowinefair.com or call 0845 650 9301 and use the following code when prompted to get two tickets for the price of one for the Sunday session: TWCFSUNDAY. Tickets normally £10 each.