WINE merchant Jonathan Cocker has become something of an online sensation with his quirky wine tasting videos during lockdown.

Jonathan, who owns Martinez wines based on The Grove in Ilkley, has taught himself a raft of social media skills and his wine tasting demonstrations have been reaching 1,000-4,000 views per post, with Twitter followers increasing from 450 to 1,800 in less than two months.

Here Jonathan shares his expertise and his great love for wine: “At the age of 11 I was bottling up in my dad’s first pub. He loved wine and so it followed that I would too. I moved from the hotel trade to the wine trade 20 years ago to work at Martinez, and nine years later I took over.

Skip forward to the present and our wine shops in Bingley and Ilkley stock over 500 wines from all over the planet, as well as an extensive range of gins, whisky, local and international beers.

We added a wine bar at each site, utilising my on trade experience. The bars offer 40-plus wines by the glass and our shop range by the bottle. Add simple authentic tapas, make everything affordable and you have a bustling business. We wholesale throughout the North, delivering to pubs, hotels and restaurants.

Our wines are bought primarily from passionate small to medium sized family growers and we aim to deliver quality across our range, from £6.99 upwards. We’re a small, local run business that tries to make wine accessible to all, with a light-hearted approach that dismisses all the stigma of snobby wine merchants.

I’m often asked: ‘How do you tell a good wine from a bad one?’ Deep dimple in the bottle, heavy bottle, an award sticker? ‘None of the above,’ is my reply.

The only way to guarantee getting a good bottle is to shop at an independent wine shop. A shop that concentrates on wine, not a grocery shop that does wine! Online you can select our wines by price, grape variety, country or food match.

At Martinez, we taste every wine we sell before it goes on our shelves. We’re not driven by price or incentives - we just love wine!

Here are my recommendations for spring/summer drinking that I think are drinking well right now and offer great value:

lFizz:

Torres Estelado Sparkling Rose, Chile, £12.79 and a former winner of the World’s Best Sparkling. Bone dry, light pink, it has fine bubbles and berried fruits on the palate.

Gran Gesta Cava, Spain, £10.99 Martinez imported and made in the champagne method. Fruity, honeyed and fresh with a dry finish. Appeals to most tastes.

lWhite:

Cuvee Jean Paul Sec, France £6.99. From Cotes de Gascogne this is a great alternative to Sauvignon. Zippy tropical fruit with racy acidity.

Il Cascinone Fontanino Riesling, Italy, £8.79. A great drink at full price this is outstanding summer drinking. Lime, lemon grass, a touch of petrol and a lovely minerality.

lRose:

Burlesque white Zinfandel, USA, £6.99. Move away from the overly sweetened brands and give this a go with its fruit packed zip from old vines.

Whispering Angel Provence Rose, France £17.99. Wonderfully dry and crisp with delicate summer berry fruits balanced by citrus zest acidity and a deliciously creamy finish.

lRed:

MITARTE Maceracion Carbonica Rioja, Spain, £8.79. Made in a Beaujolais style. Cherry fruits, velvet tannins, great structure.

The Dot Cherry Zweigelt, Austria, £11.19. Lush ripe fruit and fresh cherries, creamy light to medium bodied and a smooth finish.

Try it lightly chilled!”