Rugby, Wine & Cheese Tasting and Wine School

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Flushed with the success of our campaign at Cheltenham, where we saw horses run and jump over things whilst carrying small men with garish shirts up a steep hill, we thought we would cast our beadies over other sporting events this week.

So we’ve cast aside the jockey’s diet of a lettuce leaf and two glasses of water, choosing instead the steak and eggs option of the Six Nations. Wayne had a look at the points table and reached for the slide rule causing Alex much mirth, who promptly explained the concept of spreadsheets.

With this being the final weekend of a thrilling Six Nations, Wayne has put his new found expertise on pages with grids to answer the question on everybody’s lips. He has worked out that if Italy beat Wales in the early game, Scotland have no hope of avoiding a wooden spoon-shaped object.

In other news we saw that scientists from the University of Illinois are working on “hangover free” wine. Reading past the headlines however and we discover that by genetically modifying the yeast using a “genome knife” they believe they will remove some of the toxins that cause hangovers, and may even be able to boost the “health” benefits of a wine by introducing things like ginseng. The article then went on to say that it’s not just these toxins that cause hangovers, there is a series of other suspects too, many of which they don’t understand.

We’ve conducted a quick straw poll amongst all our staff and we’re going to stick with an occasional tactical glass of water, and our firm belief that the best winemakers do virtually nothing in the winery.

Roy Hodgson has named the squad for the games against Lithuania and Italy and again the selection misses out on anyone called either Kevin or Pietersen. We can’t help but think you’ve missed a trick there Roy!

    Back by Popular Demand


The Chocolate Block 2013 £23.99 (6 bottles for £120)
– Undoubtedly one of South Africa’s most sought after wines, the 2013 is a blend of Syrah (71%); Cabernet Sauvignon (12%); Grenache Noir (11%); Cinsault (5%) and Viognier (1%). They say: “An exotic and vibrant vintage with an iron edge running alongside the inky core of prunes, mulberries, cloves and boasting floral notes. Firm ripe tannins on the palate covered by plums, blackberries and olive tapenade. Textured, composed and seamless in style.”

We can’t think of a better match for some venison.

    Wine and Cheese

I’m not entirely sure how we got from venison to cheese, but anyway, Thursday 16th April sees the next outing of our Cheese and Wine tasting. We still have a few places left so don’t be shy, give us a call on 020 8944 5224 or swing by, say hi and we’ll book you in. £20 per person and an 8pm start as usual.

    Wine School

You’ve all been asking so…
Term Starts on Wednesday 15th April at 8pm sharp. Over 6 Wednesday evenings you’ll taste around 60 different wines discover new favourites and who knows, maybe make some friends too. There’s nothing on the telly, cost is £150 and full details are attached.

    Tasting This Weekend

In the white corner this week we’ll have a gargle on Petit Clos Sauvignon Blanc 2013 £13.99. Hailing from Marlborough this was a sheep farm until Domaine Henri Bourgeois, a Sancerre producer for 10 generations, bought the land and planted some Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir grapes. The resulting wine is an unmistakeably Kiwi Sauvignon with a certain amount of French sensibility and restraint.

In the red corner we’ll turn that whole idea on its head with Tahi 2009 £22.99. Here we have a typically French wine made by an Englishman who trained in New Zealand. I’ll make no apologies for this being the 2nd Domaine Treloar wine in a fortnight, the wines are too delicious to have unopened on the shelf!

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