Archive for June, 2015

We should be developing things a bit newer, a bit more “here and now”. So we will. Well, after a bit of pre-amble, we will.

Friday, June 26th, 2015

Fellow Wine Lovers,

As news reaches us that Queen are releasing a beer brewed in the Czech Republic to commemorate the 40th anniversary of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, Fleetwood Mac play an epic run at the O2 whilst The Who fill Hyde Park, we can’t help but think that we should be developing things a bit newer, a bit more “here and now”.

So we will. Well, after a bit of pre-amble, we will.

Many of you have stood by our tasting table, sampling some of our delicious wines, ruminating on what fun it would be if Wimbledon Park had a nice bar to have a drink at. Not that place down the road where the Invisible Man and his mates drink, not a cab journey away to the village, just somewhere local where one could enjoy a glass of wine. Well, we had that self-same chat with a new customer who’s recently moved to the area and, being far more dynamic than these two fossils, has done something about it.

Tonight sees Wimbledon Park’s very first neighbourhood pop up bar with Saucer & Cup Lates.

From 7.30pm at the Saucer & Cup, just across the road from us, Daniela will be hosting with locally sourced craft beer, wine and gin. There will be small plates of food too and we understand that 10% of profits will go to Foodcycle. So, no excuses folks, pop in and have a glass or two since it’d be a shame to let an evening like this slip through our fingers (and the more you drink the less we have to take back!)

Rosé Tasting – SOLD OUT
If you’ve meaning to book but haven’t…well you were warned!

Wine School – Autumn Term
As we mentioned last week we are now taking bookings for our six week course that starts on Wednesday 16th September. Full details are attached and give us a call or drop a line if you’d like to come along – 020 8944 5224.

Tasting This Weekend
Light and summery would seem sensible. With this in mind we will open a bottle of Domaine Clos des Eglantiers Rivaner 2014 – £12.89 which continues to be our best-selling white wine from Luxembourg; mooching around, keeping itself to itself, we have a delicious red from Australia – Innocent Bystander Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2013 – £15.99. Both fab, both light and summery, both open – come and join!

If you can’t make it in this weekend but miss seeing Alex…
… then all is not lost! He’ll be propping up a table at the annual Wimbledon Park Primary School Summer Fair this Sunday, between 12pm and 3pm. He’ll be bound to have something fun to taste whilst watching his daughter get high on candyfloss and trying to keep his son away from the beer stall. Give him a wave, if nothing else….

¡Hasta la vista, mister!

Chinon, Saumur and Sassicaia

Friday, June 19th, 2015

Fellow Wine Lovers,
Is it just me or do we all think some kind of Groundhog Day should be instigated so that all one day cricket could be like the last few games? After the World Cup performance I certainly didn’t imagine that this series would be so exciting and be sat at 2 each going in to the final game.
We saw a report this week (on the BBC, no less!) that suggested “Fixing Parliament ‘could cost £5.7 billion’”. We couldn’t help but wonder if our man Sepp couldn’t fix it for less than that!
Mo, Mo say it ain’t so!
In wine news we saw that Gary Lineker has had his wine collection stolen, with the exception of one, unnamed, case. We were reminded of a friend who was burgled a few years ago with the thieves stealing his entire CD collection with the exception of the Billy Joel discs. Toe-rags the lot of ‘em!
Our hearts sank with the ‘Fruit flavoured wines are the drinks of the future’ headline. Apparently young adults will prefer to have perfectly good wine adulterated with sugar and fruit juices. Doesn’t appeal to me and if that’s the future I’m off…
Wine School
We’re halfway through Summer term and we’ve had a few people asking so…
Term Starts on Wednesday 16th September 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. Cost is £150 and full details are attached.
New Wines
The eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed the odd new wine appear here and there on the shelves. We’ve managed to track down some delicious Domaine Coche-Bizouard Monthelie 1er Cru ‘Les Duresses’ 2009 (£28.99); we’ve dipped our toe in the posh Italian end with a small amount of Sassicaia 2012 (£125); and whilst on the subject of Italy we also have Monte Del Fra Soave Classico 2013 (£12.99) a deliciously crisp summery drop.
Tasting this Weekend
Another of our newbies and something we’re very excited about is Chinon ‘Les Picasses’ 2006 Olga Raffault (£18.99). We love Cabernet Franc with a little age so were dead chuffed when we came across this. It’ll be parking itself in the red corner on the tasting table this weekend, so do come and have a sample.
We’re staying in the Loire, so those of you more persuaded by wines of the white variety might like to wrap your taste buds around Langenlois Chateau Saumur Blanc Vieilles Vignes 2008 (£19.99) a splendidly rounded Chenin Blanc that could give some of the top burgundies a run for the money in the style stakes!
Chin chin,
Wayne & Alex

Cricket, Gin and Rose…down the hatch!

Saturday, June 13th, 2015

Fellow Wine Lovers,
So, I sent him off into the big city yesterday, with a bag full of corporate gifts, an oyster card and his mobile phone, which we had cross checked as being on and unusually, not critical for battery. It was a lovely day, as you all know, so he had his shorts on and I really didn’t expect him back in a hurry.
But what did happen next was definitely not what anyone expected. Facebook was the first to see it, then Twitter and then finally his wife rang to ask me, quite sternly in fact, where he was.
Apparently, so the story goes, he got distracted on the Central Line and got off at St Pauls instead of Bank. He had then gone for a bit of a stroll in the sunshine and ending up in the cool sanctuary of the Cathedral. Before he knew it, he was ascending the many steps into the Golden Gallery for a birds-eye view.
And then it happened.
As any good, modern traveller knows, the best and only way to properly appreciate an iconic tourist destination is to strip down to your socks with nothing else, and pose for a selfie, ideally with some Dutch people. And it was a hot day after all.
I think he’s closed his Facebook page and the Twitter shots were blurred but, frankly, what on earth possessed him to do it???
It’s like going to the Vatican and pulling a mooney, or climbing Mount Kinabalu and taking… oh, you get the drift!
Sports News
We’ll be brief here. A substitute England team played cricket on Tuesday, by substitute one means certain personnel were replaced by people who can bat and bowl, or even do both. However, for all true England fans we can certainly regard this as a blip and expect normal service to resume at The Oval today.
Also in cricket, the sweatiest cap ever to play cricket retired yesterday. Matt Prior is 33.
In racing we had varying success last weekend at Epsom but are saving ourselves for Ascot next week.
Lastly, and I realise you all know about this already, the European Games open this evening in Baku. What do you mean you’ve never heard of them?
Gin News
It’s World Gin Day tomorrow. So far as we’re concerned everyday is Gin day as we have Gin open every day and man cannot live on Latte’s and Salt & Vinegar Squares alone. We have Dodd’s Gin from Battersea (£37.50), we have Zuidam from Holland (£34.99), we have Fever Tree (4 for £3). Full speed ahead.
Rosé News
Confirmed acts for our first ever Rosé focused tasting:
In the ‘Fizz tent’ we have Billecart Salmon Brut Rosé NV, Hoffmann & Rathbone Rosé Réserve Brut 2011 and Mimi Pink Brut NV.
The ‘I’m the #1 Rosé in France’ tent is featuring Chateau L’Aumerade Cuvée Marie Christine Cru Classé 2014 from Provence, from Sancerre we have Pascal Jolivet’s Rosé 2014 and from Gascony, a young pretender in the guise of Cuvée Jean-Paul 2014.
Finally, in the ‘I’m not French or Fizzy but I am Pink’ tent we have the Borsao Rosado 2014 from Campo de Borja in Spain and Alasia Brachetto D’Acqui from Piemonte in Italy.
It’s going to be a brilliant evening, no doubt. £20 reserves you a ticket for all three tents, and the event takes place at 8pm, Thursday 9th July. To reserve, and you do need to reserve, call us on 020 8944 5224, or reply to this email or pop into the shop and see us.
Weekend News
When you come in to buy your Rosé tickets how about a drop of wine to tantalise you tastebuds – we will have the new vintage of our very popular Vinho Verde Leira Seca 2014 – £10.49 – open for white drinkers and for the redder hued, we are opening Chakana Malbec 2014 – £11.99 – just in case anyone is thinking barbecue.
That’s all from us for now, keep your clothes on, and if that’s becoming difficult, just don’t take a photo…
Down the hatch,

Wine and Cheese Tasting, Rose and Derby Day

Friday, June 5th, 2015

Fellow Wine Lovers,

So, as Alex and I strolled down Hollywood Boulevard the other day, we chuckled to ourselves; our first film pitch had turned into box-office gold despite the implausible storyline and now we were heading off to pitch the sequel.

“So!” said our chum Martin, “What have you got for me!”

“We’re moving more into a legal drama now.” We said excitedly, talking over each other.

“After the Feds kicked the door in at the end of the first movie, the investigation moved up a notch. Before you could say ‘Give us a bung’ the old men were falling over themselves to tell tales. It turns out that apart from Kickball those gnarly fingers were in many pies, and it may be they tried to buy the entire election of a Caribbean island just to get some more offshore banking facilities!

So as the Feds noose tightens they all trip out their tales of remorse, several of them suddenly become too infirm to stand trial, and one of them, whose sons had confessed years earlier, even cries during a live TV exposé!”

At this point Martin just shakes his head “Nobody will ever make this one guys, you got lucky the first time, but I told you before, storylines have to be believable, now go back to the wine, at least you can work a corkscrew.”

“But!” we splutter, “what about the bit where the good looking ex-footballer David Ginever becomes president and World Cup audiences almost double!”
“WINE!” Martin said, more firmly.

Here we are again in Wimbledon Park…

Wine & Cheese – Thursday 11th June at 8pm – £20

There are four places left if you’d like to join us. Give us a call on 020 8944 5224.
We’re still working on the wines but Cheese-wise we’re going with a Welsh Black Bomber, a Morangie Brie (whilst there’s still free trade with Scotland!) a Ribblesdale Blue Goat’s Cheese (the cheese is blue not the goat!), and a Wensleydale from Kit Calvert (did he manage The Who, we wonder?).
Rosé Tasting – Thursday 9th July at 8pm – £20
We’re thinking pink here, the evening will feature Rosé in its many forms. Still, dry, fruit, fizzy and from Champagne. There’s talk of strawberries and we might even get Wayne to wear a pink shirt!
Derby Day (already!)
So it seems the smart money is on Frankie Dettori and Golden Horn, but you know us better than that, we going for a cheeky each way on Hans Holbein!
Tasting this Weekend
Alex is definitely in the chair this week, he’ll regale you with tales of Derring do on a mackerel boat, digging for oil in the bunkers of golf clubs across the Costa del Sol (I think he called for a rescue club!) who knows maybe even something useful about the wine.
White wise we’ll go with Domaine du Salvard Cheverny (£12.39) a delicious Loire refresher that is a blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Chardonnay, married marvellously in stainless steel and bang on for that 20c the weatherman is promising.
Burlesque Zinfandel (£9.79) is putting in time in the red corner, a delicious old vine example that is pitch perfect for all manner of things cooked over coals.
So drop by, say hi, have a taster and we’ll talk about horses….