Fellow Wine Lovers,
Welcome to the after party, commonly known as February. Chapeau to all of you for battling through January so intrepidly, at times it felt like the elements might be competing with each other to see which of them could break our spirit most spectacularly and the days spent unable to feel my fingers and toes will hopefully recede quickly into the horizon.
Also, chapeau to all of you that managed to fulfil your Dry January pledges, we salute your determination. Chapeau too, to those of you who joined a gym, started doing yoga, bought some new running shoes, ditched Duolingo and adopted Babbel or any of the other positive steps we all take at the top of the year.
And a thank you to all of you who took advantage of our January Super Sale (ends today) which means that not only can we pay our VAT bill but we might even have some spare change for wages and future NI hikes – chapeau.
But enough about here, what’s been going on elsewhere? Whilst the new POTUS seeks to start war/cause disruption/break the law/troll everyone on all fronts, including his own country (did he really ‘invade’ California to turn the taps back on?) we have our own shenanigans here to focus upon. We won’t dwell on everything our Chancellor has suggested is going to happen but the overall feeling amongst those of you who have shared your opinions is that she must have found Theresa May’s Magic Money Tree because her ambitions for the country sound very, well, expensive. If she has found that elusive tree, I imagine there are number of nurses and NHS staff who’d like to give it a shake before she ploughs cash into long term/slow dividend developments that may well turn out to be white elephants, again!
If you’re a sports fan then I suggest you stop supporting Spurs, except on Thursdays. Just that really. Our cycling correspondent has started to research VPN’s and fire-sticks having discovered his subscription to watch real sport has gone up from £6 to £30 a month. I should perhaps have a whip-round for him because he’s quite upset… reminds me of when Sky first stole the cricket.
And it’s February 1st tomorrow, time to get back on the horse and no better time to saddle up than the first full day of Six Nations action. I fully acknowledge that Wales are in France this evening and whilst I’m as keen as you for a Welsh victory, I fear it may be buried under the aforementioned Magic Money Tree, alongside the England hopes. The prospect of the boys in white going into week 3 of this competition in sixth position is very real, particularly after Wales snatch a last gasp draw at the Stadio Olimpico courtesy of a much disputed knock on…
Probably the biggest news this week in the drinks trade, aside from the much reviled duty change, was the statement from Berry Bros. & Rudd, the famous fancypants St James’ Merchant, saying they had “entered into a consultation process with colleagues across 30 roles”, due to tough market conditions. “Extremely challenging global market conditions” and the recent increase in NI contributions were also cited. Meanwhile, French behemoth Rémy Cointreau has confirmed that times are still difficult; alongside a decline in sales of Rémy Martin in China they stated that a “persistent lack of visibility on the timing of the recovery in the United States and worsening market conditions in China” is troubling especially when coupled with the threat of new tariffs from both these countries.
And Wetherspoon’s have put drinks up by 15p and meal deals up by 30p (according to The Sun).
However, our Balham correspondent was out and about last night and visited his local, The Firefly. They were celebrating 20 years in business and he got persuaded in for a drink as he’s very supportive of local business plus the sun was over the yard arm. Furthermore, they were selling drinks at 2004 prices. Pints of Paulaner, Firefly Pilsner and Firefly Pale Ale were all £2.50 and a pint of Darkstar Hophead for £2.00… time to fire up the DeLorean, Marty!
But back to the now. We celebrated Burns Night last Saturday with our wine choices and foolishly overlooked Chinese New Year which took place mid-week – so some wines to match a banquet should be on the tasting table we thought!
Mountford Liaison Riesling – £19.49 -The grapes for this gem were grown on the deep gravels of the Waipara Valley, New Zealand and were hand selected and chilled over night before being whole bunch pressed. It has a little residual sugar making it off-dry with flavours of citrus zest and fresh limes making it perfect for spicy food and Asian cuisine.
Juliénas-Chaintré Beaujolais Villages ‘Cuvée Six’ – £13.99
There’s been a quiet revolution going on in Beaujolais with some of the smartest burgundy winemakers buying up parcels of land, co-operatives merging, and a quality revamp too. This wine is from the villages of Jullié and Emeringes and is grown on the sandy granitic soils that produce the best Gamay. Tender, round and fruity, as you’d expect from a pure expression of the grape variety and very more-ish!
So that’s it, tastebuds tantalised.
As a final note, as happened this week, we’ll be opening a little later on Tuesday 4th February as we are at yet another tasting – we’ll be back by 4pm, hopefully earlier, so see you then!
Ah, February, we’ve been expecting you…