The Weekly Wine

Fellow Wine Lovers,

At this point of the week it is customary for us to discuss some of the week’s more noteworthy snippets of news, in what we hope is a light hearted and occasionally amusing style. This week I find myself a little scuppered as I have paid virtually no attention to current affairs whatsoever. I understand Jeff Bezos has taken over Venice for his wedding, upsetting most of the locals who object to the idea that you can ‘buy’ Venice for a few days. There have been inflatable Bezos effigies floating in canals alongside talk of inflatable alligators too. Alex and I didn’t get an invite, or the catering contract. We don’t know Jeff Bezos any better than half of the guest list selection of folk from Red Carpet Fillers LLC but surely we could’ve helped with the wine?

I’m also assuming that, as we get to write again this week, WW3 has thus far been avoided. Why can’t these confused old men just play backgammon, cards or dominoes in the sunshine? Warhammer for real is just not cool, what benefit is there to the people of Iran, Israel or the US?

One thing did catch my eye, in Warwickshire the Reform leader of the council, Rob Howard, has stood down after just 41 days in the job saying his health doesn’t allow him to continue in the role “to the standard I would wish”. This presents an amazing opportunity for his deputy, 18 year old George Finch. Now, as much as I welcome all great opportunities for young folk, I do question whether any 18 year old has the necessary skills to deliver the best value for money from the councils £500m revenue budget. Quite a steep learning curve I’d suggest, let’s hope he passed his GCSE Maths.

Well Wayne, you might ask, what have you been up to that had you so disconnected from the 24 hour news cycle? Well, since we last spoke I spent a day standing in a field near Milton Keynes watching old folks sing the songs of my youth, some rather better than others. I finally got to see Kraftwerk after the best part of 50 years of trying. They might be robots, I’m not sure, but they certainly had a bass that rattled your lungs against your ribs. Then I dashed off to Bordeaux, as you do!

Tasting and drinking mostly red wine in 33˚C is a bit of a challenge but rest assured I did my best to rise to it. I got to meet up with a selection of colleagues from independent merchants around the country to exchange ideas alongside tales of woe, derring-do and hilarity. We planted trees to help with one estate’s diversity and visited a brand new (or at least very nearly finished) winery, on one of the largest estates in Bordeaux, that will remain empty until the pea sized berries that we saw have ripened and been harvested. 

We got to visit Yves at Saransot Dupré whose two wire haired dachshunds made sure we stayed on the straight and narrow; Cyril from Chateau Haut Barrail was there too and Yves  told him off for not pouring large enough samples! We also met Jean-Christophe from Château Les Tourelles, who has some very gnarly looking 100 year old Semillon vines for his sweet wines and supplies us with some remarkable value wines from down in Cadillac. I certainly never expected to be sat discussing wines from Mallorca sat in a cellar in south-east Bordeaux!

This brings me to what we’ll have on tasting this weekend. Glastonbury is on the telly and we seem to be in line for some nice weather, so why not try Chateau Les Tourelles 2023 (£11.99) in the white corner. As mentioned above, it’s from Cadillac in south east Bordeaux and its crisp freshness is just the ticket for this weather.

In the red corner, we’ll again go for a summer swigger that suits the weather. Hanewald-Schwerdt Spätburgunder 2020 – £19.99. Pinot Noir from Germany doesn’t appear on everyone’s radar very often but it should!  Bright strawberry and cherry notes lead the way with some delicious savoury character and good minerality.  Intense and medium bodied this is designed to be drunk easily (hooray) and can be enjoyed on its own (hooray again) and if you were of a mind it would chill down rather nicely (can I get a third hooray?)

That’s that from us except to wish Mel Brooks a happy 99^th birthday for tomorrow.

“It’s good to be the king”

Fellow Wine Lovers,

If you’re reading this, we are very relieved.  We thought that there was a more than decent chance that the world may have ended last night.  Not because of Tango Tariffmeister and Bulldozer Benjamin’s excursions in Iran, though we can see the risk.  No, the reason we thought the world may be doomed was because, at last night’s Vitality Blast between Middlesex and Essex, the MCC had dispensed with the requirement for gentlemen to wear jackets in the Pavilion.

Whilst we’re on the subject of last night, we’d just like to thank everyone who came along to a rather warm cheese and wine evening.  The cheeses were really rather tasty, Roncevaux from the Pyrenees was a discovery, whilst the wines all sang too, particularly the Bedoba Saperavi, and some great pairings were found.  So much fun was had that we’ll do it again after the summer –   keep your eyes peeled for the next date.

Since we last spoke, Tango has had a birthday that involved him spending a truckload of US tax dollars on a military parade.  Unfortunately for him, it seems that US soldiers don’t march with quite the same panache as those in North Korea.  The stands for spectators seemed to be catering for a much larger gathering.  There were also rather a lot of street parties around the country in many cities, towns and hamlets although I’m not sure what they have against kings.

Space X continues its endless battle between being a firework manufacturer and wanting to conquer the final frontier.  I don’t know about you, but to me, Mars still looks more like a snack for work, rest and play than a colonised planet.

Closer to home, both A-levels and GCSEs have finished, so expect some partying up on the common. We’ve no idea what happened to that bottle of gin but do have another if you need one!

When I was a boy, apart from the world being mostly in black and white, rugby was a game that was played in the winter.  I have many memories of watching games where the protagonists ended the game looking more like extras from Swamp Thing than rugby players.  Imagine my surprise then, to realise that the Lions fixtures are starting with a game in Europe before heading off to the wintry climes of the Southern Hemisphere.  Fortunately for the players it’s only 23˚C in Dublin.  Oh, and I’ve just been informed that England are playing France at Twickenham tomorrow afternoon – anticipated temperature at kick-off – 32˚C….

Indeed, it seems we’re in the midst of, what some may term, a heatwave.  Irving Berlin was familiar with the idea, penning a song famously sung by both Marilyn Monroe and Ethel Waters.  There was a jazz-funk band from London called Heatwave featuring Rod Temperton.  He later went on to write songs for Michael Jackson and George Benson amongst others.  To make your heatwave experience more pleasurable we’d suggest imbibing some cool beverages and checking out the Temperton oeuvre!

Whilst we are on the subject of tunes and drinks, there seem to be a number of summer parties happening over the next few weeks.  If we can help with yours, do let us know.

Tasting This Weekend

We thought we’d start with something nice and fresh, Château de la Mirande Picpoul de Pinet 2024 (£14.99).  The vines for this Picpoul de Pinet are 100 years old and grow on the slopes overlooking the oyster beds of Bassin de Thau.  The wine is pitch perfect Picpoul, crisp and dry with lovely stonefruit character that was, for this taster, somewhere between a peach and a yellow plum.  Oysters would be a good partner, as would some dressed crab.  Salted crisps too, if you’re opening as an aperitif!

For red we thought we’d stay a bit light, with one you could chill if you fancy. Monte Tondo Corvina 2023 (£15.49).   Monte Tondo is a family estate located in the beautiful hillside vineyards of Soave.  This is a new wine to us, a lovely red with a bright and lively nose showing fresh cherry, black berry and black pepper hints.  It is medium-bodied with a lovely freshness and supple, well-integrated tannins.

So that’s it from us, Summer Solstice tomorrow morning heralding the longest day of the year – use it wisely!

Cheers!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Another week, another weather report, another update on our sartorial selections. 

Our very own Angus Young continues to don his tailored shorts whilst Captain Birdseye still seems ready to embark on a 3 day fishing trip in particularly squally weather.  This is probably because the eternal schoolboy believes the BBC when it tells him ‘temperatures forecast to hit 29c by Friday’ whilst the salty seadog’s 2 day old copy of the Daily Mirror highlights ‘Exactly where thunderstorms will hit UK as rainfall warning issued by Met Office’.  One of them will be correct, possibly both.

And that’s the end of the news for this week because, frankly, there’s not a single headline that makes for happy reading – why are people so rotten to each other, all the time, everywhere?

So instead, we went down an internet wormhole earlier this week, as is our wont, and ended up discovering what the words cupboard, embarrassment and bamboo all have in common.  Any ideas?  No?  Well it was our wormhole, so we’ll tell you later.

This weekend sees the annual festival of awful greeting cards as we celebrate Father’s Day.  And I mean truly awful cards.  My father, a man of a certain age let’s say given my own receding hairline, doesn’t want a card with a racing car on the front and some rubbish about how he great he is at driving and how great he is at being a Dad – I’m not 10 years old Hallmark, there are grown-up’s with Dad’s too!  How about a card that has a bottle of wine and two glasses on the front and a message inside that says something like ‘Fancy sharing a bottle sometime soon?’

So what’s the difference between your Dad telling your friends an embarrassing story from your younger, needier days and a collection of Pandas?  Nothing apparently, they’re both an embarrassment!  Yes, indeed, the wormhole told us that the collective terms for pandas can be a cupboard, a bamboo or an embarrassment!  Why an embarrassment?  AI informs us:

‘the exact origin is unclear, it is widely believed to have emerged online or in informal discussions rather than having a historical, scientific, or linguistic root.  The term plays on the perception of them as being clumsy, lazy, and sometimes embarrassing in their behaviour, especially due to their fondness for bamboo and their somewhat limited activity.’

Father’s Day – Sunday 15^th June and also, Happy Birthday to Nigel Walker, 62, the insanely quick former Welsh Rugby Player with the ability to drop the pass on both wings!

In real sport, where they have no need to catch a ball, I’m told it’s the start of the Tour de Suisse this weekend which doesn’t sound terribly flat to me.

No interesting wine news this week – it still tastes great and we have plenty for all of you, just say the word.  To help with your decision making process, the wines open this weekend will be from Spain and Austria, no rationale behind this decision, just fancied opening them.

Palacio del Camino Real Blanco 2023 – £11.99 – we love a drop of white Rioja and this is a cracking blend of Viura, Malvasia and Grenache Blanc grown in the higher vineyards of Rioja Alta.  Pale yellow in the glass, with lovely fresh aromas of stone fruit and citrus, framed with a touch of vanilla from a couple of months lazing around in the barrel.  Exceptionally food friendly but equally has enough character to be well chilled should Wayne’s weather forecast be correct!

The red is a new listing for us.  We’ve had their Grüner Veltliner on the shelf for a few years and now have added Funkstille Zweigelt 2023 – £15.49.  These guys are the good guys.  All work in the vineyard is carried out sustainably, using their own fertilisers made from grape skins, manure and straw from their fields, to improve the soil structure and vitality of their vines.  Grapes are harvested in the early morning and taken to their energy neutral winery, where they are pressed with the must, then transferred into stainless steel tanks for fermentation.  However, forget all that, our notes for this describe cherries on the nose, a lovely fresh palate that is joyfully juicy and very, very drinkable!   Apparently, Funkstille translates as ‘radio silence’ so find a quiet spot in the garden, turn off the devices and enjoy it, perhaps even lightly chilled!

Unless it’s raining….

That’s it for this week.  As a quick heads up, we’ll be opening a bit later on Tuesday 17^th June as we have to go to a quick tasting in Islington which only starts at noon but we should be back in the trenches by 3pm, if you can hang on….

Remember, it’s always better to be known as an embarrassment than a cupboard!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Well, where to start.  As I am sitting here wearing a sweater, long trousers, ski socks and a beanie whilst my colleague is parading around in shorts and a polo shirt, I do wonder whether he was a postman in Newcastle in a previous life.  Clearly, Postman Pat did something very naughty at some point in a previous incarnation because his samsara has taken a significant backward step (if a circle can do such a thing) to end up running a wine shop in a wet Wimbledon Park.  But he seems happy enough, so no need to dwell.

In fairness, the weather was just as pony this time last year and eve n worse on 6^th June 2023 so it is, apparently, to be expected nowadays.  However, at least this year we’re not having to deal with an upcoming General Election and all the fallout that produced – thank goodness we’re through all those unsettled times, safe in the hands of Kier & Co – not sure what devilment we all got up to in a previous incarnation but I hope it was worth it!

However, it’s not all sunshine and cupcakes in the world of hospitality.  According to a survey undertaken by UK Hospitality alongside The British Institute of Innkeeping, The British Beer & Pub Association and Hospitality Ulster, 33% of hospitality businesses are now operating at a loss.  As discussed previously, the impact of increases in NI and Business Rates in April was always going to be brutal, with an estimated £3.4 billion of extra costs landing on the sector’s lap, just like that.  In fact, in the last few months, 60% of those surveyed have cut jobs, 63% have cut staffing hours, 76% have put up prices and yet, notwithstanding  these actions, 11% more businesses are working at a loss than in the last quarter.

One final bit of number crunching, with approval ratings courtesy of IPSOS:

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, post the fabulous September 2022 mini-budget:

• Doing a good job – 16%
• Doing a bad job – 53%
• Neither good nor bad – 21%
• Dunno – 10%

Chancellor Rachel Reeves, right now:

• Doing a good job – 16%
• Doing a bad job – 51%
• Neither good nor bad – 22%
• Dunno – 10%

As I’m sure you know, there’s nothing going on in the USA this week, likewise in sport, so let’s move away from all that and talk cheese and wine.  Further to the announcement of our upcoming event you all went away for the long weekend, enjoyed the break and forgot to book your seat!  So, just to remind you:

Wine & Cheese Tasting on Thursday 19th June at 7.30pm – £30 per person

We have four spaces left as I write so, if you fancy it, give us a call on 0208 944 5224, reply to this email or pop in and see us!

However, if you cannot join us on the 19^th, you can always pop in and taste some vino today and tomorrow.  This weekend, given the cryptic climatic conditions we don’t really know whether to barbecue or roast so we’ve fence-sat with our wine choices:

About a million years ago, when we sported Oddbins polo shirts, we used to sell lots of this Domaine Lebrun Pouilly Fumé 2023 – £20.49.  The bottle has lost its distinctive orange label somewhere in the intervening years but the wine has lost none of its quality or verve.  The estate is now run by Laurent, who is the sixth generation of the family to run it.  Gooseberry, grass, minerals, lemons and limes all crop up somewhere between the start and the nice long finish.  Tip-top classic Pouilly Fumé!

The red is from Italy – Cantine Povero Barbera D’Asti ‘Dianae’ 2023 – £15.99.  This is a bit of a cracker, quite natural with hand-harvesting, minimal intervention in the winery, minimal sulphur too.  Fermented in temperature controlled tanks and aged for 6 months in stainless steel.  The result is a velvety red with cherry and raspberry fruit character and medium to full body, just a touch of tannin to keep it tidy and a lovely long fresh finish.

So, that’s almost it from us but one thing before we go – recently was the Copa Jerez, an annual event celebrating food and sherry matching.  By all account one of the stand-out combinations, from the UK entry, was a dessert of beetroot amazake sorbet matched with Cream Cruz del Mar.  Now, everyone claims not to like cream sherry but perhaps it needs a revisit?  If you fancy some, we have the Cruz del Mar – £11.99/half bottle.

Now, it surely must almost be time for all of us to down tools and nip off to support the hospitality industry in the Friday ‘sunshine’, who’s with me?!

Cheers!