Fellow Wine Lovers,
Who knew ‘Greek Barolo’ was going to be so popular? Wayne’s feeling very smug. Having spent more years than either of us will admit to nagging Alex about Greek wine and space on the shelf, we’ve bought some, sold it all and now there’s space on the shelf!
It seems someone has had their finger in the pie at Patisserie Valerie, as this week forensic accountants were called in to establish exactly what has caused the £20m hole in the numbers. Now, call me old fashioned but even for a posh cake shop that’s been around for 92 years, £20m buys you an awful lot of Rum Babas.
We’ve been involved with the accountant a bit this week, last year’s accounts, this quarter’s VAT blah blah blah but we were also discussing the business going forward, as you do. You can imagine our horror then to read headlines that suggest our future maybe in some peril.
“Nearly 30% of young people in England don’t drink” doesn’t make for happy reading from this side of the counter. Looking closer at the study you notice that by young they weren’t joking, some 22% of the people discussed aren’t even legally able to buy anything other than tonic water or Biltong in our shop! We do think over the years it’s become much harder for under age teenagers to buy alcohol since the licensing laws changed, so probably that is leading to wholesale behavioural change.
‘Quick Alex, lets diversify. There’s a golf course around the corner, should we have a chat with Big Bertha?’
“Slazenger may be more appropriate Wayne, and the street already has a tennis shop.”
It would appear some light fingered ne’er-do-well has made off with Geraint Thomas’s Tour de France Trophy. The naughty folk on the Pinarello stand left it unattended and, before you could say “Geraint get the beers in”, it was missing. Talk that the police would like Messrs Froome and Quintana to help them with their enquiries is wide of the mark, apparently. If anyone gets offered a big blue fruit bowl with gold trim, or even a cuddly furry lion toy please email the guys at Sky.
In a quick sports round up its an international week in football so nothing interesting there. (What not even Faroe Islands vs Azerbaijan?). Over in Formula 1, despite decades of competition, Ferrari seem to have lost their tactical nous. To close the cycling season, ‘Ride of the Fallen Leaves’ or Il Lombardia is this weekend. All those involved are looking forward to eating cake and letting the hair on their legs grow back for the winter. Finally, those of you who like to watch a swinging stick and a lawn with sand holes should get yourselves down to Walton Heath Golf Club for the British Masters, it’s just down the road.
Tasting this weekend
Desperately clinging on to thoughts of summer, and having gone Greek last week, this week it’s all Y Vino España!
Assuming that our chum Jaime delivers, the white corner will be occupied by a shiny new listing in Eido da Salgosa Albariño (£14.99) about which Alex said “a really special mouthfeel. This should be on our shelves.” Mmm, not sure anything needs to be added to that, come and taste for yourselves.
On the red front we shall weigh in with Palacio del Camino Real Crianza 2015 (£10.99) a delicious Rioja Crianza that has fallen into our lap rather fortuitously.
Thanks to everyone who attended last night’s Cheese and Wine tasting, you’ll be pleased to hear the negotiations with the printer were successful, and it is behaving perfectly normally today. Technology making life better every day…