Fellow Wine Lovers,
And so we bumble on and I think once again we have more questions than answers
Many weeks have passed since there was much frivolity to speak of in the media and now as the mornings get darker and the evenings start earlier it does feel like we are slowly moving towards something but god only knows what and he’s taken the last train for the coast…
Will Canning Town be the moment that Extinction Rebellion misjudged the focus of their protests and actually lost some support by mucking up people’s early morning commute? Or has it served to make their message clearer – it may be inconvenient but something needs to be done now, not later? Not sure the tube, that can carry best part of 5 million people per day, was the most sensible target – perhaps the lorries chugging in from Tilbury on the eponymous flyover nearby would have been a better focus.
Will Wayne’s best buddy, Boris, get the deal he has agreed with Europe past the disruptors in parliament? Less than 48 hours for the MP’s to thumb through the legal jargon before their Saturday detention when they will have to discuss it all and ideally come to an agreement – and then, as always happens when you cram, they’ll have forgotten everything by Monday and start all over again.
Will Trump or Erdogan win Man of the Year?
In a world where you can now unlock your BMW with your phone, should we be worried that anyone’s thumbprint can unlock the Samsung S10 or that the Pixel 4 Face Unlock works when your eyes are shut? Perhaps test your tech before you release it, chaps?
Video Games by Lana del Rey wins song of the DECADE at the Q awards?
250 tubes of Prosecco and Pink Peppercorn Pringles, that were a Christmas special here last year have been seized from a supermarket in the Veneto, northern Italy, home to the infamous sparkling wine. There are strict laws in place preventing the use of the word Prosecco for anything other than the local wine and thus they are suitably up in arms about this as they feel it breaks these protective laws. I think they’re right. It was a crime against wine, a crime against crisps and the pink peppercorns should feel ashamed of themselves from getting involved with such a cheap publicity stunt. Above all though, why wouldn’t you want to eat something containing ‘polvere di Prosecco’ or Prosecco powder to you and I?
Has Owen Farrell picked the right team to beat Australia? Sorry, did I say Owen Farrell, silly me, I meant Eddie Jones. Anyway, I’m sure dropping Ford won’t come back to bite us. Farrell getting red carded for a no arm tackle and us being down to 14 men, now that’s what’s going to really hurt. Then we’ve got Ireland against New Zealand straight afterwards so we might all need a stiff drink by 2pm on Saturday. Sunday brings us confirmation that there will definitely be one Northern Hemisphere team in the semi-finals as Wales and France lock horns and then Japan meet their world cup rabbit, South Africa.
Imagine England, Ireland, Wales and Japan in the semis? 269-4 are the odds of this four-cast, should you fancy.
I think I mentioned needing a drink by 2pm on Saturday a moment ago however, I suspect some of us may need a libation before that. We all drank rather a lot of the fine wines from Domaine Treloar last night courtesy of Rachel, Lady Treloar, so I think we might avoid the southern reaches of France for now.
Instead, we’ll open a white from the DO Ribeira Sacra in Galicia.
Alma Larga Godello 2017 – £16.99 is from precipitous vineyards overlooking the river Sil in Ribeira Sacra. The terraced vineyards here are really steep and contain vines even older than Wayne and, much like him, less productive over time! The significance is that older vines produce better quality grapes as evidenced here, rich with citrus orchard notes, a touch of mineral and a lovely long finish – of course, Wayne produces better quality work, as evidenced every day!
And the red will be the Familia Cecchin Carignan 2017 – £13.99. This is a bit off the beaten track in a way, a slightly unfashionable French grape variety surfacing in Mendoza. What we have is a bit of old vine Carignan, organically farmed and utilising minimal sulphur. The wine itself is packed full with red cherry fruit flavours with a little wood spice and leathery note. Layered and complex, this is a wine that really delivers and for those interested in such things, it is both organic and vegan – ticks all round!
So that’s about it for us – let’s all play nicely and stay calm, we’ve got a tricky few days ahead of us and that’s before we add half term into the equation!
Cheers