Fellow Wine Lovers,
39 days ago, 27 million of us watched Mr Johnson announce the lockdown thus:
From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction – you must stay at home….. We will stop all gatherings of more than two people in public – excluding people you live with….stay at home, protect our NHS and save lives.
And we all did, some more, some less – 9,000 fines is the figure released yesterday and certainly we witness more and more street corner chats and dog walks between friends every day which lead s to the question – how much longer can we maintain our resolve? I know of some customers who are loving the lockdown – people who usually have to stick to a strictly regimented work routine often interrupted by aimless phone calls who are loving the freedom that working from home has given them. Conversely, many of us just don’t have the right home environment to be able to work from there long term – your zoom business meeting with the US is strangely incompatible with your husband’s need to dance in his boxer shorts to Sparks at top volume – this town ain’t big enough for the both of us….
So, almost 40 days in, it seems that Quarantine could very likely become Settantine if not more, depending on how the ‘testing’ debate/debacle pans out, and as a consequence people are having to adapt more and more to the new normal. An article we read in Travel News Sverige a week back was perhaps more deserving of a 1st April headline:
Coronasäker en-bords-restaurang öppnar i Värmland.
The article then explains:
Ett bord. En stol. Mitt på en sommaräng i Värmland. Ingen serveringspersonal och inga andra gäster. Maten levereras i en korg från restaurangkökets fönster. Bakom initiativet står paret Rasmus Persson och Linda Karlsson. Idén uppstod när paret skulle bjuda Linneas föräldrar på mat.
Which, I think we’ll all agree, is pretty bonkers!
For those of you without a fluent speaker in your midst, the article is applauding the opening of a one-table restaurant located in a Swedish field, where meals are delivered in a basket on a washing line – only one booking a day, set menu and only open to solo diners or people from the same household. Should the sun shine long enough here over the next few weeks perhaps we could try it – anyone know any farmer’s with fields to spare?
In sport, everything is getting cancelled but still there is surprise and denial in some quarters.
The cancellation of the Eredivisie season in the Netherlands was a bit of a swashbuckling move which perhaps could still come back and bite them. A number of clubs are looking to sue someone but surely, when the government banned sport until 1st September, what other choice did they have? Likewise, in France, a ban following the same timeframe has been set, which puts the Tour de France in jeopardy again. These bans come a week after Belgium banned all mass gatherings until the end of August. With Italy and Spain yet to make a decision, which must follow the same logic as the French and the Dutch, I’m starting to wonder, yet again, what planet the Premiership teams are on, as, against the lockdown rules no matter what they say, they returned to training this week with players from abroad who went back home to isolate being told to fly back in next week.… does no one watch the news anymore?
The Premier League managers have a meeting today, regarding Project Restart, what chance they talk sense??
Wine
Because, really, that’s what we’re all about, in between moaning about sport and politics, just in case that had slipped your notice…
I am reliably informed that today, Friday 1st May, is International Sauvignon Blanc Day. This always occurs on the first Friday of May and, astonishingly, in New Zealand National Sauvignon Blanc day is also held on the first Friday of May… could there be a connection?! Judging from the fact that I could find no acknowledgement from France of this ‘international’ celebration, I am starting to wonder if it should be more correctly titled New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Day but this could bring confusion to lots of households who have long assumed that every day is a NZ SB day…
Anyway, always keen to have a celebration in these dark times, here’s my tasting list for tonight:
Oyster Catcher Sauvignon 2018, Central Valley, Chile (£8.29)
False Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2019, Western Cape, South Africa (£8.99)
The Accomplice Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc 2018, South Australia (£9.39)
V Sauvignon Blanc 2019, Marlborough, New Zealand (£9.79)
Southern Dawn Sauvignon Blanc 2019, Marlborough, New Zealand (£11.99)
Barton Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2017, Walker Bay, South Africa (£12.79)
Domaine Jouan Frere et Soeur Menetou Salon 2018, Loire Valley, France (£15.99)
Flametree Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2017, Margaret River, Australia (£16.99)
Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc 2019, Marlborough, New Zealand (£19.99)
Roblin Sancerre ‘Terres Blanches’ 2018, Loire Valley, France (£21.99)
Henri Bourgeois Sancerre Le MD de Bourgeois 2017, Loire Valley, France (£29.99)
And then, to go with dinner, a magnum of
Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc 2019, Marlborough, New Zealand (£41.00)
That should keep me quiet…
Should you care to join me on this exciting adventure, we have stock of all these wines and can deliver – fuel is still cheap and our parallel parking is improving, so just follow these simple directions to reach your vinous nirvana:
- Drop us a line at shop@parkvintners.co.uk and give us an idea of what you desire – minimum order is six bottles
- The most helpful thing for us to know straight away is how many bottles you would like, an approximate cost and ideally what you like and definitely don’t like!
- The more information, you give us the quicker we can turn it round
- We’ll suggest ideas, send you the cost and payment details and deliver to your doorstep, all safely distanced
Whilst I know you are all missing our dulcet tones, we aren’t answering phonecalls at the moment and, as a consequence, email is absolutely, 100%, the best way to place your order. We are dealing with them all in chronological order and will definitely get to you – there’s plenty of stock for everyone…. our pens are poised, send us your orders and we’ll pack the boxes!
Right, I’m past my peak, so I’m off to drink a world of Sauvignon Blanc, who’s with me?