Fellow Wine Lovers,
Right, that’s the family done for another year.
The last time for a year when you will do back-to-back roast dinners for a dozen people. The last time so many vegetables will congregate on one table together – potatoes, sprouts (because Uncle Martin likes them), parsnips (because Uncle Martin doesn’t like them), peas, carrots, red cabbage and of course broccoli for the kids… not to mention a turkey that weighs more than a case of wine, enough cranberry sauce to swim in, ditto Cumberland sauce, a loaf-load of bread sauce, meat stuffing, herb stuffing, pigs-in-blankets, sausage rolls, smoked salmon sandwiches, ham sandwiches, and of course twiglets.
Pudding, sir? What would you prefer – Christmas pudding, mince pies, Christmas cake, ice cream, brandy butter, chocolate cake (again for the kids, but I’m sure I saw mum with a plateful too), truffles, chocolate orange, chocolate Santas, Rudolphs, snowmen, bells, coins, and of course satsumas.
No wonder we all need a drink.
But we’re not quite there yet – there’s still New Year’s Eve to clamber across before we look down the long, cold corridor that we call January.
NYE is the time you spend with your friends, more roast meat, more potatoes, Christmas jumpers and slightly dirtier jokes. Same, same, but different.
We’ve got ourselves out of bed and we’re here to help. We’re open today, tomorrow (10-8), Sunday for a four hour cameo performance (11-3), and of course Monday from 10-6. We’re recommending magnums (we only have a few left but they do look the absolute whatsits on the dinner table). Plus, we’ll open some wines tomorrow too, to help your decision making:
Southern Dawn Sauvignon Blanc 2012, Marlborough, New Zealand £8.99 – fresh, fresh off the boat, we welcome the 2012 vintage of this favourite back on board. Typical NZ characteristics of passionfruit, citrus, nettles, cut grass and capsicum. Good acidity, clean fruits and a lively finish – exactly what that Sauvignon Blanc lover in your life yearns for!
Tamboerskloof Syrah 2007, Stellenbosch, South Africa £19.49 – a friend of ours put us onto this wine a few months back, thanks Jack, but I have to confess we were initially a bit sceptical – we haven’t been overwhelmed with requests for £20 Syrahs from SA in the past, but Jack’s the sort of bloke who you listen to when it comes to slightly obscure recommendations. A really elegant Syrah, the fact it has a bit of age has tempered the fruit nicely, adding a bit of savoury complexity to the deliciously long finish. I’m having sirloin on NYE and this drop would certainly be a worthy partner.
For those who like to learn more than they like to detox come and join our wine course. Details attached.
So that’s it from us, Happy New Year, invest in umbrellas rather than parasols, and remember if you’re really thinking about giving up the grog in the New Year, February is a shorter month than January!
Sláinte.
Alex & Wayne