Fellow Wine Lovers,
Another week saturated with great news from all sides, as seems to be the new normal.
The Mirror got the ball rolling last weekend by ‘discovering’ that video of Dad dancing at CCHQ during lockdown. Quite where this video has been up until now is anyone’s guess but it is quite astonishing that it has stayed hidden – still at least it stokes the flames beneath the gigantic cauldron containing the mangled carcass of Boris Johnson’s political career.
I know I risk being cancelled by someone for that last statement. If I was called Clive and worked for the BBC I would be relieved of my current duties for displaying anti-Tory bias. However, I think most of us would agree that Mr Myrie wasn’t showing anti-Tory bias, if anything he simply showed anti-Boris tendencies and let’s be fair, nothing he said was slander.
In other parts of SW1, David Cameron, the man in the shadows, had a bit of a turbulent time at the Covid-19 inquiry. For those of you that don’t remember, Dave was PM from 2010-2016 and was very keen on austerity. Coincidentally, in the six years leading up to 2020 the value of UK pandemic stockpile fell by 40%; in monetary terms £325m of the health department’s emergency stockpile (including PPE) was lost – not surprised people are a little miffed with DC and that’s before we raise a glass (half-empty) to him today whilst celebrating the 7th anniversary of the United Kingdom European Union Membership Referendum.
Cheers…
Elsewhere, the sea is getting warmer; core inflation is at a 30 year high; the base rate is now 5% – last seen in 2008; Elon Musk has challenged Mark Zuckerberg to a cage fight and we can no longer listen to Meghan and Harry on Spotify – genuinely, I wish none of this was true, apart from the last bit!
So now we seek better news. The start of The Ashes had something for everyone, including rain and a full house on the 5th day, the Aussies shaded it with a proper captain’s innings from Pat Cummins. Truly, if the next four Tests are as exciting we are in for a fabulous summer. KC3 got his first winner at Royal Ascot yesterday with Desert Hero whilst Wayne has been doing a different sort of riding, out on his bike most days and not yet been caught for doing over 20mph in Richmond Park! The oversized Discovery’s and Defender’s are back on the local roads which means the tennis must just around the corner and on Wednesday we celebrated the longest day – winter is coming…
Our teenage correspondent in Somerset informs us that she has been banned from visiting Glastonbury whilst other people from her school are actually performing there – look out for The Entitled Sons we’re told, 4 lads (and their Dad) who just happen to call Sarah Beeny ‘mum’.
Should teenage bands not be your thing, the Glastonbury Channel will be live from Friday 23 – Sunday 25 June on BBC iPlayer so if it’s Arctic Monkeys, Blondie, Guns N’ Roses, Rick Astley, Barrington Levy, Candi Staton or even big Reg Dwight, there’ll be something for you here.
When speaking of Zummerzet, it’s hard not to think of alcoholic apple refreshment. In perhaps the clumsiest segue ever performed in this column, we thought it might be time to talk about our cider from Brittany, which seems to have suddenly become a bit famous.
On 16th June, Charlie Teasdale wrote an article, in Esquire magazine no less, headlined Juicy Gossip: Why Breton Cider Will Be the Drink of the Summer.
I won’t reprint the whole article here because that would be theft but I will share this excerpt:
Until now, Breton cider has been somewhat overlooked, existing as the order of a learned-few – a discerning people who want the Gallic elegance of a bottle of wine and the stoic charm of a beer, for the price of a Zone 1 Guinness. But momentum is slowly building… this, I suggest, could be our Breton summer.
We, and a fair number of you, can now pat ourselves on the back for being amongst the learnèd, discerning few and it now seems fair for us to share our wisdom with the rest of the class.
The cidre that Charlie is discussing is indeed our Kerisac Cidre Breton – £6.00 (1 litre).
Originally founded in the Isac Valley in Guenrouet by Edmond Guillet in 1920, it now belongs to the Agrial cooperative; however the commercial department is run by Laurent Guillet, great-grandson of Edmond, thus the 4th generation of the family to be involved. They work with 50 apple producers in the region and have a truly excellent product that is full of Gallic character. A golden pour with a gentle fizz, a nose and mouthful packed with sweet, juicy apples that then lead into a rounded, dry finish.
As it’s going to be warm this weekend, we’ll have the cidre open for tasting and you can all see what all the fuss is about. Alongside this we’ll have a lightly chilled red from Germany to try:
Hanewald-Schwerdt Spätburgunder 2019 – £16.99 -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) but if you don’t subscribe to the ‘eating is cheating’ mantra, then it would be very happy with a smoked duck salad!
That’s it from us, have a wonderful weekend and keep your chin up!