Fellow Wine Lovers,
Welcome back!
Thank you for bringing all this glorious, glorious sunshine, although I’m not sure entirely what to do with it now the schools are back in and we’re all back at our desks, but thanks nonetheless!
Talking about being back at work, do you ever wonder how well you really know your work colleagues? I realise that if you work in a big corporation with 1,000’s of employees you probably don’t know all of them beyond nodded acknowledgements in the corridors, assuming you are in the office, and if you are WFH then I imagine you probably have more contact with the characters in Saucer & Cup than you do with your actual workmates.
For me, I can count my work colleagues on one finger. You’d imagine therefore that I would have a pretty good idea about what he’s up to and what’s going on in his world. I mean, you’ve all met him – charming man, BIG investor in Lycra, with a unique sense of humour and a laser sharp wine knowledge that stops the business from capsizing on a daily basis.
However, right now, I’m not sure where he is.
Knowing his keenness for cycling, holidays, holidays that involve cycling, cycling holidays that include wine tasting and all that jazz, and also noticing that he’s not been at work for the last week, I was understandably somewhat concerned when I read the headline:
Man arrested by Coast Guard trying to cross Atlantic in human-sized hamster wheel – Daily Mirror 07/09/23
Happily, this wasn’t he and the story actually takes a rather unfortunate turn, so I turned the page:
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary gets cream pie to face as he quips ‘Irish cream is better’ – Daily Mirror 07/09/23
‘Michael O’Leary was about to speak to journalists in Brussels amid news Ryanair pilots based in Belgium had called a strike when a woman ran up and threw the pie at his face’ so the report goes, and once more I was worried. H as he gone to visit his wife’s family in Belgium and has she got distracted en route? If so, chapeaux, but I now remember that there was talk of Italy in his holiday plans, at which point Metro came to my rescue:
Kanye West appears to crash couple’s Italian wedding in bizarre TikTok video – Metro 06/09/23
Now we all know that this wasn’t really Kanye, he would never be so crass or narcissistic, just ask Taylor swift: ‘A video clip shared on TikTok shows a man dressed in black with a scarf completely covering his head and face. The bride and groom are seen in their wedding outfits posing for photos as the man casually slides in beside them to pose for the snap with his face not visible.’
I think I’ve found him….
Back in the sweltering UK, we are gobsmacked that, whilst we are still recovering from the shock resignation of dear Nadine, Chris Pincher has now resigned too, after losing his appeal against suspension. Quite how it has taken so long for the appeal to be upheld/lost is a bit beyond me but he will be forever remembered as the man whose wandering hands placed the final nail in Johnson’s premiership coffin.
And now sport. Our cycling correspondent, as noted above, is busy elsewhere so we have a lack of news on that front except that La Vuelta is still going uphill and down dale and all the GC contenders are still contending. AFC Wimbledon seem to have had a remarkably fine start to the season, which I have now no doubt scuppered, and we’ve picked a very exciting Ryder Cup team for the Italian showdown at the end of the month.
And the Rugby World Cup starts today. England have played 51 World Cup games since 1987 and lost 14, which means we have 27% loss record and by this time next month they will have played their 55th match – will that percentage now be 32%? Let’s watch this space….
Whilst we wait for that exciting stat to come in, let’s taste some wine.
Having spent some time under Cretan skies recently, and with the current sunshine safari, I quite fancy opening the two wines from Domaine Lyrarakis this weekend. I have to apologise as they have both been on the table within the last 6 months but, with the forecast for this weekend, it seemed like an opportunity too good to be missed.
Vóila Assyrtiko 2022 – £15.99
Located in the mountainous commune of Alagni in Crete, Domaine Lyrarakis stays true to local winemaking traditions. The domaine focuses on indigenous varieties, taking them from obscurity and driving them in a more modern direction, while still retaining a clear sense of place. Its style focuses on pure varietal character, precision and supple texture. The 2022 Assyrtiko is a delicious wine, grown at 580 metres’ altitude in the Voila vineyard. There is a definite floral character, refreshing minerality and chalky texture to this delicious wine that marries well with all forms of seafood, as you might expect from a producer surrounded by sea!
Kotsifali 2020 – £13.99
Kotsifali is indisputably a classic of the vineyards of Crete offering spicy red fruits; an elegant mouthfeel and a piquant aftertaste make it a deliciously fresh drop, not too weighty and seriously good with lamb kleftiko or a bit of fried saganaki, perhaps lightly chilled from the fridge?
So pop by and have a try before you go home to light the brai…
Kanye & Alex