Fellow Wine Lovers,
Welcome back – hope you’ve all had a splendid week?
Personally, I’ve been on a bit of a digital detox. A few days away from London, in the sunshine with a golf-bag on my back. For a while I was able to forget about the absurdities at home and remember how monumentally bad I am at putting. However a cold glass of white and a plate of Gambas al Pil-Pil helped ease that pain and so, the next day, we went again. One of the characters on my trip is a long term resident of UAE; he is so used to living in a place where all political parties are banned that he has no need/facility to get agitated about the status quo, since there is nothing he can do – for a moment that felt quite utopian until I remembered the downsides of the police state…
Before I left and before Wayne wrote last week’s email, I watched the Have I Got News For You episode hosted by Victoria Coren-Mitchell. At one point she clearly needed to vent her frustrations and, whilst I appreciate this quote is a few weeks old, it resonates still:
‘Why are they so bad at it?!…. One side is sending the guy to stand in the rain and at the Titanic. The other side can’t even decide who their MPs are. And these are all people who think they can run the health service. It’s pitiful.’
Back in the days when we worked for Oddbins, about once a year we’d hear news that somewhere in the estate a manager, or more often an assistant-manager, had had a sudden rush of blood to the head and emptied the shop safe on a Sunday evening, grabbed a case of Vodka and a slab of beer before doing a runner. The safe takings could be perhaps £5,000 and the booze would have just been drunk. A few days later they’d be arrested, charged, lose their job of course and have a permanent scar on their CV. Five grand does not set you up for life but a criminal record certainly slows you down.
As news comes in of an arrest as part of the investigation into PPE Medro, we mull over the fact that Michelle and Doug were a little more ambitious than those Oddbins staff…
And now we hear about Craig Williams.
Most recently he was MP for Montgomeryshire and standing for re-election, having got 59% of the vote in 2019 and increased the Conservative majority. Now, most of us hadn’t really heard of him until The Guardian discovered that he had placed a bet on there being a July election, just before Sunak announced exactly that. He is now going to be talking to the Gambling Commission having placed £100 at 5/1 – a monkey does not set you up for life but a criminal record certainly slows you down!
As V C-M might say – why are they so bad at it?!
Wine news might offer some respite, perhaps?
A study, commissioned by the WSTA (Wine and Spirit Trade Association) and produced by Cebr, has found that we (you, me, my brother Jake, everybody) are contributing £76 billion to the UK economy.
Using data from 2022, this shows growth from less than £50 billion in the past five years but of course, there need to be some spoilers too. By all accounts, the Institute for Alcohol Studies state that alcohol is ‘costing’ the UK economy £27bn a year however, the Institute for Economic Affairs’ head of lifestyle economics, counters that these figures do not include a full cost-benefit analysis of the alcohol trade.
Somehow, far beyond my GCSE maths, it could be thus deduced that the net-benefit to the UK economy of wine and spirits is £49bn. Not entirely sure what all this means but, in the meantime, keep up the good work, you’re doing it for the economy!
To help with your continued contributions, we’ll be opening a couple of gems this weekend to tickle your taste buds. There is no theme, just wines that we fancied a glass of and, given the meteorological uncertainty, definite all-rounders both of whom are in this month’s case club:
Lyrarakis Vóila Assyrtiko 2022 – £16.99. 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!
Casa Silva Cool Coast Pinot Noir 2021 – £20.99. Hailing from the coastal vineyards of the Colchagua Valley, this is a proper cool climate Pinot Noir. It has a nose filled with red fruit notes, strawberries, raspberries and a subtle background note of cinnamon and spice from the French oak that it spent 12 months reposing in. With a truly excellent length of finish this is a real pleasure to drink and would be spot on with some flash griddled lamb leg steaks and some greens.
Just for your guide, as we speak, Heraklion is 36˚celsius with a real feel of 40˚, whilst Colchagua is 10˚ with a real feel of 8˚ including drizzle – so stop moaning you lot!
The US Open, Euro 2024, and Father’s Day – none of these made the cut and featured in this email, suffice to say they’re all happening this weekend and should not be ignored!