Fellow Wine Lovers,
Well I have to say, my bingo card has been rubbish this week. I certainly didn’t have Assad moving to Moscow, or Sir Mark Cavendish being snubbed by Sports Personality of the Year.
Nor was I expecting archaeologists to be excavating Father Christmas’ grave! Archaeologists excavating the St Nicholas Church in Antalya in Turkey have found a surprise limestone sarcophagus which they are hoping will shed more light on whether this is St Nicholas’ final resting place.
News of the week for us was that GP, Dr Zoe Williams, in collaboration with Warburtons, has come up with the perfect hangover cure. Surprisingly, it is a sandwich containing eggs, bacon and avocado. Whilst we hold the front page for this news, it seems this is the perfect the mix of protein, salts and sugars to set you up for the day. On page two we talk about our fears for the whereabouts of Glenn Miller!
In completely unrelated news, the comedy gold that is a Kemi Badenoch quote continued it’s fine run of form this week. In an interview with the Spectator she declared that she didn’t like moist bread and that “lunch is for wimps!” No way on earth did I have her down as being played by Michael Douglas in the biopic, but here we are back in 1987! I guess that’s the ghost of Christmas past.
Time Magazine’s man of the year, Trumpolina, was in Paris this past weekend for the opening of the rebuilt Notre Dame. Did you see his meeting with Macron? I’m not sure if that was a handshake or the start of an arm wrestle between two children who really should know better. I thought Brigitte Macron was going to take them both by the ear and told them to grow up! Is Trumpolina the ghost of Christmas present?
Meanwhile, FIFA have awarded the 2034 World Cup to sole bidder Saudi Arabia. Throughout its history, the World Cup has traditionally been held in June. In 2022 it was played Qatar who disrupted all the domestic competitions by having to play it in December because of the heat. Given the 42˚C daytime temperatures in June in Saudi Arabia, I think we may see more of that. They are building eleven new stadiums to host it, one of them in a city that doesn’t even exist yet. Determined to head off any criticisms of the hosts, FIFA showed a video that included the words “integrity” “human rights” and “transparency” all linked by arrows to reassure us doubters. Looking forward to it already! Perhaps this will be the ghost of Christmas future?
Are you going to kick Boxing Day off with an espresso martini? Let me tell you about Ninebar Espresso Liqueur (£26). Made by our talented chums at Distilleria Quaglia in Piemonte, this is the real deal. 100% Brazilian Arabica beans toasted gently over birch wood, the liqueur has 12 espressos in every bottle. It has enough sweetness to balance that coffee bitterness without being oversweet. The name? I think that may be the ideal pressure on a coffee machine to make the perfect espresso. You’ll have to ask Lee!
CHRISTMAS OPENING HOURS
We’ll be operating our normal hours from today until…
SUNDAY 22nd DECEMBER: 12 NOON – 3PM
MONDAY 23rd DECEMBER: 12 NOON – 7PM
TUESDAY 24th DECEMBER: 12 NOON -4PM
WEDNESDAY 25th DECEMBER – SUNDAY 29th DECEMBER: CLOSED
MONDAY 30th DECEMBER: 12 NOON – 7PM
TUESDAY 31st DECEMBER: 12 NOON – 6PM
WEDNESDAY 1st – FRIDAY 3rd JANUARY: CLOSED
SATURDAY 4th JANUARY: 12 NOON – 7PM
Then we will go back to normal!
Tasting this Weekend
As has become our tradition, we will start with a white. Pieropan Soave La Rocca 2022 (£39) – “The only oak-inflected cuvee at the estate. Aged in 100% used tonneaux, both French and Slavonian. Superb aromas of pistachios, peaches and dried mangoes. Broad and expansive, yet funneled into a vortex of tension by freshness that sublimates any sense of obvious power. A wonderful expression of a warmer vintage that suits perfectly this compelling site.” 96/100 Ned Goodwin, JamesSuckling.com, April 2024
On the red front we’ll be getting our laughing gear around Tenute Sella ‘Orbello’ Nebbiolo 2023 (£23.99) – Tenute Sella is located at the foot of the Alps of Biella, in Northern Piedmont. Purchased in 1671 by Comino Sella, for 350 years the family-owned property has been cultivated by generations of the Sella family. Here in Alto-Piemonte, they craft beautiful, ethereal expressions of Nebbiolo-based wines. Come and sample, we think it is really rather tasty!