Fellow Wine Lovers,
And so life picks up its pace as we shift back to normality. Even the littlest of kids are now back at school. The lucky amongst us, those who don’t have kids of any size or whose progeny have already fled the nest, are benefitting from some exotic September sunshine for a fraction of the cost of exotic August sunshine. Today sees the potentially permanent return of drizzle and grey skies, an antidote to the barmy weather of the last few days and a signal that autumn will soon be upon us. Pretty soon we’ll be packing away the shorts, boxing up the Rosé wines and turning the lights on earlier.
So, how are we going to cope with this change in the seasons? Well, first up, we’re going to start drinking red wine again as we reacquaint ourselves with tannins and structure. We’re going to start casseroling, slow cooking, pot-roasting and stop cooking outside for a while. We’re going to remember how delicious Port is, and remember why we don’t drink it in a heatwave. We’re going to look beyond the delights of gin and rediscover the ethereal pleasures of whisky and rum. And we’re going to thoroughly enjoy ourselves – got it!
In order to fruitfully fill the time between now and Christmas we’ve set up a variety of tastings for you to join in with, to make the long nights shorter.
Thursday 6th October at 8pm – £20 per person
WINE & CHEESE TASTING
Pretty self-explanatory, we think…
Thursday 10th November at 8pm – £20 per person
WINE & CHEESE TASTING
As above!
Wednesday 23rd November at 8pm – £20 per person
WHISKY MASTERCLASS
Our first ever whisky tasting. Ed will be the talent, taking us on a virtual tour of Scotland by the power of whisky!
Thursday 1st December at 8pm – £30 per person
SPARKLING WINE & CHAMPAGNE TASTING
Bubbly on the first day of Christmas, that’s what my truelove should send to me, not some random partridge gift…
Wednesday 7th December at 8pm – £20 per person
CHRISTMAS WINE & CHEESE TASTING
We’ll be reviewing our year in cheese and wine and make a selection worthy of a Christmas cheeseboard. Will Stilton be there? Port? Stinking Bishop? Who knows….
All these events take place here in the shop, starting at 8pm and spaces are limited – first come, first served!
You may have noticed our failure to critique current affairs and sport this week. Not for want of trying, we were finding it slightly difficult to know where to start. In a world where more column inch has been devoted to Bake Off moving house than the news that the one person capable of stopping the Trump march on the White House is really not very well at all, I’m not sure what to say. In sport, the Paralympians are astonishing, the cycling is over and the football is still a bit of a sideshow, although Leicester set off in pursuit of the Champions League Trophy in no uncertain terms.
Not sure really what to taste this weekend – the sun might shine, it might be muggy like last Saturday, or it could just be grim. So I’m going to hedge my bets with a light white and a heavier red.
The Paddler Riesling 2012, Marlborough, NZ – £12.99 – From a single vineyard in the Blind River sub-division of Marlborough, this is a cracking Riesling, and a little bit of age has fleshed out the palate nicely. Fruit forward in style, with homemade lemonade and honeysuckle aromas, the palate is fresh and racy with a flinty minerality and lemon/lime notes and a bit of sweetness to balance that racy acidity.
Novas Gran Reserva Syrah Mourvedre 2013, Cachapoal, Chile – £11.99 – Lovely black fruits here, with a hint of vanilla on the nose. Rich, with fabulous concentration on the palate and some evident but soft tannins. It’s organic too. Oh, and it’s never been on tasting before!
It seems I have reached the bottom of the page, so best tidy up. Come in and taste some wines, come in and book yourself onto some tastings or just come in because you fancy it (and it’s raining outside!)
Cheers,