Fellow Wine Lovers,
Isn’t that sunshine glinting off your phone annoying? Doesn’t the sun know you’re trying to read something? If only it would pop behind that puffy white cloud for just a minute.
This week I have had my annual communication with your colleagues, and am now armed with a lengthy database of people who are in the escalation business. Some of you have returned from your travels, I have heard tales of the nightlife in Avignon, the beauty of Ljubljana, and the romance of a shipwreck bar in Cyprus.
I have also had communication from abroad. Alex wrote, wondering if his hat might be more useful on his head than in the window. I have heard nothing since sending the photo demonstrating how fine a job it was doing in the window.
One of our international correspondents checked in with tales of gales and monsoon rainfall in Adelaide, I found myself wondering of the similarities between Adelaide and Wimbledon Park last week.
Otherwise, I have had a number of lengthy conversations with the alarmingly large number of people who seemed concerned that my gas and electricity supplier may be overcharging. Despite assurances otherwise, they like to call everyday just to check I’m happy.
In a surprising turn of events, President Trump has been in the news this week. The man that takes no holiday, has returned from his golfing holiday sacked his business advisory councils, and wiped $5bn off the value of Amazon with one tweet. If only you could do something constructive with a tweet!
So how did the opening weekend of the Premiership fair for you? The large number of goals scored gave me comfort that Arsenal might not be the only team with a lacy defence. Elsewhere in football, Astana proved they should stick with cycling losing 5-0 at Celtic in the Champions League playoffs.
This weekend the proper sport kicks off again with the start of the Vuelta a España. Saturdays start sees a team time trial in Nîmes (I know, I thought it was in France too!). Will Chris Froome win this race as well? If he does, he’ll be the first person in 39 years to do the Tour de France/Vuelta a España double. Alberto Contador is retiring after the race so look out for a stage win from him, and also both of the Yates brothers are racing with Orica Scott putting out a very strong Grand Classification team. Pull up a chair!
In wine news this week we learned that Sarah Harding has been hiding bottles around the Big Brother house, and that researchers at the University of Graz have discovered a glass of wine helps with writers block. This is obviously something that would come as no surprise to either Dylan Thomas or Ernest Hemingway!
Congratulations to all the students receiving their A-level results this week. I know many of them shouldn’t be reading this, but please Mum & Dad, do convey our congratulations. We may have been using quill and parchment when we received our exam results but it still seems like yesterday.
Wine School
Still some places left. If you’d like to taste around 60 wines, learn about wine and have some spare evenings on a Wednesday do come and see us. Cost is £150.00
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 |
| 04/10/17 | 11/10/17 | 18/10/17 | 01/11/17 | 08/11/17 | 15/11/17 |
Cheese and Wine Tastings
There are still a few places left on each of these dates. £20 per person saves your place!
Thursday 5th October at 8pm
Thursday 2nd November at 8pm
Thursday 30th November at 8pm
Tasting this Weekend
We thought we’d start the weekend off with a drop of Monte del Frá Soave Classico 2015 (£13.99). One of those wines you may have drunk on holiday as it is from that beautiful part of Italy near Verona and the lakes. This one is made from 100% Garganega (rules state minimum 70%) grown at 150m on volcanic soils. Aromatic, with blossom notes and a crisp dry slight nuttiness that is really versatile food wise.
Staying with the food versatility theme, the red jumper will be sported by Percheron Old Vine Cinsault 2016 (£8.39). Don’t let it’s small price tag lead you astray, this is cracking glass of wine from gnarly 60 odd year old bush vines in the Western Cape. It is medium-bodied with soft tannins, savoury fruit character and spice to finish. An elegant wine that’ll go with almost anything food wise.