Fellow Wine Lovers,
He’s back. He’s reinvigorated. He’s 90% fish and 10% Sherry. He’s tanned. He’s irritatingly relaxed. He’s ready for Christmas even though he’s still wearing shorts whilst sweeping up crispy autumnal leaf fall. He is, frankly, quite exhausting.
And he’s instituted some new shop rules – a couple of weeks of good, healthy living and relaxation has turned him proper bossy:
- No sausage rolls – not good for us apparently, not even as part of a packed luncheon
- No fighting outside Bristol nightclubs – no good for us but in a different way
- No scrummaging or tackling – too dangerous and thus ends shop rugby as we know it
- No testing nuclear weapons – put’s everyone on edge and fighter planes in the sky
- No more dealings with Boeing
- No more Hugh Hefner – not altogether sure what he means by that
- No more trips on Ryanair – not enough flights and not enough consequential compensation
- No more tweeting about taking a knee during the national anthem
- No more ‘aid’ packages from Russia
- No more discussion of October abstaining
- No more heroes
- No more Shakespearoes
At which point I stopped listening as he now seemed to be busying himself with Spotify….
But it’s good to have him back, really. When Wayne finishes his summer holidays it means it is eyes down and full steam ahead towards Christmas, hold onto your hats. We’ve started to order some of the Christmas wines, ready for delivery next month I suspect and we’ve been taking a leisurely look at our spirits – Rhubarb Gin? Tequila? Any interest out there, or is it just us?
Oh, and ‘normal’ Gin too.
Bizarre as it may seem, given the current juniper haze that has us all engulfed, we are struggling to find a Gin to replace Dodd’s. It doesn’t have to be the same as Dodd’s, it just needs to be different from our current offering of Hepple, Little Bird, Dutch Courage and Monkey 47. Local would be good, top quality and flavoursome is an absolute must, as is interesting. Any thoughts? We’ve had a number of suggestions from all sorts of far-flung places but have now taken the view that if people are consistently asking for one particular brand, then that’s the one we should look at more closely.
So if anyone has any suggestions, drop us a line and we’ll have a butchers!
Otherwise, not a huge amount to report on the home front his week. Wayne’s return means that our instore tastings start up once more and Wine School kicks off a new term next week with a full classroom of eager oenophiles, followed swiftly by our first autumn Wine & Cheese Tasting on the evening of Thursday 5th October at 8pm.
Whilst Wine School is fully booked, we do still have 4 seats available for the Thursday evening tasting of all things good in the cheese and wine world. If you fancy it, drops us a line or drop in – it’s £20 per person, bookable in advance, and is always a very fulfilling and satisfying evening!
If you can’t wait for next week to have your tastebuds tantalised, we will, as is our weekend wont, be opening a red and a white this evening and all through tomorrow.
White wine will be represented by an old favourite of ours – De Wetshof Estate ‘Lesca’ Chardonnay 2016, – £14.99. From Robertson in South Africa, and named after Danie de Wet’s wife, this is a lightly wooded Chardonnay, exuding lively aromas of citrus, green apple and butterscotch on the nose. With the elegance and intensity of great white Burgundy, it has a complex, racy palate of lemon, peach and ripe apple flavours with nutty and mineral notes. Pork stuffed with prunes was the winery recommendation and we won’t argue with that.
The red representative, maintaining our theme of Burgundy grapes being used elsewhere, is going to be Southern Dawn Pinot Noir 2013 – £14.49, from Marlborough, New Zealand. I could give you all the guff about the soil in the vineyards, the angle of the slope the vines are planted on, and the winemakers collection of 19th century corkscrews, but none of that is really relevant. We sell this wine because we think it tastes brilliant: light with red cherry fruit character and a fresh finish. I’ve no idea if he has a corkscrew collection but am certain he doesn’t use it for this!
No more from us this week – those are the new rules!
Wayne & Alex