Fellow Wine Lovers,
Poor old Prince Harry, a few late drinks, a game of pool, and before you know it somebody has papped the crown jewels. What ever happened to chivalry and the rule “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas?”
NASA announced this week that they are absolutely chuffed because Curiosity, their Mars Rover, has roved. I, for one, would have hoped for loftier ambitions than that, given the trouble they went to get it there in the first place.
So it turns out that Asil Nadir did have his fingers in the till after all.
You can just picture it can’t you, Asil behind his big leather desk…Shall we transfer another £5 million to the account offshore? The man from del Monte, he say YES!
Lastly, scientists in Japan have discovered that if you give gibbons helium, they sound funny just like we do. How long till we have a gibbon soprano at the proms I wonder?
Tasting This Weekend
This weekend we’ll be heading out to Marlborough in New Zealand.
A few new wines have crossed our paths from here, we’ve been given samples to try, so we thought we’d share them with you. Usual rules apply – we don’t actually have any of these wines in stock currently and we would love your feedback as to whether they have a place on our shelves, or not!
2010 Free Sauvignon Blanc, Greystone River Vineyard 13.5% is made from organic grapes in the Wairau Valley’s Greystone River Vineyard. A tiny part of the cuvee is fermented in French Barriques to add a bit of complexity and texture
2011 Ra Nui Sauvignon Blanc 13.5% – grapes are hand-harvested from two vineyards: Cob Cottage and Summer Valley, about 3km from Blenheim. The vineyards are run organically and the philosophy is definitely for minimal intervention.
2010 Ra Nui Pinot Noir 13% – grapes for this are from the Summer Valley vineyard, and also the Delta Vineyard, which is one of Marlborough’s highest (cooler than the valley floor!). Owner Steve Hotchin spent time at both Allen Scott Vineyards and Mt.Riley, and is helped out on the winemaking front by ex-pat Brit Hugh Girling.
2010 Petit Clos Pinot Noir 14% – a difference in style here, perhaps reflected by the fact that the owners are Domaine Henri Bourgeouis from Sancerre. The vineyards are further up in the hills above Wairau, giving us a cooler microclimate.
It should be an interesting tasting and I, for one, am looking forward to it. Pop along and join us, we are eager to hear your opinions!
AOB
Both the Wine and Cheese Tasting on Thursday 20th September and the 6 week Wine School that starts on Wednesday 19th September are filling up, so if you want to reserve a place on either, don’t forget to be in touch soon!
I think perhaps today the last bit should come from Lance Armstrong, his words not ours:
The bottom line is I played by the rules that were put in place by the UCI, WADA and USADA when I raced.
Whatever that means.
Nice weekend one and all – and do please come and help us make our minds up about these NZ wines!