The Weekly Wine

Fellow Wine Lovers,

As it’s half term, it’s a bit of a slow news week but here are four contrasting headlines that we saw in the trade press over the past few days:

World facing ‘deepest’ wine shortage in 40 years

‘Panic buying hits Arthur Road – barely a bottle left on the shelf’ admits puzzled wine shop owner Wayne Blomfield.

Not entirely true of course, but Morgan Stanley have reported that demand exceeded supply by a mere 300 million cases in 2012 and that, coupled with the smaller 2012 and 2013 vintages, could result in a bit of a supply issue.  More of us are drinking wine, less is available, prices will go up.

Hopefully this might see the demise of some of the bottom shelf, industrial producers – oh hang on, no such luck…

Yellow Tail celebrates one billion bottles

All you need to know about these wines:

·         The sweetened-up, Kangaroo labelled, jammy disgrace targeted at the Coca-Cola generation has produced its billionth bottle – made even more shocking by the fact the brand was only first produced in 2001

·         That’s at least 5 billion glasses of plonk

·         It retails at around $5 in the US

·         They have also created a $100 bottle to try and drag the brand out of the gutter – ??

·         Could any of this publicity puff be related to the hard fact that Casella Wines, the owners of Yellow Tail, this year posted a financial loss for the first time, suggesting consumers could be trading up or switching to other brands/rivals

·         Still not quite enough of a shortage of some wines it would seem…

Barrel of ‘Brangelina’ wine sells for €10k

Admittedly the money went to charity, but really, 10,000 euros?

Firefighters free puppy from wine rack

The shop over the road is likely to be re-inventing itself as a hair salon in the very near future, and when the staff heard their jobs were at risk they resorted to some extreme, hostage taking measures. 

However, once 999 had been called, the intervention of some brave fire-fighters ensured that the 10 week old Labrador puppy was released unharmed and the staff arrested.  Maybe.

http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2013/10/firefighters-free-puppy-from-a-wine-rack/?article-source=newsletter&source=715&date=2013-10-30

Marathon update

He’s in.

We were truly overwhelmed by all the helpful suggestions we received for getting Wayne a place in the marathon.  Suffice to say he got on the blower straight away to all the relevant parties and eventually secured himself a number plus a hefty fundraising target. 

He’s happy to do anything to raise money as long as it’s mostly legal and he will still be able to run afterwards!

This weekend

We’ll both be here – the first time for a couple of weekends – and hopefully you’ll be here to, stocking up before all the wine runs out.  We’ll have bottles open – one old favourite and one new boy – both of whom have travelled from South Africa.

Barton Vineyards Chenin Blanc 2012 £9.79 from Walker Bay is silky smooth with apple and pear aromas, more pear and hints of citrus on the palate and a zingy, crisp finish.

Laibach Pinotage 2012 £15.69 from Stellenbosch is a bit of a rarity for us – a Pinotage that Wayne actually quite enjoys.  Not nearly as smoky/burnt-rubber/earthy as some can be, far more red fruit and, dare I say it, elegance – trust me, you should try it.

A.O.B

Still a couple of seats left at the table for our Sparkling and Champagne evening on Wednesday 27^th November – when I say a couple, I mean three but you get the gist – £25 per seat, cash is king.

It seems to be all about Aussie in sport at the moment – the Ashes is slowly creaking into life, we’re hosting them at Twickenham tomorrow and we’ve got the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday 5^th November – should go off with a bang!

Anyway, hopefully see you all over the weekend to discuss strategy for dealing with this upcoming shortage!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

So there’s been controversy in Germany as the USA has allegedly been spying on Mrs Merkel. Call me old fashioned but I grew up expecting that kind of thing to be happening in Berlin. Does nobody read John Le Carré anymore?

We’ve been up to our eyeballs in tastings these last few weeks and this week saw us finish term in our Wine School, next term starts late January, watch this space!

We also had a lovely group in for our Spanish Cheese & Wine Tasting. We chomped on fine cheeses from around Spain, partnered them with an eclectic selection of wines (also from Spain), pondered on the merits of wine, cheese and the universe and generally had a good time.

Forthcoming Tastings

We still some space left on the Champagne & Sparkling Tasting 27^th November 8pm at £25 per person.

Two places left on the Bordeaux Tasting with Jeremy which is the 14^th November at 8pm priced at £15 per person.

Christening…

I’m really not sure why I thought of this but should you be on the cusp (or indeed have been in St James’ this week) of becoming a godparent we have just the thing for you!

2011 Warre’s Vintage Port – £62 – “Sweet, warm and mellow, with fresh pure blackberry and black cherry fruit, yet fresh with amazing purity, concentration and depth. Seductive and compelling. Score: 94–96/100” Jamie Goode, wineanorak.com

Tasting This Weekend

As you may have gleaned from the intro we’re all about Spain this week. Alex has had chick peas for lunch, Wayne’s had chorizo with his scrambled eggs, and you folk are having Campos de Celtas 2011 Albariño (£12.99) in your white glass, Mentoste Rioja Reserva 2001 (£13.99) in your red glass, and for good measure we’ll open a sherry in the form of El Maestro Sierra’s Oloroso (£9.99 37.5cl) which is from a 15 year old Solera system.

A plea from Alex on behalf of Wayne…

Being consummately unprofessional as you know by now, we are adding a personal request into what should be a work email.  Sorry in advance, but hopefully one of you might be able to help.

We’re running the London Marathon next year.  Clearly the plea should be along the lines of ‘please take us out and shoot us now!’, but it’s not.

Alex has a place already, so is definitely running next April.  Wayne however, in spite of the fact that he has applied regularly over the years, currently has no place.  He hoped to run for the Stroke Association but they let him down earlier this week.  Another charity close to his mum in Essex also was unable to give him a place.

Right now he is happy to run and raise money for anyone who will have him since he is very keen to run next year because:

a)     He wants to do it whilst he believes he can still run that far

b)     He wants to do it before he’s old enough to be specially interviewed as ‘a plucky pensioner

c)      He wants to beat Alex, in public, on TV

d)     Once it’s done he doesn’t have to do it again so he can return to falling off his bike into puddles!

So if anyone has a pet charity, works for a charity, has a place they don’t want to use, has any sensible suggestions as to how he might get in then that would be really helpful and he will love you forever, or not if that’s what you’d prefer…

Frankly, the last thing either of us want to do is dress up as a pantomime horse and pretend to be just one runner, so please help us!!

Anyway I’ve taken up enough of your time now, please join us this evening or tomorrow for a scoop of wine and sherry, some Catalan almonds and some delicious habas fritas.

¡Adios y hasta mañana!

Juan y Alejandro

Fellow Wine Lovers,

First a word from Roy:

I would like to apologise if any offence has been caused by what I said at half-time.

There was absolutely no intention on my part to say anything inappropriate. I made this clear straight away to the ball in the dressing room.

I also spoke to the ball again on Wednesday.  Mr Ball has assured me and the FA (Football Association) he did not take any offence, and understood the point I was making in the manner I intended.

When I said that we should try and kick the ball, head the ball, strike it into the back of the net, put it in the corner, run off it, run with it, lob it, throw it, block it, stick it in the corner, attack it, possess it and take every opportunity to have a free kick I was speaking recklessly and without thought to the consequences of my words, the effect they could have on impressionable youngsters, or the possible long term effect they might have on Mr Ball and his family.

However, thanks to the tenacity of one of the people present at the team talk and the vigilance of the press, I now realise that my language was archaic, the remnant of a bygone era and to talk of Mr Ball in such language has no place in the modern game.

I apologise, will be seeking counselling for my behaviour and will endeavour to improve my repertoire of jokes.

Muppetry.

Banyuls

How did it get this close to Saturday before we realised it was Chocolate Week?  Could it be because…

·         Alex doesn’t eat Chocolate

·         Wayne only ever reads ‘proper’ news

·         our wives intake of the aforementioned product doesn’t seem to have spiked sufficiently for us to notice

Anyway, for all of you with fingers more on the pulse than us – who normally remain oblivious of its existence until it’s going at 160bpm, here is our absolute best recommendation for chocolate and wine:

Banyuls Rimage Clos de Paulilles 2011 (£13.99), made from Grenache Noir with a touch of Carignan, right down where France turns into Spain, this is a rare, red, fortified wine packed with ripe, red fruit spice, hints of mocha and nuts. The red fruit flavours of raspberries and plums marry beautifully with a chunk of bitter dark chocolate or perhaps even a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup!  Alex prefers it with a cup of strong black coffee if that seems more appealing…

Tastings

Here is a status update for those of you still flicking through you diaries:

Wine & Cheese Tasting (Spain) – Thursday 24^th October – 8pm – £15 each – SOLD OUT

Bordeaux Tasting – Thursday 14^th November – 8pm – £15 each – 3 spaces left

Sparkling Wine & Champagne Tasting – Wednesday 27^th November – 8pm – £25 each – 6 spaces left

Wine & Cheese Tasting (Christmas) – Thursday 28^th November – 8pm – £15 each – SOLD OUT

Sparkling Wine & Champagne Tasting – Thursday 5^th December – 8pm – £25 each – SOLD OUT

Le Weekend

Another week done, time for a drink. 

We’ve been slumbering all week whilst you’ve all been hard at it, noses to the grindstone etc and now it’s time for us to stand up, stretch our legs and offer you some assistance.  Would you perhaps like a taste of wine whilst you peruse the shelves?  This week we have open a red and a white from the Pays d’Oc region of France – Bergerie de la Bastide (£7.89)

The white is Vermentino (30%) with the balance made up of Grenache Blanc, Sauvignon and Ugni Blanc.  Dried herbs, white flowers, fennel, juniper, green olives and a nice tang of citrus all make an appearance here, the citric finish tying it all in beautifully.

The red is a typical blend of the region – 40% Grenache Noir, 30% Cinsault and 30% Merlot. Cranberries, redcurrants and red cherries all make an appearance here but the fruit is reassuringly light, clean and fresh on the palate.  In France you’d drink 3 tumblers of this over lunch!

So here’s the plan – finish work, come and see us, taste wine, go home.  Saturday, buy chocolate at de Rosier, come and see us, taste wine, go home.  Sunday, well I suggest we chill on Sunday…

At soon or, as they say in France, à bientôt!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

It’s been a whirlwind folks.

There’s the whirlwind of wine-tastings that have seen us up late on several consecutive evenings.

The whirlwind of cold air that brought sweaters out of wardrobes and blew our a-board over.

The whirlwind of press coverage & regulation, Nobel prizes, kidnapped Prime Ministers and Bridget Jones.

We’re here to tell tales of wine, not wind…

Wine News

We’ve spoken here several times about the difficult vintage being experienced across France, hail, late harvest etc. We have also spoken with several of you about this idea of importing grapes and making wine in SW6.

Well this week news reaches us that the chaps in SW6 have had to change some of their plans because the contracted grapes are not ripening. Plans for Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux have become plans for Barbera from Piemonte.

What we still don’t understand is why you have to ship the grapes to SW6; surely moving the winemaker those 1500km is easier from a quality control point of view?

We filled a few gaps at the posher end of Italy this week. From Alto Adige we have Cantina Terlan’s flagship white in Nova Domus 2011 (£36.99). We’ve been fans of Cantina Terlan for a long while and frankly can’t explain why it’s taken us this long to list one.

Then slip along the shelf to Veneto and check out Amarone Della Valpollicella Classico Le Salette 2009 (£34.99). Some of you know that I have form for Amarone, so it’ll come as no surprise to discover I made a beeline for this at a recent tasting. A real velvet glove of a wine, I’m currently examining various Heath Robinson solutions to smuggle some home without Mrs Wayne noticing!

Finally, just to tickle your cockles we bought a new sweetie. We’d been chatting about it with our chum Mark for a while, but just hadn’t managed to taste it till two weeks ago. Oh-My-Word…Tschida Sämling Trockenbeerenauslese 2007 (£40 37.5cl) is a mouthful in more than just name. Rich concentrated fruit, floral aromas, a lush persistent sweetness kept perfectly in line with crisp, pure acidity, bringing elegance and a finish that lasted for most of the tube journey back from Westminster. I, for one, can see why Hans Tschida has been name International Wine Challenge’s “Sweet Winemaker of the Year” for the last 4 years in a row.

Windmill Market

Alex will be manning our stall from 10-2pm at St Marks Church Hall for this year’s last Windmill Market. Stop by and say hi if you’re there, I’m sure he’ll offer you a taste of something!

New Champagne & Sparkling Tasting Date

Our Champagne & Sparkling tasting sold out very quickly, and several of you have asked if we’ll do another date. Having examined the diary 8pm on Wednesday 27^th November looks like a goer. Again it’ll be £25 per head so let us know if you’d like to attend.

Tasting this weekend

All this talk of new wine has got me going, we’ll taste a couple of newbies starting with Mezzogiorno Fiano 2012 (£8.69) a cracking mid-weight white from Puglia with nutty and limey citrus notes. Standing in the red corner will be Chateau Durandeau 2006 (£9.99) a lovely rounded Merlot dominant claret .

…and finally

We’ll be closing at 7.30 this evening as we’ll be conducting private off-site tasting, apologies.

Fellow Wine Lovers,

‘Start spreading the news, I’m leaving today….’

That’s all I heard yesterday from Wayne.   Oh, and Fly me to the Moon, My Way, Love and Marriage, Strangers in the Night to name a few others. 

Then he would do a slightly odd hipsway, tip an imaginary fedora, break out the jazz hands and round it all off with the question ‘do you think I look like Dad?’

I blame Ronan Farrow.  Ever since Wayne read his tweet on Wednesday stating:

 ‘Listen, we’re all *possibly* Frank Sinatra’s son.’

He has been convinced of this possibility.  He rang his Mum to double check – her immediate denial being seen by him as being a little too convincing, her ‘don’t be daft, you plonker!’ a little too forced, and her ‘I’ve never been to America and I don’t think Frank ever came to Leigh-on-sea’ the final proof, if any was needed, of intimacy – she’d called him Frank!

Perhaps now you can all understand the stresses of the Park Vintner’s workplace – a place where I am forced to work with a fabulist that makes up tall tales and fantasies without blinking an eye….

Back in the real world

Speaking of Twitter you may remember a little while back the #moutardroutard competition we launched – the last day for entries was Monday 30^th September.  On Tuesday, we assembled a crack team of art critics (or to be more accurate Brian Sewell walked past the shop) and got down to the judging process.  Imagine our surprise when we discovered that our wives had won the bottles of Champagne – and only one of them had even entered!!

Smelling a rat we convened a second hanging committee and came up with two winners.  The first was the lady who managed to tweet a photo, within an hour of our first launching the competition, from Westward Ho! – very impressed that she had packed bubbly and also delighted she read our email!

The other bottle goes to the family who transported a bottle to Turkey, proceeded to win a tennis competition and then celebrated with Moutard out of paper Pepsi cups.  Kudos.

So we have Moutard waiting here for the two winners – hopefully they know who they are…

Forthcoming tastings

As mentioned last week, we have put some dates in the diary and it seems you have also put dates in your dairies.  The Christmas Wine & Cheese affair and the Sparkling wine and Champagne event on Thursday 5^th December are completely sold out, and the other tasting – Bordeaux on Thursday 14^th November is half full.  As usual we’ll start at 8pm here in the shop and the cost is £15.

Call us on 020 8944 5224 to grab one of the remaining slots…

Chocolate Block 2011

Our supplier has a hard time with his stock control clearly.  We have just received 30 bottles of this wine – something we thought had sold out.  Not to worry though, it’s nice to have it back on the shelf!  Still retailing at 2,299p.

Tasting this weekend

Frank Jr is in charge this weekend and, given his current state of mind, we should probably be showing the Smoking Loon wines, but we won’t mock the afflicted.  Instead we’ll be showing Manawa Riesling 2011 from Marlborough, New Zealand (£12.49) and the newly returned The Crusher Pinot Noir 2012 from Clarksburg, California (£13.29).

And finally, Mia Farrow…

… who has been the unwitting inspiration for this email.  All this *possibly* malarkey came about as a result of Vanity Fair talking to her and 8 of her 14 adopted and biological children. 

That’s a lot of names to remember, let alone remembering who their fathers are for sure, Mia…

I’ll leave the last words to the Chairman of the Board:

Alcohol may be man’s worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy.

Thank you, and goodnight.

Alex & Wayne

Fellow Wine Lovers,

The eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed we’ve opened later on a number of occasions lately. We just wanted to reassure you that we haven’t suddenly suffered a catastrophic drop in our work ethic, or caught that Studentitis Slumberous Virus that keeps us in bed till mid-afternoon (Alex has had it before, we hope he’s immune!).

We have been out tasting, exercising our palates on the hunt for new wines, rubbing shoulders with the great and good of the wine and restaurant world. Wayne even saw Patsy from Ab-Fab on the tube (sadly out of character, pretending to be Joanna Lumley).

We tasted some good things, some bubbly things and, frankly, a couple of wrong ‘uns. Some of them will be on the shelves in due course, at which point you too can give them a go.

All this talk of tasting, coupled with the sight of Wayne sweeping the floor after last nights’ Wine & Cheese event brings me to an announcement.

Winter Tasting Season

When we’ve not had a glass in our hand we’ve had pen, paper, and calendar, and the results of our planning are below.

We will start each event at 8pm as usual, here in the shop.

Thursday November 14^th – Bordeaux Tasting – £15 per person

Our chum Jeremy will be leading this one, he’s well on his way to becoming an MW, is from one of our favourite suppliers, and knows even better than Wayne that Bordeaux is on the coast of France, about half way down.

Thursday November 28^th – Cheese & Wine –Yule love it! – £15 per person

This will be like our usual cheese & wine evenings but we’ll choose a Christmas styled cheeseboard. For those that are interested we’ll also take orders for cheese on the night so that you can pick them up the weekend before Christmas (obviously we’ll do the same with wine!).

Thursday December 5^th – Festive Fizz – £25 per person

We’ll open a selection of fine sparklers and champagnes, we’ll match them with some suitable snacks, we may even do a bit of it blind just for fun. This one sold out in days last year, so don’t be shy!

As usual we’ll limit the numbers (this place isn’t the tardis!), money on the table books your place and we’ll put our smart shirts on!

Tasting this weekend

If you cannot bear to wait for one of these events and have a more immediate thirst then this weekend to slake it we’ll open a bottle of Domaine Félines Jourdan Picpoul de Pinet 2012 (£11.99) a blast of the south and worth splashing out on half a dozen Colchesters, if oysters are your thing. On the other hand we’ll bring some colour to your cheeks from Chile’s Bio-Bio Valley and charge your glasses with Aromo Winemakers Selection Pinot Noir 2011 (£10.99). Should you have treated yourself to a couple of game birds from the butcher or farmers market this is just the ticket.

Lastly we’ll be closing at 7pm this evening as we’ll be conducting a private tasting in Wimbledon Village.

To borrow from the mighty Two Ronnies

It’s goodnight from me and it’s goodnight from him.

Goodnight.

Wayne & Alex

Fellow Wine Lovers,

I’m sorry.

I’m sorry that you’ve had to listen to Alex’ tales of woe.

I’m also sorry if service has been a little slow.

Mostly I’m sorry I wasn’t here to laugh when he locked himself out!

Humbled

We are tingly from the stubs of our toes all the way to our split ends. Why? Because we find ourselves almost overcome with gratitude for your efforts.

We have lovely customers who go out of their way to vote for us, taking photos of strange looking squares with their smartphones (Err I think you’ll find they’re called QR codes-Ed).

We have lovely customers who hunted out a website to put a tick next to our name.

Because of our lovely customers we have retained …

“Wine Retailer of the Year” in the Time & Leisure Food Awards 2013.

From the bottom of our hearts we’d like to say ‘Ta very much!’

News

Europe’s weird harvest continues with Christian Seely, wine director for AXA Millésimes (who own loads of top Bordeaux estates) suggesting that the way things look this week they may be harvesting their grapes in Hampshire before they start in Bordeaux!

Researchers in Japan have found that TCA, the chemical present when we call a wine corked, actually shuts down your sense of smell. Just like sticking a cork up your nose!

Ricky Wilson from the Kaiser Chiefs has joined ‘The Voice’.

Tasting this Weekend

Clearly we’ll drink taste something celebratory and I suggested the Mouton Rothschild ’82. Sadly, a quick rummage in the cellar has found us wanting on that front.

Instead we’ll open the Thienot Champagne that we won (I’m sure they sponsored just to see their name on our newsletter) and whilst we’re in the white corner we shall charge your glasses with the delicious Chateau Thieuley Bordeaux Blanc 2012 (£14.49). As everybody enjoyed the Madregale Bianco so much last week we shall open its sibling, the imaginatively named Madregale Rosso 2012 (£7.79) a very tasty red from Abruzzo.

Yippee

Wayne & Alex

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Come on Friday 13^th, give it your best shot…

Many thanks for all the heartfelt messages, both on email and in person, regarding locking myself out of the shop last week.  Some of the terms of endearment – pillock, dimwit, muppet, something to do with appendages on my forehead – were all things I’d heard before, too many times.  However some of you were a bit more creative/abusive/educational and I can only thank you for expanding my lexicon and giving me some new phrases for when next I go to watch AFC Wimbledon play.

This week has been far more successful, if you ignore my constant battle with my email server refusing to send or receive in an appropriate manner, in fact I may well be talking to myself here if this doesn’t send properly and you’ll never know what you missed! 

I’ve continued with the ‘buy wine-sell wine’ strategy and it seems to be working a treat, so much so that I’m going to send Wayne out for lunch when he gets back on Monday – it’s the Time & Leisure Food and Drink Awards Ceremony up at Cannizaro House and hopefully he’ll come back filled with canapés and Champagne clutching a certificate.  Fingers fully crossed all weekend, thank you for your votes.

So let’s talk about what I’ve bought recently.  Morton Estate finally landed so I have a stack of the ever popular Morton Brut NV (£12.99) sparkling wine, I also have its sister fizz Mimi (£10.99) slightly softer in style but a must try for all you Prosecco fans.  All their still wines also came back in including the Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay (£10.99) an oaked Chardonnay that is a popular guilty pleasure for many of you.

Also back in stock are some Italian favourites.  Gavi (£12.99) returns as does the Sesti Grangiovese 2009 (£19.99) – from one of the best producers in Montalcino, and an absolute gem.  The Brezza Barbera d’Alba Santa Rosalia 2010 (£19.29) that was written up so nicely by Victoria Moore earlier in the year also reclaims its shelf space.

Whilst he’s away I thought I’d take the opportunity to buy a couple of new wines too, you know, make my mark etc.  First up Domaine des Amphores Saint-Joseph 2010 (£19.99).  We love the wines from the Rhone and don’t seem to have as many on the shelves as we should.  Well this is a step in the right direction – my tasting notes were as follows:

Classic Syrah from the Northern Rhone that is smack bang in the middle of its drinking window.  Farmed organically and using as little sulphur as possible in its production, it has lovely bright cherry and raspberry fruits on the nose, with the palate showing a bit more of that peppery spice you would expect.  The tannins are beautifully integrated and it has an elegance of finish that would marry very well with some venison roasted with a bit of crushed juniper.

Finally the blockbuster that is Le Cigare Volant 2008 (£37.99). 

From the Bonny Doon Vineyard in Santa Cruz, California this is winemaker Randall Grahm’s interpretation of Chateauneuf du Pape.  Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Carignan all appear in the blend.  Utterly approachable now, but like all good CNDP it will happily sit in the cellar for a few years to come.  Oh and why the name of the wine?  All related to the banning of alien aircraft from landing in the vineyards of Chateauneuf du Pape, decreed by the village council in 1954, but then you probably knew that!

In order not to blow the years’ budget in two weeks I will be tasting some slightly less rich and rare wines this weekend, and you can come and taste the m too but don’t be too late since I sold out of the Riesling I had on tasting last week by Saturday mid-afternoon.

The white will be the Madregale Bianco (£7.79) from Abruzzo never tasted on a Saturday before it would seem.  For the red I’ll be popping open the Gran Cerdo Tempranillo (£8.99), can you believe we have never put this on tasting – many of you already know and love it but for those of you who don’t it’s a treasure worth unearthing.

Finally a quick reminder about our Wine & Cheese Evening on Thursday 26^th September here in the shop, starting at 8pm.  We have four spaces left so don’t hesitate to give me a call on 020 8944 5224 or email me shop@parkvintners.co.uk to reserve your spot.  Tickets are £15 each and a fun filled evening is anticipated.

Enough from me, it’s a muggy old day, my fridges are covered in condensation, it’s too hot to wear a coat but too wet not to – Friday 13^th, is this all you’ve got?

Cabin crew, doors to automatic and cross check.

Alex & Wayne

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Sometimes an email just writes itself.  Incidents and accidents that occur through the working week and slowly ferment and bond until Thursday evening when they are fined and filtered, made presentable and then bottled and labelled the Weekly Wine.

I’ve been King of the Shop all week now, ruling with a rod of iron, bottles all standing to attention in serried rows, dog banished to the back room, Wayne banished to Greece.

As all great rulers know, with power comes great responsibility.  It’s no longer just a question of putting your clothes on the right way round, having breakfast, walking to work and trying to be there on time; no, deliveries need to be organised, orders placed, sales made and money taken – every day apparently.

So, to the flesh of this email.  As you may know we do the Park Vintners Wine Club Monthly Case which we deliver to between 30 and 40 customers each month and most of this happens in the first week of the month, in the evenings, once people are back home from work and the kids are in bed.

Yesterday afternoon I parked the Park Vintners Delivery Enabling Solution (the car, in old money) some way down the road ready for such evening deliveries.  An hour or so later I saw that there were a couple of spaces free outside the shop, which would be useful to park in, since I had rather a lot of cases to load up.  Jogged down the road, got the car, parked it right outside the shop – King of the Shop, King of Arthur Road Parking I was thinking smugly to myself as I walked up to the locked shop door.  Good security, less useful if the keys are still inside.

I am now #1 Idiot of Arthur Road, stuck outside, slightly bereft of ideas.  Clearly breaking in was an instant option but I hoped (and still hope) that if someone started breaking into our wine shop then some good citizen might call the police.  In a far more regal and elegant manner, fitting my status as King, I went around to the back of the shop, forced the gate, borrowed a ladder off some builders and climbed in the back window.  Far less criminal.

Once emotionally reunited with my keys, having washed the blood from my hands and regained my composure it was time to take the ladder back.  When I had borrowed it, the scaffolder had said ‘that’s the wine shop isn’t it – boys we’ve struck lucky!’ which was a fair point as they didn’t look like they would have much use for a dry cleaner or some sewing supplies.

So what to give: rosé might have ended in claret being spilt everywhere, vodka might have had the owner of  the property a trifle upset, so I settled for the globally accepted expression of male gratitude – a six-pack of cold beers.

Cheaper for me than a locksmith, and well received by them after a hot day in the sun!

Sambrook’s 5^th Birthday – Beer as a thank you!

They’re not going to be giving us all six-packs to say thanks, but they are throwing a party to celebrate the fact that they have been doing good things to beer since 2008.  They’ve linked up with Morden Hall Gardens (with the Wandle running through it) and are throwing an event called ‘Beer by the River’.  There is a website www.beerbytheriver.com but I’ll give you a brief outline here:

Taking place on Saturday 14^th September, from Noon until 11pm it promises to be a day filled with beer, food and music.  They have split it into two sessions 12 – 5 and 6 – 11.  Tickets cost £19 for adults and £5 for kids per session and there is an option to upgrade to both sessions on the day for a small fee.

A ticket includes: Entry/One Pint beer token PLUS a 1/3 Pint token for Sambrook’s exclusive ale/unique festival glass/festival programme/live music & entertainment/Food token of £5 value.

Kid’s tickets include tequila slammers and a bottle of WKD an ice cream and a soft drink, of course.

If this floats your boat and you’d like a ticket, we have some for sale here in the shop so sail on by and grab yourself a couple.

Weekend Wine

Bottles to be opened this session will be: Zeppelin Riesling £12.99 from Germany, delicious, back in today with the lovely fresh 2012 vintage and Morton Syrah £10.99 from our pals in NZ but very reminiscent of the Rhône.

So, the King of the Shop lives to rule another day, just, and he now knows he has a spare set of keys at home, knowledge that would have served him much better if his house keys hadn’t also been locked in the shop!

Cue fanfare.

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Bang! – And it’s gone.  Six weeks at the start of the year is a slow trudge towards the lighter days of Spring, whereas July and August rattle on by like the Hogwarts Express being chased by Billy Whizz – and that is in spite of the fact we all spend more time with our kids!

Holiday

Devon was heaven – the sun shone for the first time in 4 million years and we mocked the Gore-Tex and welly brigade, even when the wind got up and the children went blue.  Home comforts were transported down to help us all sleep – teddy bears, CD player, a double magnum of Barbazul red for the adults. 

Fully aware that the British Summer is a rarely-sighted and certainly-not-for-long-periods phenomenon, a safety net flight to Spain had been booked for guaranteed sun and shorts.  Fewer home comforts this time, more aftersun.  Plenty of seafood, delicious Albariño and some slightly iffy cider from Asturias – one incredibly sweet the other like proper, hard-core scrumpy with an added dash of acidity and a twist of damp tea-towel.  We checked from the top to the bottom of the bottle and can confirm that it tasted the same all the way down.  Cold copitas of dry sherry, large glasses of Tinto de Verano – the unholy mix of red wine, sweet soda water, ice and a slice – that some members of our party were able to drink quicker than others could drink a beer!  Prawns in garlic, barbecued sea bream, lamb chops on the grill, ordering salad because you fancied it rather than you felt you ought to…

Walking into the Co-op yesterday lunchtime was a bit of a culture shock.

And now off to Greece.  Olives, ouzo and perhaps octopus for alliteration purposes.  More seafood, more local wines from unpronounceable grape varieties, more sand between our toes, more time to finally get to grips with the book that has been laughing at your futile, few pages at a time, forays since those long dark days of January and February…

Into the Groove

Mid-September will find the whole Park Vintners team back, fighting fit, with a healthy tan, refreshed for the months to come – and there’s plenty to look forward to, as mentioned last week.

Wednesday 18^th September – Wednesday 23^rd October our six week wine school re-starts and we still have a couple of spaces left on this fun-filled tasting extravaganza  – why let the children be the only ones to learn something new in September?  £150 per person, spittoons provided but with no obligation to use them.

Thursday 26^th September the new season of Cheese & Wine tastings starts – 8pm here in the shop, £15 per person, four places left.

Thursday 24^th October the next Cheese and Wine tasting – 8pm, here in the shop, £15 per person, you know the drill.  This one is going to be a Spanish focused evening; I don’t think we’ll be showing Asturian cider though…

To sign up for any of the above, give us a call on 020 8944 5224, or email us, or pop in and see us – as always, payment confirms your place.

November will see a Bordeaux tasting on a date soon to be confirmed (it will be a Thursday though), and we have a couple of other plans that just need confirmation.

December will no doubt involve Christmas at some point, but more importantly a Champagne and Sparkling wine evening will take place to get us all in the mood for season of merriment.

Vogue

Keen to be up to date with all things local and exciting we have a new listing:

Dodd’s Gin (49.9%) £37.50 – distilled in Battersea, just around the corner from Ransome’s Dock, this is the latest arrival on the London Gin scene.  The company’s end goal is to produce the first London Whisky for over a century, but while they wait for this to develop, there is plenty of fun to be had playing around with other spirits.  Our resident nose and spirits aficionado says:

Very London on the nose with juniper and a barley creaminess.  On the palate very spicy yet soft with lots of peppery juniper and just a hint of orange (?) citrus.  Best served with lemon peel and ice, and tonic too if you must!

Fever

… and with gin on our minds, we have now got small bottles of Fever Tree Tonic Water (200ml) for £1 each or 4 for £3. 

South Africa provides our wines for tasting this weekend – for the white we will unseal the ever popular, yet rarely opened, Mulderbosch Chenin Blanc 2011 £12.29 and the complementary red will be Barton Vineyards Merlot 2011 £12.99.  They’ll be open this evening and they’ll be open all day tomorrow so there are no excuses!

¡Salud!