The Weekly Wine

Fellow Wine Lovers,

It’s been a week of hardship for many of us.

My mother-in-law flew to Australia last Monday, current temperature in Sydney 22°C – but it is the middle of the night.

Wayne’s Uncle is currently in Queensland – 36°C in the shade yesterday.

A friend of mine, who happens to live sporadically in Dubai when not flying to Mauritius or some other paradise, sent me a distraught message on Tuesday moaning that it was raining.  23°C and 61% humidity – probably a relief.

One of our suppliers has taken a trip to New Zealand to visit, amongst others, Dog Point Winery in Marlborough and Neudorf Vineyards in Nelson before going off bungying in Queenstown.  We know this through Instagram – the photos of picnics and beach barbecues giving us the impression of warmth and sunshine.

Another of our suppliers, with a distinctly Braveheart surname, voyaged to Murrayfield on Saturday and came back smugger than Billy McSmug from Loch ma Smug.

We sat in the shop and watched the mercury oscillate between -4°C and -1°C and wondered where had we gone wrong?

Snow Day

Is it or isn’t it?  Apparently it has nothing to do with snow depth but actually availability of public transport, we’re told.

Anyway, Ricards Lodge called it yesterday on the strength of weather predictions.  My sons’ school is closing at 1pm today (it’s currently raining here, just so you know).  To be honest with you, judging from our visit to the Pig & Whistle last night, I suspect that a number of people had already called it too and have decided to work from home today – sensible.  You don’t have to risk the commute, you don’t have to risk slipping over on unsalted pavements, and most importantly you don’t have to risk being the only one who did make it in and thus spend the day answering other people’s phones and making your own coffee.  Plus, because you obviously started work earlier, you can obviously stop work earlier and start the weekend early with a visit to your local wine shop!

Since I live just around the corner and Wayne lives in nearby Balham, we can never justify a snow day, Shanks’s pony or velocipede being our preferred transportation methods, so will always be open to provide you with vital vinous survival packs.  If you fancy something a bit more fortifying, we always have an array of spirits open for tasting, should you need something character building before scaling Arthur Road – particular hipflask favourites are currently:

The Kings Ginger – £23.99

King Edward VII was a trailblazer, trendsetter and maverick who broke tradition throughout his life.

The King literally lived life in the fast lane. He would endlessly drive his horseless carriage (a Daimler), whatever the weather. So much so, that in 1903 the Royal Physician became concerned about the monarch’s health. So, he called on Berry Bros. and Rudd for a solution, a high strength liqueur that would warm and revivify His Majesty. Crafted from ginger, (for centuries celebrated for its medicinal properties) The King’s Ginger was born.

Rich, golden and delightfully crisp in flavour, it helped King Edward stay colourful and ready for whatever came next.

www.thekingsginger.com

Bepi Tosolini Amaretto Salizá – £25.99

Nel sestiere di Castello, non lontano da piazza San Marco, è possibile giungere alla SALIZA’ o SALIZADA DEL PIGNATTER, sotto il cui arco è incastonata una pietra rossa a forma di cuore: la leggenda vuole che le coppie che vi si recano assieme si ameranno per sempre”. Questa è la storia veneziana che ricorda il nome dell’amaretto Salizà, un vero distillato di mandorle nato dalla ricetta di Bepi Tosolini, senza coloranti ed aromi artificiali.

www.bepitosolini.it

As you have no doubt gleaned from above this is traditional amaretto from Venice.  Salizada refers to a red, heart shaped stone found in the arch Salizada del Pignatter.  Then there is a whole load of guff about the significance of this stone and lovers loving each other forever and such-like.  Suffice to say we love it, on its own or with company….

However, should Gin be the only spirit that passes muster nowadays, we are very glad to have welcomed two more Gins from Sacred in Highgate.  Sacred Gin With Exotic Notes Of Cardamom and Sacred Gin With Intensely Fresh Notes Of Juniper (both £38) are both gracing our shelves and open for tasting – no prizes for guessing the key botanicals!

Vital vinous survival pack

With differing views as to what the weekend weather might bring, we have made the decision to open two new listings today that match all seasons – it is spring now after all!

De Wetshof Estate Bon Vallon Chardonnay 2017 – £13.49

Soils rich in limestone and broken mountain rock on De Wetshof’s site-specific vineyards allow this wine to emit optimum varietal expression. An unwooded wine, Bon Vallon has a brisk and clean freshness leading into a wide spectrum of classic flavours including citrus, wild flowers and grilled nuts, with a nuanced minerality on the aftertaste

www.dewetshof.com

We tasted this last week for the first time and revelled in its unoaked charm, a nice contrast to Lesca Chardonnay, the oaked wine from the same stable.  A nice balance of fruit and lees character, perfect with your Sunday roast or as an aperitif whilst the coal warm up on the Barbie…

Wine & Roses 2015 Tempranillo – £12.19

Wine and Roses is a project which was set up by 5 friends who wanted to produce contemporary wines with equally contemporary packaging.  Their wines are not classified as Crianzas or Reservas as they did not want to be limited by the DOC regulations for Riojan wines.  They took the name from their mutual appreciation of Axl Rose and his chums so we quite expected  to meet a group of denim clad black t-shirt wearing mavericks but in fact we met with a couple of sharply be-suited characters who clearly know how to keep work and play separate – what goes on tour stays on tour etc etc

Delicious, velvety damson fruits and blackberries, plums and spicy chocolate also pop their heads in to make it really a rather decent drop.  Perfect with your Sunday roast or as an accompaniment to those chops on the Barbie…

And with that we shall leave you.  We’re off to Sunny Surbiton and Bahamian Balham this weekend, how about you?

Ciao Ciao!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Those of us who have lived in the area for a while are, I’m sure, fully aware of South West London’s fondness for fried chicken.  There are a plethora of different shops where you can get your fix, Morleys, Roosters and Chicken Cottage to name but a few. There has even been a four episode Channel Four documentary on the subject.

You can imagine then the shock that has radiated around the country as The Colonel himself has had to close most of his shops due to a lack of chicken. We saw some stories of a Bargain Bucket changing hands for £100 in Sussex. Whilst we love the entrepreneurial side of the chap selling, and also the purity of the economics, we do question if it is still a bargain!

It seems the problem comes down to The Colonel switching his logistics supplier from a specialist company to one that was just cheap. Don’t Have Lorries, having won the contract, just didn’t know what to do next. Good news though folks, looks like the fowl up is nearly solved now, so if Kenny’s Fried Chicken needs a wine with it this evening we’d suggest a Viognier!

Rumours that Chicken Cottage is to become Chicken Villa are, so far, unconfirmed.

Elsewhere in the news it’s been a busy week for the Queen. Spotted first at London Fashion week sat in the front row (too short to model apparently) with Anna Wintour.  Then midweek she popped up again at the Brit Awards. We always suspected she was a big fan of Rag ‘n’Bone Man but how wrong can you be, she was spotted in the mosh pit of International Band of the Year, Foo Fighters! We suspect there’s a chance of fake news on this, but really love the idea of Her Maj getting her rock on to ‘The Pretender’.

Performance enhancing drugs in sport is something we’ve talked about in the past… curling…really? Words fail us.

The latest ‘wine is good for you’ news, suggests that drinking red wine may be good for your oral health. It’s those polyphenols again we understand, though not much was said about the acids and sugar, so we’d suggest staying with the paste and brush until more work is published!

This weekend sees the return of the Six Nations rugby. Friday evening sees France host Italy, whilst Saturday’s early game sees Ireland host Wales in what could be the game of the weekend and England travel to Murrayfield to face an unchanged Scottish team for the Calcutta Cup.

Also the weekend sees the start of the Spring Classics in cycling, with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne on Saturday.

Wine & Cheese Tastings

All the dates are about half filled now, so do check your diaries if you want to join the fun. All start at 8pm and cost £20 per person. Dates below:

Thursday 19^th April

Thursday 17^th May

Thursday 21^st June

Thursday 19^th July

Tasting This Weekend

We’ve mentioned a few times that we’ve been out to a tasting, it’s that time of year in the wine trade. We also know that you all imagine us swanning around in our blazers at some livery hall swirling large glasses of red liquid then turning up at the shop late with black teeth, glazed eyes and a half empty pack of tic-tac’s. Whilst some of this may be true, it is also true that some of the booty from our foraging shows up occasionally too.

With that in mind, the white corner this weekend will feature Domaine Naturaliste Discovery Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2017 (£20.99). Domaine Naturaliste are a small Margaret River winery where the wine is made in a low-intervention manner by Bruce Dukes. We thought this was cracking with a real layered complexity and fabulous balance of fruit and texture. Deliciously elegant, a great partner to a plate of sushi but, frankly, very tasty on its own too.

In the red corner, we’ll make no apologies for taking a second trip in a fortnight to Tuscany. We’ll be opening Salcheto Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2014 (£23.99), a stunning wine, elegant with smoky black cherry fruit character and aa great finish. Organic and enormously keen on their sustainability, Salcheto were the first company in the world to have certified the carbon footprint of a bottle of wine (according to ISO 14064 standard, in 2011).

A song for this weekend must be Louis Jordan’s ‘Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens’…

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Has it really been a week since we last spoke?  God grief, the time has just flown past in a flurry of bad weather and divisive rugby results.  We received a certain amount of criticism last weekend for failing to mention the Winter Olympics starting – much as I’d like to say I was saving it for a special feature this week once some events had actually got underway, I would be talking through my hat and that would never do.

So Winter Olympics, why should I watch you?

You start  half way through the night and then finish up around midday, which makes life difficult for us here as, generally speaking, our most successful sport watching is done under the cover of work, and when work doesn’t start until 11am, well, it’s tricky.  And I’m not sure I’ll ever be to thank you enough for sucking me in last Sunday morning to watch the mixed curling, Canada v Switzerland that finished after 1am – the merciless ridicule that I received from wife and children when I told them of my antics will leave scars; for the record Canada won this round robin match and then proceeded to meet Switzerland again in the final and beat them once more but of course, I knew that would be the case, having been following them from early on… which meant I hadn’t anticipated the fact that the Canada’s ladies would be bottom of the table today after three sessions!

The joy the Winter has over the Summer version is to introduce us to sports that we have never tried ourselves.  If you went to school in the UK you will have done a variety of athletics, there is a definite chance you will have been in a kayak, on a bike, kicked a football, swam a length or played bows and arrows – none of the Summer Olympic sports are alien to us, we can sort of imagine doing them.  Fewer of us can imagine the skillset needed for biathlon and ski-jumping or the mind-set needed for the luge, bobsleigh and skeleton – and here-in lies its viewing appeal.  I was gutted when Elise Christie flew into the barriers and failed to get the medal she so deserves but when my son asked what had happened I couldn’t really tell him what had gone wrong, he just had to watch it for himself.

And then we have the commentators.  With the summer version we seem to land up with industry stalwarts who are used to being at the business end of a microphone and who are dab hand at painting a verbal picture whilst giving incisive commentary.  Watching the Men’s Slopestyle Final (highlights this time, it didn’t finish until 2.30am on Monday) such stalwarts were definitely missing – plenty of ‘wow, that was amazing’, ‘I don’t know how he did that’, coupled with ‘he really won’t be happy about that jump’ made me feel more like I was eavesdropping on some keen amateurs armchair punditry in the pub rather than profound professional commentary – but you know what, their enthusiasm was infectious.  When one of the commentators  put his neck on the line and said, after a fall on the first run, that Red Gerard was going to struggle to medal because he was too light to cope with the cross winds you just knew he hadn’t read the Book of Gaffes to Avoid when on Air – Gerard won Gold!

And of course we’re all about the Skeleton today – could you have told me anything about Dom Parsons yesterday?

So, there you have it, thoroughly engrossing when it’s on, sometimes too engrossing when it’s on late at night and we’ve still got just over a week left – get involved!

Spring Festival

As discussed last week, our four legged friends are front and centre today as we celebrate Chinese New Year – Year of the Dog.  Unlike some of the local pubs, we are yet to stock Snuffle Dog Beer (chicken flavour) or other such dog friendly dog drinks so we’ll have to limit our dog based recommendations to the following wines this weekend:

Mimi Méthode Traditionnelle NV – £12.99

Predominantly Pinot Noir with the merest splosh of Pinot Meunier and a delicate dab of Chardonnay, this fizz has been regaining in popularity as the lights seem to be coming up at the Prosecco party and people are looking to get their kicks elsewhere – the label has a young lady with her pet pooch in her arms, hence the dog theme.

Dog Point Chardonnay 2014 – £25.99

The 2014 Chardonnay reveals a pretty perfume of honey-drizzled white peaches, orange blossoms, marzipan and ginger with savory wafts of struck match (sulfides) and baking bread.  Light to medium-bodied, taut and with a wicked backbone of racy acid, it gives a great intensity of citrus and savory flavors and great length.  Drinking window 2016-2022.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate, 30th December 2016

I think the canine link is self-evident here – and as our red we have:

Tenuta San Guido Le Difese 2015 – £20.49

From the same stable as the mighty Sassacaia, this wine is made from the estates younger vines.  The wine is matured for 12 months in a mixture of French and American oak barrels. This vintage is a particularly fine one for Tuscany.

A round and delicious wine with bright fruit and fine tannins.  Medium body, lovely flavors and a fresh finish.  Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese.  91-92 Points

James Suckling, jamessuckling.com October 20, 2017

Again, it’s the label that has a dog on it, in fact two hunting dogs chasing down a spot of cinghiale for the Sunday roast!

We’ll have the white and the red open for tasting this weekend so do come and join us for a sip or two, they are both truly wonderful examples!

Right, I’m off to catch a nap before midnight – 12 bouts of curling to get through before this time tomorrow, who’s with me?

Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend.  Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read. Groucho Marx

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Time to raid your piggy banks; it’s an expensive week coming up.

Snowfall in in Europe has been less than the record breaking January dumps but there is no sign of a thaw it seems , plus a good base in most resorts means that there will be plenty of skiing going on as the majority of lifts and runs are open and avalanche risks are low.  With the prospect of sunshine rather than snow there will be ample opportunity to sunbake whilst having a cheeky drink up the hill – 250 euros for a bottle of Mumm Cordon Rouge NV in Val d’Isère will have you shifting around for loose change down the banquette…

Half term of course is more expensive – at least when the children are captive behind the heavily locked gates of school they seem less capable of burning through your wallet.  Come half term though and suddenly they need lunch, entertaining and pocket money –the brutes.  Check the pockets of that overcoat you haven’t worn for a few months, there might be a tenner in there….

Valentine’s Day.  A day that should be about the expression of free love and true romance, which aren’t currently tradeable commodities, is apparently going to have us all spending in the region of £650 million, according to Mintel.  If we can get just 0.1% of that business we’ll have filled our coffers sufficiently to cover skiing drinks and long exeat!

On Saturday we have ample opportunity to wager heavily and empty our wallets over and over again in the rugby as Ireland battle Italy at 2.15pm and England introduce Wales to the delights of playing outdoors at 4.45pm; we will already have staked our Valentine’s money on the Tottenham v Arsenal goalless draw and our only hope of any return should be in the Scotland v France match on Sunday but unfortunately the odds are rubbish!  My bet this weekend – a draw in Dublin at 125/1 seemed the only offering actually worth filling a slip out for… just imagine, this time next year, we’ll be millionaires!

Then we have a feast day on Tuesday as we gorge ourselves silly on blinis and caviar and smoked salmon and other such hedonistic delights in preparation for our metaphorical 40 days in the wilderness starting on Ash Wednesday…

However, if your choice of worship is not so much Christian and more traditional Buddhist or Taoist then you will be waiting until Friday for you festivities as we usher in the Year of Dog with all the gusto and Champagne a New Year that arrives on a Friday should receive!

So, pick your pastime and spend accordingly unless you’re like Wayne, then you’ll be celebrating all of the above so it’s definitely time to raid your piggy banks – it’s an expensive week coming up!

That’ll be £650,000,000, please

Whilst you won’t find me in the corner of a crowded bistro whispering sweet nothings into my loved ones ear on Wednesday 14^th February, I will of course be having a bottle of bubbles, or a bottle of wine, or a bottle of both at home with my wonderful wife – but what will it be I hear you clamour?

Well, very high up on the wish list is a small bottle of Foxdenton Rhubarb Gin (14.99) and a bottle of Herbert Hall Brut (32.99) to make a very British, lightly pink hued version of a Kir Royale as it were – I might keep a bit of gomme syrup nearby just in case the tartness of the gin and the dryness of the Kentish fizz are a stop too far and it needs a drop of sugar syrup to soften out the edges – I’ll happily experiment.

On the wine front then, I will skirt around the Rosé option, largely because my wife will thump me if I bring it home (not a fan) and partly because I will have just drunk a bottle of fizz and half a bottle of gin… but don’t let me stop you from enjoying a nice bottle of Château de L’Aumerade Cuvée Marie-Christine (13.99) to bring back some summer sunshine!

A refreshing glass of one of either The Accomplice Chardonnay or The Accomplice Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc (both 8.99) seems an appropriate toast to my partner in crime before moving onto a delicious bottle of Château de Belleverne St Amour 2016 (12.99) from the heart of Beaujolais, Le Cru des Amoreux as it likes to call itself!

At this point I will need to put a stop to the tippling because I will have to go to work but again, don’t let me stop you….

Tasting this weekend

With all that’s mentioned above I think we’ll open The Accomplice Semillon Sauvignon Blanc and the St Amour – the rhubarb gin is open anyway and you’ll just have to trust us on the Herbert Hall front, it’s fab.

Should none of our Valentine suggestions tease you then do remember that Champagne is always available.

Equally, should any of our sport betting tips fail to appeal, you can always still bet on Scotland, Italy or France winning the grand slam at 1,000-1 apparently!?

Abyssinia!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Say hello, wave goodbye.

A warm welcome to February, the year’s shortest month, filled with Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year, half term and the Six Nations.

Whilst we greatly appreciate that the shortest month comes directly after the very, very longest month there is an argument that perhaps, post Brexit (!), we should consider reallocating days/month to make January about 14 days long and then add the surfeit of days into July and August.  This would work for everyone – all the cold days in January could be exchanged 1:1 for sunny days in the height of summer; the summer holidays would now be longer; the New Year resolutions would now only have to last for a fortnight and obviously February would be closer to Christmas.

Such a reallocation of days could also serve as a fillip to the economy, with the slow month of January exchanged for months of greater productivity later in the year; there would be more seasonal work available for longer, so we would approach universal employment, once again a financial bonus for the country.  With the extended summer we would now compete head-on with Mediterranean destinations for sunshine breaks and, following the Thomas Cook lead, could charge £20 for a sunbed booking – great for business and £3.33 for the Treasury coffers, every time.  If we can encourage 3 billion visitors to sit on a beach chair for just 3 days each then, by 2021, we could shore up the 30 billion NHS deficit using sunbeds alone; a billion visitors a year – how many kiss-me-quick hats and fish suppers would that involve, it’s a gift that keeps on giving and we haven’t even considered the 0.83 pence the HMRC gets from each plastic bag we have to purchase at the supermarket!

So we’re voting for 14 days in January – who’s with me?  Potential naysayers, likely to be anyone born between 15^th and 31^st, will get their birthday re-located to the summer, further away from Christmas and in the nice weather, something they’ve always yearned for!

I have the feeling that some of us, certainly where resolutions are involved, are already working on a fortnight long first month.  Supposedly, 3.1 million of us gave up booze on January 1^st, which is 6 times more of us than have Hive Connected Heating (according to the British Gas adverts) which perhaps is a sign that we are substantially more likely to give up drinking than get suckered into remote controlled central heating, but I digress…

3.1 million took the pledge last month, a statistic gleaned from YouGov (a fount of many fun statistics) which is more than 5% of the UK adult population.  There are no statistics available for how many were still dry on Wednesday, and I suspect there never will be, but we can report, unofficially, a noticeable uplift in sales from 20^th January onwards, and a definite acceleration the first few days of this week!  Congratulations to all of you that did the full month and a warm welcome back, what can we offer you?

Wine & Cheese Tastings

Well aware of your penchant for combining fermented grapes with curdled milk we published dates for our upcoming tastings over the next few months – response has been great, so here’s an update:

Thursday 8^th February (next week!) at 8pm – only 4 spaces left

Thursday 15^th March at 8pm – sorry, sold out!

Thursday 19^th April at 8pm – good availability

Thursday 17^th May at 8pm – good availability

Thursday 21^st June at 8pm – good availability

Thursday 19^th July at 8pm – good availability

So, check your diaries, we have someone booked for every evening now so we expect them all to sell out… As usual, to book, pop in or else call us on 020 8944 5224.

£20 per person.

Tasting this Weekend

We were out tasting this week and it seems that the Spanish islands are going to be the next big thing this year, the heat over wines from Etna cooling a little – and having listed the wines from the Mallorcan winery, Las Bodegas Maciá Batle, for many years now, we were quite excited to try some other wines.

Let’s just say, we are very pleased with our current listings and found the alternative wines we tasted truly delicious but very ambitiously priced – think Burgundy but wearing a sombrero…

So, we thought we’d open Maciá Batle Blanc de Blancs 2016 – £18.49 and show you why we like it – a blend of Prensal Blanc and Chardonnay; the Prensal Blanc is a local variety with a lightly herbal fruited character set off by the appley bite of the Chardonnay – delicious.

We also rediscovered the fact that Bordeaux from 2010 is also delicious.  We’ll open the Château des Demoiselles Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux – £15.99, just to remind you too!

Late News

Alex is always late, no doubt about it.  He hasn’t yet offered to resign though, but if he did I think I would let him stay, being half the business and all that.

Anyway, to reference YouGov for one last time, their question was thus:

The International Development Minister Lord Bates resigned and walked out of the House of Lords after being late to answer a ministerial question. (His resignation was not accepted). How often are you late?

Astonishingly, 47% of us said rarely and 19% never – that’s 2/3 of the population that reckons they’re timekeeping is almost perfect.  Only 7% confessed to being usually or often late, the same percentage as those who ‘didn’t know’!

Think of your friends, read those stats and never believe another poll!

Wales v Scotland; France v Ireland; Italy v England – I genuinely have no clue how the rugby will shape up this weekend but I feel it could be amazing!

Wave goodbye, Alex…

Fellow Wine Lovers,

We have to confess we’re a little puzzled. We thought we’d read that the President wasn’t coming to London. Suddenly, without warning an entire club arrives, and in one evening manages to unleash front page Fire and Fury from the FT no less.

As we read the story, we found ourselves wondering if all these important people shouldn’t be in Davos rather than The Dorchester, and then it dawned on us that it could be some weird publicity stunt for the new Aardman Animations film “Early Man”. Settled on this explanation, we wondered about some Wensleydale for lunch…

Elsewhere, we learn that Chinese scientists have successfully cloned macaque monkeys using the same technology that produced Dolly the sheep. Fifteen of the UKIP senior team have resigned over differences with their leader (the fourth in 12 months!) – let’s hope there are no scientists working on Dolly designs in the Farage garage!

Otherwise, whilst the world is still turning, a distillery in South Carolina has released a vodka made from cloud vapour. Now, I’ll confess to be being somewhat less than on message when it comes to modern terms, but I’m fairly sure I spent most of my day off on Wednesday in ‘cloud vapour’. Indeed, I might go as far as suggesting that I was taught at school that the water we drink actually comes from cloud vapour. Maybe I wasn’t listening… probably had my head in the clouds!

Cheese and Wine Tastings

Cheese and wine have been rumoured to be nearly as tasty a combination as wine and cheese and over the years you have been in to help us along with our research into which is best. We chat to our chums at Beillevaire who suggest some cheeses, from which we choose four. Then we choose some wines to go with them, taste them with you and discuss the success of the choice.

One of the side effects of our research has been to discover just how many cheeses there are, hundreds of the blighters. You seem undaunted by the maths though, and have demanded more dates for cheese and wine tasting evenings.

So, if four cheeses tasted with half a dozen or so wines over a couple of hours sounds like fun, these are the dates to check in your diary!

Thursday 8^th February at 8pm

Thursday 15^th March at 8pm

Thursday 19^th April at 8pm

Thursday 17^th May at 8pm

Thursday 21^st June at 8pm

Thursday 19^th July at 8pm

As usual, book tickets by popping in or else call us on 020 8944 5224. Prices held at £20 per person.

Tasting this Weekend

There’s been talk of haggis this week, something to do with Burns Night. Now, as someone that likes to eat haggis, I would argue that much like puppies and Christmas, a haggis is not just for Burns Night. We thought we’d suggest a couple of reds that might make rather tasty accompaniments to the beastie, so we’ll kick off in the red corner with a brace: Maggio Old Vine Zinfandel 2015 (£12.99), whose cherry fruit will slide along just nicely with the peppery savouriness, whilst the slightly darker brambly fruit of Domaine Coyeux Beaumes de Venise 2013 (£15.99), will bring its own slightly savoury note to the party.

The white corner will have Lazos Terra Chardonnay 2016 (£13.99), not because it goes with haggis but because it’ll be a wow with that smoked salmon starter!

We appreciate that every tradition has its traditionalists so, if it must be whisky, then why not Finlaggan (£32.99) for the Islay team, or Strathmill 2002 (£50) for the Speyside team.

Neither of us were invited to Davos this year, so we’ll be here to answer questions, shoot the breeze or take your cheese and wine bookings.

Lastly, if you have a spare couple of hours, Icarus is a cracking documentary worthy of a stream!

Cheers,

Wayne & Alex

PS:  Our 6 for 5 offer ends at close of play Wednesday 31^st January and we will be out for most of Tuesday daytime for tastings – so, as I write, there are approximately 40 hours left to shop – you have been warned!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Our Dry January Menu: Dry White Wine, Dry Gin, Dry Vermouth… Dry Roasted Nuts?

Pat, one of our customers, saw this brilliant piece of graffiti on the ‘wall of truth’ in Daly’s Wine Bar on The Strand, and correctly surmised that it might strike a chord..

The beginning of 2017 was an arid wasteland for the alcohol purveyors amongst us; everybody seemed to get so caught up in the vortex of alcohol abstention that was #dryjanuary, that we spent most of the month reading the paper.  As a further consequence of temperance, many bold moves were made to discover new and interesting flavours, alcohol free cocktails and exotically sludgy smoothies – 2017 was to be the year that boozing died and, with it, so too perhaps fun.

But February rolled in on a wave of Six Nations Rugby, Valentine’s Day and half term and suddenly a glass of proper fizz on Friday garnered more appeal than San Pellegrino, who skulked back once more to the bottom shelf.  By the end of the summer we had sold pallets of rose and prosecco and sludgy smoothies were much forgotten, the wine status quo had been achieved.  Christmas arrived in all its splendour and with it the New Year and then another month of abstinence…

….Or so we thought.  It would appear that many people had such a miserable time last January that the idea of 31 days off the grog, ever again, seems cruel and unfair and certainly contrary to all the rules and conventions that keep society social.  Some extreme abstainers, perhaps giddied by how much fun avocado and kale smoothies were last year, have decided to adopt Veganuary as their test this year – but don’t get me started on that!

Anyway, whether you have given up or not, you should certainly take advantage of our January 6 for 5 offer.

If you’re still drinking then the prospect of 16.66% off your six pack is not to be sniffed at whilst, if you are on the wagon but still reading this, I am guessing you might be back in the throng sometime in early February, the 1^st perhaps, and you’ll be wanting something nice to drink.  Fill your rack up now and avoid the disastrous double whammy of missing out on wine in January whilst also missing out on the big discount!

Foxdenton

Now, one man who is definitely not a vegan is Nick Radclyffe from Foxdenton, our Sloe and Rhubarb Gin guru.  Now Nick seems to spend his time equally between creating delicious alcoholic tinctures, selling such tinctures and shooting things.  Hence not a vegan.  Anyway, Nick popped by on Tuesday to replenish our Rhubarb Gin stocks and, being both a gentleman and a salesman, he also brought us some of his other tipples with him.  He left us the bottles, with a view that we could try them out with you lot and see if any gained any traction!  The flavours we have to try are:

Damson, Golden Apricot, Raspberry, and Winslow Plum.  He also left some Christmas Liqueur and his 48% Gin, both of which pack a punch!

Anyway, they’re all here for tasting, we’ll set up a sheet for scoring anonymously so we can get an idea of which one we should stick on the shelf.

Wine

If you don’t fancy fruit based spirits this weekend then we will have a couple of rather nice wines open.  Domaine Séguinot-Bordet Chablis 2016 – £20.99 will be delighting us in the white suit whilst Innocent Bystander Pinot Noir 2016 – £16.99 will be the rogue in red – we’ve got plenty of stock of both wines so plenty of opportunity to get a six box!

And with that I’m gone!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

It was a cold night, there was no doubt about it.  The wind was blowing from the east as it often has of late and the promise of little or no sun during the day had been delivered upon, in spades.  It was now 8pm and, in a bygone age, there would have been thick fog swirling about the entrance to Wimbledon Park Tube Station.  Certainly, the mismatched pair clambering up the stairs, were dressed for such weather, the taller in a large overcoat, a warm hat and gloves and with a scarf covering all but his eyes, whilst the smaller creature looked more suited to alpine pursuits than commuting.

‘It’s very quiet Dad’ said the amateur tobogganist, thus identifying their relationship, ‘where is everyone?’

‘It’s always like this at this time of night, Arthur Road is completely dead in the evening’, was the response.

A couple of people left Dalchini, filled with Hakka cuisine, and gingerly weaved through the three battered mopeds sprawled by the door by the over eager Deliveroo drivers.  Further down the street, the sign for Estella blinked, like a remote lighthouse warning people not to approach to closely.

‘The chemist is open late though, look at the light streaming from their windows’ observed the very well enunciated boy.

As they walked down road towards the glow, the sound of excited chatter and glasses accidentally clinking became louder – ‘that’s not the chemist, that’s the wine shop, I wonder what’s going on?’

Rubbing the condensation from the window, they pressed their noses to the glass as people only do in narrative, never in life, and observed a vinous paradise.  Inside the shop, bathed in gloriously warming light, were 10 people of different shapes and sizes seated around a table in the middle of the room whilst two people stood at the far end, seemingly running the show or at the very least talking a lot.

‘This must be that six week wine school that Mum was rattling on about all over December, saying how nice it would be for us to do it together, to taste about 60 wines over the period, to try some mainstream but also some esoteric styles, to learn about wine faults and sweet wine and rosé and then finish off with a week focusing on sparkling wine and champagne – I think they’ve even arranged for a week break for half term which seems very sensible.  I believe it’s aimed at people who are interested in wine but don’t know a lot and are looking to expand their horizons a bit’ murmured the suddenly remarkably well informed Dad.

‘But isn’t that mum over there at the end with Fiona from next door, and isn’t that Clive from your gym?’

‘I had no idea she knew Clive, in fact I had no idea she had signed up for this, why didn’t she tell me?  replied Dad, whilst thinking to himself that this wine tasting looked far more fun than wandering the streets with an 11 year old… why didn’t she tell me?

And with that, they unglued their noses from the windowpane and wandered towards the Coop – ‘beans on toast for supper whilst watching Kirstie and Phil’s Love It or List It , please Dad’

‘You are not my son’ was the absentminded utterance, as Dad wondered if he was still living the dream…

PARK VINTNERS WINE SCHOOL

WEDNESDAY 31^st JANUARY – WEDNESDAY 14^TH MARCH

(HALF TERM 14^TH FEBRUARY) – £150 PER PERSON

FURTHER DETAILS ATTACHED

If you would like to book then please email us, phone us on 020 8944 5224, or pop in and sees us in person – for the course to run we need a minimum of 8 people and we currently are short of this number.  With this in mind we will be closing the bookings on Saturday 20^th January – so if you think you’d like to come, carpe diem and don’t let Clive nick your place!

So caught up were our protagonists with the vinous paradise that greeted them, that they completely failed to notice the whacking great blackboard suggesting that if you bought 6 bottles during the month of January the you would actually only pay for 5 of them; or to put it another way, from February to December we offer a 5% discount on a case of 6 but in January we offer 16.666% discount on the same case. 

It can be a mixed case, it needs to be from stock we have in the shop and a couple of things at the top end and in the spirits section don’t qualify due to the fact that giving such a discount would lead to bankruptcy!  Still plenty to choose from here but of course, as every day passes, such choice gets smaller and we wouldn’t want you to miss out like our protagonist earlier – don’t let Clive beat you to it!

Our News

That title sounds extremely formal.  Anyway it’s not really news, more a diary note:

We are closed all day on Monday 15^th January in order to attend to our tasting and supplier based responsibilities – we’ve swerved all the Burgundy tastings this year but Monday is showing us, oh, so much more than what Burgundy can offer that we have had to take the day – sorry, back on Tuesday, bright and breezy!

Their News

Too much, as ever.  Farage wants second referendum – or at the very least wants to be on the front pages again.  Snowfall in the alps, very heavy; bear sized Andrex found in woods; Catholics found in Vatican.  Every Premiership player linked with a move to Man City, every Premiership manager denies rumours.  A woman who walked into a police station saying she killed a man and buried him in the garden several years ago is in court accused of murdering a man 12 years ago after police found a body buried in a garden – impressive police work.  The NHS is creaking but sadly this isn’t news.  Theresa launches her 25 year plastic plan, very laudable – 5p bags here we come, recyclable glass bottles for fizzy water (with a deposit), loose fruit and veg – anyone get a sense of déjà vu?

That’s enough of their news – it’s the top of the year, it’s a time to feel positive and enlivened.  To help with such enlivening, we will have the following liveners open this weekend:

Southern Dawn Sauvignon Blanc 2017 – £10.79 – we last tasted this wine, but the 2016 vintage, this weekend last year so it seemed about due.  Classic Marlborough SB, a medley of herbs and grass pursued by a crisp fruit driven palate packed with gooseberry, lime and passion fruit and a lovely fresh finish.

Petit Pittacum 2016 – £12.89 – this is one of our best-selling Spanish wines which probably explains why we haven’t opened a bottle in the shop for over a year, it sells itself!  From Bierzo in the top left corner of the country, made from the lesser known Mencía grape, this has an extremely enticing nose filled with blackberry and elderberry fruits and a palate that reflects the self-same fruit characteristics and a touch of tannin to keep it honest.  Try it.

And with that we shall wish you well – don’t forget, if you have been considering wine school now is the time to strike, unless of course beans on toast with Kirstie and Phil is more your thing!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Here we are again, the last of the turkey has been currified and frozen, we’ve caught up with Hootenanny on iPlayer and poked our nose in the gym – surprised at how quiet it was, we even worked out!

As appears to be the custom at this time of year we thought we might make a few suggestions of what may happen in 2018. We think that by the end of the year Alex will be wearing a beard and Wayne not. Money laundering and tax havens will crop up repeatedly in the news, and Trumpolena will still be twittering on, Theresa May will still be Prime Minister and Liverpool will, again, be the best team to win nothing.

At some point during the year you’ll receive an unexpected delivery of loo roll, toothpaste and a boxed set of Little House on the Prairie and realise that Alexa really does know too much.

Driverless cars will still not quite happen, and because of continual over crowded trains more people will cycle to work. Electric car charging points will be everywhere and still only one person on your street will have one.

Financially, the pound will end the year stronger than it started, FTSE 100 and the oil price will be about the same and the Nikkei 225 will be above 25000.

On the drinks front, there will be life beyond Prosecco, with other sparkling wines getting a look in and an English Sparkling wine being chosen for the Royal Wedding.

Sport wise we’re going with Antonio Conte to return home to Italy as manager, Rory McIlroy to win the Masters, and England to win the Six Nations Rugby, whilst in football exiting the World Cup at the quarter final stage.

Lastly, in a more believable prediction, we think Liver and Bacon will become popular again. Who knows, it might even get its own food truck in Haggerston!

Wine School

We put the dates out last month but to no reaction, we think that in the whirlwind of December they got missed.

We’ll start on Wednesday 31^st January at 8pm here. It’s a six week course (that skips half term) and costs ₤150. During the six weeks you’ll taste in the region of 60 different wines. If that appeals, full details are attached.

The Famous Park Vintners January Sale

All we had to do was look at what we wrote in January 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 to find the appropriate words. Yes folks, as now seems traditional in this small corner of southwest London, everything on the shelves is for sale. To encourage you though, might we present to you the Park Vintners January 6 for 5 Offer.

Similar Identical to the ongoing Champagne and sparkling wine deal we offer all year, for January we will be extending this offer to wine and beer too. But not spirits I’m afraid, all the profit on those is reserved for HMRC, unfortunately it’s our Duty. Oh, and it’s only wines we have in stock currently.  And a couple of the wines and Champagnes aren’t in the deal either but let’s not get caught up in all the Ts & Cs, this is a glorious offer – 6 bottles for the price of 5, mixable, a ‘16.66% off’ straight-up deal, none of this ‘cheapest bottle free’ malarkey.  Does that sound like a deal or what?

That’s it from us for this week. Don’t be a stranger!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Hello, is there anybody in there?  Just nod if you can hear me.  Is there anyone at home?

It’s almost 40 years since Roger Waters wrote these lines, how could he have possibly known what trade would be like on Arthur Road in late December 2017?

As is our wont, as we lie amidst the dying embers, we like to look back on what has burnt brightly over the year…

Best Man?

Wayne maintained his position as top salesman, a position he has kept since we opened, with an astonishing 60% of sales versus Alex’s paltry 40%.

On the plus side, Alex had lots of nice holidays.

Best Wine?

Often we are asked what wine sells better, red or white.  We usually reckon that they are about the same with less red sold in the summer etc etc.  We now find out that we’re so very wrong, and we apologise.

This year red wine makes up about 43% of sales, white wine 27%, fizz 17%, with rosé and spirits garnering about 6% each.

What have we learnt from this?  Firstly, whilst we may well be the top two salesman in the company we are but glorified till jockeys if we have no real concept of what is walking out of the door, and that we assume we are selling more white purely because every time we sell a bottle we have to re-stock the fridge.  Secondly, even if you combine rosé and white wine, they still fall short of red.  Thirdly, fizz marches forward ever more strongly.  As does Provence rosé.  As does Gin!

Best Newcomer?

We had assumed that the Foxdenton Rhubarb Gin was a shoo in here – but of course we were wrong, bamboozled by its pretty colour.  Chateau Paraza from the Minervois knocks it into a cocked hat, with almost double the sales.

Best joke?

In an act of sweet revenge, he dragged her around a load of pubs…. Only to go back to the very first one to buy his pint!

Best be going now…

Short and sweet this week, time is ticking on and we know you all have far better things to do than listen to us rattle on all day (I do have a stat for this too but frankly some of things you would rather be doing are unprintable) so it really just remains for us to say many thanks for all of your support this year, hope you all had a very merry Christmas and are looking forward to a fabulous 2018 – hopefully we can help you make it more fabulous but not until next Thursday!

Chin Chin!

PS – we are open:

FRIDAY 29th DECEMBER 11AM – 8PM

SATURDAY 30th DECEMBER 10AM – 8PM

SUNDAY 31st DECEMBER 11AM – 6PM

MONDAY 1st – WEDNESDAY 3rd JANUARY CLOSED

THURSDAY 4th JANUARY 11AM – 8PM