The Weekly Wine

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Even those that normally scoff the most at us sports fans have been swept up in the current football fever.

They have learnt what VAR means, have become experts in simulation in the penalty area (which is something they would have frowned upon previously) and fail, like us, to understand how Neymar was in such excruciating pain when the linesman didn’t flinch as Miguel Layan stood on both their feet, simultaneously. Whilst learning how to spot the cheating they have also learnt to love the teamwork of the Japanese team, the nuanced short passes of the England defence and the electricity pulsing through the French team.

We even hear reports that one of the most disparaging critics of international sport we have ever met got so distracted by the England game on Tuesday – I was only watching whilst waiting for the news – that he completely destroyed a saucepan, and the broccoli within, as it boiled dry in the penalty excitement! Takeaways next week if we get past Sweden, I reckon….

However, we mustn’t dwell on sport when there’s wine to be talked about. If you think the tone of this missive drops when we talk about football, I’m not sure what you’re going to think of me when I mention my next topic – Ernst & Julio Gallo. Now, whilst we all love a drop of Gallo Family Vineyards White Grenache (which is, of course, pink) and what they’ve done with Moscato is extraordinary/criminal, one must occasionally look beyond such exceptional wines and boutique winemaking and examine their intellectual endeavours. A survey of 2,000 punters was published this week by one of their more premium labels, Dark Horse, with the following results:

• 73% are intimidated by the wine list when in a restaurant or wine bar

• 58% believe they do not know enough about wine to be confident ordering

• 36% have no idea what they are meant to be looking for when a waiter invites them to try a wine but will not admit it

• 29% only buy wine that is on offer

• 23% choose wine from the same country or region.

• 18% think about what they are eating when choosing wine

The most obvious thing that benefits Dark Horse here is that the punter feels under pressure and lacking in knowledge most of the time and will thus return to the wine they always buy – Dark Horse, of course which you’ll never find on a wine list.

The other obvious take home from these figures is that still, in spite of the fact that over the last 20 years wine consumption has seen near continual growth and the choice we have now is so much greater, most of us still feel the world of wine is a secret and impenetrable society.

73% are intimidated by the wine list. It’s funny for us to hear this in some respects because, as a result of many conversations with different customers when we ran a store Clapham, this was the thing that bugged people the most – what to choose on the list when out to lunch with your boss/on a first date/meeting the in-laws for the first time.

It’s funny purely because these conversations were going on way back in 2007. And back then we listened to our customers intently (!) with the result that we wrote a 6 week Wine School, with the unofficial sole purpose of ‘solving the winelist’ and generally de-mystifying wine.

11 years later, we still run this course and, if surveys are to be believed, ¾ of you reading this would like to go on it!

PARK VINTNERS WINE SCHOOL

6 WEEK COURSE – WEDNESDAY 10TH OCTOBER UNTIL WEDNESDAY 21ST NOVEMBER

(NO CLASS ON WEDNESDAY 24TH OCTOBER, HALF TERM)

£150 PER PERSON 

Tasting this weekend
The last part of the article that I got the stats above from was a nice punchline for us:
Brits typically spend £25 on a bottle of wine for a dinner party but one in ten will splash out £100.
10% of you want to spend a ton!? Do please step this way, madam, and let me recommend the Chateau d’Issan 2005, the Sassicaia or the Vega Sicilia Valbuena, all drinking beautifully and well within your pricepoint…..

Back on planet earth, we’ll be opening a couple of wines more for the everyday rather than the dinner party.

Les Vignoble Foncalieu Piquepoul Rose 2017 (£12.99) is a cracking dry rosé from the plain between Bezier and Narbonne in the Languedoc, France. Made from Piquepoul Noir which is a relatively rare grape variety more normally found as part of the blend in a Chateauneuf-Du-Pape. This wine though, is deliciously fresh and delicate drop with dry strawberry and redcurrant notes and a lovely freshness.

Bodegas Arráez Vivir Sin Dormir 2016 (£12.99) is an organic wine made from Monastrell grapes grown in Jumilla, Spain. We thought its dark plummy roundness would make it great with some barbecued food, winemaker Toni seems to think it a great partner for people who love to dance under the moon. The choice is, of course yours, but I might suggest doing both as it’s the weekend!

That’s it from us this week, busy day tomorrow with football, the start of the Tour de France and of course, the tennis.

I’ll leave you now with a conversation I had with a customer yesterday:

How many wines you got from Sweden, mate? And how many from England?

Strange question, I thought but I replied anyway:

England two, Sweden nil!

Bye now!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

It’s coming home, it’s coming home, it’s coming….

Yep, tennis is back in town and, if you haven’t noticed, here are some signs to look for:

• a notable increase in oversized SUV’s struggling to drive on their side of the road or through width restrictions or in fact anywhere that there are other vehicles
• perma-tanned, beautiful people wearing glistening tennis whites whilst schooning pints of Lanson in Hemmingway’s
• lots of eager emmets will soon be emerging blinkingly from the penumbra of Wimbledon Park tube station to discover that the All England is not bang outside or even that close and no, they haven’t bothered to put up any signposts to help
• the Pig & Whistle will become a drop-in centre for people camping in the park yearning electricity and cushioned seating
• sightings of the red faced and ‘seemingly’ well refreshed Attaché for Sports, Humanitarian, Cultural Affairs in the European Union for the Central African Republic and BBC pundit will become more regular as the finals loom
• the Co-op will run out of anything salad of strawberry related but will have a plenitude of swedes and turnips and other winter casserole ingredients
• we’ll all become tennis experts once more

It’s coming home, it’s coming home, it’s coming….

Football’s coming home! Or perhaps it isn’t. After last night’s performance, it’s hard to tell but we do now know that we are playing Colombia next week.

Strategically, last night’s game was a masterpiece: it’s about winning the war, not individual battles. By cunningly choosing not to score and thus keep the element of surprise and our powder dry last night, the Red Devils will have no idea how/where/when we are going to score a goal when we meet them again in the Finals!

While we’re at it, why Red Devils? Online research has not clarified this slightly nebulous nickname for me, since demons are not the first things I think of when I think of the land that brought us Magritte, Merckx, Tintin and Plastique Bertrand – but if they want to be associated with Man Utd then that’s their choice – Toby Aldeweireld’s particularly!

It’s coming home, it’s coming home, it’s coming….

Coming home to roost, for Theresa. Pressure at home from her own party, pressure from 27 EU leaders in Brussels and lots of deadlines looming. I wonder how often she wishes that pro-Leave candidate Andrea Leadsom had been a stronger, victorious opponent two years ago? Still at least they all voted for the third runway at Heathrow this week – still can’t work out how £14 billion will be found by Ferrovial to fund even a small part of this –

Ever since Britain privatised its airports in 1986, infrastructure improvements have been the responsibility of private-sector owners. EU rules clarified in 2014 have further circumscribed the ability of governments to provide state aid to privately owned companies. FT JUNE 22 2018 – Who will pay for Heathrow airport’s £14bn third runway?

This works for now – but what about after we leave Europe?

In their 2017 accounts, Heathrow Aiport Holdings borrowings were £13.4 billion. But they did have a whopping(!?) £703 million of equity….

It’s coming home, it’s coming home, it’s coming….

As promised last week, we’ve got our act together and organised some dates for tastings etc after the summer hullabaloo.

First up, the return of Wine School and a quick Q & A with Wayne:

Who is this course aimed at?
You! We assume you have tasted wine and enjoyed it enough to come along and explore further. Our course is aimed at the enthusiastic beginner.

What’s your goal?
Our course is designed to give you an excellent opening to the world of wine. Based entirely around what you taste, the course will give you the confidence to trust your palate, understand the characteristics of the main grape varieties and to explore new styles and varieties. We keep the size of the group small, between 8-12 people, to allow for discussion.

What will you cover?
We cover all the classic grape varieties with styles from both the Old and New World. Some of the wines are shown “blind”, so that you learn to trust your judgement based on the taste of the wine rather than what it says on the label. We will show you how to evaluate and assess quality, discuss wine production methods as well as the wine’s acidity, tannins and flavour. On our journey we shall cover ageing potential, wine and food matching, wine storage conditions and, importantly, wine faults.
Weeks 1-3: We’ll show you how to taste wine and cover the main white varieties along with a couple off-the-beaten-track selections.
Weeks 4 & 5: We’ll cover the classic red varieties as well as a few lesser known varieties.
Week 6: This week is all about bubbles – sparkling wines from around the world, alongside several styles of Champagne.
You will taste 8 to 10 wines each week and we will even manage to sneak in a little pudding wine and some Rosé somewhere amongst that lot!

Where does it take place?
The course takes place in the shop after we close. We pull out the tasting table, set up some chairs and get stuck in. Our courses are relaxed and about enjoying wine and sharing knowledge.

When?
Wednesday evenings from 8pm until about 10pm, for six weeks but over a seven week period. It starts on Wednesday 10th October and concludes on Wednesday 21st November – we’ll skip Wednesday 24th October as it’ll be half term in the outside world!

What do I bring?
Just yourself! We’ll provide everything you need… notes, pens, paper, water biscuits and wine.

How much does it cost?
£150.00 per person -payment reserves your place – pop in and see us or give us a call on 020 8944 5224.

Actually it’s not for me, it’s for my partner’s birthday – can I gift it?
Definitely, courses can be the perfect gift. We can arrange attendance either for a specific course date or as an open voucher (valid for 6 months).

However, if you don’t fancy committing to a six week jamboree then here are some dates for upcoming Wine & Cheese Tastings:

Thursday 13th September at 8pm
Thursday 11th October at 8pm
Thursday 8th November at 8pm
Thursday 29th November at 8pm

All these cost £20 per person and, as ever, payment confirms your place at the table!

It’s coming home, it’s coming home, it’s coming….

Well, not exactly home but it’s certainly coming. Next Wednesday will find us watching our American cousins celebrate their Independence from British rule – they seem to have done alright out of that severing of ties – and we thought we might as well start the celebrations this weekend by tasting a couple of wines from the US of A, wines that might also be appropriate with barbecues perhaps, as the weather seems to be holding.

Wente Morning Fog Chardonnay 2016 – £16.49
Based in the Livermore Valley in California, Wente’s vineyards were founded in 1883 and are still owned and managed by the same family, 4 generations later. They were also one of the first to plant Chardonnay and one taste of this suggests they are doing a fine job. Crisp with fine elegant apple notes and a supporting touch of oak, bang on some grilled lobster!

Long Barn Pinot Noir 2015 – £13.59
This is classic Californian Pinot Noir. A quick swirl fills the air with red cherry aromas whilst the palate is soft with silky tannins, lovely bramble and cherry fruit flavours, gently edged with a touch of spice and a lovely fresh finish. It really is made in an old barn too but fortunately doesn’t taste like one, unlike some older Burgundies we could mention! Ribs?

Not coming home?

Should SW19 not be on your radar this weekend, then two things I cannot recommend heartily enough if you happen to be in their vicinity – a trip to Lords to watch the mighty Kent take on Hampshire in the final of the Royal London One Day Cup or perhaps, if you happen to be in Newcastle, a trip to Fenwicks where our friends at Hepple Gin have taken over the famous Northumberland Street window for the weekend to offer a unique 4 stage Gin experience – it looks extraordinary and extremely cool!

We’re going home…

But not until later. In the meantime, we have cold Rosé in the fridge, warmer reds on the shelf, beers, ice and lots of other things nice – why not swing by and find out what we really think about runways!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Winter went; Spring sprang; now Summer is here to stay.

With this in mind, and freshly back from shaking his solstice in Wiltshire, Wayne finally instituted shirt sleeve order yesterday, which this year allows us to wear knee length shorts with long, sturdy socks, brogues and a loose cravat rather than a tie. Waistcoats are optional, no mention of singlets as yet.

And that’s not all he decreed. Before I was allowed to enter the shop yesterday I had to show my ID, had to confirm I didn’t have any criminal records and that I lived in Wimbledon. As I have lived in Wimbledon for more than 5 years, I am considered ‘settled’ so am now entitled to continue working in the shop and pay my taxes and my National Insurance – whoop, whoop!

Having thus gained entry to the shop, I then got to down to the serious business of standing behind the counter, trying to look busy. Years back this used to be a skill that took to time to learn – Wayne still can be found on occasion with his hand in his chin, gazing pensively into the middle distance – a look he developed when working in Oddbins Fine Wine, to discourage timewasters. However, nowadays we can hunch over the computer and give the impression that we are crunching numbers in a particularly complex spreadsheet whilst in fact we are checking to see if England have beaten the Aussies again.

It was whilst engaged in this that I discovered that another ‘craft’ brewer had gone over to the dark side. Beavertown, the cult brewery founded by Logan Plant, son of little known rocker, Robert Plant, has announced that it has sold a ‘minority’ stake in the business to Heineken for £40 million. Interestingly, when Heineken took a similar ‘minority’ stake in Brixton Brewery in November last year, the spokesman for the Dutch monolith, when asked about further acquisitions, was quoted: ‘at the moment, we have no further plans. We have found the perfect London brewer to partner with…’

I wonder how Brixton feel about today’s developments – when they signed I expect they hoped for monogamy but now seem to be playing second fiddle in a Heineken harem?

Just so we’re all on the same page, here are some ideals that are considered important for craft brewers in the USA:
a) Craft brewers are small brewers.
b) The hallmark of craft beer and craft brewers is innovation. Craft brewers interpret historic styles with unique twists and develop new styles that have no precedent.
c) Craft beer is generally made with traditional ingredients like malted barley; interesting and sometimes non-traditional ingredients are often added for distinctiveness.
d) Craft brewers tend to be very involved in their communities through philanthropy, product donations, volunteerism and sponsorship of events.
e) Craft brewers have distinctive, individualistic approaches to connecting with their customers.
f) Craft brewers maintain integrity by what they brew and their general independence, free from a substantial interest by a non-craft brewer.

Many of these ideals are fully and brilliantly embraced by both Beavertown and Brixton, although perhaps not a) and f)!

However, at the end of the day, I really can’t fault them for taking the deal – if Tesco were to offer us £40 million for a minority share, I’m not sure we’d take too long to sign.

In the world outside of beer and wine, the World Cup has been doing what it always seems to do, which is not a lot, a lot of the time… Cricket has been marvellous of late but I won’t dwell on this because it’s bound to be woeful again very soon; and, thus far, we haven’t had a winner at Ascot but that’s probably due to Wayne forgetting it’s on this week and me being in Spain!

So, as discussed earlier, winter went, spring sprang and summer is here to stay. To celebrate such a seasonal milestone we shall taste some summery wines this weekend, both from Spain as that’s what I’ve been supping all week!

Blanco will be Bioca Godello 2017 – £14.69, which is a cracking wine from Valdeorras in north-west Spain. As one of Spain’s rarer indigenous varieties, Godello may not be a well know grape variety so you’ll have to trust me when I say it is very appealing, even rather more-ish, with hints of orange and lemon on the nose following onto a vibrant, crisp and focused palate with hints of minerals in the background. Absolutely crying out for some fish or calamares.

Vino Tinto will be a Rioja – Torres Altos Ibéricos Parcelas De Graciano 2014 – £15.99, and is 100% Graciano. We’ve enjoyed the odd drop of Graciano in the past, it has been noted; some may even say I bang on about it a bit much. However, having tasted this one again recently, I can completely understand why it was such a shoo-in. Elegant, dark cherry fruits, a real velvety palate with a touch of spice and a persistence of finish – we’d suggest some pork fillet with it, cooked in the traditional solomillo adobado style.

So, that’s about it from us this week. As a teaser, we will be getting dates together this week for tastings and also for Wine School up to Christmas and will put them in next week’s email – so have your diaries ready!!

¡Arriba, abajo, al centro, pa’ dentro!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

It’s been a funny old week, starting off in acrimony over the G6 ½ at the weekend. The take home being that Trumpolina seems to think that Europeans don’t buy enough bullets, and that Justin Trudeau is economical with the truth. The picture tweeted by Mutti Merkel seemed to sum it up, though our in house art expert insists that comparing the picture to renaissance art is a bit wide of the mark.

Barely had the ink dried on the retracted G6 ½ statement, than Trumpolina had popped up in Singapore. It seems the meeting with Kim Wrong’un was on after all. I watched it did you? In historical terms it may be like the Berlin Wall coming down, or that wedding in Game of Thrones, or maybe nothing at all.

Trumpolina and Wrong’un circled the table, and each other like Sumos in suits, Nikons and white teeth flashing all around the room, TV cameras rolling silently, whilst in my head Elton John’s Rocket Man was playing. Trumpolina even made a joke “Are you getting loads of nice pictures? Making us look handsome and thin?” Sadly most people missed it as they were ushered out so the private meeting could happen. Papers were signed, Wrong’Uns autograph in the book just next to Roseanne Barr. Nuclear missiles and sanctions could both be off the table, and, in a surprise to Mr Moon from the South, no more games of Battleships. No, the new game in town is Monopoly, and I’m fairly sure a few Chances will be taken before the hotels start going up.

Meanwhile, back in London, our politicians and press were busy demonstrating just how eccentric the machinations of our democracy can be. The Whips were busy running all round the House whispering in peoples ears, the press were coming up with all sorts of plots and intrigue that would be at home in an Agatha Christie novel, and the SNP had a special trick up their sleeve.

They debated, they double dealt, and someone even resigned. Then they voted and we all wondered what the fuss was about. Most miffed of course, were the SNP who ran out of time before they could do their party trick. Fortunately they were able to pull it off very successfully early the next day, streaming out of the House and having a cuddle with the photographers on College Green. With the previous day’s headlines already old, it probably had more effect too. Oh how adult our politicians looked, I hope we’re all proud!

Meanwhile, small footnotes to all this excitement suggested there may be something going on in Russia. Football teams from around the World (except Italy, busy with boats…) are heading for The World Cup (are we allowed to say that?). Anyway there is a football tournament on, England have been practicing penalties, Spain have sacked their manager, and, according to Wayne’s wife, Belgium are going to win. It started yesterday with Russia rinsing Saudia Arabia 5-0, and goes on for a whole month.

We will all have to go multi-screen like a City Boy though, because the sharp end of the tournament interferes with both Wimbledon and the Tour de France. Who organises these things?

Shall we talk about wine?

Vintage Port 2016

I think we mentioned earlier in the year that 2016 was looking particularly exciting as a vintage for port and, as we suspected, St Georges Day found its email Inbox full of declarations from the major Port Houses.

Following a wet winter (above the 10 year average) March was cold, and then April and May continued cold and wet, giving the Upper Douro it’s worst mildew for 20 years. Flowering was at the end of May with the onset of ripening around the 11th July. Guess when the temperature rocketed? Hot dry conditions continued for the rest of the summer, with 13days above 40C. Hottest day was 6th September with a truly scorchio 43.4C. A bit of relief and rain a week later, before harvesting under blue skies through till early October.

That’s the weather that resulted in a crop about 20/25% down on average but with fine aromas and tannins. James Suckling says “The 2016 vintage Ports exhibit fantastic depth and concentration yet at the same time they show a sheer tannin backbone that gives them great form and class They have a cooler, less ripe nature to them compared to the extremely rich 2011s, 2003s and 2000s. The 2016s seem more in line with the racier 2007s but with perhaps slightly more intensity.”

We thought we’d do a small offer on some port if anyone is interested. We have published here the In Bond price which you’ll need to pay to confirm your order before 20th July. The wine should arrive early November and you’ll have to pay the prevailing duty and vat then when you collect the wine.

Unfortunately we are not in a position to store wine for you, but how nice would a few shiny bottles look ageing away in that new wine fridge? Great Christening presents too…

So drop us a line or pop in and see us if you’d like to get some 2016 port.

Tasting This Weekend

It seems to me that Saturday’s footy kicks off with France versus Australia. Given how well that plays into our vinous theme, we will furnish the white shirt with France’s Domaine Lebrun Pouilly Fume 2017 (£17.99) which arrived only yesterday, but will refresh you with the pinpoint accuracy of a free kick by Thierry Henry.

Sporting the red shirt in a baggy, early premiership style, will be Flametree Shiraz 2016 (£18.99) which is not baggy at all, but hails from Margaret River and would be a cracking partner to those lamb koftas you’ve just decided to barbecue on Saturday.
I think that’s enough from us this week except to say that with Toyota the only manufacturer at this year’s Le Mans, there must be a real chance a privateer can win the 24hours.

Vroom Vroom

Fellow Wine Lovers,

It’s a funny old world, Wayne.

Just back from Spain, I can say this with confidence. One Prime Minister has been dumped and replaced with a new one with a whopping 24% of the seats in congress; I don’t want to get into politics, particularly those of another country, nor do I really want to get into maths, but 24 seats in every 100 just doesn’t seem enough. Meanwhile in Andalucía, we saw new golf courses being built and plenty of cranes swinging around new luxury villas whilst half built apartment blocks from 10 years back stood alongside, growing weeds and graffiti – it’s a funny old world.

Back home, we have Thames water fined £120 million over leaks – OFWAT found they “did not pay enough attention” to solving leakage issues and “underestimated the significance of its underperformance”. Anyone who watched Arthur Road gently collapse a couple of weeks back as a result of leaving a burst water main unattended for ten days can only think two things: Hurrah!, someone is actually standing up to them and Boo!, our bills and water rates will go up, yet again…

“You need a level playing field … between an online digital world and a traditional retail store base model like the one we have” – thus spake Tesco chief Dave Lewis yesterday, referring to spiralling business rates that has seen, amongst others, Wimbledon Village turn into a bland wasteland of ever opening and closing shops. This on the same day that House of Fraser announced it is to close 31 shops citing, amongst other things, the incessant rise of online shopping. It’s a ‘not very funny’ old world in high street retail, Wayne.

So then we turn to an article written in Drinks Business, a trade rag where too often the articles are just rehashed press releases and puff pieces with sporadic journalism, we read yesterday that, yet again, we’re all drinking less. They cited a Mintel report that has come out some time since January (we can’t say exactly when, as we didn’t have the £1,000+ needed for the report) stating that 10% of us spent more on alcoholic drinks for drinking at home, 26% of us spent less, 17% were non-applicable (why do a booze based survey with non-drinkers we wondered) but 47% of us spent the same. It’s a big figure that 26% of people spending less but we are reassured by the bigger 47% figure!

If we’re honest, much of the trade have seen a slight downturn in customer flow over the last month or two – and with it customer spend, a few more weekday nights at home on the San Pellegrino rather than the San Miguel and before you know it we have panic stations.

And then, in the eleventh hour, another piece of research arrives, to save the booze-trade bacon.

A study by researchers at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, investigating the “U-shaped” relationship between alcohol and absenteeism in the UK, France and Finland, found sickness rates, and thus work absences, were higher in people who drank heavily or not at all. Whilst it was fully acknowledging of the fact that often abstainers are perhaps less likely to drink as a result of their condition or medications that prevented it, the survey did cover 47,000 people across Europe split into 5 groups related to how much they drank in a week. Without getting too deep into the data, those of us among us who had a wee drinkie here and there were more likely to turn up to work day in, day out; however, those amongst us who used to work in the city, but now run a wine shop, have often cited the fact that if you’re going to suffer a hangover, you might as well go to work and be paid to have it!

Extrapolating data in a totally non-scientific manner to suit my argument is a skill mastered at school and continued well into adult life – thus it seems obvious to me that too much San Pellegrino is doing us no good whatsoever and a nice, daily glass of wine will be what makes British Industry great again over the next few years with a fit, keen, seven days-a-week workforce that will be the envy of the world once more.

To start us on this road back to greatness, we’ll open two wines from New Zealand this weekend to get those synapses firing and perseverance muscles motivated…

Wairau River Pinot Gris 2016 – £15.49
Wairau River wines take their name from the river that runs through the heart of the Marlborough wine region – Wairau is Maori for ‘many waters’. Succulent ripe pear on the nose, with melon, apple and apricot flavours, nice mouth weight and an exotic lingering finish, perfect for drinking anytime.

Southern Dawn Pinot Noir 2013 – £14.49
Again from Marlborough, this is a wine we have had on the shelf pretty much since we opened. 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!

Wayne had a meeting with John, the owner of the Southern Dawn winery last week and managed to persuade him to fund some stock for us, so this weekend, the Southern Dawn Pinot Noir will be reduced by £2 per bottle to £12.49.

Buy a couple I would, to last the working week ahead!

That’s it from us; we’re off down the pub, purely to boost our productivity tomorrow!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

How are you, is half-term treating you well? If you’re away, don’t worry the garden is nicely watered, but your lawn needs a trim. The hedge has gone a bit mental too, so you might need to get the trimmers out. But it’s not really my purpose to talk about gardening, I know little about it, and prefer to sit on a patio with a barbecue warming up if I’m honest.

I thought instead we’d talk about things that weren’t really as they appeared this week. We could start with the magical resurrection of murdered journalist Arkady Babchenko. In a plot more Austin Powers than James Bond, he was allegedly shot on his doorstep whilst popping out for bread. Reports suggested that he had died in the ambulance on the way to hospital. So you can imagine the world’s surprise when he strolled into a press conference the following day. Who on earth thought that was a good idea? Surely someone could see that everyone would just look a bit ridiculous.

Did anyone see last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix? It was won by Daniel Ricciardo, who led from start to finish, after smashing the track record in qualifying. Sadly, that was where the excitement ended, the day before the race, in qualifying. Ricciardo drove for 50 laps with an engine issue, and nobody passed him. Lewis Hamilton, who came third, wondered if the audience had woken up yet when interviewed at the end. His description as boring was bang on. It’s supposed to be a race, and that certainly wasn’t what we had last weekend, I don’t want to take anything away from Ricciardo, there was a certain elegance in his drive despite the engine issues. I love the Monte Carlo GP, I remember only 6 drivers finishing in 1979, I even met James Hunt and drove my white Fiesta around the course in 1983. I just can’t help but think if this had been the first one, we’d never have made it to the 76th race. Something needs to be done to turn it into a race again. Rant over.

Whilst we’re on the subject of cars, our golfing correspondent in Spain suggest you could do yourself a service by using a car hire company that doesn’t contain a precious metal in name. SilverSUV should be fine, or Platinumpeoplecarrier could be great, but the other one….not so.

We saw a report this week criticising (again!) the lack of female appointments to FTSE company boards. It seems too many people are still stuck in the 1950’s as some of the excuses were incredible. Our favourite was: “There aren’t that many women with the right credentials and depth of experience to sit on the board – the issues covered are extremely complex”. On the same day and keen to show they are embracing diversity in the present day, the Bank of England interviewed four women and one man for a place on the Monetary Policy Committee and then chose the man. Doh!

In wine news two significant regions have been suffering from the heavy rain this week. Bordeaux had some heavy, but localised hail, causing damage not just to vines but also the city itself this time. Meanwhile, further south in Portugal’s Douro region, 80 mm of rain fell in three hours. That’s about double the 30 year average for the whole of May and is bound to damage the flowering vines, talk is of 80% damage in a number of significant vineyards.

In Greece, global demand for Santorini’s Assyrtiko grape is such that prices on the island are up 288% over the last couple of years, so local winemakers are seeking EU permission to plant on Thirassia, Santorini’s sub-island just across the caldera.

Alex suggested I might like to find a red Chardonnay whilst he was swinging sticks on the Costa, and whilst I’m sure he had his tongue planted firmly in his cheek, I have found a rather delicious oddity. Made from the fairly rare Piquepoul Noir, one of the scarcer grape varieties allowed in the blend of a Chateauneuf-du-Pape, I have a small parcel of Piquepoul Rosé (£12.99). Crisp, pale, dry and really rather delicious should you think it’s that time of year.

Tasting This Weekend
We shall join his lordship in Spain I think. Down the middle of the fairway on the Costa Blanca will be Val do Xuliana Albariño 2017 (£13.69) a crisp, orchard fruited and gently mineral dazzler from Rais Baixas in the northwest.

Chipping onto the green in the red polo shirt I’m going to suggest Lopez de Haro Crianza 2015 (£10.99) which is from Rioja. A delicious Rioja that would be a great partner with all manner meats, barbecued or otherwise. We have it in magnums too (£22) if you have a thirst on visitors.

Fellow Wine Lovers,

This morning we are viewing the world through a rather wonderful, juniper-infused fug!

As we all know, Thursday has been the new Friday for a number of years now and never more so than the Thursday night before a bank holiday or a school holiday – oh look, last night was both of these. Add a Gin tasting with Danielle from Sacred, the award winning spirits house in Highgate, into the mix and you have the perfect cocktail for a cracking night out!

What did we taste? I feel this could almost be used as a brain training quiz for some of our guests but I will spare their blushes and give you the list of Sacred products we enjoyed:

• Classic Gin
• Gin with zesty notes of fresh Pink Grapefruit
• Gin with exotic notes of Cardamom
• English Spiced Vermouth
• Rosehip Cup
• Negroni
• English Whisky Liqueur

And I think there were perhaps some water biscuits too and even some tonic water but I could be mistaken… either way it was a cracking night and deeply informative, thank you Danielle.

Fully aware that only 14 of you were able to squeeze into the shop, we won’t continue with our list of things you missed but will just mention that, of the selection above, we normally only sell the Classic and Cardamom options but we took a bit of stock of the others for this event. So, if anyone fancies a bottle of something different, come and have a look!

What else has been going on this week? Thanks to GDPR, what was once a metaphorical broom cupboard crammed with almost 1,000 people, many of whom were looking at their phones, looking in the wrong direction or permanently out of the office, is now a rather more comfortable veranda filled only with people who want to listen to our chunterings. A bespoke group of wine intellectuals, if I may be so bold, thank you for staying put!

I spent much of yesterday afternoon getting distracted by research on the Kantar website, the initial hook being that we Brits apparently spent £193 million more on wine last year. Disappointed that this extra cash hadn’t been spent exclusively on Arthur Road, I then read on to discover that a new category to me, Non-traditional Sparkling Wine was the biggest growth area in 2017 with 21.6% growth, based largely on consumers desire for cheaper alternatives to Prosecco.

Cheaper alternatives to Prosecco, oh my days.

Apparently, Asda’s ‘Progrigio’ costs a fiver and tastes a million bucks…

And then I read on. ‘Heavy’ sparkling wine drinkers, where ‘heavy’ equates to five or more glasses per month, are more likely to enjoy going out; entertaining; paying more for the finer things in life; and making sure they look good – for example, they are 72% more likely than the average UK adult to ‘never leave home without makeup’. I immediately double-checked with Wayne but he carefully restricts himself to 4 glasses a month, allowing him to eschew the war paint.

So, on the one hand we’re looking for ever cheaper fizz, and by all accounts drinking more of it, whilst at the same time doling out more cash going out and living the high life – and I thought we were all broke and drinking less – the joy of when stats and market research collide!

The take home for me here is that consumption isn’t really shifting, the increase in spend in 2017 is largely down to own brand and supermarket, super-cheap wine – imagine if we could just convert 10% of those drinkers to better quality wine….

Alongside the wine story was a story about food and drink fads. Apparently, avocado’s are still seeing growth if slower than 2 years ago; quinoa too. Kale and coconut oil are starting to noticeably dip whilst pineapple sales are growing extraordinarily quickly. Fancy pop-up cafés specialising in Hawaiian pizza, Piña Colada and retro upside-down cakes will be all over the place before we know it – you heard it here first!

In other news, Liverpool have gone to Kiev, the cyclists have gone into the mountains and after a sun filled week, the first test at Lords started under grey skies on the wicket and general gloom off pitch. People we thought guilty of murder or attempted murder have been found guilty of murder or attempted murder and Donald has put world peace on hold, for now.

And yesterday was International Chardonnay Day – although we didn’t need any more help after the Gin – so we have decided to celebrate it today by cracking open a bottle for tasting.

The lucky winner this year is De Wetshof Estate ‘Lesca’ Chardonnay 2017 – £14.99
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. Stonking value and an all-round food matcher.

With every white there oft comes a red and this week is no different. Failing to find a Red Chardonnay on our shelves (a job for next week Wayne, you love buying new wines whilst I’m away!) we have decided instead to open a bottle of Alpataco Malbec 2017 – £13.99, which will tasting nothing like a white wine, I can assure you.

From Patagonia, the most southerly wine producing region of Latin America, lying to the south of Mendoza and Las Pampas, this is country where they eat steak three times a day, drink Malbec and ride horses – very much like Wimbledon Common. A fabulously smooth mouth-feel, this is a fresh and fruit laden wine that carries vanilla and caramel notes from ageing in small oak barrels and might just work with that barbecue we are all planning!

That’s it from us, apart from a little bit of admin – as is our wont on Bank Holiday Weekends, we will be closing at 6pm on Saturday 26th May and will then be closed until 11am on Tuesday 29th May – if you don’t want to end up suffering through a bottle of Progrigio, I suggest you come and see us before then!

Here’s to a sunny weekend,

Fellow Wine Lovers,

We’d like to put it straight out there, right from the off: there’ll be no ‘will they, won’t they’ with us. We shall not be going to the Royal Wedding. Much as we may have liked a day out in the sunshine in Windsor, our hearts would have been here with you in Wimbledon Park, so we declined the invitation, our offer to supply the wine was rebuffed and we’ll be open as usual. We may have cucumber sandwiches for lunch though!

We have been following the preparations with interest and are as excited as the next guy about who the designer is likely to be. We’ve long followed the sartorial choices of Elton John who’s performing at the knees-up, Alex has the suit down as being a Prada, whilst Wayne is thinking D&G the more likely supplier. Song wise, we understand Rocket Man to be one of Harry’s favourites. Talk of all the guests being issued with Elton John style spectacles for a panoramic photograph are said to be wide of the mark.

The bride-to-be was originally to walk down the aisle to the music from the King and I but, after a quiet word from Prince Charles, we understand it’s more likely to be a Mark Knopfler tune. Whether it is a song from Local Hero or the Princess Bride is currently unclear. Our sources seem absolutely convinced that the first dance was chosen by Harry and will be the Fatboy Slim mix of ‘I See You Baby’ by Groove Armada. If anyone can get a vimeo of the Queen grooving along to this there’s a glass of wine in it for them!

So how many weddings have you been to where your team has been in a play-off, local derby, or a cup final? How will Prince William, President of the FA, play it? Given the timing of the game, is it feasible that he can deliver his Best Man’s speech and then hop into a waiting helicopter to drop in at Wembley? Will he be at Wembley and deliver his Best Man’s speech by Skype? Or has he had to knuckle down like the rest of us and just be sneaking glances at the game on his phone? For all those missed games in the past, I really hope it’s the helicopter option!

Talking of football, we see the Guv’nor has picked an England team for the World Cup and most commentary seems to focus on the fact that they are the third youngest team we’ve taken to the competition. Alex may still be smarting from not being picked to go on the Rugby jaunt to South Africa, but I’m sure he won’t mind a jaunt in goal if you just want to get the average age up!

In real sport, the Giro d’Italia is grooving along very nicely, showing us some lovely parts of Italy to visit in the future, 16% climbs on cobbles, sunshine, rain and motor racing circuits. Most importantly we have an Englishman in the lead and he’s winning stages in style, too. Simon Yates is racing like a boss, with defending champion Tom Dumoulin in second and Chris Froome some 3 minutes or so behind in 12th place.

Tasting This Weekend
At the risk of jinxing everything, we thought we’d turn the white corner pink this weekend and open up Chateau de L’Aumérade ‘Cuvée Marie Christine’ 2017 (£14.99 or £78 for six). A Cru Classé Côtes de Provence Rosé that many of you have been familiar with over the years. We think this vintage is particularly tasty, so come and have a taste, see what you think.

Red wise we’re assuming there may be a spot of outdoor cooking action and will open Barton Rouge 2013 (£8.99) a rich blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz from South Africa that will be delicioso with all manner of seared food products on the grill (gas or charcoal).

こんにちは Wine Lovers,

What can I tell you about the Land of the Rising Sun? It is ancient, modern, charming, crazy, full of tradition and kindness but also has young, trendy sub-cultures. Almost impossible to describe in a holiday newsletter, let alone one that is supposed to be about wine. If you ever get the opportunity to go, I would urge you not to pass up the chance.

In other holiday news, Trumpolina and Kim Wrong ‘un are going to visit Singapore in June, whilst big Eddy has announced the chaps he’s taking on his South Africa trip with him. A surprise inclusion for many was Danny Cipriani but, on reflection, he’s worked hard at Wasps and probably deserves a trip to the South. Tottenham have managed to book a European Tour for next season, whilst at Arsenal no one will know where anything is, due to a change of management.

Back to business then, we note that Rolls-Royce have announced ground-breaking plans to build an SUV. I can imagine that the CEO’s of Volvo, Range Rover, Porsche, Volkswagen, Ford, BMW (don’t they own Rolls?), Mitsubishi, Honda, Nissan, Skoda, Seat, Audi, Jaguar, Peugeot, Renault, Kia, Lexus, Toyota, Mercedes, Lamborghini, Bentley and Jeep are kicking themselves, wishing they had thought of the idea. None of them have named theirs after the world’s biggest diamond though…

In other news, it appears that the Iron Man suit from the 2008 film has gone missing. We couldn’t help but wonder if an impending Royal wedding was just a coincidence. Can you think of a more awesome outfit for a stag night than Ironman?

In wine news, we understand that Dom Pérignon and Lenny Kravitz are in collaboration. It’s unclear at this stage if the Dom is going to come in a mirror glass bottle and purple fur jacket, but we’re hoping so! Full details in September, we’re told.

Tasting this Weekend

We’ll celebrate Wayne’s return by opening a white from Essex. New Hall Vineyards Bacchus 2017 (£13.99) is a cracking, summery white with a lively elderflower character from some of the oldest Bacchus vines in the country, grown in an area originally planted by Romans’, not far from Chelmsford.

Wearing the red jacket will be a Gamay Noir from Burgundy. Jean Loron’s “Jean” Gamay Noir 2016 (£13.99), a little richer than a Beaujolais, it’s a medium-bodied red with gently spiced dark berry fruits, soft tannins and a lovely fresh finish. Come along, and see how nicely these may fit into your weekend.

Wayne & Alex

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Afraid you’ll have to put up with me again this week as Wayne is still single-handedly propping up the Japanese economy, whilst hopefully swerving any long term attachments to Hello Kitty merchandise.  In future I think I should read his applications for annual leave more diligently, as this is starting to feel a bit more like he’s on a sabbatical!  Oh well, as long as he brings us all back some Sake…

So we have struggled on bravely without his wit and charm to keep us going and, as a result, the weeks have just flown by and suddenly I’m writing the Friday email once again.

The essay plan for this week’s message reads, in no particular order, thus:

Giro.  Liverpool/Tottenham/Arsenal.  Elections.  Sainsbury’s.  Bank Holiday.  Weather (that always crops up).  Wine (as does this).  Fun spirits.  New Listings.  UKIP Black Death.  Japan.  There should probably be more but this is a good start.

And now to put some flesh on the bones.

In spite of the fact that our principal cycling correspondent is still on a bullet train somewhere the Giro d’Italia starts this weekend.  Now I lived in Italy for a while in the 1990’s and spent most of my days in the upper half, predominantly in Tuscany.  It is fair to say, I have never actually ventured south of Rome unless Sardegna counts.  Anyway, suffice to say my southern Italian geography is a little loose, I still occasionally reference the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and my children groan.  However, I bet none of you know that Israel is part of the Republic of Italy?  Well, it is for three days apparently, as the greatest cycling race on earth is starting there – that’s a long way back to Rome, even if you have been on the watt bike!

Liverpool made it to the CL final.  Will they be able to emulate Tottenham and beat the mighty Real?  Either way, Kane will claim the goals.  There will be no fairytales as Arsenal let Arsene down to another Madrid team – apparently there are younger chaps out there who thought the team was named after Mr Wenger, bless.

Local elections took place.  Wimbledon and Merton stayed much of a muchness, Wandsworth didn’t fall for Jeremy’s charms and UKIP had such a poor showing that their General Secretary likened it to the Black Death.  I would love to know how much they spend on media training?

Sainsbury’s and Asda getting seriously intimate whilst the rest of us wonder how they can possibly commit to a long term relationship.  The soundbite they wanted to catch the headlines was the promise to cut prices but the actual soundbite was the CEO singing songs from 42^nd Street – ditto that media training question?

And now it’s the early May Bank Holiday weekend.  Hottest ever by all accounts.  Take a brolly.  We are fully prepared her though with oodles of Provençal perfection in the beautifully shaped bottles of Chateau de L’Aumerade 2017 (£14.99 or 6 for £78).  We even have a few bottles of Whispering Angel 2017 (£20.99) if you fancy seeing what all the press fuss is about.

Should Rosé not be your thing, we have all our Sacred Gins back in stock (Classic, Juniper and Cardamom), the Bonal Gentiane-Quina (£14.99) season will start again this weekend (mix with tonic and plenty of ice – delicious) and should you be in the market for jazzing up your bottle of fizz we can suggest Foxdenton Raspberry Gin (£14.99) or Chamberyzette Aperitif a la Fraise (£16.99) – neither of these need fizz but it does make it a longer drink and this a longer evening!

Back to wine now.  Frequently, whilst I am on holiday, Wayne has had moments of sheer devilment when he decides to list wines that we have previously not carried or have considered listing but never pushed the button.  In the past I have risen above such shenanigans when he vacates the premises but this time I said to myself ‘why not?’ and, since there was no one else here to tell my why not, I did.  I know right, who’s the boss?!

Just two new wines, I didn’t want to overdo it, you see:

The Rude Mechanicals Three Monkeys GSM 2016 – £12.99 – we first tasted this over a year ago, tried to order it but it hadn’t arrived from Australia yet and promptly forgot about it.  Until I remembered this week.  A classic blend of 67% Grenache, 20% Shiraz and 13% Mataro from the Barossa Valley this is to my mind the style of blend that put Australia on the map – their version of the classic southern Rhône wines.  We found it really appealing without being blowsy and in your face and a real tasty mouthful for 12 and a bit quid.  Barbecue anyone?

Sepp Moser Zweigelt 2015 – £12.99 – an organic red wine from Austria, I know it’s just what you all keep asking me for.  Ok, maybe not but we will persist.  A hint of oak and juicy cherry, berry fruit and a lovely summery freshness – it’s not selling Italian Pinot Grigio that gets us out of bed in the morning, it’s selling esoteric flights of fancy such as this.  If you want to try it for yourself then rest assured it will be open this evening and tomorrow for your delectation.

Whilst on the subject of weekend tasting, as stated, I’ll open the Sepp Zweigelt as a red and for the white drinkers, following on from the huge success we had with the Accomplice a few weeks back, there will be a bottle of Flametree Sauvignon Blanc – Semillon 2016 – £15.99, from the wonderful Margaret River in Western Australia.  Lime, lemongrass and stonefruit notes on the nose whilst some lees stirring has added texture and minerality to the palate.  Shrimps?  Barbie? Don’t come the raw prawn with me, sunshine!

Well, it seems like I’ve manged to get all the salient points into some sort of order and the punctuation isn’t too bad (!) so I think my work here is done but for a last couple of things.

We’re closed on Monday, because it’s Bank Holiday.

We do sell ice and beer and other things too but this weekend I feel Rosé will run the show.

Enjoy the sunshine!!