The Weekly Wine

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Spain travel warning as Britons to face soaring temperatures in top hotspots – Daily Express 17^th July.** ^{(see footnote)}

Did you hear?  It’s summer in Europe and it’s hot.  Many, many UK column inches have been printed warning us if the dangers of going to Europe and meeting Cerberus or Charon – last year it was the ferry ports being overcrowded, this year it’s the weather; one is almost starting to feel like there is some sort of animosity between the UK and the mainland!

Glancing quickly at the Spanish and Italian press though, their coverage seems less meteorologically fixated.  La Nazione, in Florence, has a front page headline discussing a local restaurant no longer being allowed to put tables on the pavement, whilst El País is more concerned with power outages due to air conditioning usage, the 143,000 litres of olive oil being sold as Extra Virgen when it’s been mixed with lesser product (two headlines that appear every year, I think), and, of course, the upcoming general election on Sunday.

Not so many headlines about the weather.

However, this does lead us to a heartfelt plea from Wayne who, in case you don’t know, is not going on holiday until September and so will be chief helmsman from now and all through August.  It can get a bit lonely for him so, if you were to decide to avoid the Furnaces of Europe and indulge in a London staycation, he would be delighted to see you and have someone to talk to!  Plus, at the moment, he is juggling watching the Tour de France, The Ashes and the British Open if you’d care to join – not something you could necessarily do in Montalcino.

Plus we’ve got strikes a plenty coming up: the tubes, the railways and the buses are all out at some point in the next few weeks; the doctors are out now; the baggage handlers at Gatwick are also joining in the fun – it definitely feels more and more like you should stay put and drink wine with Wayne!

As we watched our Members of Parliament yesterday scuttle back to their constituencies for six weeks, we applaud Rishi the Reshuffler for keeping members of his Cabinet firmly on their toes.  Nothing quite like going off on holiday on a Thursday completely uncertain of what job you’ll be doing when you get back, if any – excellent people management, almost Machiavellian we’d say.  When you take into consideration the 3 by-elections scheduled for the last day of term plus the announcement, on Wednesday, of a new Tata Gigafactory to be built in Somerset, possibly just over the road from Somerton & Frome, you could be forgiven for raising a quizzical eyebrow whilst reaching for your copy of The Prince!

In our world of wine and associated drinking, all the press is talking about is the duty rise that we warned you about a couple of weeks back.  Further research on our part has revealed that wines over 14.5% will likely go up by £2 on the shelf, which, when we looked at our selection from the valleys of the Rhône, the Barossa and the ‘policella led us to a deep, long sigh.  None of this will happen until August though, so there’s another good reason for you to pop in sooner rather than later to buy wine from Wayne!

As a spoiler, here’s what he’ll have open this weekend:

New Hall Vineyards Bacchus 2021 – £16.99 (equivalent to 23p/ml) – The vineyards of New Hall, established in 1969, are located just outside of Purleigh, Essex and are home to some of the oldest plantings of Bacchus in the UK.  They certainly have the most – 44,500 vines – and supply grapes to a couple of well-known English Wineries that, frankly, are not very close to Essex.  The wine has a vinous, limey nose that leads you into a fruit focused medium dry palate with lovely hints of elderflower and a reassuring zing on the finish – all for a refreshingly low 11% abv!

A Los Viñateros Bravos Volcánico País 2021 – £17.49 (equivalent to £2.33/10cl) – from Itata in Chile, this is a bit of a favourite of ours.  Over the years we have tried our fair share of wines from the grape variety País and an awful lot of them have been a bit ordinary and we could easily understand why it was, for the most part, distilled into Pisco.  However, this is not like any of the others – really lifted aromatic fruit on the nose, fresh and juicy, almost spritzy even in the mouth and with really fine tannins.  A proper vin de soif that’d be perfect with some slow cooked pork on the barbecue and, again, a refreshingly low 12.5% abv.

And with that we’re done.  I’m off to watch the cricket, he’s off to watch Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One – neither of us have managed to get tickets to Barbie, yet….

¡Hasta la proxima!

Wayne & Alex

** We also have heard an interview with the BBC’s Vatican correspondent who was able to confirm that the Pope was indeed a Catholic, followed by an American expert on ursine biology who was able to confirm what bears do in the woods.

Fellow Wine Lovers,

This week we started off, as usual, with a Monday. There was no Tour de France as it was a rest day and the third match of The Ashes had ended with an England win, bringing the series to 2-1 in favour of the Aussies. The paperwork got done as usual and some orders were placed.  We discussed the fact that Boris Johnson had failed to hand over his ‘old’ phone by the deadline and now was technically in contempt of court. We wondered if anything would happen.  We looked at the tasting list for the tasting we’d attend in the morning and formulated a plan of action.

Tuesday, and we’re arriving in Camden at the appointed time, well Alex anyway, Wayne suffered overconfidence in the reliability of the Northern Line. We arrived at the tasting to discover that low attendee numbers meant the pressure was on for full feedback on all of the new prospects. Plan of action out of the window, we set about a mammoth tasting for the greater good. Some hours later we emerged with black teeth and sore gums to discover that Mrs Johnson, with impeccable timing, had announced the birth of their third child, Frank Alfred Odysseus Johnson. We treated ourselves to a Pret sandwich and headed back to the shop.

Wednesday arrived on time, Wayne shirking any responsibility for anything by having a day off, Alex shifting a van full of wine around the shop- no gym for him that evening!  Meanwhile in the wider world, Mad Nads has been reported for WhatsApping a top civil servant trying to get on Lettuce Liz’s Honours List. That’s the same Mad Nads who hasn’t appeared in Parliament for over a year, though she has been able to write her newspaper column and host her TV show.  Clearly MP’s don’t have the same attendance rules they set for jobless claimants.

Thursday popped up in the correct position and it was Alex’s turn to swing the lead. Except that the lead was swapped for a golf stick and he had a lovely walk following a Penfold’s No 9 around a very manicured lawn with sand pits. It also turned out that Boris Johnson can’t remember the pin number for his old phone which is why it’s not been handed over. I would have thought that you could ask almost any tabloid journalist for that, or maybe  I would have tried 0000 or 1234 myself! The Tour de France went a bit berserk and I would be telling porkies if I said I actually understood what anybody’s tactics for the day were. To be honest, I’m exhausted, and I was just listening! The top three on Grand Classification remain the same at the end of it though, so we go again today up to Grand Colombier at 1501m – a mountain top finish following a 17.4km climb at an average of 7.1%.

You’ll recall our chum Tim was in exactly that position last week. Fortunately for him they are nearly at the end of their tour which will finish in Paris this weekend. Today is a flat day for them, but does follow back to back mountain days on Mont Blanc. The group together has raised nearly £1m now for Cure Leukaemia. If you’d like to help donate to Cure Leukaemia here is the link: Tim Goodman is fundraising for Cure Leukaemia (justgiving.com)

That brings us pretty much up to date, what with it being Friday. If we were to suggest tasting some wine, how would that appeal?

It’s Bastille Day today, so we’ve chosen a couple of wines from France. Waving the flag in the white corner will be Christian Bellang Bourgogne Sous Velle 2020 (£25.75). If you’re a fan of smart white Burgundy then this is for you. Made from grapes sourced in Meursault and aged for 10 months in barrels of 1 to 5 years old, it’s a lovely rich and complex wine which we found to be rather decent value for money.

Charging up the boulevard in the red jacket will be Domaine d’Escausses Cuvée Des Drilles 2020 (£14.99). This cheeky little number from Gaillac is a blend of two grape varieties, Duras (75%) with the rest comprised by Fer. A proper wine of the south west with bright peppery notes, hints of Seville orange, bitter cherry and a really appealing suppleness in the mouth. A real second glasser!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Greetings from the biggest and busiest carpark in south-west London.  If you can’t find a taxi near you it’s because they are all sitting on Arthur Road, shouting at each other and trying to squeeze through spaces made for a VW Polo and not for a Land Rover Defender, so, if you don’t mind, you’ll have to reverse…

Welcome to Wimbledon fortnight, come and smell the fumes.

As you’ve no doubt read, perhaps even experienced, the security at the All England has been ramped up this year, seemingly inspired by the actions of the Just Stop Oil activists at other events.  The arrival of the updated Public Order Act 2023 in May this year added the ‘Offence of being equipped for locking-on’ to an already long list of offences we can commit unknowingly.  According to our correspondent on the inside, every morning at 5.45am when he arrives to start work for the day, on his bike, he has to explain why he has a lock ‘hidden’ in his bag.  We have now suggested he places his D-lock inside a 1,000 piece Centre Court View Jigsaw Puzzle box (£22, no longer for sale on site) as these seem to sail through security uncontested.

Otherwise, the tennis championships seem to be following their usual course.  A couple of upsets; Venus failed to turn back time but gave us all hope; some plucky Brits got plucked in the first round, and the rain teemed down on some other plucky Brits sitting on Henman Hill, getting their 15 minutes of fame at the end of the BBC evening news.  Having watched Novax play yesterday, we did wonder if it would be far more sporting if he wasn’t allowed to join in until the second Wednesday, just to give some of the others a chance?

Outside of SW19, in Leeds we have a couple of dozen men in white pyjamas throwing a little red ball at each other at sometimes at speeds of over 95mph whilst in the south of France we have a bunch of jokers dressed up in multi-coloured lycra onesies piling up and down hills on their very expensive pushbikes, sometimes at speeds of over 100km/h!  All of these sporting spectacles are hugely entertaining, it’s just a shame that everything is on at the same time!

You will recall that our chum Tim is riding the Tour de France to raise money for Cure Leukaemia. They are riding a week ahead of the professionals, so today are tackling Stage 13: Châtillon-Sur-Chalaronne to Grand Colombier, an 138km mountain stage whilst the professionals ride stage 7 an almost pancake flat stage to Bordeaux that may see Mark Cavendish break a record.

To donate to Cure Leukaemia here is the link: Tim Goodman is fundraising for Cure Leukaemia (justgiving.com)

Westminster will not be providing the fodder for our moans this week, at least not directly.  When I mentioned car fumes earlier, it reminded me that local boy and London Mayor incumbent, Sadiq Khan, has made the 29^th August (Tuesday) the day that ULEZ spreads over the whole of London.  For those who exist outside the London bubble, what this means is that from this date onwards petrol cars registered before 2005 and diesel cars registered before September 2015 will have to pay £12.50 every day they are driven.  Sadly what this will mean for us is that our longest serving member of staff, the Volvo will be retiring.  Years of good service will perhaps be rewarded with a happy relocation to the Cornish sunshine – I don’t believe Lower Sticker will be inside the zone in the very near future…

But before we get to that end of August, we have some unfortunate news coming our way on August 1^st (Tuesday, again). 

As I’m sure not a single one of you will remember, the Chancellor’s Budget on 15th March announced changes to alcohol duty.  Duty will now be calculated on a new ABV-based system and, simultaneously, will be subject to a 10.1% RPI-linked increase.  In simple terms, this means that wines of different ABV will pay different amounts of duty, except for wines of 11.5%-14.5% ABV that for now will pay the same duty as a 12.5% ABV wine until 1st February 2025, when it will become more complicated.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.  I won’t bore you with any further technical details; suffice to say, in shop terms, what will happen is

• every bottle of wine will go up by £1
• every bottle of Port will go up by  £2

I know, miserable.

On the upside, this doesn’t happen until the end of the month and we can still fill the Volvo’s gigantic boot up to the roof for another 50 days – so, anyone need a top up?

If I can’t tempt you to stock up, hopefully I might be able to tempt you at least to taste the wine I have open this weekend?  We are going to open a couple of Italians today because we haven’t had either of these for a while.

For the white, we have Produttori Del Gavi ‘Gavi Mille 951’ 2022 – £17.99.  Made at their winery overlooking the historic Gavi fortress, this cooperative has been making wine for over 65 years.  Aromas of pear peach, apricot and yellow plum greet us on the nose whilst on the palate we have the same fruit characters with hints of almond in the background.  Dry, light and moreish, ideal on a warm summer evening.

The red hails from far further south, Puglia, and is Tufarello Nero di Troia 2019 – £14.99.  Nero di Troia is the grape here and the name attests to its Greek influences – it is said to take its name from the nearby town of Troia, named by the Greek invader Diomedes.  The wine saw a limited amount of oak treatment to soften the natural grape tannins and is deep red in colour with purple hues.  There is a good depth of sour cherry and blueberry fruit on the palate, with supple tannins, good acid and length.  A good all-rounder as they say…

That’s it from us, enjoy your weekend and make good use of all that charcoal!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

So, that was a fun weekend.  Waking up on Saturday morning to the news that Yevgeny Prigozhin was marching on Moscow gave us a feeling that we could be witnessing a significant historical event.

A march on Moscow has been attempted before of course.  Napoleon’s Grande Armée took 82 days to reach its gates, whilst Operation Barbarossa took the Nazi’s 6 months before they even got a glimpse of the Kremlin.  Both of these attacks on resulted in failure for the French and Germans, many lives were lost, in no small part due to the horrifically hostile weather conditions.  Prigozhin, in blazing sunshine and temperatures reaching the early 30’s, took a mere 24 hours to give up the ghost and skedaddle off to a comfy dacha in the Belarus countryside.  They don’t make putsch’s like they used to, however, I’m sure this is not the end of this since, as the old adage goes, it’s never a good idea to poke the (Russian) bear…

Meanwhile, Rishi went on record yesterday, after the Court of Appeal decision: “The policy of this government is very simple, it is this country – and your government – who should decide who comes here, not criminal gangs.”

I’m sure the Rwandan government could say the same thing.

Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees piped up: “We continue to urge the government of the United Kingdom to instead pursue other measures, including cooperation with the UK’s European neighbours and fair and fast asylum procedures, that would be more humane, efficient, and cost-effective” 

But the last word should got to Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, founder and chair of the Development and Liberty for All (DALFA-Umurinzi) political party: “If Rwanda is to welcome all its citizens back inside its borders, end the violence in Rwanda and the DRC, and truly emerge as a stable, democratic country that can welcome asylum seekers from around the world, the government needs to tackle the core issues that lead Rwandans to flee and refuse to return home”

Hmm, who to believe….

Away from murky political practices, I am told by our cycling expert that the 110^th edition of the Tour de France starts on Saturday, in Spain.  In fact it doesn’t get to France until Monday, which looks like a tough day to me.  Stage 14 finds us in Morzine, where I imagine there will still be no snow and it all finishes in Paris, of course, on 23^rd July.  For deeper insight, do please ask my colleague.

I also hear rumours that there might be some tennis due to start nearby but will confirm as and when I know more….

The cricket was a trifle tedious and no-ball laden on Wednesday but the arrival at Lords on Thursday of two of our special correspondents, festooned in red, clearly worked in England’s favour as we managed to get into bat before lunch.  Communication deteriorated mid-afternoon and the last we heard from our men on the ground was at tea, when they wired us a message ‘wine beginning to take hold’ which felt like the St Johns Wood version of: “I am just going outside and may be some time”.

And wine has taken hold here – we’ve been shopping and have debuted some new South African beauties….

Stellenbosch Vineyards Chenin Blanc 2021 (£14.99) – a rich and velvety Chenin from the Helderberg part of Stellenbosch.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Stellenbosch Vineyards Pinotage 2021 (£14.99) – From bush-vines all around 30 years old and a really good example with loads of cherry and plum fruit character.                     

Angus Paul Transient Lands Pinotage 2021 (£22.99) – We loved this, sourced from three plots across the Western Cape.  Summer pudding and bramble fruit lead onto a smooth mineral finish.                                                                                                       

Beau Constantia Lucca 2018 (£27.69) – Winemaker Megan van der Merwe described this vintage as a real pleasure to work with whilst we found it a real pleasure to drink!                                                                                                   

De Toren Z 2017 (£40.00) – We’ve made no secret of our admiration for the wines from De Toren over the years, this is the Merlot dominant one, plummy and delicious.      

De Toren Fusion V 2017 (£46.00) – De Toren’s flagship wine, a Cabernet dominant Bordeaux blend.  Delicious already with polished, fine grain tannins framing the cherry and blueberry fruit and a layered creamy finish.

To celebrate our successful purchases we’ll be opening the Stellenbosch Vineyards Chenin Blanc 2021 and the Angus Paul Transient Lands Pinotage 2021 tonight and tomorrow, so come, have a taste and let us know what you think.

And with that, like a cream tea in the Edrich Stand, we are scone!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Another week saturated with great news from all sides, as seems to be the new normal.

The Mirror got the ball rolling last weekend by ‘discovering’ that video of Dad dancing at CCHQ during lockdown.  Quite where this video has been up until now is anyone’s guess but it is quite astonishing that it has stayed hidden – still at least it stokes the flames beneath the gigantic cauldron containing the mangled carcass of Boris Johnson’s political career.

I know I risk being cancelled by someone for that last statement.  If I was called Clive and worked for the BBC I would be relieved of my current duties for displaying anti-Tory bias.  However, I think most of us would agree that Mr Myrie wasn’t showing anti-Tory bias, if anything he simply showed anti-Boris tendencies and let’s be fair, nothing he said was slander.

In other parts of SW1, David Cameron, the man in the shadows, had a bit of a turbulent time at the Covid-19 inquiry.  For those of you that don’t remember, Dave was PM from 2010-2016 and was very keen on austerity.  Coincidentally, in the six years leading up to 2020 the value of UK pandemic stockpile fell by 40%; in monetary terms £325m of the health department’s emergency stockpile (including PPE) was lost – not surprised people are a little miffed with DC and that’s before we raise a glass (half-empty) to him today whilst celebrating the 7^th anniversary of the United Kingdom European Union Membership Referendum.

Cheers…

Elsewhere, the sea is getting warmer; core inflation is at a 30 year high; the base rate is now 5% – last seen in 2008; Elon Musk has challenged Mark Zuckerberg to a cage fight and we can no longer listen to Meghan and Harry on Spotify – genuinely, I wish none of this was true, apart from the last bit!

So now we seek better news.  The start of The Ashes had something for everyone, including rain and a full house on the 5^th day, the Aussies shaded it with a proper captain’s innings from Pat Cummins.  Truly, if the next four Tests are as exciting we are in for a fabulous summer.  KC3 got his first winner at Royal Ascot yesterday with Desert Hero whilst Wayne has been doing a different sort of riding, out on his bike most days and not yet been caught for doing over 20mph in Richmond Park!  The oversized Discovery’s and Defender’s are back on the local roads which means the tennis must just around the corner and on Wednesday we celebrated the longest day – winter is coming…

Our teenage correspondent in Somerset informs us that she has been banned from visiting Glastonbury whilst other people from her school are actually performing there – look out for The Entitled Sons we’re told, 4 lads (and their Dad) who just happen to call Sarah Beeny ‘mum’.

Should teenage bands not be your thing, the Glastonbury Channel will be live from Friday 23 – Sunday 25 June on BBC iPlayer so if it’s Arctic Monkeys, Blondie, Guns N’ Roses, Rick Astley, Barrington Levy, Candi Staton or even big Reg Dwight, there’ll be something for you here.

When speaking of Zummerzet, it’s hard not to think of alcoholic apple refreshment.  In perhaps the clumsiest segue ever performed in this column, we thought it might be time to talk about our cider from Brittany, which seems to have suddenly become a bit famous.

On 16^th June, Charlie Teasdale wrote an article, in Esquire magazine no less, headlined Juicy Gossip: Why Breton Cider Will Be the Drink of the Summer.

I won’t reprint the whole article here because that would be theft but I will share this excerpt:

Until now, Breton cider has been somewhat overlooked, existing as the order of a learned-few – a discerning people who want the Gallic elegance of a bottle of wine and the stoic charm of a beer, for the price of a Zone 1 Guinness. But momentum is slowly building… this, I suggest, could be our Breton summer.

We, and a fair number of you, can now pat ourselves on the back for being amongst the learnèd, discerning few and it now seems fair for us to share our wisdom with the rest of the class.

The cidre that Charlie is discussing is indeed our Kerisac Cidre Breton – £6.00 (1 litre).

Originally founded in the Isac Valley in Guenrouet by Edmond Guillet in 1920, it now belongs to the Agrial cooperative; however the commercial department is run by Laurent Guillet, great-grandson of Edmond, thus the 4^th generation of the family to be involved.  They work with 50 apple producers in the region and have a truly excellent product that is full of Gallic character.   A golden pour with a gentle fizz, a nose and mouthful packed with sweet, juicy apples that then lead into a rounded, dry finish.

As it’s going to be warm this weekend, we’ll have the cidre open for tasting and you can all see what all the fuss is about.  Alongside this we’ll have a lightly chilled red from Germany to try:

Hanewald-Schwerdt Spätburgunder 2019 – £16.99 -Pinot Noir from Germany doesn’t appear on everyone’s radar very often but it should!  Bright strawberry and cherry notes lead the way with some delicious savoury character and good minerality.  Intense and medium bodied this is designed to be drunk easily (hooray) and can be enjoyed on its own (hooray again) but if you don’t subscribe to the ‘eating is cheating’ mantra, then it would be very happy with a smoked duck salad!

That’s it from us, have a wonderful weekend and keep your chin up!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

So, we have the report from the Commons Privileges Committee and, as suspected, it’s not a great read if your name is Boris Johnson. We suspect that’s why he spat the dummy last week but, in our heart of hearts, we all knew, didn’t we?

Here at Park Vintners we are very heartened to discover there are one or two people in the Palace of Westminster who have the spine to display some integrity in public life and to defend what little is left of our democracy.

But let’s cut to the chase, what could we do in 90 days?

First up, we’ll be ditching our security detail and heading off to Perugia. Our friend’s Daddy has a lovely castle nearby and throws the most amazing weekend parties. He always has great wine, banging music and canapes to die for. We won’t mention the blondes, as Silvio can’t be there.

Then we’ll borrow Bamfies jet and fly over to the States. Do you have any idea what they pay for someone to bumble along with notes from the back of an envelope after dinner? They even give you a free feed too!

Bank balance restored, maybe Mustique on the way back, it’s always good to break a journey with a beach, and we really like this one. Rossy always lends us his house and the gin cupboard is always well stocked; Wilf even has his own armbands for the pool.

Then back to Italy, it’ll be time for another party and I’ve had a break on the passport stamps. That ninety day visa thing really is bothersome, who negotiated that?

That Michel Barnier thinks he’s the big joker. He sent me a link to an article “Here Are 6 Things You Can Do In 90 Days To Get Your Life Together”, it’s full of woke nonsense like helping people and paying off your debts. Doesn’t he know I had it oven ready and rolled out a vaccine?

I’m going to pop in and see Jacob in Somerset, he’s dull and rather smarmy but Nanny’s trifle is off the scale! Might see if Pater is at the farm whilst I’m down there but I suspect he’s off in Greece sulking about the ermine.

Mad-Nads finally saw some sense and realised that by not resigning as an MP she can get two salaries for the same work. Must phone her and ask for Lady Dorries or is it too soon do you think?

Amazing how much can be fitted into 90 days, Phileas Fogg made it around the world in less time. Mind you, Carrie is no Passepartout!

Tasting This Weekend

Given the forecast, we’ll go with something pink in the white corner.

Our parcel of Rosé de Béarn 2022 (£10.99) has arrived. From the foothills of the Pyrénées, this blend of Cabernet Franc and Tannat is really rather scrummy. Pale in the glass, dry with wild strawberry and raspberry notes – bang on with a barbecue, a picnic or just in the garden with some neighbours over the fence!

Casa Silva Cool Coast Pinot Noir 2021 (£18.99) Hailing from the coastal vineyards of the Colchagua Valley, this is a proper cool climate Pinot Noir with a nose filled with red fruit notes, strawberries, raspberries and a subtle background note of cinnamon and spice from the French oak it spent 12 months reposing in.  An excellent length of finish and a real pleasure to drink – lamb leg steaks on the barbecue should be perfect.

With that we’re off, but not before wishing Mr Johnson a very Happy Birthday for Monday, AKA the 3^rd anniversary of ‘ambush by cake’ and the beginning of the end!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

I’ll be honest; I’m not sure what to write about today.

Having been hiding in the southern parts of Devon and Spain for the last couple of weeks, away from the news and scandals of British life, I feel strangely refreshed and happily uninformed – an unexpected digital detox and one I would thoroughly recommend.  I also quickly realised that I wasn’t really missing Rishi, Suella, Boris and the gang, in spite of all the joy they bring, because greater joy can be found in a fine platter of chuletitas, a glass of Ribera del Duero and a couple of old friends – who knew?

I fully expect to be fully jaded by Monday but, for now, I’ll happily bathe in the afterglow.

So, what to talk about?  It has come to our attention that this Saturday, 10^th June, is World Gin Day.  We assume this is an actual thing having only read it on social media because all of our Gin suppliers have been curiously quiet about it – perhaps every day for them is world gin day.  Certainly I have a number of close acquaintances for whom World I’m-Not-Having-A- Gin-Today Day would be a just once a year occurrence.

Anyway, I’ve found the website and here is what they have to say:

World Gin Day: 10 June 2023

A global celebration of all things gin, held on the second Saturday in June

Organised by everyone’s favourite gin swigging primate: Gin Monkey, the idea is simple: get people together all around the world and raise a glass to the brilliant spirit that is GIN. Whether it’s in a cocktail, a G&T or neat as part of a tasting, let’s celebrate this wonderful juniper-laced spirit in all of its glory!

Discover what’s on in your area by searching for the #WorldGinDay hashtag across social media!

Seems to me to be quite a simple yet effective celebration, so let’s do it… we always have gin open to taste, so what better way to spend 10 minutes on a Saturday afternoon.  The current selection is:

Eclectic Gin

Made for the buying group we are a part of, so only available in about 50 shops

• Original Blend 40% – £37
• The Spice Blend 45% – £39

Hepple Gin 45% – £38

Made by our good friend Walter up in the Northumberland National Park and our #1 best seller

Procera Blue Dot Gin 44% – £85

Made in Nairobi with botanicals sourced from across Africa, including Juniper Procera that only grows in the highlands of Kenya and Ethiopia.

Renegade Gin 42% – £38

Made in Battersea by our local Aussie distiller, Braden, who also makes the now infamous Chilli Bacon Vodka!

So, come and have a taste!

I imagine that for most of you The Portman Group will have little significance.  However for us in the booze business it is a well-regarded social responsibility body and regulator for alcohol labelling, packaging and promotion in the UK.  They have many guidelines and rules one of which is:

Appeal to Under 18s Rule 3.2(h) A drink, its packaging or promotion should not have a particular appeal to under-18s

So when we read the following, we thought of this rule:

‘Freixenet launches sparkling rosé ice pops in time for the summer.  The new 5% ABV frozen popsicles, produced with rosé wine to recreate the light and fruity characteristics of Freixenet Italian Sparkling Rosé’

What on earth could go wrong, when has a child ever asked for a Calippo on a hot day?!

In sport, we’re getting a sneak preview of how the Australian cricketers are shaping up prior to the start of The Ashes and the news from The Oval is a bit scary.  Football sees The Thames Ironworks FC travelling to Europe on Thursday nights next season, whilst Pep needs to stop overthinking things before tomorrow, as City bid to become the second club in Manchester to do the treble.   Speaking of middle eastern sportswashing investment, golf has rolled over in a way previously unimaginable and now has a newly created PGA/LIV Golf entity whose new chairman is Yasir Al-Rumayyan.  A quick search tells me he:

• is a key advisor to the crown prince of Saudi Arabia
• was appointed to lead Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund (PIF) in 2015, a fund that has become an increasingly powerful force in the sports world in recent years
• is chairman of the board for oil giant Saudi Aramco
• holds board positions with Uber and SoftBank
• is chairman of Newcastle United
• has played a key role in luring Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to Saudi Arabia’s domestic league

No conflict of interests whatsoever.

And now to this week’s tasting wines: the white will be orange and the red will be chilled…

Cramele Recas Solara Orange Wine – £13.99 – This estate is owned by Englishman Philip Cox and his Romanian wife Elvira.  Their immaculate vineyards, in mountainous terrain, are a combination of evolved plantings from 1447 and much more recent plantings too.  A natural, minimal intervention wine, it is made by leaving the grape skins and seeds in contact with the pressed juice, creating a deep orange-hued finish.  The wine ferments naturally without the addition of yeasts, sulphur or any other additions.  The nose exhibits quince, Poire William and a hint of vanilla.  A complex and structured palate, it is elegant with discreet fruit flavours of stone fruits, backed up with a complexity and long, balanced finish, incredibly fresh.

Beaujolais Villages ‘Cuvée Six’ 2021 – £11.99 – hailing from the villages of Jullié and Emeringes, and grown on the sandy granitic soils that produce the best Gamay, this is tender, round and fruity as you’d expect from a pure expression of the grape variety. Awesome lightly chilled with a plate of charcuterie on a sunny weekend!

That’s it from us as we wave goodbye to the tall and tan and young and lovely girl from Ipanema as she goes walking off into the sunset….

Fellow Wine Lovers,

I can’t help but feel that if the country’s media was as keen to hold the Government to account as quickly as they have been Philip Schofield we might not be in such a mess. Sadly, it looks like Schofield is just another useful idiot keeping the real issues of the day away from the public’s attention.

Talking of idiots, The Cabinet Office had all of Johnson’s WhatsApp messages, notebooks and other sundry communications and were “reviewing” them before handing them over to Baroness Hallett who is conducting the Covid Inquiry. Then, as if by magic, they didn’t have them at all!

Mr Johnson says he is sure he’s handed everything over to the Cabinet Office (well anything before May 2021 doesn’t count, right?), and, now they do have them again, they are sifting through so that they don’t hand over anything relevant. No sorry, irrelevant. No sorry, my bad, perhaps the word is prosecutable? Do you find that some days you just have trouble finding the right words?

I do think that if you appoint a senior judge to run an inquiry it is surely up to the judge to decide what is relevant. Not Mr. Sunak though. Mr Professionalism, Integrity and Accountability has decided to take the Covid Inquiry to court to avoid handing over those pesky WhatsApps.  Far be it for us to suggest anything as crass as the possibility of a cover up, but to paraphrase a famous line from one of Mr. Johnson’s favourite movies,  “You’re gonna need a bigger blanket!”

Joking aside, you and I are paying for the enquiry, and both sides legal costs here. I don’t suppose anyone has thought to negotiate a bulk discount? Perhaps we can pay on the Government’s Amex so that Rishi’s helicopter flights can be purchased with Airmiles?

On the subject of Amex, in 2004 they ran an advertising campaign featuring none other than  Robert de Niro (79) who has just become a father again. Always seemingly tied together one way or another, his old chum Al Pacino (83) is also about to become a father again. Not sure how either of them will fare on the littl’uns first trip to the skatepark. Closer to home, Alex is just about coming to the end of a round of 50^th birthday parties just as Wayne starts on a round of 60^th parties. The eating and drinking is good, yet the dancing bad at both. Just the tunes are a bit different! No plans for imminent fatherhood expansion or skateboard lessons on either front.

We’d like to raise a glass and say ‘Chapeau’ to Adam Diver, who, this week, became the first person to swim from the UK mainland to the Isle of Man. He emerged from the sea smiling but shattered and declared the 46 mile swim a bit of a ‘suffer fest.’ The good news, Adam, is you’ve arrived in time to see the TT racing! And before you all start telling me the distance is just 32 miles, because of the tidal movement he had to ‘tack’ in a zig-zag fashion every six hours.

On the subject of swimming, those of you hoping for a summer return to Tooting Bec Lido in August will be frustrated to learn that the refurbishment works have been delayed due to the discovery of asbestos. This means that the scheduled summer re-opening won’t be happening.

As we head towards summer can I just ask a little request? Could we dial down the chilly breeze a little and up the heat of the sun? Quite happy for overnight rain if that’s your fancy, but I really would like some 22˚c days that don’t feel like 17˚c.

I find myself reaching for a glass, so what shall we taste this weekend?

I think we’ll populate the white corner with Paulett’s Polish Hill River Aged Release Riesling 2018 (£21.99). Polish Hill River is a sub-region of the Clare Valley and about a 90 minute drive from Adelaide. We always love the Aged Release that the Paulett’s keep back for a few years in their cellar. Crisp and dry with bags of citrus and minerals and a fab finish.

Over in the red corner we’ll visit North West Spain for a newish one that we listed in April. Las Tres Filas Mencia 2020, Bierzo, Spain (£15.99). We’ve been looking for one of these since our last one went missing in action, unable to survive the combined problems of Brexit and Covid.  As you’d expect from this north western part of Spain, silky in the mouth, medium bodied with dark fruits and just the ticket with some lamb chops, grilled tuna or some aged hard sheep cheese!

Lastly, we’d like to thank Mike Kerr from Royal Blood for proving the spirit of Spinal Tap was still well and truly alive.

The BBC Weekend audience in Dundee were treated to: “Well, I guess I should introduce ourselves seeing as no one actually knows who we are. We’re called Royal Blood and this is rock music. Who likes rock music?”

 “Nine people, brilliant,”

I’m sure they were turned up to 11!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Time to play spot the fib….

“If you have heard media hyperbole that a heatwave driven by an African plume will bring intense heat to the UK in the next few days, you are going to be disappointed – this isn’t true” – Neil Armstrong, chief forecaster at the Met Office and erstwhile moonwalker, Wednesday 24^th May 2023.

“Earlier on today, apparently, a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a hurricane on the way. Well, if you’re watching, don’t worry, there isn’t!” – Michael Fish, broadcast meteorologist and lead singer of Marillion, on 15^th October 1987.

“I sought to explore whether bespoke arrangements were possible, given my personal circumstances as a security-protected minister. I recognise how some people have construed this as me seeking to avoid sanction – at no point was that the intention or outcome.” – Suella Braverman, former Home Secretary (resigned), tireless humanitarian, current Home Secretary (certainly not planning on resigning again), May 2023.

“It’s a lot of work, I’ll tell you that much, but I love it, I absolutely love it, and I want you to know I change a lot of nappies” – Boris Johnson, WhatsApp user, September 2021.

I know, difficult huh, perhaps they’re all fibbers?

I reckon though, with a view to it being the Bank Holiday weekend again, we want Neil Armstrong to be the one to be found telling porkies because, frankly, a heatwave weekend is exactly what we are all hoping for.  Currently, the weather for midday Saturday looks like this:

Wimbledon – 19c – real feel 22c – 0% rain

Fleet Services (M3) – 17c – real feel 21c – in-car temperature 21c – 0% rain

Stonehenge (A303) – 18c – real feel 21c – in-car temperature 40c (rising) – 0% rain

Exeter Services (M5) – 18c – real feel 22c – 0% rain – 0% chance of getting a West Cornwall Pasty

Thurlestone (Village Inn) – 17c – real feel 18c – 0% rain – beer temperature 4-5c

I think I know where I would like to be….

Meanwhile, in the world of booze that we lurk in, trade rag Drinks Retailing News has released its annual 100 Most Influential People in Drinks list.  Obviously we didn’t appear on it and it was not a surprise to see Miles Beale, Chief Executive of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association coming in first; nor was it a surprise to see the buyer from Waitrose and one from Tesco in the top 5, alongside Jancis Robinson.  What did make us drop our cucumber and marmite ciabatta was the name that appeared at number 10…

Kylie Minogue, Creative Director Kylie Minogue Wines

Pop sensation turned wine industry powerhouse, Kylie Minogue, launched her wine brand in 2020 with Paul Schaafsma of Benchmark Drinks.  After three years, the brand now has a portfolio of nine wines, including its popular Signature Rose and Prosecco Rose, as well as an alcohol-free sparkling rose.  Minogue has also become a familiar face in the global wine community, showcasing her wines at Prowein in March this year.  Kylie Minogue wines are now available to purchase in 31 countries.

Having rubbed our eyes and pinched ourselves, we re-read the list and it still said the same thing: Ramsay Street tomboy mechanic, Charlene Robinson, is now considered to be one of the most influential people in drinks?  Stone the flamin’ crows, as Alf Stewart up in Summer Bay might say…

Whilst, clearly, the success of the wine is more likely related  to  the efforts of Paul Schaafsma/Benchmark Drinks, what made us smile was that the caption under the photo of the two said Paul (pictured left) and Kylie – I think we could have out who was who without the signpost!

Oz Clarke came 91^st.

Elsewhere, the cycling is just about coming to a finish in Italy, the Premier League  has all but ended and we don’t start our Ashes warm up until next Thursday, so we might as well entertain ourselves with a glass of wine and as it is going to be great weekend (fingers crossed) I think we’ll open some summer drinkers:

Château de L’Aumérade ‘Cuvée Marie-Christine’ 2022 – £17.99 – our perennially popular Côtes de Provence Cru Classé is back on the floorstack and is tasting better than ever. 

For those of you who haven’t come across it the Chateau de L’Aumerade is a 400 year old vineyard in the heart of Provence.  Its red soils are rich in minerals, giving it an edge on the quality stakes amongst its neighbours and this edge was recognised in 1955 when the estate was designated “Cru Classé”.  A lovely pale salmon colour, it is indeed cracking stuff with delicate red berry fruits, slightly floral and an impressively long finish.

We think it is the perfect wine for summer, great with all manner of food, or just with the Sunday papers and a deck chair.  It’s also suitable for vegans and, if you’re really thirsty, we offer 6 bottles for £90!

Talking of perennially popular wines, for the red we’ll open Palacio del Camino Real Crianza 2019 – £11.99.  A classic Rioja blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano aged for 12-14 months in a mixture of French and American oak, this wine has a real understated elegance.  Gently spiced red fruits, a touch of leather and a polished soft finish give it some good all-rounder appeal – you’re bound to be cooking over coals this weekend, so how about some new season lamb cutlets with it?

That’s it from us for now, just to remind you we’ll be shut on Monday as it’s the Bank Holiday and we’ll be raising a glass to the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll

“You can’t get hung up on age or beauty because you’re then always chasing after something you’ll never get back” – Tina Turner, Woman & Home Magazine, July 2016.

Wise words.

Fellow Wine Lovers,

This week we have not been eating cheese sandwiches. Not because we don’t like cheese, but more that we find Ann Widdecombe truly terrifying.  Wouldn’t it be nicer world if she spent her time spoiling her grandchildren rather than tell others they should just starve?

We have no plans to retrain as fruit pickers, lorry drivers or indeed, journalists. Not because there’s anything wrong with those jobs but frankly, we both feel we already have employment. Admittedly, we find working from home to be an insurmountable problem but do take comfort in that 63.9% of the working population are with us.

We’ve continued in our viewing of the Giro d’Italia and last week described it as having thrills and spills. That has certainly continued this week and, if I’m honest, it’s starting to feel less like a race and more like an alternate take on Squid Games. The weather has been atrocious, never before have racing cyclists worn their entire wardrobe with a waterproof over the top for so many days in a row. There have been riders falling victim to covid, the usual gastro problems, not to mention so many crashes, one rider even got taken down by a race official! Today’s stage has been re-routed through a tunnel, not because the GPS was playing up, but because the climb up to the Gran San Bernardo pass (at 2469m) is still buried under snow – questions still remain as to whether it will actually happen today, as torrential rain has delayed the start…  Remarkably, given it’s the Giro and there have been so many crashes, Geraint Thomas is still upright and wearing the pink sweater!

Whilst we talk about bike races I’ll mention it is just 43 days to the Tour de France and I do believe we may have lined up something rather special…

Tim Goodman, a customer since we opened, has been buying less from us so far this year as he is in serious training for cycling the 3500 kilometre Tour de France route. He also says that he is unlikely to try any wine during the three weeks cycling from Bilbao to Paris, over all five French mountain ranges (can you name them?). However, he is committed to making up for his abstinence at the celebratory dinner in Paris. He has also reserved a couple of bottles of Puligny Montrachet from us for when he gets back. 

He has committed to providing weekly reports for the newsletter during the Tour, a week ahead of the race, to let us know how he is getting on. He is raising money for Cure Leukaemia, which funds clinical trials to help beat this disease at hospitals around the UK, including UCL and Guy’s & St Thomas’s in south London. The team of 25 is aiming to raise £1 million by doing the ride.

In the meantime, if you would like to sponsor him, the link to his fundraising page is Tim Goodman is fundraising for Cure Leukaemia (justgiving.com).

If you are interested in sponsoring the team bus or an individual stage, or even want to have a go at riding the Tour next year please email Tim at timgoodman64@hotmail.com with Tour de France in the subject line.

In other news, it looks like Rafa is going to retire next year. Still struggling with the hip injury that has plagued him all year, he made the announcement at a press conference as he withdrew from the French Open. Manchester City are looking rather ‘on’ for their hopes of a Treble if the way they destroyed Real Madrid is anything to go by.

On the wine front we’ve just received the stunning new vintage of Domaine Lyrarakis Assyrtiko 2022 (£15.99). Who wouldn’t like a mini trip to Crete? We’ll pop that in the fridge for tasting over the weekend.

In the red corner we’ll pour Atal Sia 2019 (£25.99). This fabulous wine is from the Boutenac Cru in Corbières. A rather splendid blend of predominantly Carignan with Grenache Noir and Mourvèdre from vines older than Wayne, planted in the absolute best part of Corbières.  We loved it, come tell us what you think.

With that we’re off, have a great weekend!