The Weekly Wine

Fellow Wine Lovers,

What’s the best festival you’ve been to? 

For Wayne, Woodstock ranks highly from the vague snippets he can recall (you just had to be there, man), the Bang Face Weekender and the Hull International Sea Shanty Festival both coming a close second.  My wife really liked the idea of Bookfest, until it was explained that it wasn’t simply an opportunity to sit in a tent on Wimbledon Common and read your book uninterrupted for 10 days.  Rufus really wants to go to the Kattenstoet, particularly the bit when they throw the cats out of the belfry tower into the square below – however he’s not able to go because it’s in Belgium, he’s a cocker spaniel without a passport and apparently they stopped throwing real cats in 1817.

Me, well I don’t know.  Having had, at university, a reasonably lucrative career driving people down to Glastonbury at 2am to help them climb the fence and pocketing enough cash to get me to the pub for the next week, my view of festivals is more from the position of facilitator rather than attendee. The Bearded Theory Festival in Derbyshire is an attractive proposition on name alone as is the Hop Farm Festival but the current favourite is of course our very own Great Sherry Festival.

Two weeks of drinking and talking about sherry in the comfort of our own shop with no need to queue for a portaloo or an overpriced falafel and no requirement to sleep under canvas.  Yes, two weeks – far longer than your Isle of Wight or Reading events and far less smelly.

Last weekend really kicked it off – we had Bodegas Rey Fernando de Castilla Classic Dry Manzanilla 37.5cl £7.99; we had Emilio Lustau Almacenista Manuel Cuevas Jurado Manzanilla Pasada de Sanlucar 50cl (£21.99); we had Bodegas Rey Fernando de Castilla Fino En Rama 37.5cl (£9.99), we had… we had loads open.

And we’re going to have them all open again this weekend – I’ve attached a list if you’d like to see what we’ve got – so hopefully those of you that already love Sherry can re-visit some old favourites and those of you who’ve always wondered what all the fuss is about, well, you can find out what all the fuss is about…

As with all good festivals, there is always some sort of highlights programme late on a Saturday night and this festival is no different.  Actually there is no programme but we do have a short list of firstly, things we have learnt about sherry this week and secondly, things we have learnt about you

Things we have learnt about sherry this week

Amontillado is the most adaptable – it goes with nuts, cured meats, mature cheeses, salt fish, baked fish, salt baked fish (!), consommés, shellfish, smoked fish, fresh tuna, artichokes, asparagus, mushrooms, game, spicy dishes and of course, on its own.

Manzanilla and Fino, with their low acidity, are the perfect foil to dressed salads – the vinegar acidity doesn’t have anything to fight with – so we can pencil in Salt & Vinegar Squares as a good match here too.

Cream sherry, when made with top quality Oloroso and a splash of PX is a joy to behold and far removed from the stuff in blue bottles – in fact it can even have a herbaceous character, reminiscent of a good Vermouth.  Who knew?  Definitely not us until this week…

Things we have learnt about you

Many of you came in and, quite rightly, said that you preferred the drier Manzanilla style of sherry, the stuff you enjoy with some tapas and olives and that really the sweet sherries were not your cup of tea and a bit Aunt Maud, if you will.

Best-selling sherry so far?  Bodegas César Florido Moscatel Dorado 37.5cl £8.99 – a sweet sherry made from late harvested Moscatel grapes in Chipiona, on the coast.  Oooo, that’s absolutely delicious, was the oft heard phrase!

So, in conclusion – sherry on tasting all day today and tomorrow, places filling on our various evening tastings, especially the Posh Italian Evening (see attached), and rugby on the TV all weekend.

England v Wales – I couldn’t possibly comment in writing!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

To say we are a little excited would, quite possibly, be a little understatement. The week started off gently enough with Sherry tasting on Monday whilst Wednesday saw us swanning around in Mayfair at the Dirty Dozen tasting of small importers in the morning, before launching the new term of Wine School in the evening.  It’s a tough job but we apply ourselves!

But what really has us ‘made up’ with excitement is news that reached us yesterday: British Cycling has been working with the England Rugby Team! As long standing observers of the cycling scene we are well aware of what their ‘marginal gains’ did to Chris Hoy’s legs. So we fully expect all 31 members of the squad to have fast, strong legs.  Given the known skills cyclists have for dancing, we’ll also be looking forward to the marginal gains brought to the ‘Hakarena’.

Yes folks, this evening the Rugby World Cup 2015 kicks off with England hosting Fiji at Twickers. So, if you were as lucky with tickets as we were, pop in and get some supplies on the way home. We have beer, biltong and Bollinger to hand; alongside a selection of Malbec, should you be firing up the barbecue.

Tasting Dates

In our usual, organised way we have had these dates on the back of a fag packet marked in the diary for absolutely ages, and today’s publication has nothing to do with pleading, nagging, cajoling or otherwise…

Thursday 15^th October at 8pm WINE AND CHEESE – £20

This one falls during our Shop Rioja feature, so will definitely feature some fabulous drops from that part of the world.

Thursday 19^th November at 8pm ITALIAN POSH- £30

We’ve been wittering on about our posh purchasing over the summer and thought it high time we put some in your glass, so come and join us for a tour of the posher addresses in the land of grapes.

Thursday 26^th November at 8pm WINE AND CHEESE – £20

We’ll be pinning a Santa badge on the cheese monster for this tasting and coming up with some suggestions to match the traditional cheese board – to port or not to port, that is the question?

Thursday 3^rd December at 8pm CHAMPAGNE AND SPARKLING – £25

We are FIVE!!!  Bubbly on a birthday, what could possibly go wrong?

Alex said he’s pulling out all the stops for this, I think it is because he won’t need a corkscrew!

Sherry Festival 2015

As we see it, nothing says Rugby World Cup like a schooner of sherry. With that in mind, we decided to join in once again with the Great Sherry Festival organised by @sherrywinesuk

This weekend we’ll have a selection of fine drops from that very special corner of Spain open for your delectation. We’ll be talking about food matching too and if that isn’t exciting enough for you, we’ve just discovered that Saturday is also ‘International talk like a pirate day’

We’ll start you off with some lines from Pirates of Penzance

Pour, oh pour the pirate sherry; Fill, oh fill, the pirate glass; And to make us more than merry let the pirate bumper pass!

Shiver me timbers and pass me sherry!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

As I write this in the sultry Thursday evening sunlight I find it difficult to see much wrong with the world.  This I find extremely vexing because it is a very rare day that I am unable to see 6 or 7 things ‘wrong with the world’ and I am worried if my ‘WwtW’ radar needs re-calibrating.

To continue.  There’s not too much wrong tonight in Wimbledon Park – we’ve not been evacuated from burning planes in Las Vegas, not had our LinkedIn photo commented upon or been shamed and outed by the Commons Expenses Watchdog as non-payers of expenses.

In truth, there is actually one thing wrong with WP this evening – none of you are here!  I believe this sultry sunshine has got you all standing outside wine bars in the city or by the river, rather than rushing home to your loved ones, and of course, your wine shop!

So how can I incentivise you to come home and not go to the pub over the next few weeks?

PLAN A

(For the purpose of this plan, the word ‘all’ doesn’t refer to everyone, just to those who like the things to which we are referring)

We all love the pub.  We all love the rugby, especially International rugby, especially the World Cup.  We all love beer.  We all love going to the pub, drinking beer whilst watching the Rugby World Cup.

However, a potential glitch has occurred regarding the viewing of the England matches – they are all prime time Friday or Saturday evening… not the easiest time to get a seat in the pub even without world class sport going on.  Plus, we all hate queuing, whether for drinks or for the loo….

So, how about bringing the pub to your house?

Become the Landlord of your Living Room by getting yourself a 10 litre minipin of either, Sambrook’s Wandle, Sambrook’s Junction or Sambrook’s Pumphouse.   The minipin is racked bright (without sediment) so that it can be served immediately.  The shelf life on racked bright beer is typically 7 days unopened and 3 days from opening.  Put it on a table in the corner and you have the best part of 18 pints to get through during the match.  And you shouldn’t need to queue.

Prices for the pins are:

Wandle Minipin – £35

Junction Minipin – £37

Pumphouse Minipin – £37

Works out around £2 a pint… which seems remarkably good value!

Should this be of interest let us know over the weekend and we can get orders into the brewery for delivery on Friday – bear in mind they do need a couple of days’ notice so I will be ordering by close of play Monday.

And if you have bigger plans that 18 pints can cope with, again let us know, because they do also do a 20 litre polypin which works out even better on a pint by pint basis.

PLAN B

Flattery will get you nowhere… but don’t stop trying (Miss Moneypenny – Dr. No)

Through no fault of my own, it seems I have a quick Bollinger offer for you – maybe something to do with Mr Bond’s imminent arrival on the big screen quaffing it.  Anyway, just for this weekend, I am reducing the price of Bollinger Special Cuvée to £40 per bottle.  Normally I sell it for £45 and it will still be £200 if you buy 6 bottles (£33.33 per bt), but if you just fancy a single bottle, starting Friday 11^th at 11am through until Saturday 12^th at 8pm, that’s the deal! 

PLAN C

The Power of Wayne

The usual practice is that when I go on holiday Wayne drains the bank account in pursuit of fine wine and fun.  The fine wine mostly ends up on the shelves in the shop and I find it best not to ask about the fun.  It seems though, even when he’s not here, he still gets up to his tricks…

Earlier this week I received a delivery of 12 bottles of Principe Corsini Le Corti Chianti Classico Riserva Cortevecchia DOCG 1997.  This is a wine that we used to sell when we worked in Clapham, is a wine that our suppliers, the main importers, ran out of before we even opened here, so really is a wine I assumed was for the history books.

Clearly not, because it’s here, I don’t know where he found it and cannot find out until he stops sunning himself a few time-zones east of here.

It’s on the shelf for £30.99 – 1997 was a very good vintage in Tuscany and this is a very good wine from that vintage.  I just need to sell it all before he gets back in case he had other plans for it…

PLAN D

My daughter says school is sooo boooring but she hasn’t tried wine school!

And quite right too, because she’s only nine.

You, however, can.

Term starts next Wednesday 16^th September, then for the following 5 more weeks.  It costs £150 per person and you’ll taste masses of different wines from all over.

No children allowed.

AND IF NONE OF THESE PLANS WORK….

How about popping in after work and tasting some wine?  We’ve got a couple of wines from the d’Oc: Domaine de Vedilhan Viognier 2014 – £8.99 and Le Malbec 2013 – £10.99, both delicious in sunshine or rain and frankly, if they’re good enough for the Doc, they must be good enough for us!

DIARY PLAN

A few of you have been asking about Wine & Cheese – we will confirm dates next week.

We will be tasting a lot of sherry here in the shop over the next two weeks though, which should be fun – we’ll let you know more after we’ve seen our Sherry people on Monday.

In fact we’re doing quite a bit of offsite tasting in weeks to come, which means that we will be opening late Monday 14^th, Wednesday 16^th and Thursday 17^th… we’ll be back by 4pm, at the latest, ideally before…

That’s it from us, time for some Bolli!

Wayne & Alex

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Right people, we’re back in the real world now, summer’s over as you may have noticed, the schools are finally doing what schools are meant to do and keeping our children out of our wallets and the next stop is Halloween.

Apologies, nothing on earth can be more depressing on your first week back in the chair than thoughts of pumpkins, trick-or-treat and the clocks going back.

And the Newspapers aren’t filled with huge amounts of joy and jollity either ,with the pages filled with stories that have been threatening to become headlines for a long time and now, unfortunately, seem to be here to stay.

However, ours is not to solve crises or discuss political errors, that falls to far greater minds, ours is to keep you distracted over Friday lunchtime and sharpen you up for the weekend.  So, to shoulder our responsibility, we have decided to create a shortlist of awards for the last week, plucked from various sources, and in no particular order:

Best Proposed Ruling That Will Never Be Policed

Remember when talking on your mobile phone whilst driving was made illegal – well, that was such a success as we all know, prisons filled overnight, cars were impounded and the very idea of talking on a handheld when behind the wheel became as archaic as smoking on the tube.  Now, having taken guidance from heaven knows where, Nottingham council have put a blanket ban on havin’ a gasper during working hours and even when not at work but dressed in council uniform.  Who will be the lucky person given the role of enforcing this no smoking policy… mmm, not sure – I suspect this plan to be stubbed out imminently.

Best Beer

Has to be Guinness Zero ABV.  Admittedly this is only in Indonesia and has been there for a year apparently, but really, zero alcohol.  We drink Guinness because it tastes good as a beverage with alcohol in.  Let’s face it, I don’t ever get asked for alcohol-free Whisky because, like the Zero, that would be weird…

Best Climb in Rankings

This has to be a tie between Rory McIlroy and the Welsh football team.  Now before Karen, Lee, Roger and Morgs get hot under the collar, I’m not having a dig at the Welsh, that’s not at all what I am meaning.  If we take Rory first, he’s now back at world No. 1.  Jordan Spieth lost top spot to him this weekend, when he missed the cut.  Rory didn’t even raise a club this weekend and yet somehow the person who actually went out and played came of worse than the man who stayed at home and watched Ireland lose to Wales in the rugby (see, I love you really Taff!). 

Similarly Wales overtake England in the Fifa world rankings.  They’ve had a cracking Euro qualification period and played 7, won 5, drawn 2 which puts them bang on to qualify for next summer.  The irony is that England couldn’t have had a better campaign themselves!

Who knew sport could be so complicated?

Best TV Coverage

Has to go to whoever is in charge of the cameramen on La Vuelta a España.  Two cyclists taken out by motorbikes filming the race, on 2 separate days, resulting in both riders having to abandon through injury.  As if these Grand Tours weren’t hard enough…

Best Letter

From the erstwhile benchmark of bad behaviour, Shane Warne’s open letter to the current enfant terrible of Aussie tennis, Nick Kyrgios, effectively telling him that he needs to earn respect and stop trying everyone’s patience.  We won’t go into Shane’s long list of misdemeanours but suffice to say they make a good checklist of things not to do as a professional sportsman (perhaps a letter from David Boon at some point might have kept him on the straight and narrow) but we do think his continued use of ‘u’ in place of ‘you’ in the letter will certainly encourage Nick to take this very, very seriously

Best Laugh, Yesterday

The American news-lady, Harris Faulkner, who is suing Hasbro for making a doll which has the same name as her.  Admittedly, they could have used a different name but really, suing for $5 million dollars – apparently she objects to being associated with a toy that presents a choking hazard to children under 3, I kid you not.

What made us laugh though was that she is claiming that the toy bears a strong physical resemblance to her.

It doesn’t. 

Not at all, not even if you scrunch up your eyes and turn it sideways.  She looks like a glamorous American newsreader and the toy looks like a cheap, yellow plastic toy.  Some people really do take themselves a little too seriously…

Best News Regarding Duty And Tax

Apparently all the tax and duty malarkey that we pay on top of our wine actually more than covers the NHS bill.  So we can expect far better treatment, big cures for big diseases and larger beds, or a drop in taxes. 

No, we don’t see it happening either.

Best News Regarding Health

No proof that wine is bad for you, no proof that it isn’t, we might all just be human, and we’re all going to die anyway, yaaarrgghh…!!!

We read an article that said roughly this earlier in the week but can’t find it now under the pile of bottles.  Suffice to say, a new version of the same article will be along in a few weeks’ time – hurrah!

Best Value School Fees

£150 for 6 weeks of Wine School – starts Wednesday 16^th September.

Taste 60 wines and, in week 1 get to hear all about Wayne’s holiday, learn lots and lots about them.  Sorry, I had to put a sales pitch in somewhere!

Best Wines

Clearly the best wine is the wine in your glass right now, and the wines in our tasting glasses this weekend will be travelling over from South America where, no doubt, it is warmer. 

In white we will have the Crios Torrontés 2013, Dominio del Plata, Calchaquies Valley/Altamira, Argentina – £13.49 – Torrontes is Argentina’s speciality grape.  Enticing aromas, similar to Viognier, with hints of white pear, white flowers and citrus fruit.  On the palate, it has a beautiful structure and acidity along with enticing fruit flavours and plenty of body for a wine that shows such delicate aromas and flavours.  Fruity, floral and yet still dry.  Asian food with citrus influences, lemon chicken, guacamole, Mexican…

In red we cross the border and have Tabali Reserva Especial Pinot Noir 2013, Limari Valley, Chile £12.99.  The Limari Valley is one of Chile’s northernmost regions, and is more coastal than many of the valleys to the south.  Cool sea currents just off the coast and morning fog really benefit the Pinot grape, stopping it from becoming overripe and flabby.  The wine we have here is a great drop and we reckon its silky red fruits will be a delightful match with everything!

Finally, in yellowy-green, we have Bepi Tosolini’s Limoncello – £21.99 which will give you the opportunity to re-live those snoozy, sun-drenched afternoons on the Costa d’Amalfi…

Best be going now!

That’s it, another lunch over, only a few hours left; it’ll be the weekend before you know it.

Cin-Cin!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

The big news this week is that a super smart engineer has come up with a formula to help you decide on the best stick to choose to ensure success at Pooh sticks.

PP                   = A x I            x Cd

(perfect stick)= (cross sectional area) x (density) x (drag coefficient of the stick)

Seeing it written down it makes perfect sense (except for using I to represent density!), so choose a weighty, stubby stick with lots of bark. I suspect Morden Hall will have a rush on such sticks this weekend, and that the bridge will be especially crowded!

It’s not entirely clear if it was this news that has prompted the merger talks between Betfair and Paddy Power.

In the athletics, it seems cheats never prosper whether they speak to the press or not!

In proper sport, today sees the first proper climber’s day in the Vuelta with an 18km climb to the mountain top finish at La Alpujarra. In this heat I’m not sure I fancy it myself but am certain this is where the race will light up!

He’s back folks, but did you see the weather he brought back with him?

In other news both ‘Awesomesauce’ and ‘Wine O’Clock’ were added to the latest edition of The Oxford Dictionary, along with ‘Grexit’ ‘Brexit’ and, of course, ‘Hangry’.

Wine School

We’d love to tell you more about a subject we love…Wednesday 16^th September at 8pm. £150 each, taste 60 wines. What else would you do on a Wednesday?

Wine

Wayne managed to sneak in that other cracking white while Alex’s back was turned. Gerard Tremblay’s Chablis Grand Cru Vaudesir 2012 (£35.99). Vaudesir is one of the seven Grand Cru’s and sits atop the hill overlooking Chablis Town. Wines from here are usually softer and more elegant in style than the other Grand Cru’s without losing any of the stunning minerality.

Tasting this weekend

Awesomesauce in your glass this weekend will be represented by Beyra Branco 2013(£10.99). A crisp citrusy, mineral laden white from 700m altitude at the top of the Douro near the Spanish border.

Sporting the red velvet jacket in the corner we’ll have Tufarello 2012 (£12.99). Hailing from Puglia in Italy’s sunny heel, this delicious Nero di Troia has a soft palate of ripe dark fruits with touches of herbs and sandalwood.

Drop by and say hi, there’s wine open to try.

Fellow Wine Lovers,

I must start the email with an apology, having been taken to task for mentioning the birthday for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. How could I possibly neglect to mention one of the greatest happenings of all time? Ladies and gentleman, I prostrate myself before you, apologise profusely, and would like to wish belated birthday felicitations to Woodstock; 46 years old on 15^th August.

Meanwhile back in the present day (with apologies to the many for who Woodstock is still the present day!) the Barmy Army’s UK tour draws to a close with some good solid partying in South London as the final game of The Ashes takes place at The Oval.

Saturday is when the real fun starts though. After one of the most thrilling Tour de France races in years all the main protagonists line up on the start line of the Vuelta a España. The first stage is a short (7.4k) but rather technical Team Time Trial from Puerto Banús to Marbella, usually a strip more equated with Ferrari’s and holidaymakers. The race looks like it could be a thriller with eight new mountain top finishes (Ochos Picos!) and a time trial in week three.

Grand Prix action is in Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium this weekend. Certainly the most beautiful of circuits on the F1 calendar, yet also one of the most challenging, hilly and twisty with a long fast straight. It’s not unknown for the circuit to have rain on part, but not all, of the course. In purely unrelated information, Belgium produces 220,000 tons of chocolate a year!

Elsewhere in wine stuff, waiting patiently at the door for me on Monday morning was our first shipment of Maison des Bulliats Regnie 2014 (£10.99). Always nice to get stock of a new wine in, especially when the winemaker thinks it’s the best the estate has produced. Made from vines almost as old as Wayne, this is top quality Gamay, with crisp raspberry and blackberry fruit and a soft fresh finish. Coincidentally we tasted a bottle of 2009 recently which was delicious too, in a much more mature way!

Wine school places are filling up too, did you check the diary yet? 16^th September start.

We also now sell ice, a bit of infrastructure investment on our part and we’re all over those bags of cubes like a rash! Ice 2kg bag – £1.50

Tasting this weekend

The white corner will be represented by Hungary this week, a deliciously zippy fresh white with some spicy peach fruit in the shape of Tournai Zenit 2013 (£10.99), whilst the red corner will be amply represented by the Maison des Bulliats Regnie 2014 (£10.99) as above!

Nice weekend people!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Welcome to your Friday update.

This week finds us still rather puzzled that the football season has started so soon, the Ashes may be won, but by no stretch is the cricket season over! It’s only August 14^th surely any football games should involve only bare feet and beaches.

Talking of beaches, we were all glad to hear it wasn’t Alex who left his children at the service station earlier in the week!

Still talking of beaches, the two bobbies sent to Magaluf have been criticised for scheduling the patrols between 7am and 10pm when most revellers are sleeping or ‘chillin’. Don’t want to miss out on all the fun eh?

We were more than a little down heartened this week when we saw the IAAF had suspended 28 athletes that competed in the 2005 & 2007 World Championships after “adverse findings” on retested samples.  It does make the Sunday Times story involving 5000 athletes rather more credible despite the IAAF’s assertion that it was “sensationalist and confusing”.

I’m sure they are falling over themselves to explain it though, especially with the news that the £1.3 million the Athletics governing body spends on testing is less than a quarter of the £6 million that is spent in cyclists testing.

What about football or tennis we wondered?

Science Fiction/Double Feature

We suspect there are a lot of themed parties happening up and down the land this weekend. We’d like to wish a very happy  40^th birthday to The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  Difficult to believe that Brad, Janet and Frank’n’furter are that age already.

Just a jump to the left…

Is it only me, or does everyone find the Labour leadership election worthy of its own TV show?

…and a step to the right

The stars and stripes will be flown over the Malecón in Havana for the first time in a generation today, as Cuba and the US celebrate the re-opening of the US embassy.

With your hands on your hips…

It’s quiet out their people, virtually nothing in wine news but, with just a few weeks to go till harvest, it is looking like a good vintage across France at the moment. Crucial few weeks though…

Elsewhere, spam is down to a minimum in the inbox, and the nice folk that ring us every day to lower our business rates and cheapen our electricity seem to be on holiday too!

Even Tooting Bec Lido only had 6 swimmers on Tuesday morning, I felt like a millionaire with all that pool space to myself.

Timewarp

It seems like only yesterday I was choosing what we’d tantalise the weekend tasters with. This week the red corner will be all silky with Southern Dawn Pinot Noir 2013 (£13.99) a tasty little number from Marlborough.

The white will be the zesty and fresh Max Ferd. Richter Riesling 2013 (£14.99) a classic, crisp and delicate summery wine from the Mosel.

That’s it from us this week, if you’re in a bar with lots of people in fancy dress look out for the toast!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

If you don’t mind, a word in your shell-like….

What an earth has been going on? I leave you all in charge of the shop for one week and all hell breaks loose. I thought it was safe to pop down to Devon to learn how to put up umbrellas in horizontal gales whilst unpacking wetsuits filled with cold children onto carparks filled with thistles but no, clearly I was mistaken. Whilst I was gaining further parenting skills and willing the downing of the sun to be earlier each day, you were all up here, egging him on:

• Alex is away for a few days, so I was thinking about buying some posh kit to put on the shelf to see if he notices, could be a nice little earner

• That sounds like a great idea Wayne, why don’t you see how many you can get in whilst he’s not here, that‘ll teach him to go on holiday so often!

• I was thinking it should be Italian and Spanish because he’s so boring – if I were to order this Aussie stuff he’s bound to have a wobbler

• Do it, just do it – nothing he can say from Plymouth and there’s no phone reception or email west of Exeter

• I’m going to place the order now…

So I arrive back in the greenhouse on Monday morning and who is here to greet me? Only Feldmarschall von Fenner zu Fennberg , the 2012 Müller Thurgau made in the Sud Tirol – Alto Adige by Tiefenbrunner (£26.99) and probably the best expression of this grape variety you’ll find anywhere. Beside him, looking slightly nervous next to such military might, was Bruno Giacosa presenting his Roero Arneis 2014 (£21.99) about whom I do remember writing a tasting note that started with the word ‘WOW!’.

Next in line, standing to attention as they all were, as if on parade, was another new boy, Le Serre Nuove dell’ Ornellaia 2012 (£44.00) a generous and smooth super-tuscan from Bolgheri. I know Ornellaia, his father, well, of course, so was pleased to see him following in the family footsteps.

And finally, standing close together, were two proud chaps from Spain who I hadn’t seen in the shop for ages. Both from La Rioja Alta, it is a pleasure to welcome back Viña Arana Reserva 2006 (£22.99) and his elder sibling Gran Reserva 904 2005 (£35.00) both good, solid, trustworthy wines.

And I hear there is talk of a Chablis Grand Cru in the offing too, I should go away more often, perhaps the New World will get some attention!

Here Terry, have a word…

It also seems that he’s been mucking about with the TV whilst I’ve not been looking; certainly something very strange seems to be going on with the cricket. If only those kind and charming gents dressed in yellow, drinking wine from the bottle, that I sat next to on that Sunday at Lord’s could be found, I’d love to remind them of a couple of suggestions they made to the England team – seems to have worked!

Oh, and Arsenal beat Chelsea in the Community Cup – surely that would never happen?

‘er indoors

We had a rare chance to pop out to dinner this week with our lovely, lovely lady wives. The intention was to visit Holy Smoke on Leopold Road, a new locale that has been well reviewed, but were sadly disappointed to discover they were fully booked, on a Tuesday night. Fabulous news for them, less so for us. Plan B arrived in the shape of Sri Lankan BYO Apollo Banana Leaf on Tooting High Street. This was delicious as ever and was helped us come to a number of crucial conclusions:

• German Riesling is delicious and, when its only 8%, extremely easy to drink
• Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc and Frog’s Leap Zinfandel are superb matches to the spiciness of Sri Lankan cuisine
• Wayne has a capacity for mutton with a two chilli rating previously unshown but definitely worth utilising in some sort of eating competition
• My wife, in spite of months in India, still insists on drinking water when something is too spicy for her…

The world is my lobster

And it could be yours too… Wine School will give you all the skills required to do this and at £150 for 6 weeks and 60-odd wines, is a far better use of time and money than a mis-spent night down the Winchester Club. Just about half-full at the moment so don’t be backward about coming forward.

I’ve got a good idea, just you keep me near, I could be so good for you

Which is what all the wine sings to us each morning when we open up. However, we can’t keep all the wines near and we shouldn’t keep them all to ourselves, as that would no doubt not be so good for us, so as ever we’ll open a couple up this weekend, every one a go-er.

As it’s a white with the Wow factor, I think it would be appropriate to let you all enjoy the Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis(£21.99) that I mentioned earlier, whilst the red will be Quinta da Falorca 2010 (£13.99) a delicious red from the Dâo in Portugal, one that we have enjoyed immensely in the past and which has just moved onto the 2010 vintage.

That’s about it from us – for those who like to guess who writes the email each week this should be an easy one (or is it?)

Stick it on the slate, Dave!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

If I’m honest it’s been kinda slow on the news front this week, with a keen sense of loss flowing through Park Vintners after what was probably one of the most thrilling Tour de France in years, only gently brightened up by the arrival of game 3 in The Ashes.

Elsewhere we discovered the Labour leadership contest has surprised the Parliamentary party with how left wing their supporters are, regardless of your sympathies it is certainly an entertaining story to follow! We could be watching the redemption of the Lib-Dems!

We also learnt that the European Commission is to recognise Bramley apple pie filling as a delicacy! Yorkshire Puds are still waiting.

Wine Stuff

We often get asked about buying wine for investment purposes, and always suggest that wine is for drinking not investing, and that it is very easy to get sucked in and lose a lot of money in the process.

A prime example would be Chateau Lafite 2010, a great wine for sure, and should anyone wander in with a bottle we’d be happy to have a glass and chat about its merits.

The release price for this wine (at a premium over some of its peers) was £12000 per case, a price that has since fallen to around £5700 a case. This new lower price compares fairly favourably with 2005 and 2009 prices at around £6300 each and now represents a more tempting proposition. Clearly now much better value than it was, and fabulous not only in the glass but also in illustrating our point.

Wine News

We read in one of the daily’s that sparkling red wine is getting a bit of a following. This doesn’t surprise us, it has long been a bit of a lovely surprise for attendees of our Wine School, in fact we sold a few cases as the toast wine for a wedding recently.

We’re not sure it’s quite ready to push the prosecco down the purchase list yet, but if you haven’t had the pleasure, we’d suggest trying it with a barbecue. Pauletts Sparkling Red NV (£14.49). This is made in the traditional method but using a red wine base, it has a lovely richness and also the magic of bubbles!

Wine School

Summers over, the kids are back at school and you’re free on Wednesday nights so why not join us and gain some life skills! Full details attached but suffice to say… 60 wines tasted, wine faults discussed and your Wednesdays may never be the same again. Term starts Wednesday 16^th September at 8pm and costs £150 per person. Lots of leaflets going for this now so don’t be shy if you’re wondering about coming along. Wednesdays might never be the same again!

Summer Saturdays – Just for the month of August our opening hours will be 10am-7pm on Saturdays.

Back by popular demand…

Chateau Miravel Côtes de Provence Rose (£19.99) Our first tranche disappeared in a flash. Seemed churlish not to get some more really.

Le Volte dell’Ornellaia 2013 (£19.99) The new vintage is as delicious as any we can remember, real Tuscan class.

Sesti Monteleccio 2013 (£17.99) Giuseppe is still doing his fine work in Montalcino, you’ve all nagged us for running out, we listened.

Domaine Treloar Three Peaks 2011 (£12.99) “50% Syrah, 20% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre. Rich aniseed and liquorice character on the nose, with a really charming violet scent. Very fine tannins, fresh acid. Chocolate and spice. 17+ Drink 2013-2023” Richard Hemming, Jancis Robinson’s Purple Pages

Tasting this Weekend

Defending the crease in the red end this week is Botham Merrill Willis Shiraz 2011 (£16.99) a beefy glass of shiraz that’ll be tip top with some grilled meat, whilst bowling from the white end will be Barton Vineyards Chenin Blanc 2013 (£9.79) which is less ashes connected but still really rather tasty.

Have a great weekend everyone,

Wayne & Alex

Fellow Wine Lovers,

As you will have read in last week’s email, we had a very comprehensive to-do list this week, marginally complicated by the golf running over but let’s just say that was compensated for by an outstanding batting display by the England cricket team.

The Tour de France has been ticking along nicely, showing us some beautiful mountain scenery, exciting racing, a masterclass in descending from Peter Sagan and a scientist’s smorgasbord from Team Sky with Froomey’s data on stage 10.

We’ve discussed (at length) the continued sniping, accusations, and downright poor journalism from the French press and can’t help but think that, if there had been as much time, energy and column inches devoted to their own Sports Science, it might not be 30 years since there was a Frenchman winning the world’s greatest race!

At this point the to-do list got entirely sabotaged. No ordinary saboteurs either, but agents from Spectre interfered with the smooth running of your local wine shop by releasing a trailer to the new Bond movie. Compelled to watch, we find ourselves looking forward to the release in the autumn. Alex is even threatening to get his white tux out of mothballs.

Bond brings me to the subject of Bollinger. We’ve still got our fabulous offer on. Six bottles for £200 (£33.33 per btl) which will come in very handy should you unexpectedly bump in to Edina or Patsy.

In wine news we discovered this week that a group of young Spanish guys have developed the world’s first blue wine. This news brought up several questions in our minds…why?… would Naked wines distribute it?…How?

How: It seems red and white wines were blended together (surely a recipe for rose?-Ed) before adding anthocyanins and indigo pigment (dye, surely?-Ed) and then some sugar to “smooth the taste”. Now call me old-fashioned, a stick in the mud if you must, but red wine, white wine, dye and sugar does not a wine make…vermouth perhaps, alcopop maybe or just a weird chemical soup. Wine? I think not.

We saw a depressing graph this week showing sherry sales going downhill quicker than Peter Sagan. It seems the deliciously food friendly dry styles are growing slowly, but not quickly enough to balance the dying market for the ½-pint-of-Bristol-Cream-before-lunch brigade. Jerez has been a big “beneficiary” of the EU’s grubbing up programme the last few years, but we’re not entirely convinced that region is the chief culprit of EU oversupply!

Wine School

Summers over, the kids are back at school and you’re free on Wednesday nights so why not join us and gain some life skills! Full details attached but suffice to say… 60 wines tasted, wine faults discussed and your Wednesdays may never be the same again. Term starts Wednesday 16^th September at 8pm and costs £150 per person. Don’t wait till we’re full!

Weekend Wine Tasting

We’ll try and do our bit to stop the sherry descent and open Fernando de Castilla Fino en Rama (£9.99 37.5cl) to show you just how delicious it is. Meanwhile over in the red corner we’re going with something from the mountains in Piemonte. Alasia Langhe Nebbiolo (£10.79) is made from the same quality fruit as their Barolo but sadly, coming from the wrong side of the tracks, it’s not allowed the Barolo name or price tag. For us that equals bargain deliciousness so why not come and give it a taste.

There is no blue corner.

Have a great weekend one and all, if you’re travelling take care and don’t forget the passport.