The Weekly Wine

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Bit of a busy old weekend this one.

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Tomorrow marks the unofficial start of the drinking season, as all those hardy souls who gave up booze on the 1st January finally fall off the wagon as they tuck into a bottle of Rose Champagne with their loved one.

Away

It’s half term too, so the annual pilgrimage to Gatwick and Heathrow starts to get into full swing and airlines make record profits transporting winter sports equipment to the wrong resorts.

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England keep their Six Nations Grand Slam hopes on track but need six penalties to beat an impressive Italy 18-11 at Twickenham – BBC Website 10th March 2013

Based on the fact that England somehow managed to emerge victorious last Friday night, purely as a result of our encouraging email, we thought we would try the same strategy this week when faced with Azzurri this weekend at Twickenham. La Repubblica quotes winger Giovanbattista Venditti as saying:

‘Noi non staremo a guardare, abbiamo le capacità per essere pericolosi in attacco palla in mano ed io e Leonardo (Sarto) abbiamo voglia di dimostrare di cosa possiamo essere capaci palla in mano.’

Which is, as we all can tell, is definitely fighting talk.

If we then also look at our prediction from 31st December 2014 we stated:

Also on the 14th Italy beat England for the first time ever, at HQ and dreams of a World Cup lie flaccid in the Twickenham mud. (Italy will go on to beat New Zealand in the quarter finals before losing to eventual winners Argentina in the semis)
So come on England, make a lie of all these predictions, keep your heads held high and please score a try!

Home and Away

England also start their World Cup Cricket campaign tomorrow morning, down under, against the hosts. What could possibly go wrong?

Fade to Grey/50 Shades of Grey

Sadly, Steve Strange dies in a hospital in Sharm on the same day that soft-porn hits the mainstream. As a side note, according to the Beeb, ‘London Fire Brigade said it was “concerned” the 13 February release could lead to a “spike” in people being stuck or trapped in handcuffs or rings.’
Valentine’s day could be one to remember.

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So, to welcome all the abstainers back and to cheer up all of you who haven’t gone skiing or perhaps didn’t receive a Valentine’s Card, we will have some wine open tonight and tomorrow here in the shop for your delectation.

Perhaps not the most sensitive choices for those who haven’t struck lucky in love we have chosen Manawa Sauvignon Blanc 2013 – £12.99 and Passion has Red Lips Shiraz Cabernet 2013 – £15.29

Manawa Sauvignon Blanc is your classic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Crisp and zesty with grapefruit citrus notes, tropical fruit characters and just a touch of minerality. Also, Manawa is the Maori word for heart and it has a heart on the label, so it was the romantic in us that chose this!

Passion has Red Lips is made by renegade wine folk Some Young Punks in McLaren Vale, Australia. We chose this because it has a great name, fabulous label, is a delicious Shiraz/Cabernet blend and we sold masses of this on Valentine’s day last year! A truly lip-smacking (!) wine with red cherry, blackberry, vanilla and violets on the nose and cranberry and red cherry on the palate alongside some savoury tapenade notes. Enjoy whilst reading the original Pulp Fiction novel “Sin on Wheels” or something quality by EL James….

One man on a lonely platform/One case sitting by his side/Two eyes staring cold and silent/Shows fear as he turns to hide
Ah, we fade to grey, fade to grey

Fellow Wine Lovers,
30-3
Sensational Wales seize moment to take place in folklore with stunning England win – The Mail on Sunday
Wales bask in Six Nations title after slamming England in Cardiff rout – The Observer
History should remember the Welsh brilliance not England’s defeat. This was an annihilation of England’s claim to be potential 2015 Rugby World Cup favourites – The Telegraph
Let’s not let this happen again.
Mike Brown, Ben Youngs, Joe Marler, Dan Cole, Chris Robshaw – you are the only survivors from that test two years ago, so tell your teammates about that awful journey home through Cardiff and down the M4 with your tails tucked far between your legs, tell them about the humiliation of opening the Sunday newspapers and reading the headlines above, tell them how long it took to wash away the taste of daffodils and leeks. Make the headlines on Saturday all about the quality of the English victory and not about the politics of having the roof open or closed.
And now I sit back down, vented, and return the podium to matters of wine.
Fizz February
Face it, January is rubbish. It’s like the a month full of Tuesdays – the fun and frolics of Christmas are distant memories and the metaphorical weekend is still 3 days away – all you have left is work and an evening spent in the gym.
February is fantastic though. It’s short, to the point and starts with F, which makes it alliterate beautifully with fizz, and Friday. So if January is Tuesday, then February is Friday.
In order to slake your new found thirst for fizz we have all the old favourites in the fridge, Cava, Prosecco, a couple of traditional methods from New Zealand and a sparkling Shiraz. Next week, Wednesday hopefully, we will receive our first shipment of our new English Sparkler – Hoffmann & Rathbone – that we tasted, to much delight, in January. We’ve listed all their wines because they were all darned good so we will have:
Hoffmann & Rathbone Classic Cuvée 2010 – £36
Hoffmann & Rathbone Rosé Réserve 2010 – £38
Hoffmann & Rathbone Blanc de Blancs 2010 – £40
In the Champagne department we have all our Moutards (Brut, Rose, Six Cépages, Half Bottle, Magnum, Jeroboam), we welcome the return (if in slightly limited numbers) of Beaumet 2004 and we continue on with Bollinger NV and Vintage. Here too, we have a new edition to the ranks
Champagne Barons de Rothschild Brut NV £50
Now here’s a story. The three branches of the Rothschild family, you know, the characters who own Mouton-Rothschild and Chateau Lafite, were having a chinwag over a pie and a pint a few years back and decided that their domination of the ‘World of Fine Wine’ was never going to be complete without a Champagne in the portfolio. Being fairly well connected, they contacted some chums in Champagne and got to work. The result of this work is a collection of very fine champagnes all bearing the distinctive five arrow Rothschild emblem.
How do we fit in? Well one of the chaps we know dropped by last week and excitedly told us that he had scooped distribution rights in the UK and did we want to try some. It being Friday, which alliterates nicely with Fizz as discussed, we said Yes, please. So he left us a bottle.
To say we were sceptical of the gimmick nature of such a product would be an unfair. Anyone who knows us well knows that
a) we eschew scepticism, and certainly are never cynical,
b) we are not suspicious of strangers bearing gifts, not at all
c) we were born yesterday
So we opened it up and, in our hearts, neither of us wanted to like it. We were sure it was going to be overhyped and filed in the same cabinet as Moet & Chandon Ice.
But it wasn’t. We looked at each other and the silence was broken by one of our more erudite tasting notes: Bugger, that’s really rather good!
So we’ve got it in the fridge. It has a deliciously smooth mouthfeel. However the key to its pleasure is the time it has spent aging on its lees and the character this aging has imparted – bready autolysis is the wine wonk term but in simple English there is a moreish, creamy, richness. And it’s elegant, as if anything produced by this family could be anything but. Bonnes bubbles.
So if you’d like a bottle, we can sell it to you. We passed the vetting process – apparently there is one, a well-known Gentleman’s Club, of the semi-clad ladies variety, was refused supply – and are now up and running.
How very convenient, with Valentine’s Day just a few steps away….
Early Close/Late Open
As mentioned earlier in the week, we will be shutting at 6.30pm today as we have an offsite tasting called ‘Teaching the Teachers’ – no prizes for guessing where that’s taking place.
Just as a reminder, the other dates were:
Monday 9th February – we will close early today as we are attending two different events so the doors will close at 5.30pm.
Thursday 12th February – we are away at a trade tasting so we will open later today but we will be here by 4pm.

Tuesday 17th February – we are away at a trade tasting so we will open later today but we will be here by 4pm.
Tasting this weekend
We will be here all day Saturday of course, and to make you all happy, we will have some wines open: as a white we will open Barton Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon 2013 – £11.59. From Walker Bay in South Africa – a region with exciting potential: it has varying altitudes and ideal soils that help produce some world class, elegant wines. A little bit of weight and texture is achieved adding some Semillon to the Sauvignon – you still have tropical fruit, grass and capsicum but also a nice lemon edge too which goes well with many a light midweek supper.
Sticking with South Africa for the red we will open a wine that we just re-listed: Hughes Family Nativo Red Blend 2008 – £17.49. Bill & Penny Hughes have 27 ha planted in Malmesbury with views over the Kasteelberg Mountains. Bill does all the work in vineyard and winery, Penny does the sales and marketing. Over to Wine Detective Sarah Ahmed: “A slightly different composition in 2008, with 48% Shiraz, 16% Merlot, 13% Grenache, 11% Mourvèdre, 9% Pinotage and 3% Viognier has a deep seam of sweet but earthy raspberry fruit, really fleshy with gamey notes without losing freshness.” (25/11/12)
That’s all from us this week and we just hope that George Ford doesn’t pack two left boots for his kicking duties this evening!!

Hello chaps,

Some dates that we ought to have put into the email last Friday but simply forgot because we are simple and forgetful. In order to keep our fingers on the pulse and check that we have on the shelves what we want to have on them, sometimes we have to go on the hunt for new wines with personality. As a result, due to a few offsite events over the next few weeks there will be some slightly different opening hours on certain days, to wit the following:

Wednesday 4th February – we are away at a trade tasting so we will open later today but we will be here by 4pm.

Friday 6th February – we will close early today as we are running a private tasting so the doors will close at 6.30pm.

Monday 9th February – we will close early today as we are attending two different events so the doors will close at 5.30pm.

Thursday 12th February – we are away at a trade tasting so we will open later today but we will be here by 4pm.

Tuesday 17th February – we are away at a trade tasting so we will open later today but we will be here by 4pm.

It’s not so much a case of putting the dates in your diaries more a case of forewarning you and hopefully avoiding too much upset. We promise to buy some new wines….

Apologies for any potential inconvenience and hopefully see you when we are open!

Fellow Wine Lovers,
We heard surprising, nay shocking, news this week, and it is with very mixed emotions that we report it. “Dippy”, the resin boned Diplodocus skeleton that has welcomed visitors to the Natural History Museum for the best part of 40 years, is to be given his marching orders. As part of a big shake up, poor old Dippy has become a victim of the search for authenticity.
“Everyone loves ‘Dippy’, but it’s just a copy,” commented Sir Michael Dixon, the NHM’s director, “and what makes this museum special is that we have real objects from the natural world – over 80 million of them – and they enable our scientists and thousands like them from around the world to do real research.”
It’s unlikely it’ll be put out to grass though; there is talk of Dippy going on the road touring regional museums. Currently, it’s not clear if The Science Museum’s robotics division will be involved in this!
The museum will be replacing him with the blue whale skeleton that currently lurks in the mammal room. “Bluey”, who came to the museum in 1891, will be disassembled, scanned and reassembled in Hintze Hall in Dippy’s place. Positioned in a diving pose hanging from the ceiling, I’m sure Bluey will be very impressive.
Also, the scanning process will allow those lucky people with a 3D printer to print their very own whalebones. How cool would a whalebone bench be on the garden terrace, eh?
Who knows we may even be able to get a crystal company to sponsor the exhibit and have the world’s largest, most bling chandelier!
So, whilst we have a great fondness for dinosaurs (just look at Wayne!), we’re looking forward to a change of scene, but will of course raise a glass to Dippy and thank him for all the memories.
Elsewhere, Andy Murray reached the final of the Australian Open which I’m sure has changed the nature of a few peoples plans for Sunday morning. Burns Night last week, Andy Murray this week, we’ve gone Scot-tastic – we’ll be selling whisky next! Finlaggan £29.99 single Islay malt from a secret distillery.
January Sale – 6 bottles for the price of 5
January ends on Saturday, and so does our fabulous offer.
Once 8pm arrives on Saturday we’re done, no more 16.66 % discount, you have been warned!
Tastings
Thursday 12th February – 8pm – Wine and Cheese Tasting £20 per person
Thursday 12th March – 8pm – Wine and Cheese Tasting £20 per person
Wednesday 25th March 2015 – 8pm – The ‘Definitely No Sauvignon’ Tasting (Wayne’s Weird Grapes) £20 per person SOLD OUT
Thursday 16th April – 8pm – Wine and Cheese Tasting £20 per person
This Weekends Garglers
Tickling your tonsils this weekend we’re going to start off with a museum release Riesling from Clare Valley. Pauletts Aged Release Riesling 2008 (£18.99) is from the Polish Hill River vineyards and has aged gracefully, picking up some honeyed notes along the way. We reckon its bang on with a spot of Korean barbecue.
In the red corner, we’re heading to another country enjoying their summer. South Africa’s Stellenbosch is the stomping ground for the Helderburg Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 (£13.49). A lovely rich red we’re thinking it will be the ideal partner to all those casseroles we’re contemplating.
Last word this week we will leave the final words to Sir Michael Dixon: “We’re not just nerdy guys who can identify every species of butterfly.”
Wayne & Alex

Fellow Wine Lovers,

If you think it’s glum now, imagine how you might have felt 96 years ago in the US?

On January 16th 1919 the 18th Amendment to the US constitution was ratified which, a year later, resulted in the nationwide ban on alcohol, more normally known as Prohibition. This lasted almost 14 years, which is 5,072 days or 724 weeks and 4 days in common parlance.

Makes a 31 day detox in January seem trifling.

And then we read, slightly after the event admittedly, an article that in April last year appeared in a number of newspapers: A bottle of wine a day is not bad for you and abstaining is worse than drinking, scientist claims was The Independent’s take on it, whilst the Daily Mail led with: Bottle of wine a day ‘is not bad for you’: Leading scientist also claims those who exceed recommended dose could live longer than teetotallers. This sounded much, much more exciting than Prohibition (even if, on reading the article, the science was somewhat flawed) and certainly more in line with our business plan.

So we have struck a sensible balance here at Park Vintners – not a bottle a day but also not 5,000 days without a bottle!

Although, saying that, we have actually tasted a reasonable amount since last week. The sparkling wines we opened last Saturday from Hoffmann & Rathbone went down an absolute storm with masses of positive feedback – I have to say the last bit of the Blanc de Blancs was a treat with some oysters on Saturday night!

Sunday was freestyle wine drinking in the comfort of our own homes but once we were back in the saddle on Monday, we very soon found ourselves on a DLR to Shadwell. Wapping, previously known as the wrong end of nowhere, is now firmly on the map for tastings, courtesy of the recently re-launched exhibition space that is Tobacco Dock. Here we found ourselves fully immersed in Gallic charm and culture as we tasted our way through a large spread of wines from the Loire Valley – we thoroughly enjoyed them and, if everything goes according to plan, you will also get to sample them in the not too distant future, watch this space.

The rest of the week has been very dry, so as we approach the weekend we really need to get some wine open for tasting in the shop, as I’m sure you’ll agree. In June last year we tasted these two wines on the same weekend as Glastonbury and they injected some southern European sunshine into those stormy nights – hopefully that same sunshine will appear in our glasses tonight?!

Leira Seca Vinho Verde Alvarinho e Trajadura 2013, Minho, Portugal – £10.49
From the sloping banks of the Minho River, which is the natural border of Spain and Portugal. Ripe, soft, stonefruits on the nose which continue onto the palate, where they are joined by deliciously crisp lemon and lime citrus notes. These characteristics are then tied together in a lingering fruit zing finish with evidence of ripe apple and even some hints of minerality. We likey a loty.

Quinta do Correio Tinto 2011, Dão, Portugal – £10.49
Wayne first met Luis Lourenço at a talk on Portuguese wine. He is one of the Dão regions innovators, staying loyal to his regions grape varieties, but really shaking up how the wines are made. This wine has a large percentage of the Jaen grape variety, giving it a real crunchy juiciness. The Touriga Nacional brings a bit of grip and darkness whilst the Alfrocheiro adds some perfume to the blend. Just the ticket on a cold January evening!

Last but not least, we have made a resolution to be better organised this year. We all know resolutions are there to be broken but at least our hearts are in the right place. Putting the resolution into practice we have organised a schedule of tastings, which will be added to over time I’m sure, but in the meantime here are the first confirmed dates:

Cheese and Wine tastings – 8pm – £20 per person
Thursday 12th February, Thursday 12th March, and Thursday 16th April – usual rules we source fine cheese, match some wines and then you tell us how marvellous we are at choosing cheese but did we really think that wine would ever work well with it?

The ‘Definitely No Sauvignon’ Tasting – 8pm – £20 per person
Thursday 26th March – A few of you have asked us to put this tasting on, so we will. We will open some of our more esoteric wines for your delectation and have a jolly fun time doing so. Wayne has given this tasting a working title ‘Weird Grapes’ but don’t let that put you off!!

That’s it for now, if you want to join any of the above tastings then please just reply to this email, phone us on 020 8944 5224 or come and say hello in person.

Did we mention 16.6666% off six bottles until the end of the month – well now we have!

As our friends in Muswell Hill always say – Plead the 21st!!

Fellow Wine Lovers,

It being January, things have been a little quiet during the day here in Wimbledon Park. Wayne keyed the VAT return, whilst all the time quietly rueing the folly of letting Alex do the considerably smaller previous quarter, and Alex had his nose buried deep in some research. Reading aloud from the study, Alex stated that scientists had discovered that drinking sparkling wine gets the alcohol into your blood quicker than still wine – DUH!

They concluded that this faster action may increase the chance of a hangover.

As you can imagine we were impressed. Impressed that anybody had been persuaded to research something that for all our years in the trade we’d taken as a given. These researchers should be in sales not academia!

We further extrapolated the research and concluded that those of you detoxing this month with fizzy water might possibly be feeling worse than those slaking your thirst with still!

Sunblock Grapes

As Australia struggles through one of its hottest years on record we read, with a mixture of alarm and amusement, that winemakers in the Hunter Valley have been spraying their vineyards with sunblock! So, if in a year or two’s time you open a bottle that has a whiff of the Hawaiian Tropic about it, you’ll know what vintage it is and from what country.
Tasting tips as they happen folks, keeping you ahead of the curve!

Vote For Us, please

West London Mums have very kindly nominated our private tastings as one of the area’s top nights out. If you’d agree please do vote for us (voting closes on the 10th Jan) on the link below. We’re chuffed somebody mentioned us and always like something to brag about on a Saturday!

http://westlondonmum.co.uk/wlms-live-love-local-awards-2014/

January Sale

Our super deal for January is Six For The Price Of Five. Rest assured it is not one of those big chain fake deals, we’ve not bought a lorry load of slightly iffy toasters or tellys, and we’ve not randomly increased the prices by 15% first.

Buy six bottles and you’ll get 16.66666% off. Simple, straightforward and helping us to pay the previously mentioned VAT!

Wine School

Term starts on Wednesday 28th January at 8pm. There are no exams, plenty of practical, and let’s face it, the TV is rubbish on a Wednesday.
So if you’d like to know more about wine, want to taste around 60 wines come join us, there are, as I write, four places left and it costs just £150 per person.

Phone us on 020 8944 5224 or email shop@parkvintners.co.uk to join the throng.

Tasting This Weekend

We started with fizz and we’ll end with fizz. Having spoilt you all rotten with fine wines, spirits and sparklers throughout December, we’ve discovered a bit of a taste for the highlife.

We also like to use you as guinea pigs as much as we can when we are looking at new wines and the second Saturday in January seems like a good time to start.

A little while back, Alex met a winemaker at a tasting (imagine that) and he got chatting (ditto). Ulrich, the winemaker, explained that he had just made some English Sparkling Wine that he was rather pleased with. This was 2011, so the wine was still maturing.

Fast forward 3 ½ years and Alex bumps into Ulrich again and once more they chat. Ulrich mentions his wines had now been finished and had been released just recently. Being the gentleman and scholar that he is, Ulrich suggested it might be an idea to send us some bottles that we could try and then feedback on.

Fast forward to now. Tomorrow, we will taste three sparkling wines from the inaugural release of Hoffmann & Rathbone in West Sussex.

We have the Classic Cuvée 2010, Rosé Réserve 2010 and the Blanc de Blancs 2010.

These are rare beasts indeed, with a total production of only around 6,000 bottles so we’ll have to fight for an allocation. They look the business from a packaging point of view, so why don’t you come in and have a taste and let us know what you think?

I think that’s all for this week, one down, only three left until Feb!

Wayne & Alex

Fellow Wine Lovers,
And so we bid a fond farewell to 2014. Some people take this is a time of reflection, a mental checklist of success and failure over the last 8760 hours if you will. However many of us, blinded by the post-Christmas haze, find it difficult to recall what happened before the 22nd December with any real clarity. For us reflection doesn’t take nearly so long and is easily measured in success levels first established by Oliver Reed, Georgie Best and Man Against Food. Oh, and the bathroom scales.
So with all this in mind, we are going to look ahead to 2015 and assess what the year may have in store…
January
• Temperatures soar in Park Vintners as we discover hidden vents in the wall between us and the dry cleaners
• Wayne & Alex both carry on running but delight in the fact that they’re not doing the marathon, so don’t have to run in the snow
• Did we mention snow? Arthur Road will experience delays similar to those in the Alps this week. Mulled Wine sales will quadruple. (Note to self – buy mulling spices…)
• Torrential rain makes Andy Murray feel very at home in the Australian Open, before exiting in the second round
• Park Vintners offer their, now world famous, 6 for 5 deal throughout the month
• Park Vintners Wine School starts its 6 week semester 28th January – spaces still available
February
• Secret admirers will express their admiration secretly on the 14th
• Also on the 14th Italy beat England for the first time ever, at HQ and dreams of a World Cup lie flaccid in the Twickenham mud. (Italy will go on to beat New Zealand in the quarter finals before losing to eventual winners Argentina in the semis)
• Cricket World Cup starts – spot betting scandals ensue
March
• Lent takes hold – abstinence is King, boredom is Queen and grumpiness is the Crown Prince
April
• April 5th is egg-stremely egg-citing
• London Marathon – watch it on telly with a glass of Champagne
• Cheltenham Festival – Guinness sales in the Cotswolds hit new highs
May
• ‘Margate hotter than Malaga’ headlines hit the newsstands as floods develop in Ottery St Mary
• Giro d’Italia helps those chubby cyclists shed a few pounds
June
• NZ are here to play some crucket whilst we nip to Holland to catch up on the Beach Volleyball World Cup
July
• Tennis and cricket – Wimbledon & The Ashes – what could go wrong here?
August
• Wimbledon Park empties as summer officially opens in Devon & Cornwall
• Wayne sweeps the shop a lot and, in a fit of boredom, goes the ‘full paleo’ and eats his wife
September
• Everybody back, tanned and lovely, ready to pile the pounds back on whilst at the pub watching the Rugby World Cup
• Wayne finally gets the chance to go on holiday now that the school holidays are over
October
• People start talking about Christmas
November
• Wayne makes bail in time for Christmas (see August) and is told to stick to Brussels Sprouts and to avoid all other Belgian dishes
• For the millionth year in a row we try to find a Red Burgundy for Christmas consumption that costs less than a house on the Grid
• We fail
December
• PV celebrates its 5th Birthday – a frenzy of bubbles and biltong ensue and much fun is had
• And now here we are at New Years Eve – I wonder what will happen next year?!
So, plenty to look forward to over the next 12 months. However if you’re looking for more immediate gratification why not pop in today and taste a couple of treats with us – we’ve opened the Neudorf Chardonnay Nelson 2011 (£24.99) from the legendary New Zealand estate and from across the ditch, another legend of a wine – Geoff Merrill McLaren Vale Shiraz 2006 (£29.99) both because we fancied finishing the year up with some nice wine!
Only a few more hours to go before Jools grinds through the gears and brings 2014 to a close – boing, boing, boing, boing, boing, boing, boing, boing, boing, boing, boing, boing – HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Fellow Wine Lovers,
We’ve found ourselves wondering this week if the dramatic fall in the oil price was due to persistent rumours that Google is secretly developing a reindeer powered spacecraft. The rumours arrived in our in-box after discovering that, to visit all the children in the world tonight, Santa and his reindeer-powered sleigh will be travelling at an average speed of 4,680,000 mph. Clearly to achieve that speed with only carrots, mince pies and sherry is some feat and we can understand Googles interest.
To be honest we’re amazed Santa’s beard is so presentable in his photographs, we would have thought those kind of speeds would guarantee a more backcombed/beehive look!
We have been unable to ascertain if that speed allows for toilet stops or if there is some onboard arrangement, we do hope so!
We would also like to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas.
We’re here until 5pm today and then back again at 11am on the Monday 29th for the final push towards January.
Ho! Ho! Ho!
Wayne & Alex

Fellow Wine Lovers,

Those of you with a memory profile more akin to an elephant than a goldfish may recall that at this time last year we spoke about the origins of Christmas Crackers. Well we thought this year we might cast a glance over some other Christmas traditions.

Christmas Cards were a Victorian invention, the first card was made in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole (coincidently of the British Postal Service) and depicted a picture by artist John Horsley and wording that may be familiar “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year”. The idea to send cards to family, friends and business associates caught on quickly, no doubt aided by the enthusiasm of the British Postal Service!

The use of Holly and Mistletoe were both fully entrenched long before we began celebrating Christmas. Druids regarded Mistletoe as sacred and dedicated it to the Goddess of Love, whilst in British folklore Holly has long been considered a protector against evil, and leaves from a female holly bush under the pillow would allow the future to be foreseen in dreams.

The Queen’s Speech was first given by George V (things were different in the ‘30’s) but was first televised in 1957 on the 25th anniversary of her Grandfathers inaugural radio speech.

Tins of Quality Street were first available in 1936, five years after the first Chocolate Orange.

Opening Hours

Sunday 21st December 11am – 3pm
Monday 22nd December 11am – 8pm
Tuesday 23rd December 11am – 8pm
Wednesday 24th December 10am – 5pm
Thursday 25th – Sunday 28th December Closed
Monday 29th December 11am – 8pm
Tuesday 30th December 11am – 8pm
Wednesday 31st December 11am – 6pm
Thursday 1st – Sunday 4th January Closed
Monday 5th January Back to Normal

It’s never too late…

You still can’t find that perfect present and time is a ticking by – fear not help is at hand. Our 6 week Wine School makes a perfect gift at £150 and it’s not just a gift but an educashun too, win double, as they say. We’ve attached details – all it takes is a phone call and a credit card and the gift is yours, how easy is that! Our number is 020 8944 5224 or of course you could pop in and enjoy some wines tomorrow such as….

Tasting This Weekend

All sorts of fun to be had with us this weekend: we’ll be splashing the bubbly as a livener with newbie from New Zealand Leveret IQ3 (£19.99), followed by Kevin Judd’s Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc 2014 (£17.99) also from NZ and firmly in the white corner. On the red front, Alex is threatening a guzzle on Henri Prudhon’s St Aubin 1er Cr ‘Les Frionnes’ 2009 (£23.99) a bit of a bobby dazzler from the Cotes De Beaune, which he thinks is bang on with his turkey. Wayne meantime, a bit of a Port monster truth be known, has been wittering on all week about the Krohn LBV 2007 (£17.99) which he thinks is a bit of a snip for a traditional styled LBV. We might even have a mince pie handy to go with that!

Christmas Jumpers

You know how it is, you’re in the pub, talk is cheap, anything and everything is possible. Last week Wayne’s wife very, very, very kindly gave us both a seasonal sweater to wear. Awesome, thank you very much, we chorused in unison. As we were in the pub and also in our cups, we boldly proclaimed that Saturday 20th December would be a great day to wear them. So we will be sporting our Christmas attire all day tomorrow – come and join in, just for a laugh!

If we don’t see you, do have yourselves a Joyeux Noel and a Bonne Année!

Fellow Wine Lovers,
This week has been a bit hectic if we’re honest, it took us ages to find the bulb that wasn’t working in the lights, Wayne was a bit wobbly on the ladder with the tinsel, and we haven’t even stuck the star together yet.
Elsewhere we saw Yodel wave the white flag really early (10th Dec is surely some record), Fidel Castro won a peace award, and Heineken has been struck off of the JD Wetherspoon’s Christmas Card list.
In wine news we discovered that Jose Mourinho’s price per play is a “nice bottle of red” if you’re a rookie, and two ladies in Abruzzo have been fined, and imprisoned, for stealing two bottles of wine from a church.
Tastings done
All our closed shop evening tastings for this year are now done, rest assured we’ll be back with some more in the New Year.
We finished on a bit of a high though with some stunning wines on Wednesday night, the Bollinger Grand Année 2004 (£70) was particularly fine, and, with a slice or two of smoked salmon, might just make the perfect Christmas morning breakfast.
Presents Wrapped
We have a perfectly shaped gift that keeps on giving. £150 will buy a place at the table on our six week wine course. We’ll talk about sniffing, slurping, swirling and of course wine. Wine is the entire point really, you’ll taste around 60 different ones including sweet and bubbly styles. It’s very easy to wrap up and full details are attached…
Stories Told
Those of you with a better memory than Wayne will recall us mentioning our new English bubbly Hambledon Classic Cuvée (£29.99). What we never got round to talking about was the history behind the wine. It seems that Hambledon was in fact the old name for Wimbledon which for many centuries was known as Hambledon on the Hill. It was only when Elisabeth Beresford wrote her thesis on a rare pointy nosed beast that inhabited the common at the top of the hill, that the area was re-named. So there you go folks, a fizz from Hampshire with a name uncannily like the ancient name for our area.
One for the Road
This week we will be pulling a cork, shooting the breeze and with a bit of luck selling a bottle of wine or two. To help us get through the day we will open…
Lunetta Prosecco Brut NV, Veneto £10.49 to help Alex celebrate a new grey hair in his beard (Italian at Uni blah blah)
Pulenta Chardonnay 2013, Mendoza £12.99 a lovely creamy Chardonnay from Argentina
Chateau Durandeau 2006, Bordeaux £9.99 absolutely delicious mature Bordeaux for a tenner!
Domaine de la Pointe 2010, Pomerol £34.99 because it’s Pomerol and our friend Mark used to go dancing with the lady who does the winemaking!
Taxi!
I would just mention our deal on Bollinger a six box for £198 makes it just £33 a bottle, at some point we will run out, you’ve been warned!
Ding dong
Wayne & Alex