Fellow Wine Lovers,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
39 days ago, 27 million of us watched Mr Johnson announce the lockdown thus:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction – you must stay at home….. We will stop all gatherings of more than two people in public \u2013 excluding people you live with\u2026.stay at home, protect our NHS and save lives.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And we all did, some more, some less \u2013 9,000 fines is the figure released yesterday and certainly we witness more and more street corner chats and dog walks between friends every day which lead s to the question – how much longer can we maintain our resolve? I know of some customers who are loving the lockdown \u2013 people who usually have to stick to a strictly regimented work routine often interrupted by aimless phone calls who are loving the freedom that working from home has given them. Conversely, many of us just don\u2019t have the right home environment to be able to work from there long term \u2013 your zoom business meeting with the US is strangely incompatible with your husband\u2019s need to dance in his boxer shorts to Sparks at top volume – this town ain’t big enough for the both of us\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, almost 40 days in, it seems that Quarantine could very likely become Settantine if not more, depending on how the \u2018testing\u2019 debate\/debacle pans out, and as a consequence people are having to adapt more and more to the new normal. An article we read in Travel News Sverige<\/em> a week back was perhaps more deserving of a 1st<\/sup> April headline:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coronas\u00e4ker en-bords-restaurang \u00f6ppnar i V\u00e4rmland.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The article then explains:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ett bord. En stol. Mitt p\u00e5 en sommar\u00e4ng i V\u00e4rmland. Ingen serveringspersonal och inga andra g\u00e4ster. Maten levereras i en korg fr\u00e5n restaurangk\u00f6kets f\u00f6nster. Bakom initiativet st\u00e5r paret Rasmus Persson och Linda Karlsson. Id\u00e9n uppstod n\u00e4r paret skulle bjuda Linneas f\u00f6r\u00e4ldrar p\u00e5 mat.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Which, I think we\u2019ll all agree, is pretty bonkers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n For those of you without a fluent speaker in your midst, the article is applauding the opening of a one-table restaurant located in a Swedish field, where meals are delivered in a basket on a washing line \u2013 only one booking a day, set menu and only open to solo diners or people from the same household. Should the sun shine long enough here over the next few weeks perhaps we could try it \u2013 anyone know any farmer\u2019s with fields to spare?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In sport, everything is getting cancelled but still there is surprise and denial in some quarters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The cancellation of the Eredivisie season in the Netherlands was a bit of a swashbuckling move which perhaps could still come back and bite them. A number of clubs are looking to sue someone but surely, when the government banned sport until 1st<\/sup> September, what other choice did they have? Likewise, in France, a ban following the same timeframe has been set, which puts the Tour de France in jeopardy again. These bans come a week after Belgium banned all mass gatherings until the end of August. With Italy and Spain yet to make a decision, which must follow the same logic as the French and the Dutch, I\u2019m starting to wonder, yet again, what planet the Premiership teams are on, as, against the lockdown rules no matter what they say, they returned to training this week with players from abroad who went back home to isolate being told to fly back in next week.\u2026 does no one watch the news anymore?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Premier League managers have a meeting today, regarding Project Restart, what chance they talk sense??<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wine<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Because, really, that\u2019s what we\u2019re all about, in between moaning about sport and politics, just in case that had slipped your notice\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am reliably informed that today, Friday 1st<\/sup> May, is International Sauvignon Blanc Day. This always occurs on the first Friday of May and, astonishingly, in New Zealand National Sauvignon Blanc day is also held on the first Friday of May\u2026 could there be a connection?! Judging from the fact that I could find no acknowledgement from France of this \u2018international\u2019 celebration, I am starting to wonder if it should be more correctly titled New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Day but this could bring confusion to lots of households who have long assumed that every day is a NZ SB day\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyway, always keen to have a celebration in these dark times, here\u2019s my tasting list for tonight:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oyster Catcher Sauvignon 2018, Central Valley, Chile (\u00a38.29)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n False Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2019, Western Cape, South Africa (\u00a38.99)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Accomplice Semillon\/Sauvignon Blanc 2018, South Australia (\u00a39.39)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n V Sauvignon Blanc 2019, Marlborough, New Zealand (\u00a39.79)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Southern Dawn Sauvignon Blanc 2019, Marlborough, New Zealand (\u00a311.99)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Barton Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2017, Walker Bay, South Africa (\u00a312.79)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Domaine Jouan Frere et Soeur Menetou Salon 2018, Loire Valley, France (\u00a315.99)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Flametree Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2017, Margaret River, Australia (\u00a316.99)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc 2019, Marlborough, New Zealand (\u00a319.99)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Roblin Sancerre ‘Terres Blanches’ 2018, Loire Valley, France (\u00a321.99)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Henri Bourgeois Sancerre Le MD de Bourgeois 2017, Loire Valley, France (\u00a329.99)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And then, to go with dinner, a magnum of<\/p>\n\n\n\n Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc 2019, Marlborough, New Zealand (\u00a341.00)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n That should keep me quiet\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Should you care to join me on this exciting adventure, we have stock of all these wines and can deliver – fuel is still cheap and our parallel parking is improving, so just follow these simple directions to reach your vinous nirvana:<\/p>\n\n\n\n