Fellow Wine Lovers,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since Wayne has given me some time off and gone on holiday, I have been spending a lot of hours alone in the shop with just Spotify for company. This actually is no bad thing, podcasts have bounded uninterrupted into my consciousness and my knowledge of Real Dictators<\/em> has grown apace. One of the big eye openers for me has been that there is an almost formulaic route to becoming a dictator: be a bit weird with a reputation for being not entirely trustworthy; talk well, and at length, perhaps bombastically; twist the truth; have an ego; a well-developed sense of entitlement helps; be sure to line your pockets; lie to everyone. These characteristics used to be the preserve of the worst of men (and they are all men) but now it seems that it has become a more general job spec for too many monotone politicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sorry about that, clearly my listening has gloomed my mood, I\u2019ll stop with the podcasts now and go back to listening to music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, how many WhatsApp messages have you sent today? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yesterday I think I sent 17 but then, clearly, I\u2019m no Matt Hancock. We now know that 100,000 WhatsApp messages were handed to the journalist who \u2018wrote\u2019 Pandemic Diaries, The Inside Story Of Britain’s Battle Against Covid<\/em> covering Mr Hancock\u2019s period as Health Secretary. Guessing that these messages date from March 2020 and at most go through to his resignation in June 2021, we have 15\/16 months of messages which, by our conservative calculations, equate to 6,250 messages a month or about 220 each day. Do we assume these messages include the messages to Gina Coladangelo? Probably not, so we can fabricate that he was sending in the region of 300 messages a day, a social networking presence that a 17 year old would be hard pressed to keep up with, whilst all the while being \u2018totally ******* hopeless\u2019 <\/em> in his day job, to use Boris\u2019 words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anyway, suffice to say, the man whose actions during the Covid years raised too many questions, whose actions in the jungle raised too many eyebrows and who sought to provide some answers\/excuses by publishing a book, now feels a \u2018massive betrayal\u2019 when 100,000 of his answers are put into the public domain. Poor, poor chap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elsewhere, in cricket we fluffed our lines in New Zealand on Monday and looked like we might also do the same in Bangladesh on wednesday had it not been for a great knock by Dawid Malan. A rugby win in Cardiff did not feel quite as triumphal as it could have done and the news that Marcus Smith has been sent home to try to learn how to play as well as Owen Farrell is currently, does not feel like a forward step\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDrink wine, primarily for the pleasure, but at the back of your mind think \u2018could I be trying different bottles or varieties that might actually be healthier for me and that I might enjoy?\u2019 …. Diversity is also important; if you take the analogy from food, having a range of different grape varieties in your diet means you are going to be helping different gut microbes inside you and you will increase your gut health and diversity….. Don\u2019t just stick with the same wine, get out there and try hundreds or thousands of different grape varieties that we generally don\u2019t enjoy….. Let\u2019s get those rare ones back on the map again because those could be helping you nourish really healthy gut microbes inside you and improve your health.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Wise words, given perhaps greater gravitas having been uttered by Professor Tim Spector, Mr ZOE Health Study. And of course, we agree. There is so much choice out there, why not give your palate a bit of an adventure all in the name of positive gut health \u2013 imagine, a delicious glass of wine that might actually do you good!<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, following the Doctor\u2019s orders, we\u2019ll be waving the following bottles under your noses this weekend, if you fancy a taste:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cantine Colomba Bianca Vitese Grillo 2021 – \u00a311.99<\/strong>. We\u2019ve been enjoying our Grillo for quite a while now. This nearly forgotten Sicilian variety (a crossing of Catarratto and Zibibbo) has lovely lifted citrus and tropical fruit character, a touch of minerality, great mouthfeel and a zesty finish. Established in 1970, Colomba Bianca are dynamic, very quality focused and also just happen to be the biggest Italian producer of organic wine \u2013 so a winner all round then: a diverse, gut friendly organic wine that\u2019s not Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prats & Symington Prazo de Roriz 2018 – \u00a316.99.\u00a0 <\/strong>Prats & Symington was founded in 1999 as a joint venture between the well-known Bordeaux winemaker, Bruno Prats and the famous Port making Symington family.\u00a0 Made using port grapes (35% Touriga Franca, 25% Touriga Nacional, 20% Tinta Roriz, 20% other varieties) the wine is characterised particularly by red fruit flavours of raspberries and cherries and the terroir provides a distinctive minerality and appealing peppery spice.\u00a0 Forget your Shiraz or other such mainstream varieties – try this with your steak!<\/p>\n\n\n\n One piece of admin before we go \u2013 we will be opening later on Tuesday 7th<\/sup> March because we have a big supplier tasting to attend in Camden beforehand but we should definitely be back here by 4pm \u2013 sorry for the disruption!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I think that\u2019s it from us for now, I\u2019m off to see if the Keir Starmer Real Dictators<\/em> episode is up yet \u2013 if he is as guilty of the Machiavellian manipulations of Sue Gray that the Conservatives might have us believe, then it should be an amazing story!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raising a glass to your good health<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fellow Wine Lovers, Since Wayne has given me some time off and gone on holiday, I have been spending a lot of hours alone in the shop with just Spotify for company. This actually is no bad thing, podcasts have bounded uninterrupted into my consciousness and my knowledge of Real Dictators has grown apace. 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