Fellow Wine Lovers,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only 6 more sleeps, how exciting is that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thursday 2nd<\/sup> May gives us all the opportunity (providing we\u2019ve got photo ID) to choose who will be our next Mayor. If we look at the form book, we should be expecting an Eton educated Tory, having had two labour incumbents, both of whom are local boys and certainly didn\u2019t play the wall-game. Having looked at the mini-manifesto booklet, it appears that the Tory candidate is actually Susan Mary Hall, who also didn\u2019t play the wall-game and thus the form book goes out the window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, what does the Mayor have to do? According to londonelects.org.uk they are responsible for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have 13 candidates to choose from and we can only make one choice in this election, so we need to get it right first time, people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 11 of the candidates chose to pay the \u00a310,000 to promote themselves in the MY VOTE DOES Femy Amin<\/strong> (Animal Welfare Party) – People, Animals, Environment<\/em> \u2013 some nice, vegan-based ideas including the aim to become a global leader in opposing speciesism and the sale of foie gras and fur is rejected \u2013 no mention of police or ULEZ<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rob Blackie<\/strong> (Liberal Democrat) \u2013 unusually, no punchy strapline \u2013 fix the Met, support the NHS and, rather excitingly, tackle the sewage dumping in the Thames!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Natalie Campbell<\/strong> (Independent) – I will take a zero B.S. approach to rebuilding London<\/em> \u2013 build homes, bobbies on the beat, affordable transport<\/p>\n\n\n\n Howard Cox<\/strong> (ReformUK – London Deserves Better) \u2013 London needs Reform<\/em> \u2013 obsessed by ULEZ and cars generally<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amy Gallagher<\/strong> (SDP) \u2013 Stand Up To Woke<\/em> \u2013 make public transport pleasant, build houses, reduce rents, scrap ULEZ and LTN\u2019s<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zo\u00eb Garbett<\/strong> (Green) \u2013 It\u2019s time for a Green Mayor<\/em> – as a councillor, I hear how Londoners need better housing, safer streets and reliable, cheaper transport<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tarun Ghulati<\/strong> (Independent) \u2013 Empowering Growth Through Trust<\/em> – more police, more tourism, scrap ULEZ and LTN\u2019s, free school meals, minimise council tax<\/p>\n\n\n\n Susan Hall<\/strong> (Conservative) \u2013 We\u2019ll fix the issues that keep Londoners up at night<\/em> \u2013 more bobbies on the beat, scrap ULEZ expansion and LTN\u2019s, build houses<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sadiq Khan<\/strong> (Labour) \u2013 Now let\u2019s go even further<\/em> \u2013 Sadiq is in the unique situation where he can reference what he has done over the last 8 years, including a pledge to end rough sleeping by 2030 which, if he were to see it through would be in his fourth term, 14 years after he came to office. No rush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Andreas Michli<\/strong> (Independent) – Make London Strong<\/em> \u2013 end knife crime, fix the police, scrap ULEZ, build houses<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nick Scanlon<\/strong> (Britain First) – No To Immigration<\/em> \u2013 deport illegal immigrants, stop immigration, close down migrant hotels, protect our monuments and, of course, abolish ULEZ and Congestion Charge. It\u2019s a no from me\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2 candidates who didn\u2019t stump up the promotional readies were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Count Binface<\/strong> (Count Binface for Mayor of London) – To Take The Piss Out Of The Thames, Vote Binface!<\/em> \u2013 also planning to price-cap croissants and renaming London Bridge after Phoebe Waller. Like Rob Blackie, he also puts the Thames sewage problem front and centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brian Rose<\/strong> (London Real Party) – A Campaign for Freedom \u2013 <\/em>which in along with scrapping ULEZ etc also involves making London the financial capital of the world once more by making our capital the centre of the crypto, web3 and blockchain industries. For someone keen on finance, you\u2019d have thought he\u2019d have scraped together the \u00a310,000 with ease\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sadly, the St George\u2019s Flag wearing hooligan that calls itself Laurence Fox failed to fill in its candidate form correctly and thus won\u2019t be standing whilst also picking up a fine of \u00a3180,000 for being obnoxious \u2013 not a good week for the pound-shop Farage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oddly, not one of the candidates seems at all interested in the Fire Brigade and, if Sadiq\u2019s figures are correct that more than 90% of cars are ULEZ compliant in the zone, then surely it seems a bit daft for so many of them to be banking on the Uxbridge Strategy to sweep them to power. Thus, I think I\u2019m more likely to go with one of the two candidates who has put the health of the Thames in their crosshairs, I\u2019ll decide which one on the day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n And there you have it, Mayoral election in a nutshell \u2013 we delved through all the waffle so you don\u2019t have to!<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the world outside politics, it\u2019s been mainly cold with bits of showery stuff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The worlds of wine and sport collided unexpectedly last weekend as Tom Gilbey, a thoroughly engaging wine trade eccentric, hit the headlines when he decided that running the London Marathon for over 4 hours was far too much time away from his vinous pleasures, so he proceeded to blind taste a wine every mile of his journey \u2013 chapeau! Obviously, having done the Denbies Bacchus half-marathon a number of times, the concept of drink-running is something we have long endorsed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arsenal won, Liverpool lost, Man City won and will doubtless win the League, whilst AFC have settled for mid-table mediocrity. Bike-boy tells us that despite the fact that everyone knew exactly where and exactly when Poga\u010dar would make his move last Sunday, none of them could do anything about it and he proceeded to win by a couple of minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And what about those Red Roses. Having been knuckle-rapped for not covering the Women\u2019s Six Nations, I proceeded to watch the clinical destruction of an Irish team that seemed to be addicted to staring straight into English headlights \u2013 88-10 is a scoreline even Bristol would be envious of!<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so to wine. A survey by Aldi into their customers wine buying habits cast many pearls but what stuck with us was that 47% of those surveyed considered themselves knowledgeable about wine whilst 89% wished they knew more and that a desire to impress friends was a significant factor in purchasing decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The good news for us is that 53% of folk don\u2019t consider themselves knowledgeable, which hopefully means that our jobs are safe for a few more months!<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, to help make us all more knowledgeable we, as might be expected, will be opening a white and a red today for tasting and to hopefully impress your friends with\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the white, we will dip back into an old favourite that hasn\u2019t shown its face on the tasting table for a long time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Domaine Jouan Menetou Salon 2022 – \u00a318.99. <\/strong>Menetou-Salon is a small appellation of around 300 hectares right next to Sancerre, to the south-west. Here the Sauvignon Blanc vines are planted on Kimmeridgian limestone soils, very similar to those of Chablis and similar minerally notes can be detected in the wines. It has always been the case that a bit of careful hunting and tasting can find you some real gems that rival its more famous neighbour in the quality stakes. Fresh and floral with aromas of citrus and blackcurrant leaves and elegant mineral tones and a long finish – excellent value for the canny shopper!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The red we have chosen because we haven\u2019t had it for a while and the wine itself seems to be suffering a bit of an identity crisis. When we first took this vintage it was called \u2018Tradition\u2019 in a Bordeaux bottle but with the latest re-stock we discovered it is now called \u2018Intuition\u2019 and comes in a Burgundy bottle \u2013 same wine, insane winemakers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ch\u00e2teau Viranel Tradition\/Intuition 2017 – \u00a318.99. <\/strong>A fabulous Saint Chinian estate, which has been in the same family since 1551. This cuv\u00e9e is a blend of 40% Syrah, 40% Grenache Noir, 10% Mourv\u00e8dre, and 10% Carignan. A supple drinker with cherry, violet and liquorice notes and a palate, framed with velvety tannins, of rich dark black fruits and a hint of chocolate from the oak. We think we\u2019d like to try it with the winemakers suggestion of lamb shoulder stuffed with herbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And with that we\u2019re gone. Hopefully our election rundown was useful \u2013 bike-boy has just informed me that when Binface gets in, he\u2019ll petition that Chelsea Bridge gets renamed Wayne\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over and out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fellow Wine Lovers, Only 6 more sleeps, how exciting is that? Thursday 2nd May gives us all the opportunity (providing we\u2019ve got photo ID) to choose who will be our next Mayor. 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N\u2019T<\/s> COUNT pamphlet and here are the York Notes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n