Wine reviews and comment with the W.O.W. factor

Drink Me by Matt Walls

May18
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Sarah

I started this blog because I wanted to share my passion for exploring the world of wine. I wanted a place where I could highlight (affordable) gems that I’ve tasted and introduce readers to new styles of wine and grape varieties. I hoped to inspire those stuck in an Aussie Shiraz or Pinot Grigio rut and to help folks move beyond ”Anything but Chardonnay” and give Riesling another chance.

Photo of the cover of Drink Me by Matt WallsI’m delighted to find a kindred spirit in Matt Walls the author of the new book Drink Me! How to choose, taste and enjoy wine.

Matt describes wine as “a bottomless box of delights” which this book will certainly help you dip into. It’s split into two main sections: a comprehensive but totally unstuffy introduction to making, buying and tasting wine and a guide to the world’s most “common wines” including sparkling and fortified. Although I’m not sure how Champagne would feel being called a “common wine.” It’ll just have to get over it!

Matt’s style is really accessible. He keeps the language down to earth (and at times a bit earthy). Grapes and wine regions are described creatively. I love the idea of Viognier as being “buxom” and Cornas (an appellation of the Northern Rhone) being like “Alan Rickman playing a baddy.” If you’re a relative newbie you won’t find yourself being talked down to.

The layout and design of the book reminds me a bit of the original version of my favourite user experience book (yes, I had a varied career before wine!) Steve Krug’s Don’t Make Me Think. The sections, sub-headings and subtle but witty illustrations all make the information really digestible. You can dip in and out or read through – you won’t get bored.

This book would make an excellent present for someone at the beginning of their journey into the joys vinous knowledge, or even someone who’s taken the first few steps.

You can hear (award winning taster) Matt himself talking about his book here: http://vimeo.com/41352257  and read more from him on his blog.

Drink Me! How to choose, taste and enjoy wine is part of Quadrille’s New Voices in Food series and is priced £12.99. It will be published on 24 May.

Posted in Book Reviews

Tesco Finest Picpoul de Pinet 2010

May15
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Sarah

I think all this rain and the grey skies must be getting me down (mutters “wettest drought ever” under her breath) as I keep drinking and reviewing summery wines. Tesco Finest Picpoul de Pinet 2010 is another wine that makes one think of seaside and sunshine not drizzle and darkness.

Photo of the label of Tesco Finest Picpoul de PinetThe seaside, in this wine’s case, is the Mediterranean coast of France. Pinet is a village in Languedoc south west of Montepellier. The grape variety is Picpoul. The name means “lip-stinger” and gives a clue to its acidic characteristics.

This is acid in a good way though – the wine is dry and refreshing. It doesn’t have a particularly intense aroma or flavour, nor great length. What is does have is hints of lemon rind on the nose and a subtle taste of lemons combined with wet stone minerality. Not that I’ve ever licked a wet stone at the seaside; but if I had, this is how I think it would taste. You’ll find your mouth watering after swallowing.

Traditionally you drink Picpoul de Pinet with local seafood, but I think this wine would work as an aperitif too. It has moderate alcohol at 12.5%.

If, like The Analyst, you enjoy denser, oakier wines – then this is not a drink for you. However, if you enjoy Sauvignon Blancs – particularly a more delicate style – then try P de P. It should be easy to spot in the store as the wine come in a distinctive bottle shape. It’s a long flute shape with a Languedoc cross on the shoulder. The Tesco Finest Picpoul de Pinet also has wave shapes in the glass at the neck to remind you of its near-maritime origin. Also unusually for France, except for Alsace, the grape variety helpfully appears on the label.

Tesco Finest Picpoul de Pinet costs £7.29.

*Sigh* “Rain, rain go away, (don’t) come again another day”

W.O.W Factor 6.5

Posted in Reviews - Tagged , , ,

Walking for Nepal

May11
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Sarah

*ffffzzz* (sound of static)

Photo of parents and pupils at the Shree Matri Primary in Kaskikot

Parents and pupils at the Shree Matri Primary in Kaskikot

“We apologise for the interruption in your regular programmes…”

I’ve ummed and aahed about whether to post a regular wine blog today or to write about what’s really uppermost on my mind at the moment…and you know what, I plumped for the latter.

The whole Window On Wine crew – The Mothership, The Analyst, the aforementioned Jack and me – are taking part in a sponsored walk this weekend to raise money for two rural schools in Nepal. The Analyst and I and (new) friends from the Rotary Club of the Himalayan Gurkhas visited the schools last spring and were moved to try to raise some funds.

One of the schools really needs new classrooms and a wall round the school yard, and possibly some toilets too if we raise enough dosh. There are no desks at this school, no books, no pictures or posters on the walls. How very different from the average British primary.

Photo of a classroom at the Sanskrit Higher in Maidi

A classroom at the Sanskrit Higher School in Maidi

The other school, which has over 650 pupils and is much more established, wants to bring computers to their children and the wider community to open up their horizons so they can become “citizens of the world.” They’ve just got a regular electricity supply (powercuts permitting) and want to use it!

Both schools have really committed teaching staff, Governors and parents who want to do the best for their children. We’re just trying to do our bit to help.

The walk in Snowdonia isn’t particularly long – but each member of our group is doing the maximum distance they can manage. If you fancy sponsoring us then our online giving page is here: https://mydonate.bt.com/events/ealingatbala/

Thank you.

…normal service will be resumed shortly

*ffffzzz* (sound of static)

Posted in Miscellany

Monte Vallon Chardonnay Pays d’Oc 2011

May08
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Sarah

In the previous entry I suggested that Burgundian Pinot Noir was often considered “the tops” in the (classic) red wine world; well the same can probably be said for Chardonnay from that region. So, when a press release says a winemaker has “decided to make a Burgundian style white” you know they are setting their bar pretty high.

Label from Monte Vallon Chardonnay Pays d'Oc 2011This is what Alain Grignon and team set out to do with the Monte Vallon Chardonnay 2011 from the Pays d’Oc in Southern France. I think they’re certainly on the way…and The Analyst would argue they’re even closer to their quest.

What makes “a Burgundian style white” then – apart from Chardonnay grapes? For me that would be an elegant balance of fruit aromas and flavours, acidity and oaky richness. No element overwhelms the other – don’t think big buttery, Aussie Chard; instead it’s much more refined. Less Dame Edna; more Dame Helen (Mirren).

This wine has peachy pineapple aromas combined with buttery, toasty notes. The bouquet is not particularly intense and neither is the flavour. Burgundian restraint maybe? On the palate peach hints mingle with smoky vanilla. The wine has good mouth-watering acidity and some minerality too. There’s quite a lot going on; and it has some length too – that buttery vanilla flavour lingers on.

I think you could easily drink a glass of this on its own, but it went very well with simple roast chicken.

Just for the record the alcohol level is 13.5%.

Monte Vallon Chardonnay Pays d’Oc 2011 is available from Majestic priced £7.99 or for £6.99 if you buy two bottles (until 3 September 2012).

W.O.W. Factor 6.5. Although I dare say The Analyst would probably give it another mark.

Posted in Reviews - Tagged , , ,

Cono Sur Organic Pinot Noir 2010

May04
2012 2 Comments Written by Sarah

In wine circles (are these similar to crop circles but with grapes? – Ed.) it seems to me it’s the “done thing” to appreciate wines made from Pinot Noir. It is often called “the heartbreak grape” because it’s tricky to grow, Pinot Noir makes the elegant red wines of Burgundy one of the most prestigious classic wine regions. Therefore, if you like Pinot Noir you must like the “good stuff” and know “your stuff” Q.E.D.

Photo of a bottle of Cono Sur Pinot NoirI hope I’m on the way to knowing “my stuff” but I’ve long been a fan of Pinot Noir. One of my lecturers at the Wine & Spirits Education Trust would call this being a pinotphile – a term to pronounce extremely carefully. I enjoy the complexity of many Pinot Noirs – the balance of fruit with those more unusual aromas and flavours – mushrooms, game, even farmyards!

The Analyst and I, with two good friends, recently indulged in a Pinot-fest and compared four wines from this variety at the same time. While Jim Clenenden’s Au Bon Climat, “La Bauge Au-dessus” 2007 (which costs c. £25) was our unanimous top pick of the night, the Cono Sur’s Organic Pinot Noir 2010 was a close second and definitely won for value for money.

Of the four wines we tried the Cono Sur was the darkest and densest in the glass. It also had the darkest fruit on the nose. More brambly than raspberry with some plum hints too. It also had some of those earthy, mushroomy aromas which I really like. The flavours were plums and raspberries accompanied by a just detectable sweet spiciness. I put the latter down to the oak barrels where the majority of the wine spends 10 months.

Just for the record we also tried Calusari P. N. 2011 from Romania -  fresh and tasting of Granny’s raspberry jam; and La Domaine L’Aigle P.N. 2010 – strawberry and raspberry flavours and good length. Both of these wines were very drinkable, but lacked the complexity of the Cono Sur Organic Pinot Noir 2010.

This wine is available from the Co-op priced £7.99. You can also get it (though possibly other vintages) online from Nicolas or Corking Wines.

W.O.W. factor 7.5

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