Tuesday 10 March 2015
Broken promises...
I have meant to post more articles but I've been rubbish at getting around to it...I will though
Wednesday 7 January 2015
Sunday 17 August 2014
You are worth more...
I'm up in Northumberland for a few days and needless to say I have brought a number of good bottles of wine to make the time even better!
But last night I went out for dinner and we took our own wine as it's a BYO restaurant. We didn't take anything massively expensive, it was a bottle of Emilio Moro from Ribera del Duero - a lovely rich tasting wine for a decent price (about £15). But I couldn't help but notice the other wines people had chosen to bring...a lot of Blossom Hill, Gallo and cheap Pinot Grigio...
The irritating thing being the fact that the average car price in the car park was around 25k...so the other customers clearly weren't hard up! Why subject yourself to such a punishment?
There is a co-op over the road from the restaurant which has a cracking wine selection considering its just a very small harbour town (village). So I really cannot abide that people walked in and picked up the cheapest bottle there...they sell things like Oyster Bay and Villa Maria Sauvignon which are crowd favourites and would have worked, they have St Hallet Shiraz and Yalumba Bush Vine Grenache that would have been great choices!
Think about your choices and spend your money wisely! You are worth more than a £2.99 bottle of Pinot Grigio!
Sunday 10 August 2014
Think about your drink...(Part I)
The idea for this article popped into my head following a conversation during the day and as it is past 2am I'll try to keep it short(ish) else I won't finish it and I won't post anything! Here goes....
Because of this I began another wine rack just for "weekday wines". I refuse to use the term "quaffing wine" when describing these as I absolutely 100% abhor the context in which it is always used. You shouldn't just buy wine because it is cheap and alright...no matter how much you spend on a bottle, it should be because you want THAT bottle. Drinking wine can be sheer joy or a form of punishment and I submit to you that if you just think before buying, then it can always be the former...
If you are a student and all you can afford is the cheapest bottle from the corner shop then fine. But if you are an adult with a paying job then you should think that you deserve better. If you usually buy wine at £4 a bottle...spend a couple or a few pounds more and buy something better. Go to your local independent wine merchant or wine retailer and ask for help. If you are reading this then I shall assume you have the internet! Read read read! Get on YouTube and watch videos about choosing wines, read books!
Anyone who knows anything about wine now started off knowing nothing!
Do when it comes to buying wine for during the week you need to think about what you like and what you might like!
What I mean is; for example you know the weather is set to be hot, make sure you have a fresh summery white or rose in the fridge ready to go. If it's set to be cold or gloomy, have a couple of nice comforting reds in your rack to chose from - this way, you can come home and have a glass.
I hate the feeling of fancying a white wine and knowing there won't be one already cold at home; so I always keep at least 1 in the fridge, and I'm the kind of guy that always has a bottle of champagne in there too! (Sometimes the celebration is something as simple as opening a bottle of champagne). But because white wine is such a pain to always have cold, most of my weekday wines are red.
If you are going to start your own "weekday rack" I would recommend getting at least 12 bottles initially and then top up as you go along.
2 - Spanish reds
2 - French reds
2 - Australian reds
2 - New Zealand Sauvignons
2 - New/Old world Chardonnays
2 - Sparkling wines
I will cover this subject further in part II which I will write as soon as I can!
Monday 2 June 2014
Thank goodness for 2nd chances
After my previous rant, I went to De Bortoli, Craggy Range and Ch Musar and they firmly restored my faith in LWF. The people on the stands we're engaging, friendly and actively went out of their way to talk to me personally not just sales speach.
I tasted the new La Boheme range from De Bortoli as well as their range of fortifieds (which were lovely). At Craggy Range I tasted everything and I enjoyed every single one! And I tasted all of what Ch Musar had to offer...spectacular as always. The Musar White is definitely a firm favourite of mine...show stopping every time.
I would recommend visiting all of the above highly!
London Wine Fair - hopefully first experiences aren't lasting
This is the first time I have been able to go to LWF because of previous work commitments, so I jumped at the chance to go! I booked 2 days off work months ago, booked my train tickets well in advance and waited for today to come. I've been researching who I wanted to see and what I wanted to taste for weeks!
Having been to looooaaads of other wine tasting events, I'm not quite sure what I was expecting. I thought it would be like others, where it was rows of tables with winemakers and reps wanting to chat and wax lyrical about their wines....wrong.
Not to sound negative, but the LWF just seems more like a networking event for buyers than a tasting event, which I'm sure is what it's meant to be, but I am in the trade and sometimes I'm not even being acknowledged. So it's safe to say I am a little disgruntled....I have spent the last few hours stood waiting to be even looked at when stood at some brands. I shan't say who the rudest were, but I felt very ignored.
The weird thing is, even with all my attempts to be polite, pleases and thank yous, making conversation and trying to chat away, I have been met with very few replies. This is an event packed full of the very kind of people you expect to be into wine - arrogant and self important (although a lot of people here are important, but that doesn't give them carte blanche to be rude).
I have had such a hard time today that I was contemplating not coming back tomorrow...which I find very sad after waiting so long to come. But luckily, after some fantastic wines and chat from Gonzalez Byass (Tio Pepe) and Metzendorff (Henrique & Henrique Madeira, Hidalgo Sherry) I realise I should just forget about people and focus on the wine....after realising this, I have been stuck in and tasting non stop!
This started off as me trying to write about wine, but ended up as a sort of rant....apologies. I don't want to put anyone off going to LWF, the quality of wine under one roof here is phenomenal! That's the important thing....I should just man up and get on with it!
Also...there aren't many places to sit down....and I paid £2.25 for a very small bottle of water earlier....went out for some lunch, walked 250m down the road to a shop and paid 75p for a bottle 3x it's size....extortion!
Thursday 13 March 2014
Xerez, Jerez, Sherry....
Xerez, Jerez, sherry...the wine so nice they named it thrice!
I love Sherry, it is definitely one of the jewels in the crown of the wine world. But for a while now it has been shamefully under appreciated and ignored. I feel this may be down to a lack of knowledge rather than a dislike for it. So in this article I aim to shed some light on this style of wine and hopefully encourage you to give it a go!!
What is sherry?
it is a fortified wine made from grapes grown in vineyards around Jerez de la Frontera in Andalucia in the far south of Spain where extreme heat—summer temperatures regularly exceed 40 ºC—is countered by cooling breezes from the Atlantic. Table wines made from here wouldn’t be terribly exciting, but the complex process of Sherry production, including the addition of spirit once fermentation is complete (fortification), results in complex, stable wines. This stability is one reason for the historical popularity of sherry: it became highly fashionable in the UK in the late 16th century, at a time when temperature controlled shipping and storage wasn’t an option.
Popularity
Sherry’s popularity peaked in the late 1970s, when roughly twice as much was exported from the region than is shipped today. The region has since been through a painful contraction, but is now bouncing back, largely because of the consistently high quality of the wines that are now made here, and the fact that they offer great value for money.
Growing
The vineyards are mainly located within a triangle formed by the Sherry towns Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa Maria and Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The characteristic vineyard soil in the region is known as albariza. A blinding white colour in bright sunlight, it has a high chalk content, and retains water well. In such a warm, breezy region, evaporation levels are potentially very high, so this characteristic is important. Vines are pruned by a method called vara y pulgar, which is similar to the French ‘Guyot’, with a single cane of some seven buds and a short replacement cane of a couple of buds. Harvesting is almost always done by hand.
Grapes
There are three grape varieties authorized for the production of Sherry: Palomino, Muscat of Alexandria (also known as Moscatel) and Pedro Ximénez. The latter two grapes are mainly used for sweetening purposes, and Palomino is by far the dominant grape in the region. It’s a relatively heavy cropper, producing large bunches of pale green grapes, which are harvested at a potential alcohol level of 11–12.5 degrees. The resulting base wines are crisp with a neutral character. It’s the production process that transforms these into the compelling, diverse wines that sherry is known for.
Essential to the production of sherry is the growth of a layer of film-forming yeasts on the top of the developing wine. This is known as the flor, and it forms spontaneously from yeasts that are abundant in the winery environment when the sherry casks are left incompletely filled. Sherry butts (as the barrels are known) are made of American oak and usually have a capacity of 600 litres, but are only filled to 500 litres, leaving a large air space. The species of yeast responsible for this film, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is the same as the yeast that carries out alcoholic fermentation, but four specific races have been identified as being involved in flor formation: beticus, cheresiensis, montuliensis and rouxii. The precise make-up of this yeast layer changes with time. The growth of the flor protects the developing wine from oxidation. It’s thicker in the humid coastal towns in the region. In addition, the flor contributes a distinctive flavour to the wine through metabolizing alcohol to the nutty, apply compound acetaldehyde. To keep the flor healthy, casks are periodically topped up with fresh wine, to maintain the nutrients that the yeasts need to survive.
At the end of the year when fermentation is complete and the wine is still on its lees, it is classified and then fortified. This classification determines the destiny of the wine. The cellarmaster will taste through the casks with a view to separating out the lighter, more elegant wines to become fino, and the heavier, darker wines to become olorosos.
Typically, a single chalk slash on the face of the cask will indicate that a wine is to become a fino; two slashes will indicate it is to become an oloroso. Fino wines will then be fortified to 15 º alcohol, and olorosos to 17 or 18 º. At this latter level of alcohol, the flor dies, and so olorosos are not protected from oxygen during their development in the way that finos are.
Also important to the flavour of sherry is the solera system. This is a rather complex arrangement of barrels (butts) where wine travels from one to another in a precise order during its maturation. Rather confusingly, the lowest level of butts is known as the solera, which is the name also used for the entire system. This is the final stage in the maturation process, and this is where the wine leaves the system. Up to one-third of the wine may be withdrawn each year from these barrels, but typically the amount taken will be 10–15%. They are fed by wine from the next level of butts, knows and the first criadera. The first criadera is in turn topped up by a third level of butts, the second criadera. Wine in the second criadera is usually replenished by new wine, but there can many levels in the most complex of the solera systems. Sherry that has been through a solera system such as this will therefore contain a mixture of vintages. The system helps maintain a house style, and results in consistent wines. Some vintage-dated sherries that have not been through a solera exist, but these are a rarity.
Styles of Sherry
Fino
Crisp, dry, yeasty, nutty and tangy, fino is the freshest and most delicate of sherry styles, weighing in at around 15% alcohol. Protected from oxygen during its development by the flor, fino needs to be treated like white wine once it has been opened. It’s a versatile food companion, and should be drunk chilled. An excellent example would be Tio Pepe priced at £9.99 which goes brilliantly with fish.
Manzanilla
This is a fino-style sherry from the coastal town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Because the more humid environment in the bodegas here encourages a thicker flor layer, these wines are typically lighter and even fresher than fino, often with a distinctive salty tang. A great example (and my favourite) is La Gitana priced at £7.99.
Amontillado
Aged fino that has lost its flor and then gone on to develop oxidatively, amontillado is an amber-coloured sherry that is nutty and complex, with a long finish. It is fortified to around 17.5 ° alcohol to protect it during its development, and because it has been aged oxidatively it will last for longer once opened.
Palo Cortado
A sort of half way house between a fino and an amontillado, Palo Cortado is the result of a fino sherry losing its flor. Nutty, fresh and complex, this is now a popular style. A good example is La Bota de Palo Cortado priced at £40
Oloroso
Complex brown-coloured sherries, Olorosos develop in barrel without the protective flor layer, often for many years. The result is a complex, rich, nutty style of sherry with aromas of old furniture and raisins. These wines are dry. Because they’ve seen so much oxidation during development, they are pretty stable and stay in good condition for a while once the bottle is opened. If you have never tried this style you are missing out...BIG TIME.
Pedro Ximénez
Made from air-dried grapes, with fermentation stopped early by the addition of spirit, Pedro Ximénez is a remarkable wine. Viscous and amazingly sweet, it tastes like liquid Christmas cake. A great example is Noe PX.
Cream
Cream sherries are more commercial products that have been sweetened by the addition of Moscatel or Pedro Ximénez. I absolutely love the Lustau East India solera but unfortunately we don't sell it, or any variant of cream.
So, in conclusion; no style of wine has this level of complexity in its production but still hovers around the £10 mark. You will not get this much value for money in any other drink. I hope you try some soon!
¡gracias
I love Sherry, it is definitely one of the jewels in the crown of the wine world. But for a while now it has been shamefully under appreciated and ignored. I feel this may be down to a lack of knowledge rather than a dislike for it. So in this article I aim to shed some light on this style of wine and hopefully encourage you to give it a go!!
What is sherry?
it is a fortified wine made from grapes grown in vineyards around Jerez de la Frontera in Andalucia in the far south of Spain where extreme heat—summer temperatures regularly exceed 40 ºC—is countered by cooling breezes from the Atlantic. Table wines made from here wouldn’t be terribly exciting, but the complex process of Sherry production, including the addition of spirit once fermentation is complete (fortification), results in complex, stable wines. This stability is one reason for the historical popularity of sherry: it became highly fashionable in the UK in the late 16th century, at a time when temperature controlled shipping and storage wasn’t an option.
Popularity
Sherry’s popularity peaked in the late 1970s, when roughly twice as much was exported from the region than is shipped today. The region has since been through a painful contraction, but is now bouncing back, largely because of the consistently high quality of the wines that are now made here, and the fact that they offer great value for money.
Growing
The vineyards are mainly located within a triangle formed by the Sherry towns Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa Maria and Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The characteristic vineyard soil in the region is known as albariza. A blinding white colour in bright sunlight, it has a high chalk content, and retains water well. In such a warm, breezy region, evaporation levels are potentially very high, so this characteristic is important. Vines are pruned by a method called vara y pulgar, which is similar to the French ‘Guyot’, with a single cane of some seven buds and a short replacement cane of a couple of buds. Harvesting is almost always done by hand.
Grapes
There are three grape varieties authorized for the production of Sherry: Palomino, Muscat of Alexandria (also known as Moscatel) and Pedro Ximénez. The latter two grapes are mainly used for sweetening purposes, and Palomino is by far the dominant grape in the region. It’s a relatively heavy cropper, producing large bunches of pale green grapes, which are harvested at a potential alcohol level of 11–12.5 degrees. The resulting base wines are crisp with a neutral character. It’s the production process that transforms these into the compelling, diverse wines that sherry is known for.
Essential to the production of sherry is the growth of a layer of film-forming yeasts on the top of the developing wine. This is known as the flor, and it forms spontaneously from yeasts that are abundant in the winery environment when the sherry casks are left incompletely filled. Sherry butts (as the barrels are known) are made of American oak and usually have a capacity of 600 litres, but are only filled to 500 litres, leaving a large air space. The species of yeast responsible for this film, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is the same as the yeast that carries out alcoholic fermentation, but four specific races have been identified as being involved in flor formation: beticus, cheresiensis, montuliensis and rouxii. The precise make-up of this yeast layer changes with time. The growth of the flor protects the developing wine from oxidation. It’s thicker in the humid coastal towns in the region. In addition, the flor contributes a distinctive flavour to the wine through metabolizing alcohol to the nutty, apply compound acetaldehyde. To keep the flor healthy, casks are periodically topped up with fresh wine, to maintain the nutrients that the yeasts need to survive.
At the end of the year when fermentation is complete and the wine is still on its lees, it is classified and then fortified. This classification determines the destiny of the wine. The cellarmaster will taste through the casks with a view to separating out the lighter, more elegant wines to become fino, and the heavier, darker wines to become olorosos.
Typically, a single chalk slash on the face of the cask will indicate that a wine is to become a fino; two slashes will indicate it is to become an oloroso. Fino wines will then be fortified to 15 º alcohol, and olorosos to 17 or 18 º. At this latter level of alcohol, the flor dies, and so olorosos are not protected from oxygen during their development in the way that finos are.
Also important to the flavour of sherry is the solera system. This is a rather complex arrangement of barrels (butts) where wine travels from one to another in a precise order during its maturation. Rather confusingly, the lowest level of butts is known as the solera, which is the name also used for the entire system. This is the final stage in the maturation process, and this is where the wine leaves the system. Up to one-third of the wine may be withdrawn each year from these barrels, but typically the amount taken will be 10–15%. They are fed by wine from the next level of butts, knows and the first criadera. The first criadera is in turn topped up by a third level of butts, the second criadera. Wine in the second criadera is usually replenished by new wine, but there can many levels in the most complex of the solera systems. Sherry that has been through a solera system such as this will therefore contain a mixture of vintages. The system helps maintain a house style, and results in consistent wines. Some vintage-dated sherries that have not been through a solera exist, but these are a rarity.
Styles of Sherry
Fino
Crisp, dry, yeasty, nutty and tangy, fino is the freshest and most delicate of sherry styles, weighing in at around 15% alcohol. Protected from oxygen during its development by the flor, fino needs to be treated like white wine once it has been opened. It’s a versatile food companion, and should be drunk chilled. An excellent example would be Tio Pepe priced at £9.99 which goes brilliantly with fish.
Manzanilla
This is a fino-style sherry from the coastal town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Because the more humid environment in the bodegas here encourages a thicker flor layer, these wines are typically lighter and even fresher than fino, often with a distinctive salty tang. A great example (and my favourite) is La Gitana priced at £7.99.
Amontillado
Aged fino that has lost its flor and then gone on to develop oxidatively, amontillado is an amber-coloured sherry that is nutty and complex, with a long finish. It is fortified to around 17.5 ° alcohol to protect it during its development, and because it has been aged oxidatively it will last for longer once opened.
Palo Cortado
A sort of half way house between a fino and an amontillado, Palo Cortado is the result of a fino sherry losing its flor. Nutty, fresh and complex, this is now a popular style. A good example is La Bota de Palo Cortado priced at £40
Oloroso
Complex brown-coloured sherries, Olorosos develop in barrel without the protective flor layer, often for many years. The result is a complex, rich, nutty style of sherry with aromas of old furniture and raisins. These wines are dry. Because they’ve seen so much oxidation during development, they are pretty stable and stay in good condition for a while once the bottle is opened. If you have never tried this style you are missing out...BIG TIME.
Pedro Ximénez
Made from air-dried grapes, with fermentation stopped early by the addition of spirit, Pedro Ximénez is a remarkable wine. Viscous and amazingly sweet, it tastes like liquid Christmas cake. A great example is Noe PX.
Cream
Cream sherries are more commercial products that have been sweetened by the addition of Moscatel or Pedro Ximénez. I absolutely love the Lustau East India solera but unfortunately we don't sell it, or any variant of cream.
So, in conclusion; no style of wine has this level of complexity in its production but still hovers around the £10 mark. You will not get this much value for money in any other drink. I hope you try some soon!
¡gracias
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