February 4, 2010

Under 4 quid challenge…contender #2

Answering my challenge of the best wine under £4 the folks at Bottle Green sent me this little Hungarian number, Eva’s Vineyard made at Hilltop Estate.  It’s a blend of Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Királyleányka (that’s Hungarian for ‘cheap and cheerful’) and available at Waitrose for £3.99.

Eva's Vineyard 2008 - Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Királyleányka

Now, I must say at first sip I was a bit let down. What I like so much about the Vieille Fontaine is its freshness and Eva’s Vineyard didn’t pack that punch of acidity…however, after a bit of time I started Hungar-ing for more (apologies)… it had lots of white peach fruit and apricot backed by some citrus too.  It was left in the fridge overnight and the next day again I was pleasantly surprised.

One of my wine tests is to see how long a bottle lasts after being opened…or rather if it is still drinkable day after day.  And I must say this wine has been opened now for nearly four days and is very drinkable still.

Another wine under 4 squid that deserves a bit of accolade…only two so far but there’s got to be more out there!

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January 27, 2010

January blues wine of the month

No pay check till Feb? No problem!

You can still get a bottle of decent white wine from the South West of France at the shrapnel price of £3.99.

Made from Producteurs Plaimont it is called Vieille Fontaine and available at Tesco Extra.  It’s made in the Gers region of SW France (They are famous in the States for the Colombelle wine).

This guy is a crispy bomb! A completely refreshing tipple. Lots of citrus loveliness mixed in with granny smith apples. The grapes are of the local sort – Colombard and Ugni blanc.

As for my food pairing. Well eggs are a notorious wine killer – usually they only go with bubbly stuff, but Vieille Fontaine went perfectly with the omelette – it’s all about the acidity in the wine cutting through the egginess of the, uhm, well, eggs.
A great pairing at a super budget price.

My bottle of Vielle Fontaine was kindly sent to me by the folks at Westbury (thanks Sandra) but if you would like your own, and I highly suggest you try it out,  they’re at Tesco Extra.

Vielle Fontaine 2008 £3.99 available at Tesco Extra (and online for even cheaper)

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Filed under Cheap wine, Colombard, Quick Wine Recommendation, South West France, food and wine matching, wine

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January 26, 2010

what NOT to do with Taste No5 – Umami

Since the seal was broken earlier this month,  my xmas gift of Taste No 5 Umami Paste has been sparingly used.  For those of you who don’t know, umami is the 5th taste after gluttony, lust, greed and sloth.
It’s comparable to savouriness/meatiness/moreishness and it was discovered in Japan. The taste is abundant in black cod and miso soup, but it is also in parmesan cheese and marmite.

Wine-wise umami comes up enough to be noticed. I have found it in some Burgundies (those tarry, bacon fat ones) and a variety of meaty Italian wines.

So the paste, I’ve been using it as quick fix (as in drug fix not mend fix) in some pasta sauces as well as a last minute stock addition. It has also been sneakily squeezed into some other dishes that I wasn’t supposed to touch (i.e. everything that is lovingly made by my roomie).

Taste No.5 Umami Paste

But on one of the cold, winter days of yester week I decided to push the umami paste to its limit…that is by drinking it in a mug as a soup itself!

So started my odyssey in creating cup o’ umami and it began with hot water.  My thought process was, if bovril and miso are umami, surely the umami paste would make a delicious cuppa?

By itself however, wasn’t that good, so I put in some Tabasco…

To no avail.

Then came the marmite…

Nope, didn’t help.

I then added some Asian (maybe Chinese?) stuff, I have no idea what it was but it was in the fridge, had cool Asian writing and a pic of a chilli pepper so deduced it was meant for my mug.

Picante sauce isn't strictly umami but I couldn't find any Keyser Söze to add.

I’ll skip out the part where I held my nose and forced fed myself  à la goose & foie gras style…but let’s just say it ended badly.

I thought stirring with chopsticks would add to the experience, it didn't.

Moral of the story – umami paste ain’t meant for mugs.

Actually, the real moral of the story is to use umami paste sparingly.  Umami has a lot of love to dish out and the slightest of tube squeeze goes a long way.

As mentioned above I add the stuff to my sauces, et cetera however if you would like to make a umamitastic dish I would suggest trying out Sig’s (of Scandilicious fame) canape – Yuzu and shiro miso sea bass ceviche with pickled ginger

She’s a bit of a umami groupie and has been following Umami since the early 80’s.

If you would like to purchase Taste No5 it is available at Selfridge’s for a few quid.

Good luck! And please don’t do like me.

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January 19, 2010

Terroirs or not terroirs: that is the question

When Terroirs Wine Bar & Restaurant first opened, about a year ago, it created a huge buzz within the wine industry. This was mostly due to its association with Les Caves de Pyrene, the very popular and ever eclectic wine agent.

Les Caves sources and supplies a huge range of natural wines. If you think of biodynamic wines as extreme organic, natural wines are an extreme hyper-biodynamic — max…the natural kind.

There is no governing body for natural wines, but the idea is that they are…well…natural.  Nothing added to them at any point during the winemaking process and sourced most likely from biodynamic vineyards.  The lack of filtering and SO2 leaves the wine cloudy due the combination of left over yeast bits as well as oxidation.  The wines are very delicate too, in a chemical sense, if they are not already completely oxidised once the cork is pulled, you better drink it quick…because it soon will be.

The wines are very difficult to make and keep. They are by no means a recipe wine and when they are perfect can be some of the most sublime tasting wine you will ever try.  There is very little made, and of that very little is palatable.  I would like to cherish my first memory of tasting a natural up there with other great wine moments – sadly however it will only be remembered as the first time my gag reflex when into overdrive.

So  after all the hype about Terroirs, I thought I should pay the place a visit…and to cut a long story short, it sucked.  Snails were rubbery and the bone marrow slimy. …the wine wasn’t nice and the only saving grace was the lemon posset.  I didn’t like the place and for good reason.  This first experience was over a year ago and despite my lack of pleasure in the place, everyone else seemed to be having GREAT meals there. In chronological order there was Jancis Robinson…top wine writer giving the place thumbs up in November ‘08.  Next was the Independent,  4 out of 5, followed by Matthew Norman with a whopping 9.5 outta 10.

The Telegraph gave the place 5 out of 5…

AA Gill…gave it 3 out of 5

Then in August, my most trusted food journo…Jay Rayner, the guy who I’ve agreed with most loves the place!

Honestly WTF!

I vowed to not go there again…but two Saturday’s ago was a very very cold 1.0 °C night…couldn’t bear the walk from Whitehall to Bar Italia, so I decided to give the place another go…

Perched in the newly-opened, retro fitted basement bar we quickly tucked in to Fine de Claire oysters at £1.50 each.  A fair price and amazingly fresh, as if the had only just been pinched from Neptune’s palm himself.  This was paired with a wonderful sparkling Tribbiano made by Camillo Donati in the region of Emilia Romagna…it was unfiltered and was cloudy…but despite the look the wine was amazing! It had light baked apple aromas and flavours, with some citrus fruits as well.

Fine de Claire Oysters, at Terroirs London

Camillo Donati - 2007 Trebbiano Bianco Secco

Next was the plate of charcuterie…with the triad of Saucisson “Noir de Bigorre”, Duck Rillettes and Pork & Pistachio Terrine, all as rustic as the wooden board they were served on. A generous helping but at £12, one would expect it.

The Tuscan chopped raw steak for £8 was coarsely cut up and melted in the mouth and came close to being my favourite dish (Note-As many of the dishes were in French I was surprised to see this dish listed as raw steak rather than tartar).

Charcuterie and Tuscan Chopped Raw Steak (why not say tartar?)

But the star of the meal was by far the Partridge and Choucroute, individually the bird was gamey and the sauerkraut…well tasted like sauerkraut (with juniper berries).  But together they made a beautiful flavour combination that deserves its own post – titled Partridge and Choucroute: You didn’t know?! It kicks ass!

Partridge and Choucroute (the chef kindly cut it in half for us)

As for desserts there was three of us and each of our desserts were splendid —>>>> Pain Perdu (French Toast) & Caramelised Banana, Bitter Chocolate Pot and Crème Caramel (this one was prob the best).

Bitter Chocolate Pot and Pain Perdu (don't worry it found its way...into our bellies)

Marco de Bartoli - Vecchio Samperi Ventennale

Besides the sparkler I also enjoyed  a wine that can only be described as a digestif.  Marco de Bartoli’s wine (incidently he is considered one of the best producers in Sicily) – Vecchio Samperi Ventennale is auburn in colour and has a splendid aroma of herbs and nuts, dried fruits and graceful palate with enough acidity to not make it cloying. It is made with the Grillo grape and probably considered a Masala wine in most circles, but de Bartoli ranks it as a table wine.

I can happily say this time around Terroirs stood up to the accolade and I shall frequent it again.

Fin!

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January 15, 2010

Awesome wine of the week!

Tasted through loads of New Zealand and Burgundian wines this week…so have lots to tell.

But as a quickie recommendation try this Kiwi Pinot out -  Carrick Unravelled Pinot Noir 2008.

Carrick Unravelled Pinot Noir Central Otago 2008

Carrick is a well established winery in Central Otago on the Southern bit of NZ south island(maybe the world?).

So, why did I like this guy? Well for starters, the price!  At £12.50 this wine is a bargain from a region notorious for tres cher Pinot.  Great Western Wine in Bath are the importers and you can buy it online here.

As for the wine, it has loads of expressive mixed berry fruit of cranberry and lots of cherries with a vibrant earthy palate – high alc @ 14% but overall a good Pinot Noir that will defo stand up to a variety of dishes from Peking duck to chorizo sausages.

Oh, check this out, just got off the phone with Great Western Wine to double-check price and it is normally £12.50 but is now on offer for £10.95!  That is a ridiculously good price!! Honestly buy now.  Again here’s the link. I would but I’m just a lowly messenger :-(

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January 7, 2010

not a winter warmer…but as fresh as they come

Here’s a quick video on the Innocent Bystander’s – slightly bubbly Pink Moscato 2009

It was full of aromas and had lots and lots of berry fruit just jumping out of the glass.
And by no means sickly, with bubbles and balanced acidity it just cleansed the palate.

Available at various online retailers – check wine-searcher and Harvey-Nics for about £5.99 – that’s a half-bottle, by the way.

innocent bystander pink moscato 2009

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January 6, 2010

Find your perfect match without online dating

Perfecting the fine art of food and wine matching takes nothing more than practice. And what better way to hone your expertise than diving in to the sinful world of gluttony.
There are times it just goes all wrong but those are out weighed massively for the times it goes all right!
Just before Christmas I was invited by Scott Burton (@scottburton) of Cube Communications to what seemed to be a very interesting food and wine tasting: ‘we’ll see if top end Aussie wine can stand up to Michelin starred French cuisine’.

Hmmmm…Besides steak I didn’t know Oz had anything ‘top end’,  and the restaurant was Roussillon so I at least knew one variable in the equation would work out!

Each dish matched individually to a McGuigan wine – and must say overall Roussillon’s food is superb.

Here are descriptions of my three favourite food and wine matchings (out of  the 5)

Perfect Partner

Milk Fed Lamb & Thyme – Shortlist Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Lamb and Bordeaux is a classic food and wine match and the Aussie substitute didn’t by any means back down from this challenge.
There was loads of blackcurrant with this Cabernet but also a mistletoe/mint leaf flavour that slotted in like a puzzle piece with the thyme rubbed lamb.

McGuigan Shortlist Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (thanks to Mathilde Cuisine for photo)

Match Made

Lobster & Purple Basil – Light Lobster Bisque infused with Purple Basil, Scallops & Confit Tomatoes Tortellini Mcguigan’s Earth’s Portrait Riesling 2004

Lobster & Purple Basil

Matching a wine here would be especially difficult as it would need to fit snugly between the buttery exploding richness of the lobster bisque and the delicate scallop flavour and texture.
Riesling is perfect for the job!  And Earth’s Portrait is an amazing example of what Australia can do with grape.  The distinct Riesling nose of kerosin/diesel backed by raw peach and stone fruits filled the acidity gaps in the dish. The wine is very fresh too and almost cleans the palate with every sip, that is despite it being 6 years old.
Riesling is a go to wine for many of London’s sommeliers, the Aus stuff  is especially good for matching with a variety of winged and finned foods.

McGuigan Earth’s Portrait Riesling 2004

STAR PAIRING

Wild Sea Bass & Razor Clams with Sechuan Pepper matched perfectly with the Bin 9000 Semillon 2003

Wild Sea Bass & Razor Clams (thanks to Mathilde Cuisine for photo)

Australian Semillon is some of the best in the world and, as you can see, this wine came littered with awards. This little guy threw out pear skin and apple pulp from the glass and was especially crisp.

Bin 9000 went perfect with the fish/clam duo – the sea aromas from the plate stacked up well with the chalky/mineral/saline sparkling water flavours in the wine. But even better, the wine did not shy away from the light touch of spiciness in the dish.
When things get spicy in food it’s usually time to call up some off-dry and even semi-sweet wine, but no, this dry bastard was having none of it!
Above all the combined freshness of the wine and food really stood out.

Bin 9000 Semillon 2003 with Mcguigan's white wine maker Peter Hall

Sadly, you won’t find any of these premium wines in the UK, however, I’ve heard reliable rumours that Tesco.com will be doing a VERY limited premium mix case soonish and it might have some of this stuff in it…..stay tuned I will let you know when it’s out.

Any chef who openly winds up their sommelier on Twitter deserves a mention on this blog! In fact any chef who twitters from the kitchen deserves recognition. Follow Alexis here @roussillon_sw1

Alexis Gauthier is the man behind Roussillon

Finally,  had to add a picture of this guy.  Neil McGuigan is chief winemaker and heir to McGuigan wines.  He is hilarious, and really knows how to have a good time. Despite being completely jet-lagged and on a very regimented wine tour, he was by far the most energetic in the room.
It’s when you meet personalities like Neil that you realise all is not pompous in the wine trade.

Neil McGuigan - keeping the wine trade in check

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December 15, 2009

Rhone Gang – making wines you can’t refuse

Have you heard of the Rhône Gang? No? It’s probably because they are still underground, peddling their wares to mob bosses across the land.  Or most-likely because they are just recently being launched in the UK.
I ran into them two years ago at Vinisud.  Then, they were talented, Rhône winemakers trying to promote themselves en force, only at the begining of their underworld rulings.

The Rhone Gang - during their more innocent times

Now, things have changed. Individually, the wines are still excellent and have been recognised by some very influential wine writers on both sides of the pond.  But even better, and what sets them apart from other winery alliances (the Douro Boys for instance) is the Rhône Gang are making wine under their own Rhône Gang label, and it’s good.  Recently, Jason Haynes of Flint Wines (the Gang’s UK affiliation), made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, to come and try the wines, reviews are below.

During their un-steady younger years. Sadly, Pencil-head Eddie (on the far left) died tragically in a hose-pipe incident

I’ve also heard on good authority, that  Wanted 2006 is one of the most popular wines at the newly opened Galvin La Chapelle and that no strong arm tactics were used to get it a listing.

With this combination of good wine, creative labels and quirky website, the Rhône Gang is destined to be a hit in the next decade.

The Gangsters are comprised of the wineries – Avitus, Ch de Montfaucon, Ch Pesquié and Ch de St Cosme

Hold Up 2007

The Rhône Gang £9.95  Pinot Noir/Grenache Flint Wines -  0207 582 2500 www.flintwines.com

WTF. A Pinot/Grenache (70/30) blend from the Rhône?!?! Something we might see from Australia but France…JAMAIS!!

This wine throws away all those ‘France can’t compete with new world innovation’ accusations out with the spit-bucket. Pinot is sourced from Burgundy and Grenache from S.Rhône, as most of you might know, two completely separate areas on the French wine map. Sure we see Shiraz-Cabernet blends from Australia and there are Pinot blends from Chile.  In France, it’s sacrilege to openly blend wine with that from other regions (I say openly, because lots of wineries do it illegaly).

Fragrant, savoury, cherry (Pinot) nose and juicy red berry (Grenache) on the palate, backed by soft tannins. A very nice, every day drinking wine.

Wanted 2006

The Rhône Gang £23.50 Grenache/Syrah.Mourvèdre/Carignan/Cinsault and Cournoise
Flint Wines – 0207 582 2500 www.flintwines.com

Heavy, rich nose that is full of fruit and gushing with blackberries. It tastes just as good as it smells and is actually kind of savoury with rich, concentrated berry flavours…all that and perfectly balanced.

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December 10, 2009

Bloody Marys aren’t just for breakfast

Went to The Clarence last night (it’s on Balham High Road, in Balham) and was greeted by this massive tomato on their bar.  “What is it for!?” I asked, immediately taken in by the little guy.

have to get one!

The tomato was supplied by 42 Below – that Kiwi vodka, they’ve been in the UK for awhile now – and it opened up to reveal a complete set of goodies. Now I am a total sucker for marketing and immediately and without a second thought craved and wanted a Bloody Mary.

Robot's in disguise

And the Bloody Mary was divine! So taken by the whole experience I was, I decided to get another….which incidentally went great with my fish & chips…

Apparently there are only four of these tomatoes in the country…and I really, really want one for Xmas. Yo, 42 Below get in touch and send me one please, I’ll pay for it!

Battle of Waterloo

There you are just south of the river, near Waterloo in fact, with so many cool little dineries to try…there’s Baltic, the Thai behind the Kings Arms on Roupell St, Cubana even has food, in fact there’s loads of places….well trust me to get the worst of them all.

Waterloo Brasserie – is not good.

Don’t really want to make this a long rant but between my being ignored and our order not being taken for a good 15 minutes…there were also plates riddled with more finger prints than CSI-Miami, ice cold fries, a mound of welted salad hiding some nuked goat cheese (it was stuck to the plate in that tell-tale microwave way) and a gloopy, chicken Caesar salad, drowned by salad cream (Rest In Peace you poor, poor salad leaves)….suffice to say, I ain’t going back.
Oh, but the Prosecco was good.

Waterloo Brasserie is across the street from the Old Vic

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November 27, 2009

Zombie nation of wine lovers

I write this post amidst the lunacy and carnage bestowed on this great nation every year.  As our American cousins get set for the biggest shopping day of their year, I am crouched behind the scenes in UK’s own hub of blood sucking deal finders – the BBC Good Food Show Birmingham at the NEC – six days of consumer heaven and wine pourer’s hell.

They're heeeerrrrreeeee - Thriller Zombies coming for my wine

As the metal gates rolled up to begin today’s odyssey the background sun silhouetted the waiting crowd just enough to give an effect of zombies doing their Thriller shuffle to our stand.  I was able to steal away a few precious minutes from the sea of decrepit raised hands clasping plastic tasting cups, backed by anonymous cries “I’ll have the red one.” “Do you have anything sweet?”, to bring you this report…I am a blogger on the front-line.

the bunker

All joking aside, as an aspiring blogger and journalist talking directly to the people who I hope one day read this very blog it would be an injustice to not interact with the public.  It makes me wonder if high profile wine people treat their platform as an opportunity to preach rather than interact.  It’s amazing how very quickly wine trade people, when put in front of the drinker they are targeting  get  uppity, slightly confused and almost nervous.

What am I trying to say? Be nice, when and if you are in the opportunity to deal directly with public have some patience…lets call it grapetience (actually no, lets not do that). Wine already has the snob label stuck to it…all it needs now is the conscientious few to break away from that barrier and be wine Samaritans of sorts. That’s all, nothing complicated.

With that here are two wines that I’ve tried recently…they’re good.

Wines that I’ve tried

Ch Aydie, Madiran, 2006 – 100% Tannat – £12.99 Waitrose

New World, dark berry nose and almost cooked (not jammy) cranberry fruit; surprisingly fresh and tangy palate with grippy tannins – berries all the way through the palate.  A drink now wine from SW France…  I like it but would prefer less fruit and more earthy, grippy Old World style from this part of France.

Ravenswood – Teldeschi – Dry Creek Valley 2006, Zinfandel £24.99 (Majestic, Harrods, Wholefoods, The Wine Society, Direct Wines) – part of the sample package from Constellation via Westbury
Octane nose, backed by blueberry and some interesting spice.  Typical bramble and a savouriness on the that makes this wine that bit more different.  It’s on the palate where this wine excels, there’s a smooth kid leather finish that lasts.  This wine has another ten years on it (and at that price it should).

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