Wine with Fish & Chips

Turns out we’d missed Friday 7th June the official National Fish and Chips Day, who knew there was one.  A little more about National Days later on, wine related ones..obviously !

This cheeky little wine club of eight squeezed itself into August, so feeling all summery, my theme was ‘ I do like to be beside the seaside’.. and naturally, the weather was as expected, very British !

Fish & Chips, a quintessentially British culinary experience, its the ever-popular seaside take-away, my Uncles can vouch for this, they absolutely insist on having this when they visit us on the coast. It can be found in many posh restaurants and it’s a popular Friday night supper in many homes. There was some discussion about what constituted ‘Supper’ and did people still have ‘Supper’ thoughts online leave it just as unclear, there appears to be a North South divide as well as an inferred class divide…

Referring to your midday meal as dinner is considered a “working-class hallmark”.

If you call your informal, family evening meal ‘supper‘ you are probably upper-middle or upper class…

 Personally, I have dinner in the evening, but I do like the word supper, I’d use it to describe a light casual meal in the evening with friends…

After all, one does come from Surrey …

Fish and chips its not haute cuisine, but we Brits seem to have a soft spot for this battery, deep-fried seaside staple, and all of us have a strong opinion on what to accompany it…but here I’m not talking about pickled eggs, onions or mushy peas. (Although we did have Harry Ramsdens mushy peas) The kind of accompaniment I am on about is wine, so after a bit of research I settled on Chardonnay, ‘modern chardonnay’ not the heavy oaky buttery ones popular in the 80s & 90s.

Funnily enough, turns out we should be trying to pair with the earthiness of the potatoes, rather than the battered cod. So, lets see the reaction from my chums (I like to use chums too, its so Rupert Bear) digressing a bit here, its funny how some words sound nice, each person having their own favourites that they use all the time… its their trademark.

Anyway, back to the evening, Saturday nosh with wine & friends (nosh is one of my Dads words), I offered four chardonnays and there was as you’d expect that tumbleweed moment, and a look of horror on their faces but with fingers crossed I assured they all would be drinkable and we should give this grape another chance. Oh by the way, we’d missed National Chardonnay Day too, Thursday 23^rd May, hey ho, on with the show..

In case you are not sure, Chardonnay could be crisp and fresh or buttery and toasty, Chardonnay is one of wine’s most versatile grapes and can be made in a variety of styles.

Much of this variation is down to where the grape is grown. Chablis, in Northern Burgundy, produces vibrant, lemony wines which represent Chardonnay in the raw form, while grapes grown in warmer climates such as California and Australia’s Margaret River ripen more, resulting in wines tasting more of peach and tropical fruit than green fruit and citrus.

Our personal highs (Chablis) & lows (Chilean & Argentinian), together with some less desirable words, cat pee, cat food & musty were used by some to describe the overall Chardonnay experience, apart from the Chablis that come in tops and mid-priced at £11.00…

Our favourite the Chablis was citrussy, with fresh fruit flavours, and a flinty minerality, Steely dry with lively fruits.

The Ozzie McGuigan at £15 didn’t fair too badly either.

Geoff and I have been finishing up the leftover wines the last few evenings, perk of hosting, or not if they are rubbish, but then it does take a strong willed person to actually pour it down the sink, in case you wondered I’ weak willed !!…. so far we think they all are improved without food, so does that then mean, they weren’t suited to fish & chips ?

Annual Wine Days if you are interested, many I am sure are made up by the wine growers…

Coming up –

12th October       Pinotage Day – A favourite of Lindy Lou

21st November  Beaujolais Nouveau Day

Always think it would be fun to take part in the ‘Beaujolais run‘

4th December    Cabernet Franc Day – Might give it a miss ??

18th February    Global drink Wine Day – Sounds good !

17th April            Malbec World Day – Putting this one in the diary

3rd May               Sauvignon Blanc Day – Every day I say !

26th June           Rosé Day – We should all go to the South of France to celebrate

1st – 5th August Albarino Days – Lets have a week in the sun, eat tapas & drink wine

Well, its time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x

Wines along the Via Francigena

Different things inspire our wine tasting evenings, I like this one, its different and inspired by a 2000Km Pilgrimage called the Via Francigena.  This could lead to future ‘hikes’ as many in our group love to walk, we could drink wine whilst following in famous footsteps (hypothetically), my cousin suggested a literature route following famous authors.. now there’s a thought….

As the latest saying goes, live in the moment, so back to the April wine club, rather than thinking about those to come. April was hosted by Jacqui & Nick, their choice of wines inspired by the recent series on TV where a group of ‘celebrities’ walk part of the Via Francigena, which equates to a wine from each country en-route, with the exception of Switzerland, Swiss wine..really… ?

Read more about the BBC mini series here.

The Via Francigena is close to my heart, its an ancient Pilgrimage through England, France, Switzerland and Italy ending at the the Popes pad in Rome!

Somebody recently said, adding an exclamation mark, is like laughing at your own joke… really.. Well, I sprinkle them through my Blog so I must be laughing all the time..

…Geoff and I are very familiar with this Pilgrimage, we started this epic journey on foot and plan to pick up where we left off next year (all being well)… Naturally I’m blogging it.   You can read more about our journey here.

So let me get back to the evening that I am actually supposed to be blogging.  It had been a lovely warm & sunny Saturday so needless to say we all anticipated Nick cooking his famous BBq’d chicken and he didn’t disappoint, I think someone counted 42 pieces of chicken, he’s Greek you know, so you can never have too much food, the only thing that would have made it more Greek would have been cooking in the front garden.. no exclamation mark this time, but I did want too.

So lace up your walking boots and join us on this journey –

ENGLAND

We started close to home with a white from the Chapel Down vineyards in Tenterden in Kent.

Chapel Down Flint Dry 2017 £11.99 from Waitrose

An Aromatic white wine with aromas of green apple, citrus fruits and freshly cut grass. On the palate, flavours of elderflower and nectarine with a smooth texture and a crisp, refreshing finish. Needless to say we didn’t get any of this & most of us didn’t guess English, because at this point the ‘theme’ was unknown. You could argue that had we known the theme, it would sort of be cheating ?!?

FRANCE

As we left England behind and set sail for the ‘continent’ as Geoffs Mum would say.  Don’t you think that sounds so 1920s slow traveling. Although I say sail, I think Terry would take the tunnel !

Once in France we headed South East towards Burgundy for wine number two.

Collin-Bourisset Morgon 2017 £11 

Morgon is a small village in South East France, a favourite for many people to visit as its in the Beaujolais region of France which lies between the cities of Lyon and Beaune, at the southern end of the official Burgundy region.

Flavours and aromas of Raspberry, wild strawberry, blackberry, blackcurrant, black cherry and a hint of violet. Helen got vanilla but maybe in hindsight it was actually violets.. Quite dry light red with medium tannins.

We left Burgundy and headed over to Bordeaux to try the next wine, (armchair travel..obviously…) technically it should have been the other way round for the Via Francigena route, thus making Bordeaux a sight seeing trip or your map reading skills so appalling that you’d become seriously lost from the route.

Time to take your walking boots off for a rest after all Bordeaux would be a good place for that.

Chateau Recougne 2016 from Majestic £9.99 and a whopping 14.5%

Then head off the beaten track in Bordeaux and you’ll find delicious reds at a steal. (apparently) Château Recougne is a prime example of this. It’s packed with delectable bramble notes, regal spices and tannin. (Regal spices, what the…)

Boots back on chums…

After re-tracing our steps and finding our way back on to the Via Francigena, we then theoretically hike up through the Great St Bernard pass, through Switzerland and into Italy. How are your feet holding up, any blisters yet ?

ITALY

Amarone Classico ‘Vigneti di Roccolo 2015 £22 from Majestic another big wine 15%

Ahhh, bliss the delicious taste of Amarone, So Steve, Karen, Terry, Jacqui & I thought..they say its the King of Italian wines, its rich and tastes of ripe handfuls of black berries squeezed into the bottle, a delight on the palette. Its a blend of grapes Rondinella, Molinara, Corvina, none are familiar to me but they sure do taste good all squished together.

The wines were accompanied by delicious food and we had a rather interesting goats cheese rolled in fresh edible flowers, so pretty..

Well chums you have done well, just another 500km and we should reach the Vatican City.

Time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x

PS. Geoff and I will be away hiking on and off throughout this year, so the next few posts will need to come from the hosts themselves.

DIY… yes …really !

It seems crazy to think we are already into the fourth week of the new year… so it seems a little late in the day to wish you all a Happy New Year, but I do, so I will.. Happy New Year and I hope that 2019 is filled with much laughter and smiles for you all.

We started the year at Mark and Lindas, just six of us, so a bit more of a dinner party… well, I say, dinner party, that’s where you expect to tip up punctually ready for an evening all prepared for you… lets say this was a little different, more Do It Yourself, not bring your own pizza but we DID have to cook our own food !!!

..And clean the house !

With pre-dinner drinks there was ‘entertainment’ in the lounge…

We are an easily amused group, we started off with the guys trying on a rather fetching brown jacket, a Christmas present, worn by each, in his ‘own’ style but who did the jacket actually belong too ?

 

Searching for a new idea for the wine club (we’ve been there and done it all, round the world and back)… Linda and Mark found their fancy griddle plate, so along the lines of  fondue evening but on a griddle, it probably has some fancy pants name but none of us could think of it..

A good choice of fish meat and vegetables had been prepared, so all we had to do was cook it, there are also tiny pans on the bottom layer where we cooked our mash and pasta topped with cheese.. it was all very yummy and quite a laugh.. not sure that the DIY cooking will catch on at all the forthcoming wine clubs, can’t quite picture Terry letting us all loose in his kitchen…

The food was enjoyed with a selection of French Wines, I am pleased to say I DID guess all the grapes correctly, I even spotted the Merlot among them (I dislike Merlot with a passion) however this one was ok, turned out to be a JP Chenet much to Marks amusement.. I think it was OK because the Chenet wines are quite vague in flavour to appeal to the masses. The wines were £15 each apart form the Chenet coming in at £6.

The meal was followed by dessert and a rather tasty homemade Victoria Sponge.

We had a really good time catching up and Jacqui did well surviving the evening with a terrible cold.. she stayed ‘quarantined’ in the corner for the evening.

Goodbye from us all.

Time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x

Fabulous Italian Reds.. or after a few glasses … Bellissimo rossi Italian !

We were in Italy for the June wine club … if only !!

We were in fact in Cliftonville, a semi sunny evening at Mark & Linda’s tasting Italian wines and eating Italian food… its as near to the real thing as we could get.  As one does, we started with a bubbly little prosecco in the garden and a goldfish bowl of white wine for Jacqui, complemented by some delicious bruschetta.

As the sun began to set we headed inside to begin tasting five Italian wines, two white and three red.  Apparently if you tried a different Italian wine every week it would take 20 years to taste your way through Italy.

We started with a white, we felt although it had plenty of floral and fruit aromas it was actually a bit on the bland side, although cheap enough, not cheap enough to buy again.

Pecorino white wine 13% Tesco £6.50 on offer (£8.50) 2017

Tesco Tasting Notes

Yes, Pecorino might be the name of a cheese but here it is, in wine form! Made from the Pecorino grape, grown in the Abruzzo region on the east coast of Italy. Packed with pear, grapefruit and lemon flavours, it’s full of zippy freshness. Tesco say it goes with so many things from breadsticks to baked fish.

‘Breadsticks’ I ask you…really .. is that the best suggestion they could come up with !

We tucked in to a delicious lasagne.. ohh but let me tell the ‘Lasagne Tale’ …. at some point in the past Mark was going to cook lasagne, Linda who orders her groceries online ordered 4 or may even have been 5 boxes of lasagne sheets (I know, flipping big lasagne) anyway they have sat in the cupboard for quite sometime (haunting Mark).. so now was the opportunity to use them.. or so Mark thought (already making me smile)..

The shopping arrived, Mark starts to unpack it.. and what does he find, another 4 boxes of lasagne sheets, hopping mad he was .. 

(We won’t ask how many packets of porridge are in the cupboard, but hey, if you ever run out you know where to go !

So that 20 years of tasting Italian wines may well be round at The Knowltons !!

Moving on swiftly, to the second white of the evening, we thought it was a perky little number with a bit of a tarty twang to it.

Falanghia Del Sannio white wine 13% Tesco £8.00 on offer (£9.00) 2016

Tesco Tasting Notes

• Crisp and complex white wine. Some lees aging gives added depth to the perfectly balanced flavours of orange peel, stone fruit, acacia flowers, and leaves a deliciously long fresh finish. Enjoy with simple seafood dishes

History

• Ancient variety, named after the name of the cultivation technique (Falanga was a long wood support for vines growing over trees). In the ‘30s, a group of enologists crowned Falanghina as one of the best Italian grapes, largely recommending its dissemination for the best production in the principal wine zones of the south.

Regional Information

• Irpinia is a region of the Apennine Mountains in Campania, South Italy about 40 km east of Naples..

To cheer Mark up and keep him awake we moved on to the reds, we thought they were all really good, number 5 proved to be a bargain too.

So, wine three topped the scales with 9/10 and cries of bellissimo from Jacqui,

probably something to do with the goldfish bowl of wine she’d started the evening with..

Shame Karen & Terry were missing it was their favourite Italian, an Amarone and it was absolutely delicious, we loved it, it was the most expensive of the evening but so smooth and full bodied.

Tesco Finest Amarone Valpolicella – 15 ½ % Tesco £18 2015 – Bellisimo !

This classic Italian red is made from a blend of local varietals that have been partially dried in small crates and then aged in oak barrels. It is famed for its intense and full bodied flavours of ripe black fruits, chocolate and sweet spices with a rich, smooth finish

Tesco Tasting Notes

With aromas of concentrated perfume of dried cherries and blueberries, the palate offers a powerful but modern balance of ripe tannins and spice. It is opulent on the palate, with a warm full body and a long persistent finish with complex tertiary notes

Regional Information

• Cantina di Valpantena is situated in the Valpantena, northeast of Verona. Known as the ‘valley of god’ to the ancient Greeks, this area is well-known for its high quality red wines, due partly to the soils but also because of the cool breeze that blows down the valley from the foothills of the Dolomites.

For further reading on Amarone I recommend Wine Folly link below:

https://winefolly.com/review/amarone-wine-turns-raisins-into-gold/

The fourth, a red, again high scoring 8/10.  The most noticeable thing was the extremely heavy bottle, I mean really heavy…

Sette Muri Brindisi 14%  Tesco £8 2015

The wine is made from 100% Negroamaro, a local grape that produces some of the best wines in the region and known for its rich, spicy character. A deep red colour, with heady aromas of red cherry, black plum and vanilla, the wine has a smooth velvety texture with a long spicy finish.

“Sette Muri” is Italian for ‘Seven Walls’, and here refers to the unique walled paths that line the vineyards of Brindisi, where this wine is from. Situated in Puglia at the end of the famous Roman road, the ‘Appian Way’, Brindisi is one of the most historic and ancient cities in Europe. The name for the city comes from the Latin word ‘Brindisium’ meaning ‘deer’s head’, and refers to the unique shape of the strategically important port here.

Tasting Notes

• A deep red colour, with heady aromas of red cherry, black plum and vanilla, the wine has a smooth velvety texture with a long spicy finish

History

• Sette Muri is Italian for ‘Seven Walls’, and here refers to the unique walled paths that line the vineyards of Brindisi, where this wine is from.The name for the city comes from the Latin word ‘Brindisium’ meaning ‘deer’s head’, and refers to the unique shape of the strategically important port here.

Regional Information

• Situated in Puglia at the end of the famous Roman road, the ‘Appian Way’, Brindisi is one of the most historic and ancient cities in Europe

At this point we started to talk holidays, its a favourite topic of ours and I can’t remember who brought it up or the exact story, wine does dampen the brain ever so slightly (maybe), anyway here’s the gist of it, someone they knew worked in a travel agency and a regular (wealthy) client would come in to chose a holiday, after hearing all the options and the decision was to be made they’d say “F*** it, Book it”, so we have decided to adopt the motto if swaying over whether to go somewhere or not (afford it or not) and as Mark would say ‘its all got to go’… so we’ll be handing out travel brochures next time too.

Now getting back to the wines.. The fifth wine another very decent red, this one was very nearly on par with the Amarone but it only cost £ !!!!  so I’d say rush out and buy this its a steal for the price. This really is an absolute bargain, well Steve and I thought so, you can blame us if you don’t like it. (An Amarone look alike)

Now this might sound weird but you may understand, I thought it tasted like the smell of the rubber on the end of a pencil and more normally, liquorice.  It was very smooth and virtually no tannin.

Colle Marrone Appassimento 14.5 % Tesco £7 2016

Colle Marrone Appassimento is a full bodied wine made from carefully selected sun-dried grapes. This method, called Appassimento, increases the concentration of fruit and flavours in the wine. Colle Marrone Appassimento is a rich, complex and fruity wine with notes of ripe dark cherries, fresh herbs and vanilla

Tesco Tasting Notes

Colle Marrone Appassimento is a full bodied wine made from carefully selected sun-dried grapes. It is a rich, complex and fruity wine with notes of ripe dark cherries, fresh herbs and vanilla

History

The Appassimento method used to make this wine is the drying of the grapes before pressing and fermenting them to increase the concentration of fruit and flavours.

Regional Information

The grapes used for this wine come from selected vineyards in the Salento region, in Apulia, Southern Italy.

We finished up with cheese and biscuits, followed by big slabs of lemon tart, not because Linda had over ordered but because Mark didn’t want any to be left over.. Terry where were you when we needed the puds eaten up !?!?

We had a really enjoyable fun filled evening hosted by Mark & Linda.

Well we are now on our summer break, we don’t meet officially again until September, although I can’t actually believe that it was a year ago our paths all crossed in Broadstairs and we kidnapped Jacqui from work.. where has the time gone..scary !

Have a great summer everyone, don’t forget to take a photo of your favourite summer wine on location.

Time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x

 

 

Wine for weddings

 

May 19th, was a beautiful sunny day, so perfect for the wedding of Prince Harry & Meghan…and the inspiration for this months wine club.  We dressed for the occasion too.. scrub up ok, don’t we ?!?

Nick, Jacqui, Helen, Steve, Linda, Geoff, Sue, Terry & Karen

We were all in high spirits, it must have been the sunshine or it may have had something to do with the prosecco too. We started with this one from Sainsburys, a really delicious prosecco and good value at £8, I’d would certainly recommend this one to start any celebration off.

We had a look round the garden, aerating the garden with our stilettos (ie trying to stay upright) then some photos in the early evening sunshine, although by the time we waited for Steve to get changed and join us we were b****y freezing.. just how long does it take to put a shirt and tie on !?!

Steve eventually appeared looking rather teacher’esque … and he would need his teacher skills later to control the ‘class’.

Once inside there was the swapping and trying on of hats as you do.. Linda convinced nothing suited her, which was very quickly proved wrong, with Jacqui’s large brimmed navy number suiting Linda perfectly, I can see that being borrowed in the future… (Sshhhh but there is the sound of wedding bells among our ranks for later this year, can’t reveal anymore, my lips are sealed).

Helen produced another bottle that was actually not part of the wine tasting but would highly recommend this pink champagne from ……. (not sure and can’t find it online anywhere) it was £28 and very NICE too and yes, I did have more than my fair share, as Terry pointed out !

 

Thought I’d throw in some more photos.. I also found a group of the ‘boys’ from 2005 so we could compare..

L to R: (2018) Nick, Steve, Terry, Geoff & Mark

2018

2015

L to R: (2005) Mark, Steve, Geoff, Mick, Terry & Bob

Ooo I say Mrs !

Three wines up for scrutiny…

1. Sparkling  2. Red  3. White

 

We started with a white fizz, Blanquette de Limoux, that was advertised as being a good alternative to Prosecco, as Helen pointed out “We’d be the judge of that “… and.. we thought NO, it was NOT, it was slightly too sweet which was at odds with the notes that said there were hints of lemon, (we couldn’t detect them) we felt it was wishy washy and bland in aroma and flavours, even the label was uninspiring. So we wouldn’t recommend this sparkling wine from Limoux in the Languedoc SW France.

Helen posed the question: What year was the worlds first sparkling wine produced in the region?

We answered: 1742 Dom Perignon in Hautvillers,  1743 & 1750

The answer: 1531 by the monks at Abbey in Saint Hilaire

Then the red,  Spanish Priorat Wine 14.5%, had a mixed response, it was a bit like Marmite you either loved or hated it, so if you loved it, it was good value at £10 (Sainsbury) flavours & aromas (we thought) were cherry, vanilla, menthol & eucalyptus, a dry red wine with a spicy warmth as you drank it. A  blended wine: Grenache, Mazuela, Syrah & Merlot.

Helen posed the question: What is unique about the soil in which this grape grows ?

We said: Chalky & lots of worms in it !

The answer: Unique soil of black slate and quartz, known as llicorella.

We then tucked into a delightful summer ‘Wedding’ buffet which included salmon and delicious salads followed by home-made cakes and a fruit platter, with particularly flavourful strawberries.

Whilst we were eating we moved on to wine number three, a white with a very retro French looking label, in that Pastis 51 kind of way. (Ok, maybe it was just the blue & white that reminded me).

So back to the medal winning Picpoul, firstly it is worthy of being a wedding wine.  It was refreshing with apple and pear notes with a green-gold colour.

Picpoul was another new grape to us, it is a variety grown primarily in the Rhone Valley & Languedoc regions of France, there are two versions, the Picpoul Noir is  high in alcohol & richly scented often found in Chateauneuf-du-pape and Picpoul Blanc being the most commonly used and an increasing trend since 2000.  I personally would like to try other Picpoul wines. A great summer wine.

Helen posed the question: Which fruit is naturally scented in this wine?

We said: Peach & gooseberry

The answer: Lemon

Nick was off the Monsters and on the GIN… we saw another Nick !!!

To sum up, it was a very enjoyable evening, plenty of laughter and it was great to get dressed up too…

2018

 

Well time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Its all Greek to me…

Last month it was suggested we get together for an evening out at the new Greek Social club, for obvious reasons making it Jacqui & Neeeks April wine club seemed appropriate. We all have such busy social diaries that it was split over two consecutive evenings where J & N hosted & treated us all which was lovely of them, not to be ungrateful but next time could we actually go to Corfu !

I’m having to piece together the tandem narrative and remember whether its Team A or B that currently has the floor, bit like a murder mystery but without the death.. but as always plenty of shady characters and mystery, most of the time no-one has a clue what’s going on..…however, it could just end up a Greek tragedy.

Sub Editors thank you for your notes.

Shady Characters:

The magnificent Team A – Steven Helen Linda & Mark

..No team photo..huh, not that magnificent then !

The Ponderous Team B – Terry Karen Sue & Geoff

The Mystery – (Team B ..did ponder these issues..)

Why do Halloumi and green beans squeak ?

Why are we obsessed about the dimples ?

Why are Geoff & Neeek dressed to match the the Greek flag ?

The biggest mystery was why this one came up at all – James Bond (Roger Moore) lived on Sheppey where Jaffy pursued wayward chickens in hedges.

Wondering who Jaffy is, could she be the murderer ? the victim ? is she related to McVities ? or is she …the solicitor ? … answers on a postcard but don’t send them to me !

Jaffy and Neeekk greeted us with great enthusiasm on Saturday evening with (us) Team B immediately being told what they had to live up to.. The magnificent Team A.

…Greek hospitality continued…food was in abundance and delicious, after all we know this from the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The visual bible about life in a Greek house, its all about the food, all of the time, I’m vegetarian so that famous line comes to mind… ‘You eat no meat, its okay I make you lamb !!

 

I know you listed all the food Mark, I was very impressed, but I didn’t feel like typing it up, if only you’d emailed it I’d have cut and pasted… now onto the wine.

…Both teams approached the wine with some trepidation, Jaffy had forewarned us about the dire Greek wine, she’d tried them all, just as a matter of research you understand, so being a good girl guide she popped into M & S & Waitrose and bought some ‘better’ Greek wine for us to taste for the evening. (We’ll be the judge of THAT –  said with hands on hips)

Wine One – Alantis £12

Team A (The Magnificient) – A Cheeky little white, quite leggy with citrus notes.  Linda without hesitation announced “well… its not disgusting”

They guessed at Assyritiko grape from Santorini, how the flip did they manage that, oh yes that’s right they really are magnificent !

Team B – First wine correctly guessed by Geoff, Santorini. Karen suggested it was a bit like vino verde– How did we guess that you wonder….easy really,  just had to think about which Greek islands Mark and Linda had visited .. Not a big dimple

The Tragedy

Wine Two Organic £9.99 2015

 

Team A – Guessed at mainland Greece full flavours of Cabernet sauvignon favoured amongst the avid red wine drinkers.

Team B – Second wine was a bit like Cabernet… & actually was!   From Mainland somewhere….Team B like to be vague…. we really got the spirit of the place from the aromas…you can taste the cotton t shirts, old Mercedes taxis and donkeys. The vintner was successfully identified as Stavros Vasilatos!!! 7th cousin of Neeeek’s uncle’s maternal grandmother twice removed!.

This translates as a bit rough, sorry I mean rustic, so right up Marks street !

Wine Three ‘Sucked’

 

Team A – Sucked all the moisture from your mouth. Wine was from Pathos, Marthetiko grape was less inspiring than the previous red.

Team B – Third was identified as Cypriot and ‘a bit rough’ dried your mouth out but could be OK with a stew…  Jaffy liked it! We know she likes a bit of Cypriot !!

The Epilogue 

Our Greek story is coming to an end, I will reveal the fate of the wines:

One: Not disgusting

Two: Authentic (rough)

Three: Sucked

Team A – Overall preferred the white wine

Team B – Celebrated no hangovers on Sunday

To finally sum up the evening:

On reflection Neeekk said he was actually the winner as he didn’t have to fire up the mower or get the hoover, duster & polish out.. no washing up & best of all he had a doggy bag to take home to enjoy on Sunday….

You know what.. he could be on to something there !

And, they all lived happily after.

THE END

 

 

Hungarian wines, pigs & ghouls…

We had an evening filled with goulies

(Can I say that ?!?!?)

Hungarian wine… now that called for a bit of research, so courtesy of Wine Folly:

One hundred years ago, Hungary was one of the most important wine producers in Europe. (Who’d have thought !)

Every royal court in Europe clinked glasses filled with precious gold Tokaji (“toe-kye”) wine, while other lush Hungarian whites and reds were lauded and enjoyed throughout Europe.

So why don’t we see more Hungarian wine today? Cue the aggressive assault of phylloxera in the 1800s, two world wars, and forty years of communist collectivization and we begin to get our answer.

Fortunately, Hungary is bouncing back. Countless small estates, replanted and cultivated across the country are turning out beautiful wines–a result of traditional winemaking culture mixed with a modern sensibility. With 22 wine regions growing hundreds of varietals, the country offers a multitude of great wines to explore.

Now for a pronunciation lesson in Hungarian wine – Tokaji, which can only contain the native varieties of Furmint ( foor-meent ) which actually sounds like something a cat would like to eat..

Tokaji (toe-kye)

Hárslevelü (“harsh-level-ooo”)

Kabar (“kah-bar”)

Kövérszölö (“kuh-vaer-sue-lou”)

Zéta (“zay-tuh”)

Sárgamuskotály (“shar-guh-moose-koh-tie”)

And some more Hungarian wine info, from Tasting Notes or should I say from “Kóstoló jegyzetek” (Lets hope Google has got that right)…

Tokaj was declared a World Heritage Site in 2002.  Its the worlds oldest botrytized wine. Part of the wine region now belongs to Slovakia.  Now store those facts to memory as there may be a ‘Christmas Quiz’ at the end of the year (well, when else would Christmas be ).

Now onto the evenings events:

Hosts – Terry & Karen, Eight of us there and two away at a Valentines Ball.

Upmarket this time – A Menu !

Oh nearly forgot, flavours to look for in these wines: Lemon peel, orange rind, sweetness & raisins.

We started with a lovely white, it was so pale, bright and clear it almost looked like silver. It was fresh and minerally in a gentle kind of way, slight hints of peach or tropical fruits, this was my favourite of the evening.  It would be perfect at a summer lunchtime do or evening drinks on the terrace (if we had one).  It wouldn’t stand up to food but a surprisingly beautiful aperitif.  Hungry was off to an unexpectedly good start in my opinion.

Wine 1: Chateau Dereszla Tokaji Dry 13%  £12.99 from Virgin Wines

We relocated to the dining room, for big bowls of steaming hot Goulash and Pig Bread (!) which does sound much better in Hungarian ‘Pogacsa’… I found a couple of recipes online, just in case you would like to make the goulash as the weather is still wintery and cold.

Goulash & Pogacsa

The second wine was poured, as the food appeared, it was a white, now Karen did point out they had intended to buy reds which would have stood up to the robust meal, but extremely difficult to find.. Super trendy label on this wine too.  A good blend of mineral, apricot & quince.  A more rounded smoother flavour not unlike a Chablis, it was a surprising low 11.5 % …

Wine 2: Dry by Tokaj 2013 £9.99 from Virgin Wine

Next up, number 3, we expected great things, the blub was ‘ wow your senses, loads of spicy aromatics & a palate that is perfect in balance in richness & freshness, single grape of Furmint (Let me hear you say it in Hungarian)… funny every time I type the word ‘Hungarian’ I think of David Jason in Open in Hours.. why is that ??  Anyway moving on, so this wine had a lot to live up to, but did it…. sort of, we were split as a group over this one. (Certainly no hint of spicy). An aromatic but dry wine, as the label suggests!

Wine 3: Chateau Derezla Furmint 2016  £10.99 Virgin Wines

Lastly was a Red but not from Hungry, but it did go well with the meal.  An Australian Shiraz, here’s where the other pigs come in.. The wine was called The Black Pig ( I’m sure that’s a pub at Staple ??)..  A good robust Australian red, popular with most. A good depth of flavour in this full bodied wine. Flavours of liquorice, chocolate & blackberries.

Wine 4: The Black Pig  2016 a whopping 14.5%  £19.99 Virgin Wines

Then on to DESSERTS, you just know they are going to be yummy, so although all full from the delicious meal we managed to squeeze in more, a fluffy lemon pud and a almondy tart, bit like a bakewell but tastier (I don’t like bakewell).

The conversation moved about a lot as it tends to, retirement a hot topic among us at the moment with Terry having a mini rant about his plans being disrupted by ‘others’.  Nick having a mini rant about funding his off springs life with Jacqui rolling her eyes.  There was talk of ghosts & ghouls (at some length) with Karen rolling her eyes, no, not in that supernatural poltergeist head spinning kind of  way.. Well

Well its time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x

Déjà vu – Curry & wine…

Déjà vu is the feeling that the situation currently being experienced has already been experienced in the past.. please don’t tell me we’ve slipped into some parallel universe and we have to go all through 2017 all over again …

I know, you are already thinking what is she on about, where’s she going with this, she’s lost her mind, well you’ll think the last option is the true, when I tell you I went into Poundland at lunch (yes, really I did) looking for the last wine that we tried, described as ‘a fruity red’ because if I found it in there, we’d still have been robbed…I think the word we were all looking for on Saturday was DIRE !

I did actually find some tasting notes for this wine

• Tesco Fruity Red Wine. Product of Spain. £3.65 (You were robbed Mark)
• A light, soft, easy drinking red,with gentle strawberry and cherry flavours. Grown in the spectacular setting of the sun ripened vineyards of central Spain. Goes with chicken, pizza or pasta. (Or particularly well  .. down the sink )

There will be no further mention of this ‘wine’….

I use the term lightly !

So back to Déjà vu, the reason for the feeling is that we started last year with wine & curry.  So the big question is how did the wines that Mark & Linda had chosen fair against their delicious homemade curry dishes ?

BTW – it was a full house for the first one of 2018.  So good to all catch up.

We started the evening with a smooth white wine, flinty & fruity hints, on the sweeter side of wines but did it go with curry ?  Well we were all asking “does it”  as we swirled, sniffed and sipped..because, the curry hadn’t made an appearance at that stage !

We let Mark & Linda off, as there were numerous dishes to come out of the oven, so by the time everyone had been served, some of us had finished the sample of wine (I know unbelievable).. and needed a top up, only in the name of tasting of course !

And.. the answer was , YES it did go with the curry, the curry balanced the sweetness in the wine.

None of us recognised it as a Chablis at all, far too ‘budget friendly’ !!

 

Chablis £11

Tesco Tasting Notes – 

The refreshingly cool climate in Chablis produces Chardonnay with pure, refreshing flavours and this one is a lesson in how to do it well. With classic lemon fruit, this is all about the crispness. Serve well chilled, preferably with a huge plate of seafood.

If I start talking about locks & safes, its because I’m multi-tasking, eating lunch at my desk (why are some sandwiches so messy??) , writing the blog whilst answering questions and calls about security and raising invoices.. better check I haven’t invoiced for a bottle of Chablis !

We moved onto the second wine, another white,  we guessed at a German wine, which was close, it was a Gewurtzraminer from Alsace. It was very aromatic, lots of tropical fruits maybe even a little bit floral.  It did go with the curry although Karen & I felt it would fair better with Moroccan food.

Tesco Tasting Notes – £9

Prepare the senses for this one! Made from the Gewurztraminer grape grown in the Alsace region, this is a beautifully aromatic wine with tropical fruit and lychee aromas. There’s roses too, along with delicious spicy flavours. Goes fantastically well with Thai fish curries.

Third on the list was a South African Pinotage, it tasted okay, but we felt it wasn’t a good match for the curries.  Strangely I couldn’t find this wine online at all. Un petit mystère, n’est-ce pas ?

 Breede River Valley Pinotage £9/£10 from Tesco

So the general consensus was that the whites were better suited to the curry.

Just taken a quick look back to see which came out top last time, it was McManis Viognier 2014 California 14.5% £11.70 as recommended by Lawrence Page (confirms he knows his stuff, whites suit best).

We had a really good fun evening, good to catch up with everyone, all looking forward to the year ahead.

Time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x

Hey, Big spender !

 

Well what an evening, SIX wines to sample, we haven’t had one like that for a long time…

Our hosts Jacqui & Nick splashed out on six pricey wines, well Jacqui did at Majestic whilst Nick sat in the car watching James Bond…not sure if he was ‘stirred’ or ‘shaken’ by the cost ! 

I can confirm at this early stage that the more you pay for a wine doesn’t necessarily mean it tastes better…with the most expensive coming in at just over £25, it came bottom of the evening – Opps, sorry getting ahead of myself … lets go back to the beginning.

Eight on-board for the October gathering in Italy !! (if only… no, we were tasting Italian wines) and two, Mark & Linda away on-board a cruise ship (like what I did there ?.. no, ok, I know pretty feeble..)

Jacqui & Nicks is one that you have to drive to (out in the sticks) ..well, actually the boys drive ..nothing has changed there over the last 15 years !

Just need to say a big GRAZIE to Jacqui for the extensive tasting notes (bravo) makes my job so much easier.

Delicious food accompanied all the wines, including a big plate full of halloumi, not Italian I know but seriously tasty. I could have eaten the whole lot but after all I am a big mouse.

Terry wondered why he had to share his dish of crumble with seven others, after all in his mind it was clearly a dish for one !

Now onto the wines

Wine One:  Pietrariccia Fiano 2016, Surani  £8.99

Origin: Masseria Surani is an estate dating back to the early 1900s and located on Italy’s heel.  This wine is thought to have origins in ancient Greece (I see why Jacqui went for this one)

None of us had come across the Fiano grape before.  It was crisp to taste and pale in colour, with citrus and floral notes. Would be good for summer drinking as it had a refreshing edge.

 

Wine Two: Planeta 2015 Cometa  £25.19

Origin: Made with 100% Fiano on the southern slopes of Sicily.

We didn’t like this one at all and were completely shocked at the price of it. It was much darker in colour, than the first, it had the look of an older wine and some thought a slight fizz on the tongue. There were hints of menthol to it.

The tasting notes say it should have tangerine, peach & thyme aromas. Full bodied & gutsy !

We were struggling with the grape varieties, we are not strong on Italian wines… so Jacquie threw us a clue for the next one.. “its a two part name”.. so Karen & I started guessing… Marks & Spencer, John Lewis… obviously not what she meant !

Nor was, Classico, Reserva, Superior etc etc.. yes I know they are one words, but we WERE struggling to find the answer, which of course were those famous words ‘Super Tuscan’ … now, who as ever heard that before, made up by Majestic wines probably !

Anyway moving on..

Wine Three: Dogajolo Carpineto 2015 Toscana £9.99

Origin: In the style of the Super Tuscan wines (whatever that is) this wine was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon & the native Sangiovese.

Absolutely yummy !  Really excellent value for money. Soft & fruity, a deep plum colour, aged in oak but not too oaky tasting.  A great all round wine with a lovely smooth finish…go & buy it !

Some loved the label but very autumnal..

Wine Four: Le Volte dell’Ornellaia 2015 £22.59

Origin: Producers of one of Italy’s most celebrated Bordeaux-inspired wines (would have been right up your street Mark) another Super Tuscan blend, marrying Bordeaux Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon with the local Sangiovese.

A deep dark ruby red wine, possibly hints of chocolate (I thought) and black fruits. We thought it was less sweet than the previous one, a lighter wine that was ‘interesting’

Wine Five: Valpolicella Ripasso 2015 Villa Borghette  £11.99

Origin: Situated amongst the rolling hills in the heart of Valpolicella Classico.

Grape: Corvina, Rodinella & Corvinone (all stangers to us)

Another popular wine with the group, initially we thought it seemed identical to wine 3, but after a while in the glass there was a noticeable difference, this one was voted ‘yummy’ rather than ‘absolutely yummy’ which in wine tasting is a significant difference !  It had a richness and depth similar to Amarone, cherries, blueberry & some spice were noted. Worth the £11.99

Wine Six: Amarone Classico Vigneti di Roccolo Cantina Negrar £19.99

Origin: A blend of Corvina, Rondinelle & Molinara grape varieties.

I love the write up for this one ” Brooding, deep & intense” – Immediately my mind starts to wander to some of ‘those’ actors…sorry no.. I mean my husband Geoff, he IMMEDIATLY sprang to mind !!!

This was a winner, superb as you’d expect, who doesn’t love an Amarone.. aromas of Christmas cake, chocolate, cinnamon and spice. Thick, velvety, rich & fruity..DELICIOUS… go and buy this for Christmas (if not before).

A good evening was enjoyed by all.. sorry must dash I can hear the kettle boiling .. but not actually whistling !!! (I realise if you weren’t there, that makes no sense).

Well time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x

Ps. Not checked for sneling mist*kes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a home win…

Lets start with some photos from some of our holiday adventures…

 

Now apologies for the late posting of our September get together, I’ve just been SO busy and working a SIX day week, yes six days in a row…. but finally found a few minutes yesterday evening to pen a few words, so to speak.

So secondly, off on a tangent (nothing changes) walking to work today I saw a shopping trolley in the park and thought you know what, you could write a book on the life of a shopping trolley, they get everywhere… what is it with shopping trollies they have serious wanderlust… I know its seriously random on a wine blog, but you know me (bonkers)

Now back to the September wine club hosted by Terry & Karen, six of us joined them after summer recess… so good to catch up.  Most of us disconnect and go our separate ways in the summer, apart from a chance meeting in the pub  (us, pub…who’d have thought) .. and a kidnapping (!) maybe we should have kept Jacqui then she would have been at the September get together too..

The brief was ‘Us Vs Them’ .. intriguing… I was thinking must be Boys Vs Girls.. but it was a Home or Away .. well, that’s what we all ended up putting on our tasting sheets.. & we did ALL manage to put ‘something’ on our tasting sheets.

Now I have to admit it seems so long ago that I can’t recall too much about each wine.  The upshot was that a English wine won the evening, now when we started our wine club around 15 years ago, we’d never have believed that an English wine would be top of the score board, they really have come on leaps and bounds.  Needless  to say, it was Chapel Down, we all thought it was delicious, smooth & creamy with peach & exotic fruit flavours.  Certainly one to buy again.

https://www.chapeldown.com

And not forgetting DELICIOUS homemade pie…

So sorry its brief, we meet again this Saturday so I will (try) to be more on the ball.

So time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x