Brett, The Wine Maestro

A walk to Victoria Park Village, Hackney

2009-07-12T09:40:00.012+01:00

It was a bright, sunny day when we went for a walk along the Regent's Canal to Victoria Park in search of lunch.

We also wanted to explore the area just to the north of the park, called Victoria Park Village, which adds a touch of dash to Hackney.

The green taxi outside the Royal Inn on the Park is nearly as colourful as the flower arrangement gracing the bar.

Further on from the Inn on the Park is the Fish House where you can enjoy a huge plate of fresh fish and real British chips complete with mushy peas.

They offer a more complete menu in the evening and they don’t mind if you order a child’s portion, which would have saved us from ourselves… And you can always ask for a glass of wine which isn’t featured on the small menu.

After lunch the tour continued where we saw the finishing touches being put to the brand new wine shop Bottle Apostle due to open imminently. Using the innovative Enomatic wine system the machine dispenses servings of wine on a pay-per-serving basis using special credit cards that can be charged in the shop. Each bottle can have a different price per serving, as well as different measures. The wine is kept in good drinking condition by injecting nitrogen (an inert gas) into the bottle in the same volume as that removed in each serving.

There will be a total of 32 different wines to taste at any one time and when we tracked down the manager, Tom Jarvis, at his ‘office’ in the Lauriston he was hard at work with all the last minute details as well as full of enthusiasm for his new venture.

We visited one last shop in Victoria Park Village, the Ginger Pig butcher and delicatessen. Their first butchery opened in Borough Market in the 1990s and they now own three more shops in London supplied by produce from their Yorkshire farm. We returned home with a pork hock chosen from a selection of well presented meat. Next time a Hackney rolled rib of beef? This is another part of London which is exciting and interesting, and is approachable from both directions on the Regent’s canal.

I need say no more.

A Portuguese wine tasting in Billericay

2009-04-23T12:40:00.020+01:00

Earlier this week I introduced 27 people to the joys and delights of the wines of Portugal or, rather, showed them eight wines, as a number of the tasters often travel to that lovely country, and several have tasted Portuguese wines with me before and enjoyed them in my wine club cases.

The spacious first floor room I’d hired at the Village Bar and Grill, conveniently situated on Billericay High Street, was bathed by the rays of the late afternoon sun. It was a good start as I always look better with a light behind me, as the Judge sang about the plaintiff, Angelina, in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury:

The rich attorney, he jumped with joy,
And replied to my fond professions:
"You shall reap the reward of your pluck, my boy,
At the Bailey and Middlesex sessions.
You'll soon get used to her looks," said he,
"And a very nice girl you will find her!
She may very well pass for forty-three
In the dusk, with a light behind her!"

Some were expecting to see rosés in bottles suitable for lampshades but weren’t too disappointed when they weren’t to be found. Instead we tasted two whites and six reds which were all made with Portuguese grape varieties with the occasional addition of international varieties. The names are difficult, and often awkward to pronounce let alone remember, but the wines were enjoyed because of their quality and individual characteristics.

Many were intrigued to learn that Tinta Roriz and Aragonês are, in fact, the SpanishTempranillo and that similar varieties are called by different names in other wine growing areas of Portugal.

At the end of the tasting the guests made their downstairs for dinner, clutching the useful booklets provided by Viniportugal, and discussing the wines of Portugal.

Here are the wines we tasted:

1 Quinta de Azevedo, Vinho Verde 2007
Fresh, lively and dry with good lemony notes. 70% Loureiro, 30% Paderna.

2 Terra de Lobos White 2008 Ribatejo
Plump, dry with good acidity. A blend of Fernão Pires and Sauvignon.

3 Marco do Pegões Tinto 2006 Terras do Sado
Lots of ripe red fruits. Made by the award winning Jaime Quendera at the Pegões cooperative near Setubal.

4 Conde de Vimioso Tinto 2006 Alentejo
Ruby red in colour with a nose of cooked red compote and hints of tannin. A blend of local varieties, Aragonês and Touriga Nacional, and the international Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, which was aged for six months in oak. This is the first of the wines tatsed that are produced by João Portugal Ramos, a larger than life character who does so much for Portuguese wines.

5 Quinta de Ponte Pedrinha Tinto 2003 Dão
Mature with dry fruit and gentle tannins. A classic Dão blend of Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro Preto, Jaen and Tinta Roriz.

6 Aragonês João Portugal Ramos 2007 Alentejo
Big red with good tannins – hints of cherries and plums. Aged six months in oak.

7 Duas Quintas Douro Tinto, Adriano Ramos Pinto 2004 Douro
Intense with, yes, porty hints! Another classic Portuguese blend of Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Nacional.

8 Falcoaria Tinto, Quinta do Casal Branco 2006 Almeirim, Ribatejo
Deep, intense, rich with balancing black fruit and maturing tannins. Made with Castelão and Trincadeira from 80 year old vineyards, whose maturity and age benefit the wine.

Visiting old friends in Castilla y León

2009-04-08T15:01:00.051+01:00

During the Circle of Wine Writers' trip to Castilla y León earlier this year we visited modern bodegas in newly demarcated, promoted wine regions in this beautiful part of northern Spain. There was one exception, however, to all this modernity: Bodegas Otero in Benavente, a wine business that was created in 1906 by the grandfather, yes, the granddad, of the current owner, Julio Otero!

Ten years ago, when I was running Webber's Wine Bar in Billericay, I won the Spanish Wine List of the Year award. The prize was a trip to northern Spain where a small group of us visited several regions and wineries there.

On that trip ten years ago we had seen bodegas in Rioja, Navarra as well as Rueda, and we didn't really know what to expect when we arrived in the sleepy little town of Benavente, where many of the roads were unmade, to visit Bodegas Otero. I do remember that we were very impressed by the quality, as well as the honesty, of their wines. At the time Julio was running the bodega with his father Manuel and both were very proud of their achievements.

Ten years later we arrived in a smart, modern town - where there is still time to sit and chat. When our coach pulled up outside the bodega Manuel came out to greet us. Looking very dapper he is now retired, although he still keeps an eye on everything! We both recognised each other and reminisced of my last visit.

We entered the bodega through the cellars that had been excavated in the early 1950s enlarging the winery from its original shop premises. Concrete tanks with a capacity of 300,000 litres are still used and there are barrel cellars as well as a Cape Canaveral of stainless steel tanks. In total Bodegas Otero produces 1.3 million bottles of wine, of which 250,000 bottles are 'quality' wine.

Their quality wine is VCPRD, meaning Vino de Calidad Producido en Región Determinada. In 1986 Otero helped form an association with the other five major producers in the region and they decided not to try to achieve the higher category of Denominación de Origen because of the cost of controls and they didn't want to have to increase their prices. This value for money quality was demonstrated when we tried the wines in their smart tasting room.

First, Julio told us about the particular red grape variety of Leon, and Benavente: the Prieto Picudo. Rather like talking about a wayward child of which one is proud, Julio said: "It is difficult to cultivate, its branches and spurs go every which way, there are leaves all over the place and it needs lots of room! But it does make good wine".

They own 12 hectares of Prieto Picudo as well as 14ha Tempranillo, 5ha Cabernet Sauvignon and 2.5ha each of Merlot and Mencia, another local red variety. There are also 8ha of Verdejo for white wine. In all they have 44ha of vineyards and, as you can guess from their total production, they do buy in a lot of grapes.

Rosado wines are an important part of their business and, as it is Spain, always has been: rosé is no modern fad in this part of the world! And the Otero rosado is special. It is made with classic red grapes that are harvested early in order to preserve the acidity, which are pressed and fermented as white wine. This method produces a well rounded wine with good acidity which can age well too, as we saw with the collection of bottles from previous vintages.

The first two vintages we tried were delicious; deep pink in colour with the 2008 showing a hint of blue, which Spanish winemakers delight in telling you! (Nobody in France or elsewhere shows such pride in this trace of blue in the colour spectru...). Both wines were dry with fine balancing acidity; the 2008 with bright red fruits on the nose, the 2007 more Morello cherry.

Then, as some of us assembled a range of their rosados to photograph against the light, Julio opened a bottle of their 1970 rosado which was enjoyed by everyone, especially as the wine still had lots of life in it exhibiting hints of concentrated spicy black fruits.

We concluded the tasting with four reds, all made with their enfant terrible grape, Prieto Picudo. First the 2008, a viña joven (no oak) which was lively with good red fruit notes. The other three all had had 12 months in French oak and it was interesting to try to discover the characteristics of this indigenous grape variety. The youngest, 2006, had hints of coffee with red fruits on the nose and on the palate accompanied by gentle tannins. 2005 showed bright ripe red fruit with stalky hints, as did the 2002 though with deeper flavours.

The last red, labelled VO, was from their own vineyard, Pago de Valleoscuro. This 2007 was a blend of Prieto Picudo and Tempranillo that had been aged in concrete tanks in the cellar: a lovely wine with rich fruit, gentle tannins completed by a long finish.

These wines are very reasonably priced starting at €2 going up to €7 – no D.O. you see! In the UK the retail price would be from £5 to £14, though currently no-one is importing them.

The tasting was followed by an al fresco lunch, which was very convivial with two sorts of empanada, tuna and tomato, and chorizo served at the tasting table, accompanied by the wines we’d tasted, which were even more delicious!

It was great to be back at Bodegas Otero in Benavente where the town shows considerable improvement from when I was last there. The wine, however, is as good as ever as is the very warm family welcome and hospitality. I look forward to returning to renew my friendship with Manuel and Julio very soon.

If you enjoyed reading this post do have a look at another I've written about this trip: "A Fantastical Night in Zamora"

All the Nines: Ninety Nine and others

2009-03-14T10:57:00.018Z

One evening in February we invited four friends, all wine lovers, to a dinner with the theme of drinking wines from vintages ending in 'nine'. Guests were invited, and we arranged between us what wines we would bring from our cellars - as you can imagine with older vintages more reds were available so we had to plan the meal accordingly.

The line up of some of the wines looked pretty impressive!

We started with Champagne Bernard Brémont 1999 Grand Cru Ambonnay
Fine gentle mousse with delicious mouth filling blackberry note, dry with sustaining acidity.

Before we tucked into our meal we tasted the reds, from all over the world.

Jean Leon Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva 1999 Pago Jean Leon, Spain
Lovely bright red with warm, ripe, attractive red fruits balanced with gentle tannins.

Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet/Shiraz 1989 South Australia
Mid red in colour with a little browning at the rim with meaty, fruity notes. A mature wine though still with some life in it - well balanced with a long finish.

Trinity Hill Trinity 1999 Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Russet in colour showing some browning on the edge it was drying and only showing a little fruit.

The oldest red was a magnum of Burgundy which I bought in the early 1970s from Serena Sutcliffe MW when she was working with a small wine importer.

Chassagne Premier Cru Morgeots, Prosper Maufoux 1969 Burgundy, France
There was a slight ullage, to mid neck. Browny red the nose was slightly farmyardy with a hint of fruit. On the palate it was full-bodied and robust, seeming very typical of the ‘big’ style of Burgundies commonly produced in that era.

With our first course of smoked salmon on blinis we drank another Grand Cru, this time from Alsace.
Pinot Gris, Grand Cru Spiegel, Domaines Schlumberger 1999 Alsace, France
Deep yellow colour – honeycomb and musky floral notes on the nose, which continued on the palate; medium dry with gently acidity completed by a long finish.

The main course was a simple game casserole – simple because it didn’t taste too gamey – just the dish to enjoy with the reds. Delightfully we didn’t all agree on which wine was the best match with the Penfolds Bin 389 and the Jean Leon Cabernet Sauvignon vying for top position.

We’d brought back from France a couple of cheeses: Tommette, made just down the road from us in Haute Savoie, and Comté, from the Jura where the unique Vin Jaune is made.

Arbois Vin Jaune, Jaques Puffeney 1999 Jura, France
Golden yellow with a concentrated bouquet of wet walnuts, spices (fenugreek). Deep rich flavours on the palate with fantastic balancing acidity. It matched the Comte splendidly.

We completed the dinner with a special treat from 1939!

Massandra Gurzuf Rose Muscat 1939 Crimea
Bronze gold with faintest hint of pink, the nose was a complex mix of acacia honey, warm toffee and attar of roses. Still fresh it was unctuously sweet, tempered by bright acidity with all the flavours on the nose continuing in the mouth. Wow!

Wink has written a blog recounting the history of this ‘wine of the Tsars’, why and how she bought it.

We all enjoyed a very convivial evening with lots of conversation and discussion, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to share all these wines in such great company.

Boutinot at the Tower of London

2009-02-13T16:15:00.016Z

To the Armouries at the Tower of London for the Boutinot tasting.

I enjoy this venue as there is a lot of space as well as daylight. The layout was good, with the cheap and cheerful (ie house wines) on one long table by the entrance; then spanning the room were tables with wines from all over, many with the producers pouring as well as answering questions and fielding comments about their wines. Paul Boutinot himself was presenting his South African wines, and I enjoyed the False Bay Chenin Blanc 2008: bright, crisp, dry with lovely apply fruit.

As I tend to do at tastings with a lot on offer I hone in on particular wines, and their producers. Paul McArdle of Fonty's Pool was on hand to tell me about how carefully he monitors the fruit harvested in his vineyards in Pemberton, Western Australia since he became CEO three years ago. Fonty's Pool has come on in leaps and bounds since Paul took over - and it shows! His Sauvignon/Semillon 2008 is well rounded, dry, fruity with bright acidity.

The wines of Chile were showing very well too: as well as Cesar Moralis of Emiliana showing a range of the VOE organic wines and the exciting Novas Winemaker Selections white and red, Felipe Muller-East offered some good wines from Limari, in the north of Chile, under the Tabali label. And, of course, the Casa Marin individual vineyard wines from the coastal vineyards of San Antonio were as good as ever.

There were good wines from Spain, Portugal and Italy and then I reached France, where I met Philippe Girard again and tried his wines: two vintages of his straight Sancerre and a tank sample of Silex, made from grapes grown in flinty vineyards, showing an exciting minerality.

At the end of the morning I enjoyed meeting and tasting the Rhône wines made by Eric Monnin, Boutinot's inspired winemaker in the south of France. His Les Cérisiers (aptly named) is a pale pink rosé was dry with good, yes, cherry notes; then I tried a great full-bodied, deeply flavoured fruity 2007 Gigondas, with a long life ahead of it; and two vintages of Cairanne, La Côte Sauvage. The 2006 was gorgeous but the 2005 ("We have a few magnums left!") was even better, a great example of a warm vintage.

The tasting was completed by a good, simple lunch, though not in this fine tent pitched in the Tower.

Lunch was enhanced by this great array of fruit!

With a nod in the direction of the mayor of London, hopefully working hard for the Tidal Thames,

we set off for a much needed walk past Tower Bridge

towards Limehouse, with Canary Wharf on the horizon.

How To #1 - Open a Bottle of Sparkling Wine

2009-01-03T17:06:00.006Z

1. Grasp bottle firmly and hold at 45⁰ pointing away from you, aiming at no-one.

2. Still holding the bottle firmly, grip the cork and twist it to remove. Please, no loud popping - so infra-dig.

3. Pour slowly and carefully.

4. Enjoy, with moderation of course.

Our Christmas dinner

2008-12-31T15:42:00.033Z

Wink had bought me a seasonal cookbook, Elizabeth David's Christmas. Compiled by Jill Norman, ED's longstanding editor, from articles and recipes for a book which never reached fruition in this great author's lifetime. As with all her books it makes a very good read as well as having lots of good recipes.

We had decided to have a capon this Christmas as there were only two of us (aaah!) so we bought a chapon de Loué weighing 1.6kg as suggested in the recipe and not the big bruiser one normally expects.

As suggested I prepared tomatoes with rice and walnut stuffing which cooked in the oven during the last 30 minutes roasting time.

The other vegetables were brussels sprouts enhanced with chestnuts, and roasted parnsips. A little wine stirred in the roasting pan made a light gravy for our Christmas meal.

Whilst roasting the bird we had our aperitif:
Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Kabinett 2002
Lovely elegant wine with a touch of lime on the nose and just off-dry. Good minerality, medium-bodied, refreshing completed by a long finish.

And with our meal we delved into the past with a mature Burgundy:
Faiveley Nuits St Georges Premier Cru, Clos de la Maréchale 1991
Good red in colour with brown rim. Aged blackberries on the nose with a touch of vegetal, this wine belied its age still being robust in body and flavour - chaptalised in what not a great Burgundy vintage. However the wine went well with the capon as none of the accompaniments were too strong in flavour. We enjoyed this little gem from the Webber's Wine Bar cellar - and we still have a bottle left!

The wines

Christmas 2008

2008-12-28T16:53:00.027Z

It was great to be back at Chalet Balaena where the snow was deep and crisp and even - a positive start to the ski season.

Chalet Balaena

Chalet Balaena with the mountain towering behind...

... and the chapel in the old village, just down the road from us.

While Wink took her new tenant, Will, to show him the slopes I warmed up with a few gentle skis at Outalay

before pausing for a vin chaud!

The next day was Christmas Eve so we went down to the market in Grand Bornand to buy vegetables,

ham and saucisson (I'm not sure about that one in the middle),

as well as gazing at the seasonal specialities of foie gras, snails and Grand Bornand smoked salmon.

As always the cheery M. Bozon jnr looked after us.

To Champion supermarket, where we appreciated their best wishes for the season.

We enjoyed the cornucopia of shellfish

and bid farewell to this fine lobster.

To complete our trip to Thones we visited the Christmas market

where we were warmed by the 'ritual burning of the pallet'

before enjoying a vin chaud, warmed above this unusual log fire. Using a hollowed green log, the fire consumes it slowly throughout the day.

Cheerily served - everyone is imbued with the Christmas spirit.

Back home, we decorated the Christmas tree and strewed presents around it.

Christmas Day and the forecast was promising after a cloudy start.

We set off for the slopes and, having arrived at the top,

fortified ourselves with a hot chocolate and rum!

We skied and snowboarded till lunchtime which we enjoyed up high with Will and Hazel.

Boxing Day was even brighter and we set off again to enjoy the snow, sun and blue skies

as well as great views

with Wink in front of Pointe Percée

and me!

We rounded off our morning with lunch at La Taverne with a bottle of Apremont, the essential mountain frites, endives au gratin

and the company of Yvonne and Juliette as well as Phil.

Autumn Sunday in Greenwich

2008-10-22T08:18:00.029+01:00

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."
Albert Camus

With another sunny day forecast we went to Greenwich Park where the views were a bit hazy at first.

When we reached the top of One Tree Hill the sun had burnt off some of the mist and the views north became clearer - I'm sure you can see Limehouse...

From the photos I took it would seem that the vistas over London were more important than the foliage!

Wink enjoyed tree hugging, an activity that hasn't been seen for some time.

In need of suitable refreshment we continued into the town avoiding the fleshpots of the centre and made our way to Royal Hill, an attractive street, where we found two pubs next door to each other: The Richard 1 and The Greenwich Union.

We chose the latter and, from a small menu, I chose roast lamb (here seen with its own Yorkshire pud!) and Wink one of the vegetarian dishes.

As this pub is owned by Meantime Brewery I had a pint of bitter and Wink the Santa Julia Tempranillo Malbec from Argentina. It was pleasant to enjoy our meal in the garden behind the pub.

On our return to the Park we passed this autumnal display (I have used this photo for the latest wine club case).

And we bid a greeting to these two gentlemen relaxing after their Sunday lunch.

Cups runneth over

2008-10-08T08:49:00.012+01:00

Every wine region celebrates the vintage in its own particular way, and I did enjoy this story of how the wine flowed in the Italian town of Marina.

I am reminded of when we used to visit an old uncle whose kitchen sink sported 3 taps - the middle one, I was told (I was of an impressionable age) provided beer...

It's good to see this idea emulated in Italy!

Seyssel

2008-09-29T09:41:00.054+01:00

We were off on a little wine tour, this time to Clairette de Die, when we broke our journey in Seyssel, yet another vineyard area on the Rhône.

Seyssel is just outside the Savoie and is known in the UK for its bottle-fermented sparkling wines, especially Varichon et Clerc Royal Seyssel (more about this later).

Just above Seyssel we climbed up through the vineyards to the village of Corbonod where we visited Maison Mollex, a wine producer and négociant. Their own production is sparkling, and still white wine made with 100% Roussette (the Altesse of Savoie).

Hence their 'smart' delivery lorry to supply local clients!

We visited the cave and saw their stocks of maturing sparkling wine. Very occasionally a bottle will explode but they are stacked in such a way that no damage is done to the neighbouring bottles.

The bottles are disgorged, to remove the sediment, à la volée – always interesting to see.

We tasted a couple of their Roussettes, preferring La Péclette 2006, from the eponymous 5ha vineyard. "Lovely ripe peachy fruit on the nose this just off-dry wine has good balancing acidity with a meaty finish."

As it was now midday we drove down to Seyssel where we had lunch at the Hotel Beausejour, the yellow building to the right, by the river.

Whilst Wink wisely ordered a seafood salad I indulged in the local speciality, La Friture, not dissimilar to whitebait. Accompanying it was a bowl of quinoa and tomato, so at least there was some healthy eating...

... though I had to have an ice cream!

To complete our visit to Seyssel we continued to the outskirts of the town to the Cave de Vins Lambert, an interesting wine shop that Wink was researching for Wine Travel Guides.

There we met Gérard Lambert who told us that he had bought the rights to produce Royal Seyssel, a sparkling wine made in Seyssel since the start of the 20th century by Varichon et Clerc. This company had been taken over by Boisset, a Burgundy négociant, who'd let its reputation slip.

So Gérard had negotiated (hah!) to buy Royal Seyssel in order to restore it to its former glory. He has built a new aging facility behind his wine shop and he proudly showed us the wine maturing. Good luck to Gérard in his brave endeavour!

The Corpus Christi Clock

2008-09-27T13:47:00.001+01:00

Normally time flies, but on this clock time hops!

See the short video about the new Corpus Clock in Cambridge which was unveiled by Professor Stephen Hawking in September.

Savoie - Chautagne

2008-08-31T20:38:00.076+01:00

At last the weather was sunny and we were off to visit more of La France Profonde – La Chautagne .

Chautagne is one of the 20 or so small areas in the AOC region of Savoie: there are about 1800ha of vines scattered hither and thither in Savoie where the altitude and slopes allow for wine growing.

With Griselda (my Garmin Nüvi GPS, which can be a tad temperemental but never argumentative) we set off to drive via Annecy through peaceful countryside and then the gorge at Val-de-Fier, with its dams, reaching Serrières en Chautagne to visit a small producer there, Domaine de Verronet.

We rang the bell at the door which connected us to Madame who was working in the vineyard, who said that she would be along in a moment. When she arrived we tasted a range of wines in the little tasting room adjacent to the cellar.

With about 10ha of vines (some rented) 80% are red and 20% white varieties. Chautagne is the exception that makes the rule as Savoie as a whole produces a lot more white than red and rosé. we had a look at the vineyard behind the property before continuing on our way.

We then drove up through the vineyards to find Jacques Maillet. A charming man totally dedicated to making wines with character. After a serious illness in 2002 he reduced his vineyards from 6.5ha to 2.5ha and now produces wine biodynamically, with a loathing of machinery!

We enjoyed a vertical tasting of all his Autrement from its first vintage in 2004 (he now only has 9 bottles left!) to a tank sample of 2007. The wine is a blend of Gamay, Pinot Noir and Mondeuse - some of the latter vines are 107 years old.

I enjoyed all the vintages especially the earliest: pale in colour, which is typical of the red wines of Savoie, with a touch of minerality on the nose with lots of gorgeous ripe fruit - and a touch of heather!

We completed our tasting with a fine aperitif: Jacques' first white, Jacquère 2007 which was delicious. What a great guy!

We had a straightfoward lunch at the Auberge de Motz, a building that had been extensively refurbished by the village council using some of the income generated by the use of the electricity company's hydro-electric dams in its borough.

After lunch we drove through past more vineyards to Ruffieux...

...where we visited the Maison de Chautagne. The home of the local cooperative it also has a very good interactive wine museum as well as a large shop selling their wines as well as other local produce.

Our last visit of the day was to Chanaz, a pretty little tourist town on the Canal de Savières. The canal connects the river Rhône with the Lac de Bourget, the largest lake in France. Boat trips are popular on this waterway which can flow either way depending on the height of the river.

After a visit of the local watermill and a cup of tea we returned home using Griselda to guide us. True to form she found the most direct route which meant travelling up a steep, narrow road by the Lac de Bourget, the trickiness of which was compensated by terrific views of the lake.

Au Clair de Lune

2008-07-22T14:30:00.011+01:00

We'd just returned to Le Chinaillon where it was a delight to see the green mountains and valleys, complemented by a few remaining patches of snow on the heights of the Aravis. And it was in the shadow of these mountains that we went to enjoy an evening en plein air, in La Clusaz.

The street lights and most of the other shop lights in the town centre are extinguished during the evening - the streets and squares are illuminated by myriad candles.

As dusk fell the entertainers started to wander the streets (here's un chuchotier whispering I know-not-what to a reveller), and the bands started to play. There were four in different locations, sufficiently distant from each other to avoid any cacophony!

We first joined the crowds listening to a Spanish trio but continued to the town square to reach the Blues band we were looking forward to see. And we were not disappointed! Indeed we watched their complete set - 1 1/2 hours.

All the way from Chicago they were Maurice John Vaughn, guitar, keyboards and vocals, and B.J. Emery, trombone and vocals.

The music was great with a fine selection including a song I'd not heard before, a very up-to-date blues: "Computers lost me my job"!

There was other entertainment as well with stilt walkers, one of whom did a very leggy jive in front of the band, and the fire eaters.

And what of the full moon? Although we 'danced by the light of the silvery moon' we never actually saw the full moon! Hidden be the Aravis we only got to see it when we returned home to Le Vieux Village, Chinaillon.

The next Balade au Clair de Lune in La Clusaz will be on Saturday 16th August 2008 - don't miss it!

To the Jura

2008-06-11T22:39:00.018+01:00

We were on our way to the Mosel to do some riesling. What, you've never riesled? You should try it – it's a lot of fun!
Anyway, as we would be driving through the Jura (one of Wink's particular wine regions – she writes about it in Wine Report as well as on her website, Wine Travel Guides) we planned to make a few visits there.
I always enjoy the drive from Chinaillon to the Jura as to reach this region you can take the dramatic autoroute A40 high above Nantua and the lakes, aptly called L'Autoroute des Titans as you literally stride betwixt the mountains through tunnels and over high viaducts.

We arrived in the delightful little hamlet of La Combe just outside Rotalier to visit Domaine Ganevat.

We were ushered straight into one of Jean-François’ cellars where we started on a tasting of barrel samples of, first, his 2007 Chardonnays then to the next cellar to try some older vintages, still in cask.

Now we were joined by a couple of visitors; they’d dropped in just to buy some wine but were quickly brought up to speed with our tasting. Unfortunately they didn’t seem to be spitting, as we were doing so I don’t how they were going to feel the next day!

Another visitor was Jean-François’ dog, Oscar, who wanted to join in with his master, especially when it involved helping him to look for the bung that had escaped behind the barrels...

At 13.30 we completed our tasting. Jean-François Ganevat is an exciting winemaker producing a big range of good wines. He is one of the recommended wineries to visit in the ‘Around Lons-le-Saunier, Jura’ in Wine Travel Guides.

Then we all went to lunch at La Maison de Revermont, on the outskirts of Beaufort, to give us sustenance before our next Jura visits...

Uruguay Tasting for Prostate UK at the Hoop Stock

2008-05-02T22:46:00.001+01:00

Responding well to my treatment for prostate cancer, I have been very interested in the funding of research into this illness that is carried out by the charity Prostate UK. For a while now I have wanted to organise a wine tasting for this organisation so I was very grateful when my partner, Wink Lorch, suggested that she would like to host a tasting of the wines of Uruguay at a special event.

Michelle and Phil of the Hoop, Stock, kindly allowed us to use their upstairs restaurant last Monday, 28th April 2008 when 16 keen tasters came along to enjoy a selection of Uruguayan wines. As people arrived they were greeted with a glass of Catamayor Sauvignon, which went well with the smoked salmon, before sitting down.

I spoke about Prostate UK and then introduced Wink who took off with alacrity, sharing her knowledge and enjoyment of the wines of Uruguay and the winemakers, many of whom are now friends. Wink has visited Uruguay a number of times, as well other South American countries, and I was lucky to have accompanied her there a couple of years ago where I saw first hand how fond they are of her.

There were two more whites to try, then four reds before the evening concluded with a glass, or two, of the final red to accompany the light buffet.

With the raffle just over £400 was raised for Prostate UK. I am very grateful for everyone who attended this tasting, the wine producers of Uruguay, the Hoop and Wink. Have a look at Wink’s website Wine Travel Guides where you can subscribe to learn all you need to know how to visit the wine areas of France. You never know, before long there’ll be guides to Uruguay too...

Visit The Wine Maestro to learn more about what I do and details of The Wine Maestro Club.

The wines (with my tasting notes):

APERITIF: CATAMAYOR Sauvignon Blanc Reserve of the Family 2006

Region de Origen San José, Bodegas Castillo Viejo

Crisp dry with a touch of lime.

TASTING:

1 BOUZA Chardonnay 2006 Las Violetas (available at Great Western Wine)

Unoaked, this refreshing wine is dry with very attractive minerality.

2 PRELUDIO Chardonnay Viognier Roble 2006 Region Juanico

Dry with quite expressive oak – the Viognier in the blend adds an extra layer of complexity to the Chardonnay.

3 DE LUCCA Tannat 2006

The first Tannat, the red variety of Uruguay – lots of juicy plump ript red fruits. No wonder the Wine Society sold out of this wine so quickly!

4 MARICHAL Pinot Noir/Tannat 2003 Canelones
Pinot Noir 70%, Tannat 30%

Deep colour, the rich full fruit of the Tannat is complemented by the gentleness of the pinot Noir. An unusual blend but it works well.

5 BOUZA Tannat 2004 Las Violetas (available at Great Western Wine)

Deep colour, the rich full fruit of the Tannat is complemented by the gentleness of the pinot Noir. An unusual blend but it works well.

6 GRAN BODEGON 2004 Region Juanico, Establecimiento Juanico
42% Tannat, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc,
10% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, 2% Marselan

Definitely the total of this multi-blend wine is greater than the sum of its parts! Still on the road to full maturity one is assailed, pleasantly, by different textures and nuances.

WINE WITH SUPPER: PIZZORNO Merlot/Tannat 2005 Canelon Chico (available at Waitrose)

A lovely wine to complete the evening: good solid dark fruit flavours balanced by the gentle plumminess of the Merlot.