Announcements!

What an exciting couple of weeks it has been! So I have two very important pieces of news. First something I have been dying to share since I first heard in October, I am now, well for a year, an honorary Knight of Wine! Here I am receiving my Knighthood (from Gerard Basset no less).

This all came about after scoring one of the highest marks for the WSET Level 3 course I did in December 2014. The top thirty highest scoring students were asked to take part in a Viva Voce competition where there were 12 scholarships up for grabs. Well I made the grade and was awarded the Wines of Spain Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino (The Grand Order of the Knights of Wine!) scholarship with two other lucky scholars. Along with this I get a guided study trip to fabulous wine regions in Spain, an amazing prize, particularly as I love Spanish wine.

The second very important announcement is that I will be hosting a Deptford and New Cross Wine Club again, but this time in a super venue, Buster Mantis in Deptford. You may have read earlier posts where I have talked about it as I am their wine list consultant. I can't wait to use their great space to showcase wines exclusively from the UK, and there is an incredible selection out there, one that is even made in London! This will take place on the 24th February at 7.30. For more information and to buy tickets click here.

More Champagne - Vintage and Non Vintage

Over the past and in the upcoming weeks, on the diploma course we are studying sparkling wine. This appeals to me in the way you might tell me that I am going to be eating only chicken for the next week. A mix of excitement and dread. Excitement over the potential of succulent expertly cooked cuts that have absorbed wonderful flavours and retain that moisture, the anticipation of a naughty piece of fried chicken oozing with calorific yumminess normally only ever consumed during an ill judged 3am hunger pang and then the utter dread of a mountain of dry, tasteless, boring mass farmed white meat. With all that in mind I arrived at my first session, however it was surprisingly fascinating, mainly for the reason that we were given the opportunity to really think about and distinguish properly the difference between vintage and non-vintage Champagne, not that I was really aware of that at the time. Now I'm sure that those of you that regularly drink Champagne probably know these differences. I am aware that vintage Champagne is regarded as better, is generally far more expensive than NV and only made in certain years. Yet I have done the odd blind tasting where vintage and NV have been pitted against each other and it seems to me that a very good NV can be just as good if not better than some vintage Champagnes so my desire on this part of the course was really to understand what makes a truly good vintage and a truly good non vintage Champagne so that when the occasion presents itself you are able to make that decision to toast it in whichever way you want, NV or vintage but ensuring that that occasion is marked by a wine that doesn't disappoint.
When I drink Champagne, typically I want brioche, I want underlying apple, toastiness, warmth but crispness. If a champagne can achieve all those I'm a happy girl and a good NV will definitely do that (the Chateau de Bousault I've been getting from Georges Barbier of London is a good example) again though the Vintage Piper-Heidsieck 2006 I cracked open for my last birthday was an absolute treat. But how do we differentiate? Well I have WSET to thank for making it so clear the other week.

 

We were presented with a blind tasting, 3 sparkling wines, all pretty much identical looking. The first had many Prosecco characteristics but lacked the aromatics and the acidity wasn't there. I couldn't detect any autolysis (yeast notes) so it was a bit confusing. I knew it wasn't Prosecco but I couldn't detect any traditional method style indicators, someone on my course called it out as a Cremant which I disputed but he was in essence on the right track, turns out it was a young Cava, so produced in the traditional method, which all Cremants are (like Champagne) but only left on it's lees (sediment, old yeast cells) for 9 months which doesn't give the wine the opportunity to showcase those characteristics. The next wine was vastly different. It was clearly a Champagne, had some very appealing creaminess, cooking apple, quince, citrus, floral and an almost slightly yogurt flavour that made me think it was probably a NV Champagne. You could taste the autolysis, which I am a big fan of and some lovely fruit. This was definitely a Champagne I would be happy to sample on other occasions! Then came wine number 3. Well I didn't really understand what I was tasting. The first taste threw me, there was a defined savoury note which really consumed me, my head was whirring trying to identify what it was I'd just experienced. There were herbs, mushrooms, grapefruit, apple and a pastry like dough, the more I tasted the more flavour bubbles burst on my tongue, it was just getting better and better. One minute apple, then sweet pastry, then grass, then mushroom. This was a sensual experience and it was in those moments that I was able to clearly see for the first time what all the fuss was about. Those savory bottle aging notes vying for attention with the bursts of yeast. This was a striking example of a brilliant vintage Champagne and I have to say that I was surprised because as much as I like doing these WSET classes I am always a bit skeptical as to how much they are willing to blow on a bottle for their students to sample (I did my level 3 at Berrys and they did pluck out some gooduns). You should never second guess what you are tasting and this was no exception. It was outstanding and for around £90 a bottle you would bloody hope so! This was Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque 2007 and what a little belle époque that tasting session was. Someone much savvier than me spotted this and rushed to get the remainder of the blind tasting bottle, sample number 3 for a rather hefty refill! It is doubtful I will be sampling such pleasures again in the near future as these types of wines go way beyond my budget but I have had the experience and it is one I shan't forget (well hopefully not before the sparkling wine tasting exam, if we get lucky!).
 


Though I rave about this wine, sample 2 was great and at £18.99 from Waitrose (their Brut NV) a serious contender for more regular celebratory occasions and definitely more in my price range. Sample 1 (Codorniu Brut  £6.66 on offer at Majestic) isn't coming off too well in this but I am a massive fan of Cava, for me however this was just too simple with not enough time on lees just showing off primary fruit flavours and I like my traditional method sparkles to taste like they've gone through the traditional method. My go to Cava is the fabulous Perellada that you can also buy in Waitrose.
So side by side a valuable experience to try two quality champagnes vintage and non vintage and finally understand what it is that differentiates them so to truly appreciate them for what they are. Cheers!

South East London - The New London Wine Epicentre?

In my quest to convert the drinkers of South East London into wine drinkers and the wine drinkers of South East London into wine enthusiasts I like to think that I am contributing to the community in a most positive way.

The Deptford and New Cross Wine Club has been growing in numbers and the last food and wine pairing event I did with my sister as Château Canard sold out in about 3 weeks and was a great success and an achievement I am truly proud of. We hosted this event for 36 people in the beautiful Art Deco Catford Broadway Theatre Cafe, as part of Catford Canteen on November 20th. Here is the menu:

 

Here are some photos from the night.

Can you spot me hard at work?
Some of the food:


If the reviews were anything to go by everyone had a great time and we can't wait to do another one. Massive thanks to the team at Catford Broadway Theatre, Helen in particular, Deborah Efemini of Deck Social and Grub Club and of course the team, Tabitha, Jo, Cecile, Gavin and the cool and calm under immense pressure Anne-Louise Denyer.

The next Deptford and New Cross Wine Club will be in early February when people are drinking and spending money again. Thoughts are on English wine for this one. Any other ideas are welcome.

I have also been asked to create the wine list for the new and might I add very cool new drinking and eating establishment in Deptford, Buster Mantis. This Jamaican (but not overly themed) bar and restaurant is the brainchild of Gordon McGowan and having been a couple of times already I can safely say that it is a much needed addition to the Deptford social scene. When the wine list is completed I will put up my own reviews of the wines. They have all been selected and are very good indeed and promise to pair marvelously with the dishes on offer at Buster Mantis which are fantastically prepared by Gordon's mum.

Deep Discouter Festive (bit late!) Wine Bargains - Part 2

I did manage to pop into Aldi this holiday. I wasn't as impressed as when I visited Lidl but there were some wines that definitely piqued my interest. I had to try their £10.99 Champagne, the eternal question, is there such a thing as a really good cheap Champagne? Well, umm, not really in this case. This was drunk that same evening (I'm a fast worker when I want to be!) and it wasn't bad but there was nothing particularly interesting or exciting about it. I would have rather spent the same amount of money on a really good Cava where I could have picked up some complexity. This had aromas and flavours of cooking apple and that was about it, quite coarse bubbles and a short length. However if you want to have a Champagne party on a budget, it'll do.



The other wines I was intrigued by were, no surprises, mostly French and from regions I am pretty familiar with. I have purchased the following but not yet tried them and will be reviewing them as I do. If any are worth grabbing I will let you know.


 

The Limoux Chardonnay is £6.99 and I have had some fabulous Chardonnay from there thanks to it's slightly cooler climate in the hills and the generous use of new oak. The Costières de Nîmes is £4.79 and should be a nice rich Southern Rhône with black and red fruit and a touch of pepper. The Pinot Noir from Marlborough New Zealand should be light red fruit flavours with some oak but it is young as a 2014. It is £6.99. Having said that one of my favourite Pinot Noirs is from Marlborough, New Zealand. It probably would have gone well with turkey (sorry, bit late for that!). So as you can see two of those wines are from Aldi's Exquisite Collection. Currently the head wine buyer at Aldi is Mike James. He was named as the most influential person in wine in 2015 by offlicencenews.com. This is because of his influence on the sales of supermarket wine, selling a small selection of wines at a large volume so being able to sell them more cheaply. He is definitely making Waitrose and Tesco sit up and take note after Aldi's recent surge of sales. Here is an interesting excerpt about him from offlicencenews.com.

"His background couldn’t be further removed from the wine trade’s old guard. A doctor of philosophy, conservation and ecology, he spent more time writing his PhD on the world’s smallest butterfly than studying for the WSET two-year wine diploma course.

He gave up a job as a school lab assistant to join Aldi in 2004 as an area manager and became wine buying director in 2010.

Five years on, aged just 41, he has created a more significant impact than many of the wine trade’s great personalities.

His mantra is to cater for shoppers who want what he describes as “X-Factor wines”, bottles consumers can enjoy on the sofa on a Saturday night. It’s an honest approach that might not chime with attitudes long-held by some in the industry, but it’s caused crashing waves in the commercial wine landscape."

Another interesting fact is that the wine and spirits team at Aldi just consists of two people, himself and one other. Now if that isn't a true money saving strategy I don't know what is!