German Wine

I tried some German wine recently. A big mistake. I know this sounds harsh but its been a good 10 years or more since I last had a go and sadly not much has changed. Okay, I was trying a range of Riesling's from different countries so I felt compelled to include one from the Pfalz region. I will blame Jancis Robinson. I was watching and old series of hers wine tasting around the world and she just happened to mention that she was a big fan of the Riesling grape. Now I am a big fan of Jancis so in for a penny... Off to Waitrose and quickly I found bottles from Australia , New Zealand and the US. Their German section consisted of about 2 wines which did not bode well.

I picked a snazzy label, not the traditional German label with more words than Mein Kampf for me! The Naked Grape, I kid you not, was a real dissappointment. All of my age old prejudices came flooding back and Jancis was public enemy number one. Sweet, sickly, lacking in finesse, structure and frankly any bite. What a shame. It might take me another 10 years before I try again but I do agree something with Jancis, the Oz Kiwi and Yank Reislings were outstanding.

Mouton Rothschild and Prince Charles

I’ve recently been trying to buy wine labels from the famous vineyard of Chateau Mouton Rothschild. For those of you not in the know the labels are famous in themselves in that since 1941 the chateau has featured paintings from artists as famous as Picasso, Braque, Chagall, Miro, Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol and a whole lot more. The latest painter to be featured is none other than our own Prince Charles. Now forgive me for being unpatriotic but since when has Prince Charles been in the same league as Picasso and Chagall??? I cannot remember any of his paintings selling for in excess of £10million at Sotheby’s but then what do I know? Maybe the chaps at Mouton Rothschild are once again ahead of the game and know something that we don’t know. He chose a watercolour of pine trees at Cap d’Antibes on the Cote d’Azur. It’s a bit dull but I’m no expert and frankly the contents of the bottle are far more interesting to me than the label. My collection is building, although it is not as easy as I thought to collect old labels, but I will include the 2004 when I can get hold of one. I just don’t want to miss out and if I am really honest, a part of me is secretly proud to have or future monarch featured on such a King amongst wines. Let’s face it, it does give the wine a certain regal accreditation and its much better than a pen portrait of Carla Bruni in the buff by President Sarkozy don’t you think?

Medal Winners or Price?

How much are we influenced by awards as opposed to price when it comes to buying wine? Take a look at any supermarket shelf and which areas are emptied first? It always strikes me that small percentages off the price or 'sales' seem to clear the shelves, irrespective of the quality of the wine, its country of origin or grape variety. People love a bargain and seem totally influenced by this over an award winning bottle standing next to the bottle on sale. So why do growers bother? Is this a valid secondary consideration when it comes to choice? Should it really be secondary?

My own personal view is that a great deal of effort goes into these awards and competitions. I am sure the growers and shippers are massively interested in the outcome because they can probably charge a bit more for the wine to the wholesalers and retailers. But as far as the end consumer is concerned it upsets me that this flies out the window if a major retailer decides to simply run a promotion on a wine or range of wines and people buy on perceived savings.

I will continue to buy on quality and choose the odd award winner from time to time, maybe there is more that the merchants and growers can do to change buying habits based upon quality. Let's hope so for all our sakes.

Cru Bourgeois

What is happening in Bordeaux? I am confused. Is the 2003 classification of Cru Bourgeois going to last? I heard that it had been abolished only 4 years after its inception. Frankly I am very confused. I liked the old classification, the wines were reliable and affordable and a great guide to amateur wine connoisseurs all over the world. I want them to go back to where they were and stop being driven by commercial motivators. These are the best wines in the world, under threat from the Americas, Eastern Europe and Australasia. I wish the french would sort themselves out and concentrate on what they do best, producing fantastic wines.