My mother drank (and smoked) while she was carrying me. In today's world with all the toxins, carcinogens and generally bad things that we are exposed to why is it so bad to enjoy a glass of wine or two when pregnant?
I am sure for every 'expert' that says it is bad for the mother and baby, there will be another that has the opposing view. I feel sorry for all those women who look longingly at a glass in a restaurant when others are having fun and enjoying a drop or two.
I wish I could recommend the ideal wine for expecting mothers but the best I can do is say that I am sure a little bit of something you fancy won't do anyone any harm!
Monday, 22 February 2010
Saturday, 5 December 2009
I had a superb Cotes du Rhone this evening. Gabriel Meffre - Terres de Galets 2008, individually numbered bottles and a gift from a friend. Superb drop, very smooth, drinkable and went very well with the lamb. Look out for it at Sainsbury's, very reasonable price and you won't be disappointed.
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Wine Fair, Merchants and Ducasse
It’s been a while since my last entry but that does not mean I have been abstaineous. I should be writing about the London Wine Fair but to be honest I don’t think I can add much that has not already been written elsewhere. It was fun and I made lots of contacts with people in the industry and learned a lot at the master classes.
The countries that seem to be making a real push at the moment seem to be coming out of South America. Uruguay and Brazil in particular seem to be really moving on in leaps and bounds and catching up Argentina and Chile rapidly. Their wines are pretty good, excellent value and great talking points at dinner parties all around the world.
I was impressed with the wine knowledge at a local wine merchant recently. Handford wines on the Old Brompton Road near South Ken tube is the place to go (http://www.handford.net/). With an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of wines, grape varieties, soil, climate, terroir etc the manager there is outstanding. He recommended a great Pinot Noir from the Santa Maria Valley and a white burgundy that was to die for. Much of his stock seems to be small parcels from up and coming producers and probably turns over very quickly. Take a look it’s a real treasure.
For my birthday my significant other treated me to a meal at Alan Ducasse at the Dorchester last week. A very disappointing tasting menu and service was almost redeemed by an indifferent Puligny Montrachet and an excellent Ch Frank Phelan 2003 from St. Estephe. This was a shame as I was expecting a wine list to compare with some of the great restaurants in London but maybe the captive audience of the Dorchester stimulates complacency and unjustified prices that other top quality restaurants would not dream of charging. I was tempted to contact AA Gill and send him in to give it the once over.
If anyone can suggest some countries that I should be looking at please let me know and I will report my findings at a later date. Bye for now.
The countries that seem to be making a real push at the moment seem to be coming out of South America. Uruguay and Brazil in particular seem to be really moving on in leaps and bounds and catching up Argentina and Chile rapidly. Their wines are pretty good, excellent value and great talking points at dinner parties all around the world.
I was impressed with the wine knowledge at a local wine merchant recently. Handford wines on the Old Brompton Road near South Ken tube is the place to go (http://www.handford.net/). With an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of wines, grape varieties, soil, climate, terroir etc the manager there is outstanding. He recommended a great Pinot Noir from the Santa Maria Valley and a white burgundy that was to die for. Much of his stock seems to be small parcels from up and coming producers and probably turns over very quickly. Take a look it’s a real treasure.
For my birthday my significant other treated me to a meal at Alan Ducasse at the Dorchester last week. A very disappointing tasting menu and service was almost redeemed by an indifferent Puligny Montrachet and an excellent Ch Frank Phelan 2003 from St. Estephe. This was a shame as I was expecting a wine list to compare with some of the great restaurants in London but maybe the captive audience of the Dorchester stimulates complacency and unjustified prices that other top quality restaurants would not dream of charging. I was tempted to contact AA Gill and send him in to give it the once over.
If anyone can suggest some countries that I should be looking at please let me know and I will report my findings at a later date. Bye for now.
Thursday, 7 May 2009
Spain, the final frontier, to boldly go....
Okay I am excited about the Star Trek movie but that is irrelevant.....
Spanish wines are so easy. I’ve just enjoyed a couple of days taking in the best that Spain has to offer and it did not disappoint. Great wine, full of flavour, fruit and it is so easy to drink. Admittedly most of the time it was washing down some superb Tapas but somehow the two go together like they are inseparable. Okay I have to admit to having a soft spot for Rioja, it is my drink of choice when I just fancy a glass of wine, satisfying on so many levels. The beauty of drinking it in Spain is not only the food but the constant sunshine and the incredibly cheap prices compared with anywhere outside of the country. The Euro’s relative strength to the Pound and Dollar may have hurt but when you think about the quality and satisfaction received from Spanish red wine, it’s very tempting to move there permanently.
I can strongly recommend the 2005’s, 2004’s and indeed most of this decade if you want a solid, reliable fruity wine with bags of flavour. Tempranillo, Gamacha (Grenache) and Carinena (Carignan) compete and meld to form this excellent wine. Personally I like Marques de Riscal, Vina Ardanza and Marques de Caceres, all readily available outside of Spain.
I’m off to the London International Wine Fair next week for two days of overdosing on every wine imaginable, wish me luck.
Spanish wines are so easy. I’ve just enjoyed a couple of days taking in the best that Spain has to offer and it did not disappoint. Great wine, full of flavour, fruit and it is so easy to drink. Admittedly most of the time it was washing down some superb Tapas but somehow the two go together like they are inseparable. Okay I have to admit to having a soft spot for Rioja, it is my drink of choice when I just fancy a glass of wine, satisfying on so many levels. The beauty of drinking it in Spain is not only the food but the constant sunshine and the incredibly cheap prices compared with anywhere outside of the country. The Euro’s relative strength to the Pound and Dollar may have hurt but when you think about the quality and satisfaction received from Spanish red wine, it’s very tempting to move there permanently.
I can strongly recommend the 2005’s, 2004’s and indeed most of this decade if you want a solid, reliable fruity wine with bags of flavour. Tempranillo, Gamacha (Grenache) and Carinena (Carignan) compete and meld to form this excellent wine. Personally I like Marques de Riscal, Vina Ardanza and Marques de Caceres, all readily available outside of Spain.
I’m off to the London International Wine Fair next week for two days of overdosing on every wine imaginable, wish me luck.
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Share tips for drinks industry?
I heard Justin Urquhart Stewart from Seven Investment Management on the radio this weekend tipping so called 'sin shares' at the moment. The idea being that in a recession we smoke and drink more (are their any other sins?). This got me thinking as I'm hearing nothing but bad news coming out of the drinks industry at the moment so how can this be? Maybe I am missing a trick or the theory is incorrect but something is not quite right at the moment... I'll have another glass of excellent Pouilly Fuisse (Chateau Fuisse) and think about it.
Saturday, 4 April 2009
Great Value wines from the South of France
I’ve had a couple of French wines recently that have impressed me, not least of which because they represent excellent value for money. I know that we have ridiculous taxes and charges on our wines here in the UK, import duty, transport costs, supermarket mark-ups etc which leaves the actual cost of the wine a lot less than people think.
In this particular case I am recommending an obscure French wine for just £4.74 a bottle when you buy 6. It is called BASTIDE de Garille from a relatively unknown appellation (Cabardes) 2006. It is a delicious combination of Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes. Apparently the cool air of the mountains combined with the Mediterranean sunshine in the south of France help produce some excellent grapes and because we are talking about France I am sure the terroir is perfect too.
The second recommendation is called Maison Maurel Vedeau 2007 also from the south of France. This Languedoc regional wine is taken from vineyards all around the region and is a lovely combination of Sauvignon Blanc and Grenache grapes. I was expecting the sharp capsicum taste of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc but this had none of it. I don’t know what proportions of the two varietals were included but it has a lovely soft, honey/melon/lychee flavour that makes you want to drink more and more and before you know it the bottle is empty. This one retails at £8.54 a bottle when you buy 6. Quite a lot for a south of France wine made from random vineyards in the region but believe me well worth a try.
Both of these wines are available from Tesco’s Wine club and if you look hard enough you might pick up the odd bottle at their bigger stores.
In this particular case I am recommending an obscure French wine for just £4.74 a bottle when you buy 6. It is called BASTIDE de Garille from a relatively unknown appellation (Cabardes) 2006. It is a delicious combination of Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes. Apparently the cool air of the mountains combined with the Mediterranean sunshine in the south of France help produce some excellent grapes and because we are talking about France I am sure the terroir is perfect too.
The second recommendation is called Maison Maurel Vedeau 2007 also from the south of France. This Languedoc regional wine is taken from vineyards all around the region and is a lovely combination of Sauvignon Blanc and Grenache grapes. I was expecting the sharp capsicum taste of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc but this had none of it. I don’t know what proportions of the two varietals were included but it has a lovely soft, honey/melon/lychee flavour that makes you want to drink more and more and before you know it the bottle is empty. This one retails at £8.54 a bottle when you buy 6. Quite a lot for a south of France wine made from random vineyards in the region but believe me well worth a try.
Both of these wines are available from Tesco’s Wine club and if you look hard enough you might pick up the odd bottle at their bigger stores.
Friday, 20 March 2009
Gary Vay ner chuk - what a great site
I've just been told about a fantastic site in cyberspace that is as passionate about wine as I am. It's run by a guy called Gary Vaynerchuck or GaryVee on twitter. He runs these really fantastic (and fun) TV programmes that are free to watch on his website http://tv.winelibrary.com/ . Not only are they very informative (okay a bit US biased) but he does a great job at getting people excited about wine.
He has a staggering 91,592 followers on twitter and basically talks a lot of sense. Its the best thing I've seen in ages so do take a look and join in the fun.
He has a staggering 91,592 followers on twitter and basically talks a lot of sense. Its the best thing I've seen in ages so do take a look and join in the fun.
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