High Street Wine Challenge: Honoro Vera Garnacha (The Co-op, £6.99)

Errr... what happened to the August sunshine??

With this damp break in Summer proceedings, I thought a bottle of red was in order. I spotted this little number in the Co-op, in fact I will admit that it was the label I liked the most - super modern and edgy looking (yes, even wine buffs are lured by marketing occasionally).

This is a red wine made from 100% Garnacha grapes (aka Grenache), grown in sun-soaked Catalayud (just west of Priorat and just south of Rioja) so I was expecting bags of super-ripe fruit and soft tannins. And I was right! Ripe cherry, blackberry and plum fruit, with hints of raisins, cinnamon and a lovely refreshing finish. This would be brilliant with barbecued butterfly of lamb, shepherd's pie, or bangers & mash. Basically, all the food I crave when the rain starts pouring down.

Happy Swigging!

Wine with a Twist

Sometimes the weather is just too hot for wine (yes, I said it). On holiday in humid South-East Asia recently, I didn’t once crave my lovely wines back home but instead drank cocktails and lots & lots of ice-cold beer.

But it’s easy to forget that there are plenty of refreshing wine-based cocktails that are perfect for lazy, hot weekends. Here are a handful of suggestions to inspire you.

 

Spritzer

There are many variations on the classic white wine spritzer, but you need to understand how to make the original before attempting anything more adventurous. I first fell in love with proper Spritzers out in Vienna where they use the local Gruner Veltliner wines as their base, and they are perfect served with Wiener Schnitzel (in fact, this combo I discovered to be an excellent hangover cure).

Mix two parts dry white wine (ideally something zingy like Gruner, Picpoul or Sauvignon Blanc)/one part soda water, serve over ice. Variations include adding fruit to the mix, or using Elderflower cordial if you want something a touch sweeter. Or you could go all Viva Espana on me and try it with red wine instead of white, something the Spanish call a “Tinto de Verano” (literally translated as “Summer Red Wine”). Very different from the potent Sangria we’re all used to and really rather wonderful.

 

She-T

This cocktail I first had at the wonderful Sager & Wilde on Hackney Road (www.sagerandwilde.com) but since then it’s been appearing in bars all over London. This is great for all you G&T fans out there! Mix one part Fino sherry with two parts tonic water, and serve over ice with slices of lemon. Try it also with Amontillado Sherry or even White Port for something a touch sweeter.

 

Kir Blush

We all know Kir (white wine + crème de cassis) and Kir Royale (champagne + crème de cassis) but Kir Blush is another delicious variation using rosé wine. Best to pick a rosé with a bit more fruitiness (think Portugal rather than Provence), and mix 1 part cassis with 6 parts wine.

 

Sbagliato

Sbagliato means “messed up” in Italian, and this cocktail is said to be the result of a bartender mistakenly using Prosecco instead of gin in a Negroni. Mix one part sweet vermouth/one part Campari/one part Prosecco, serve over ice with a twist of orange. If you like Negronis & Aperol Spritzes, you’ll love this.

 

Happy Swigging!

The Truth about your Glass of Wine

“Natural” is the buzzword in the wine industry at the moment. Natural wines are made with the least interference possible, leaving nature to run its course and, theoretically, producing a wine that is as pure as possible. Great idea, eh? But so-called “natural” wines only account for a super small percentage of the wines available to us (and I doubt you’ll find any in your local Tesco) which begs the question: what chemicals are in the wines we normally drink??

The thing to remember is that not all additives in wine are bad, so long as they are used sparingly. Here’s a list of the most common additives you’ll find in your wine this weekend.

 

THE GOOD

Sulphites – the most controversial subject and probably the most misunderstood additive out there. Sulphur is added to wine as a preservative, to kill bacteria and yeast and to protect the wine from oxidation. Winemakers have been using sulphites for centuries, and yet people are suddenly claiming that they’re allergic to sulphites. It is worth noting that there are far more sulphites in dried fruit and oven chips than in a glass of wine, so perhaps you should cut those out your diet before you blame sulphites for your headaches.

Under EU law, maximum total sulphite levels permitted are 150mg/litre for red, 200mg/l for dry white and 400mg/l for sweet wines. You may think natural wines have zero sulphites, that is true in some cases but not all, as natural winemakers are allowed just 30mg/l for reds, 40mg/l for whites and 80mg/l for sweet wines. Minimising sulphur levels is definitely a good thing but cutting them out completely will limit a wine’s potential for ageing or being shipped for any kind of distance without oxidation kicking in.

 Lactic acid bacteria– I know this sounds strange, as I’ve just been talking about adding sulphites in order to kill bacteria. But lactic acid bacteria is added to start a process called malolactic fermentation, which turns the sharp-tasting malic acid in a wine into lactic acid which is much softer (this is the acid found in milk). This technique is mainly used in red wines and full-bodied whites.

 

THE BAD (if used carelessly…)

Fining & clarifying agents – Wine isn’t naturally crystal clear, it gets that way thanks to fining and filtration techniques that trigger a great deal of debate (this is where the question of whether or not a wine is vegetarian or vegan comes in). During fermentation and ageing, grape particles are suspended in the wine, gradually adding flavour and complexity. Most producers prefer to remove these particles before bottling, and traditionally egg whites were used because the particles clump onto the heavy egg white and sink to the bottom of the tank. The clear wine is then drawn off the top for bottling, leaving the sludge at the bottom. Nowadays, clays, milk products, and even dried fish bladders (yum) are used in fining. This is why you’ll find that a lot of natural wines are cloudy – this isn’t a fault, this is just because the winemaker has decided that any kind of filtration would remove flavour and aroma from the wine.

Sugar – in cooler climates where grapes struggle to ripen fully, winemakers will sometimes add sugar in a process known as Chaptalisation, which isn’t allowed in the World’s top wines.  

Tartaric acid – similarly, when grapes are too ripe, a winemaker may choose to add tartaric acid in order to redress the balance and stop a wine being too flabby. This is also not allowed in top quality wines.

Water – when sugar is too high and there’s a fear that the resultant alcohol will be too high, water can be added to the grape juice before fermentation to dilute it. However, adding water can mess with the pH balance, which could lead to the winemaker needing to add tartaric acid too. It will also dilute the flavours and aromas.

 

THE UGLY

Copper sulphate – this is used to remove unpleasant rotten egg aromas from a wine.  In truth, a good winemaker will have worked hard to avoid this happening in the first place, as using copper sulphate can strip the wine of aromas and flavours. TOP TIP: if you ever open a bottle of wine and get that stinky rotten egg smell, drop a penny into your glass or decanter – the smell will vanish almost immediately!  

__________________________________________________________________________________

 

It is worth noting that it is mainly mass-produced wines (you know the ones!) that use the above additives as they need all the help they can get to make their wines taste good. However if you start off with excellent quality grapes, you shouldn’t need to interfere too much with the vinification process and you can keep things as natural as possible. This is the ethos of any good winemaker – put all your hard work into the vineyards and let nature take its course in the winery.

Happy Swigging!

High Street Wine Challenge: Winemaker's Selection Gamay Rosé (Sainsbury's, £5)

With our departure from the EU now officially going ahead, I should really be exploring English wines this week as that is one sector of our business which will thrive now thanks to the plummeting pound (silver linings & all that...) But in truth all I wanted today was something easy, something that didn't need too much thinking about and which might help put a smile on my face. So I headed for Sainsbury's Rosé shelf.

Gamay is a grape variety found in both the Loire and Burgundy in France. It has a similar profile to Pinot Noir in that it is soft & fruity, and it is used in these regions's cheaper reds & rosés. This Gamay rosé is best served super chilled so you can enjoy the lovely strawberry & citrus fruit flavours, with a hint of mint. Slightly darker in colour and more fruity than a Provence rosé, it is exactly what you'd want for a fiver and has helped immensely in taking my mind off Friday's dramatic news & the hailstorm outside.

Happy Swigging!

Intricate Italy

Ah, Italy. The home of some of my favourite foods (pizza, pasta, prosciutto, risotto, bruschetta…) and also to some of my favourite wines. But Italian wines can be hugely daunting for a novice drinker thanks to the 1000’s of native grape varieties you can find, so it’s no wonder that people keep reaching for that failsafe bottle of Pinot Grigio.

 

But it’s worth venturing out of your comfort zone as these lesser-known grapes can offer some of the best value wines coming out of Europe. So before you go shopping, it’s worth cramming on your Italian geography as the style of wine varies as you progress down the length of this boot-shaped country. In the North it is an alpine, cooler climate and the soils are chalky, so the wines tend to be fresher, the reds more tannic and the whites more zingy (great for fans of Bordeaux & Sancerre); in the South it is hotter and the soils are volcanic, so the wines are more spicy, rich and ripe (perfect for Malbec & Chardonnay drinkers). Obviously there are exceptions to this rule but knowing where a bottle comes from will help to steer you vaguely in the right direction (I hope).

alpine vineyards of Trentino Alto Adige (photo courtesy of www.made-in-italy.com)

vineyards in the foothills of Mount Etna (photo courtesy of www.made-in-italy.com)

 

So here follows my Top 10 obscure Italian grapes that are well worth taking a punt on…

Arneis – the name means “rascal” in Italian, apparently due to the trouble it causes winemakers. It is grown in the hills of Piedmont and the resulting vibrant white wines are full of green apple, citrus and white pepper flavours. Try this instead of your usual Pinot Grigio.

Greco di Tufo – Greco is the grape variety, and Greco di Tufo specifically is from Campania in the South, “Tufo” referring to the name of the volcanic rocky soils that these grapes are grown on, resulting in white wines with an almost salty, minerally spritz.

Grillo & Catarratto – both grown widely in Sicily thanks to its love of the sun, it was originally only really used to make Marsala but recently winemakers have been singling them out for their ability to produce juicy, fruity white wines with real body and complexity, either individually or blended. These are great crowd-pleasing wines.

Vermentino – mostly grown in Sardinia, this zingy white wine should be your go-to if you’re normally a Sauvignon Blanc drinker. Perfect as an aperitif or with grilled fish.

Falanghina – pronounced “Fa-lan-ghee-na,” this grape is grown in the volcanic south and produces whites with the perfect balance between freshness, aromatics and richness. This is just as good served as an aperitif or with your roast chicken supper. Flavours you can expect include oranges, honey and ginger. Give it a try if you’re a fan of Chardonnay.

 

Dolcetto – meaning “little sweet one”, Dolcetto lives in the shadows of its famous neighbour Nebbiolo (which is used to make Barolo and Barbaresco), yet Dolcetto is the grape that all the locals drink on a daily basis. It has much less tannin than Nebbiolo and is made to be drunk young, but it is still very much better drunk with food (it’s divine with tomato-based meaty dishes).

Cannonau - aka Grenache, grown in Sardinia, this is quite possibly the most perfect red wine for your pepperoni pizza! Red cherry fruit with hints of leather and smoke, Cannonau reds are very savoury so they definitely need food, and they should appeal to any Red Burgundy drinkers out there.

Aglianico – This one is for all you Malbec drinkers! Grown in the southern regions of Campania and Basilicata, typical characteristics include dark berry fruit, mint and dark chocolate, and insanely good with roast lamb. Look out also for Taurasi which is a DOC red made from 100% Aglianico.

Primitivo – grown in Puglia, this is believed to be where America’s Zinfandel grape came from. The wines are dark, ripe and luscious and go brilliantly with barbecued meats.

Nero d’Avola – if you’re a fan of New World Cabernet Sauvignon, you’ll like this. Nero d’Avola is widely planted in Sicily and the resulting wines have good tannic structure and intense black cherry, plum and liquorice spice.

Happy Swigging!

High Street Wine Challenge: Côtes du Rhône Villages (M&S, £8)

The Rhône Valley has always been my go-to for wines that massively overdeliver for their price. Côtes du Rhône is the entry-level appellation of the region, producing easy-drinking blends of predominantly Grenache & Syrah (there are actually 21 different grape varieties allowed in a Côtes du Rhône wine, but these two tend to dominate). Côtes du Rhône Villages is a step up in quality, more complex and normally a touch more alcoholic.

This M&S version I picked up as it's currently on special offer reduced from £12 to £8. It is full of super ripe blackberry fruit, pepper spice, and a silky smooth texture. It's not as complex as I have come to expect from this appellation but it's a very drinkable bottle of wine and good value at it's current price. Wonderfully food-friendly too, this would be delicious with most meaty dishes but especially sausages, lamb or cottage pie.

Also worth looking out for is WHITE Côtes du Rhône. Rather harder to get your hands on, but incredibly tasty if you can. Floral, peachy and spicy,  they are some of the world's most underrated white wines.

Happy Swigging! 

High Street Wine Challenge: Brazin Old Vine Zinfandel (Waitrose, £9.69)

Zinfandel is one of those grape varieties that I fall back on quite regularly for its easy style and approachability. After a long hard week at work, sometimes all you want from a wine is the liquid equivalent of a big warm hug. Zinfandel is believed to be related to Primitivo from southern Italy, which offers similarly sweet dark fruit flavours, but its Californian sibling is far more famous now.

Tonight's bottle is from the Lodi area of California's San Joaquin Valley, where the intense sunshine but cool nights create the optimum conditions for powerful, complex red wines. This example is no exception. Currently reduced in price from £12.99 to £9.69, this red is full of luscious blackberry fruit, notes of chocolate and vanilla, silky smooth and full-bodied yet with a refreshing acidity that makes it a fabulous wine with food. Try it with barbecued ribs, curry, or slow-cooked oxtail stew. Rich and delicious.

Happy Swigging!

Cocoa Vino

This year I made the ridiculous decision to quit chocolate for Lent. Madness! So as we approach the Easter bank holiday weekend my cupboards are overflowing with cocoa-based products. Rather predictably I decided to write about the best wines to drink alongside your Easter treats. Any excuse, eh?

The most important rule when trying to match wine with any kind of sweet food is that you must pick a wine that is sweeter than the food. For example, if you are eating sweet milk chocolate a la Cadburys with a glass of dry red, the wine will taste even drier to the point of horrid bitterness. However, bitter chocolate (such as the stuff that contains 70% or more cocoa solids) can pair very well with dry reds, as I discovered on a wine tasting at the beautiful Waterford winery in South Africa’s Stellenbosch region (www.waterfordestate.co.za).
 
So which wines should I be taking home with me this Easter? Well, it depends on the type of chocolate you are indulging in…

 

White Chocolate

I will not apologise for my love of white chocolate which I’m constantly told is not real chocolate. So if you’re a fan like me, you need to find a wine that’s super sweet. Moscato d’Asti would be brilliant as it’s got the right level of sugar and a freshness that will help clean the palate. Also Pink Port is an excellent option as it’s full of sweet strawberry and raspberry fruit which works brilliantly (check out M&S’s Pink Port which comes in under £10 and is really tasty).

 

M&S Pink Port £8.99

Milk Chocolate & Dark Chocolate

I personally like to eat my milk and dark chocolate with nutty fortified wines, as this contributes lovely nutty nuances to every mouthful (much like the deliciousness of the purples chocolates in a box of Quality Street). If you like this idea, check out Bual or Malmsey Madeira, or sweet Oloroso sherry.

If however you’re more of a fan of chocolate-coated raisins, try a glass of Pedro Ximenez (PX) sherry which contributes the intense dried fruit notes you’re looking for.

Other fortified dessert wines worth checking out are Banyuls, Rivesaltes Ambré and Rutherglen Muscat from sunny Australia. All of them have the right level of sweetness, flavour intensity and alcohol to stand up to your chocolate addiction.

 

Bitter Chocolate (70%+ cocoa solids)

This is the interesting one, as I mentioned earlier, as this kind of chocolate is not sweet so actually it would be best to serve a dry wines alongside it so as not to enhance the bitterness too much. So I recommend you eat this alongside a big New World Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon - you’ll be fascinated by how well they compliment each other.

Happy Swigging!

High Street Wine Challenge: Chateauneuf du Pape (LIDL £7.99)

My mother is a massive fan of LIDL. She bangs on about the wonders of this budget supermarket but I'm yet to be convinced (partly because I refuse to do my weekly shop anywhere other than the Internet). But today I found myself using the LIDL carpark and my typical middle-class guilt led me down the aisles, seeking out the super cheap wines everyone is talking about.

I struggled to find anything that appealed, the selection was pretty uninspiring, but finally decided upon a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape on offer at £7.99 (I'm sorry I can't remember the original price but it was definitely over my £10 budget). My husband, in the midst of a rubbish week, was pretty horrified when I told him where tonight's wine had come from, but after lots of face-pulling he had to admit it was pretty drinkable. Quite light-bodied, sweet red fruits, sweet spice and good acidity. In honesty, there's no way I would have guessed this was a Chateauneuf du Pape in a blind tasting, it tastes more like a Cotes du Rhone or similar, so I would have been disappointed to pay full price for it. However it looks pretty smart and it slipped down a treat with our sausage supper (no that's not a euphemism).

Happy Swigging!

Torre del Falco Nero di Troia, Waitrose (£5.99)

Following on from last weekend's disappointing Californian blend, tonight we opened another Waitrose red from their current special offer selection (tonight's bottle is normally £7.99) in the hope of finding something better.

Nero di Troia (aka Uva di Troia) is a black grape from Puglia,  the heel of Italy's boot, where it is overshadowed by the more famous Primitivo and Negroamaro grapes. Hence why you may never have heard of it.

This wine is full of ripe black cherries, raspberries and sweet spice, with typical Italian acidity that makes it fabulous with food such as roast porchetta, calves liver or, in our case, pizza. A really moreish red wine that is a bargain at it's current special offer price tag.

Happy Swigging!   

Apothic Red Winemakers Blend, Waitrose (£7.49)

Last weekend I was faced with the dilemma of what wine goes with "haggis, neeps & tatties." This is something I had never really contemplated before but, now that I have a toddler alarm clock, I have decided that pure Whisky hangovers are no longer an option.

So I was in Waitrose and saw this bottle of Californian red, currently on offer (normally £10) and I thought it might be interesting. The label says it's a blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, so I imagined quite a big and bold red which could stand up to the spices of the haggis.

Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed. The wine has the sweetness of Zinfandel but isn't nearly as complex as one would hope. I was expecting some structure from the Cabernet and maybe some dark fruit and spice from the Syrah,  but all I got was a sweet fruit bomb. Having said all that, it might work well with a curry or a BBQ? All-in-all, it's a nice wine but I would have been very upset if I'd paid full price.

Happy Swigging!

An Ode to Scotch

What with the annual celebration of Robert Burns' life and now Andy Murray reaching the Australian Open Finals, I thought this would be the perfect week to go off on a tangent with my little guide to Scotch Whisky  – a delicious tipple that I always associate with my father, sipping it from his cut crystal tumblers in front of the TV. Fast forward 30 years and it’s now me sipping a wee dram in the evenings, one of my most favourite things during these colder nights.

So what is Whisky?

Blended Scotch whisky constitutes about 90% of the whisky produced in Scotland, and contains both malt whisky and grain whisky, blended together to produce a consistent brand style - a bit like the big Champagne Houses (eg Moet & Chandon) blending their various wines to produce the same style Non Vintage champagne year after year.

Single Malt whisky on the other hand comes from a single distillery, must be aged at least three years in oak casks and bottled at minimum 40% ABV. These whiskies are labelled with the region that produces them: Highland, Lowland, Speyside and Islands. The regions are not prescriptive of flavour per se, but generally speaking the Lowland produces lighter styles and the Islands produce heavily peated whisky, with Highland and Speyside sitting somewhere in between.

So what should I be drinking??

If you want to try a top quality blended whisky, go for Chivas Regal which is soft and smooth, a good starting point for any novice whisky drinker.

If you have never tried a Single Malt before, I’d start off with something like Glenfiddich or Dalwhinnie. They are both soft and fruity with lovely butterscotch, creamy notes.

If you like these and want to try something a bit warmer and stronger, go for Macallan 10 or Balvenie Doublewood, both of which have spent time in old Sherry casks giving a depth of flavour which I personally find very seductive.

If you’re feeling brave, you can ease yourself gently into the Island whiskies. If you’ve ever tried Lapsang Suchong tea then you’ll have some idea of what’s in store for you. These whiskies are smoky, salty and very savoury, so the complete opposite of the butterscotch notes in Dalwhinnie. The Aardbeg 10 is probably the lightest of them all so a good place to start, with Laphroaig best avoided until you've acquired a taste for this style.

Water or Ice?

Ah, the age old debate! My mother always has ice, my father always has water. In honesty there is no right answer but to begin your whisky adventure I would suggest you start with ice as this softens the burn but also tones down the aromas and flavours. The addition of water will soften the burn as well but it will also enhance all the aromas and flavours, so this is great once you’ve found a whisky you enjoy savouring. Some will tell you that adding anything at all is blasphemy but don’t listen to them – go with whatever helps you enjoy it best.

Happy Swigging!  

High Street Wine Challenge: Secanto Maiten Vineyard Block 1 Pinot Noir (£14.29, M&S)

So this evening I had 5 minutes to spare before my train left, which led me to the wine section in the station's mini M&S. I was looking for something soothing for my £10 budget, so my eyes skipped over France, Italy, Spain, until they reached a rather grown-up-looking Pinot Noir from Chile for £9.49. "Perfect," I thought, and dashed to the checkout.  All I can say is that it's been an exhausting week as I didn't spot the actual price as I tapped my card and ran for the platform. So I apologise for the fact that I broke budget this time.

I will not apologise however for the pleasure I took in consuming this rather tasty midweek treat. Chilean Pinot Noirs can be hugely disappointing. Avoid anything sub £7... in fact, that's a good rule of thumb for all Pinot Noir as it's a bloody hard grape to produce and the cheap versions are notoriously dreadful. This Pinot however comes from Leyda, which is rapidly gaining a reputation for top quality wines thanks partly to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean and the cooling sea breezes it enjoys.

My first impression of this wine was how silky smooth it is - seriously seductive and easy to drink. Deliciously ripe blueberry and plum fruit, sweet spice and a hint of truffle. This would be delicious with pork or duck, but it slipped down very easily on its own in this instance...

Happy Swigging!