Racy Rieslings

If you ask any wine expert about their favourite white wines, the word Riesling is highly likely to feature in their list. But normal people are still very scared of Riesling (pronounced "Ree-sling"). Unfortunately it still conjures up images of the cheap sweet German wines that we all drank far too much of last century. But this is grossly unfair.

Riesling is one of the World’s most aromatic white wines. The fruit flavours range from lime and green apple, through to apricot and pineapple, depending on the ripeness of the grapes, which are susceptible to “noble rot.” This is a disease that sounds disgusting but in fact just turns the grapes into raisins thereby concentrating their flavour and sugar levels. So wine producers will be very careful to pick grapes that are the perfect ripeness for the style of wine they want. You also get aromas of honey or even hints of petrol in these wines – strange I know, but this is one of the smells that wine buffs go crazy for.

Riesling grapes developing "noble rot"
(photo courtesy of www.colonialspirits.com)

 

In good quality Rieslings, the sweetness is balanced by the grape’s naturally high acidity levels which makes them utterly seductive and moreish. However if you are completely averse to drinking sweet wines, the following guide will hopefully steer you towards the drier style wines…

 German Riesling

Please do not disregard German Rieslings. It always saddens me that they're so hard to sell when they really are some of the most delicious wines I've ever had the pleasure of tasting.

To find the drier styles, here are the words to spot on the label:

• "Trocken" - means "dry" (whereas  "halbtrocken" means "off-dry")
• "Grosses Gewachs" - this indicates it's the German equivalent of a "Grand Cru," so a top quality wine, and it also can only be used to classify dry wines. Quite often just abbreviated to “GG”.
• "Kabinett" - this indicates how ripe the grapes were when picked, so it doesn't mean the wine is dry per se but rather that the grapes were less high in sugar than a Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese or (the sweetest of them all) Trockenbeerenauslese. Gotta love those Germans and their crazy words! A Kabinett Riesling will always be a touch sweet but this will be balanced by searing acidity, especially those from the Mosel Valley, so you will be surprised by how much you enjoy this style of wine.

 Here are a few German wines that I love which are worth hunting down:

J.J. Prum Riesling Kabinett (Mosel)
Künstler Hochheimer Hölle Riesling Kabinett Trocken (Rheingau)
Naegele Riesling Trocken (Pfalz)

Alsace Riesling

Despite being just across the mountains from Germany, Alsace Rieslings are all dry in style so a very safe bet. Unless they're dessert wines, in which case they'll be labelled VT (Vendange Tardive) or SGN (Selection de Grains Nobles).

Wines to look out for:

Riesling Cuvée Théo, Domaine Weinbach
Domaine Bott-Geyl Riesling Grafenreben Lieu-Dit

Australian Riesling

This isn't a grape variety that the Aussies are particularly reknowned for, but they can do it very well. Wines from the cooler climate areas of Clare Valley, Eden Valley, Margaret River and Tasmania tend to be fresher, zingier and more floral. Those from hotter areas such as Maclaren Vale are fatter and more tropical.

Wines to look out for:

D’Arenberg The Dry Dam Riesling (Maclaren Vale)
Bay of Fires Riesling (Tasmania)
Petaluma Clare Valley Riesling (Clare Valley)

New Zealand Riesling

This is one of the more exciting grape varieties being grown in New Zealand, balancing out the oceans of Sauvignon Blanc. New Zealand’s beautifully cool climate is perfect for growing such aromatic grapes, hence its success also with Pinot Gris, Albarino and now Austria's Gruner Veltliner.

Wines to look out for:

Dry River Craighall Riesling (Martinborough)
Seresin Memento Riesling (Marlborough)
Mountford Pure Riesling (Waipara)

Food Matching

Because Riesling is such an aromatic wine, it works really well with aromatic food. Not just Indian curries, but also Thai, Vietnamese, Moroccan and Middle Eastern cuisine – anything with lots of fragrant herbs and spices. And the hotter the spices are, the sweeter the Riesling should be as this balances the heat beautifully.

Of course it’s also very enjoyable when drunk on its own, beautifully chilled...

Happy Swigging!

Exploring Wines by the glass

I’ve never understood why people don’t even blink at paying £12 for a cocktail, and yet you try to charge anything over £5 for a glass of wine and you can see the palpitations starting. Granted it doesn’t help that wine isn’t very important to a lot of bars and pubs, with customers being charged a small fortune for liquid that has more in common with loo cleaner than wine.

 Thankfully there are an increasing number of bars and restaurants in London where the wine is the focus, where the wine list is full of quirky gems and the staff are keen to help you explore it. For those of you lucky enough to live in or near London, here follows a list of my favourite wine bars where I think they really get it right.  This is where you should go if you want to enjoy wine and learn something new while you’re at it.

 Sager & Wilde (Hackney)

Run by epic husband & wife team, Michael & Charlotte Sager-Wilde, this started as a pop-up but they quickly found themselves a permanent site on Hackney Road. Their focus is on offering wines that you would otherwise never dream of drinking by using a flat rate £20 mark up across the board. So this means the higher up the list you go, the better deal you’re getting. Alongside wines from vintages that I didn’t think were still available, they also serve such wonders as Txakoli and Catarratto, lots of them by the glass, and their grilled cheese sandwich soaks it all up very nicely indeed.

http://www.sagerandwilde.com/

 

Vinoteca (many London locations, and growing!)

This little empire started out just opposite Smithfields meat market, and is about to open its 5^th site by Kings Cross. This is more of a restaurant than a wine bar, but the wine offering is huge and everything is available to drink in or take away. In fact every bottle has two prices indicating how much it is to take away and to drink in, which shows just how reasonable their mark ups are. The list of wines by the glass is constantly changing, and they host monthly wine dinners which are well worth going to if you fancy letting out your inner wine-geek for an evening.

http://www.vinoteca.co.uk/

 

The 10 Cases (Covent Garden)

A Bistro on one side and a wine shop/bar on the other, this place is a wine haven in an otherwise rather drab part of Covent Garden. The owners Will & Ian only ever buy 10 cases of each wine, so when it’s gone they’ll replace it with something new. This means the list is always fresh and exciting and the staff are on hand to offer you their recommendations if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the whole thing. The “Cave à Vin” next door is where they offer those wines that have been particularly well received in the restaurant (alongside finer gems) which you can either take away or drink on site for a £12 corkage fee, accompanied by an assortment of charcuterie and cheeses.

http://10cases.co.uk/

 

Planet of the Grapes (The City)

I first discovered these guys at their fantastic shop in Holborn, then quickly visited their bar/shop in Leadenhall Market which is tiny but tremendous (size isn’t everything). You can drink any bottle from their shelves for just a £10 corkage fee which makes it great value. And if you’re interested in Wine Dinners, they organise some rather epic ones with the World’s most iconic winemakers in their Holborn shop or in their new Bow Lane restaurant.

http://planetofthegrapes.co.uk/site/leadenhall-wine-bar

 

Vagabond Wines (Charlotte Street & Fulham Broadway)

Vagabond is quite simply a wine mecca. They have 100 wines on tap, which you can either sample (25ml) or enjoy a full glass of (125ml) alongside delicious charcuterie and cheese platters. And when you find a wine that really excites you, you can buy a bottle (or several!) to take home with you. They also host brilliant informal wine tastings so you can learn more about your new favourite tipple. Surely this is the future of wine retail? We live in hope.

http://vagabondwines.co.uk/

 

 Happy Swigging!

The Many Faces of the Loire Valley (it's not all about Sancerre!)

People always think of the Loire as a white wine producing region but in fact an enormous variety of different wines is made. The region stretches from the Atlantic coast almost as far as Burgundy, so you can imagine the variety of microclimates and soils and hence wine styles that this offers. It is not all about Sancerre! So imagine you’re in a boat travelling up the Loire into the centre of France and I will explain to you the treasures that you will find here.

 

The Loire Valley, courtesy of www.jacksonvillewineguide.com

 

Muscadet is a wine that a lot of you will have heard of but perhaps see as quite unfashionable. The key words to look out for are sur lie - this indicates that the wine has been allowed to rest on its "lees" (aka the dead yeasts that are present post fermentation) giving the wine its freshness and rich character. This is the perfect white to serve with moules marinières and other shellfish dishes served in and around Nantes.

Anjou-Saumur is the next region you come to, and by far the most productive in the valley. Here the main white grape is Chenin Blanc, which I believe is a stunningly underappreciated grape in this country (mainly thanks to all the drab examples we get from South Africa). Like Riesling, this grape variety is able to produce white wines that are super sweet or bone dry and everything in between. My personal favourites are the minerally, zingy Savennières and the sweet Coteaux du Layon wines which can be just as delicious as Bordeaux’s Sauternes. The main red grape of this region is Cabernet Franc, which is used to make the deliciously crunchy and earthy Saumur-Champigny.

Touraine is next, where Cabernet Franc is used to make Chinon, Bourgeuil and St-Nicolas-de-Bourgeuil – very similar in style to Saumur Champigny and best drunk young and slightly chilled. For the whites, Chenin Blanc is used to make Vouvray and Montlouis wines in either dry (sec), semi-sweet (demi-sec) or very sweet (moelleux) styles. This is where buying your wine from a reputable wine shop is useful as the manager can steer you towards the style that you’ll enjoy best. If you haven’t before tried these wines, they will blow your mind with their honeyed apple character.

Another wine that is worth looking out for from here is Sauvignon Blanc de Touraine – this is a fresh, fruity and grassy white made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc, and you can normally get a bottle for under a tenner.  

Finally, as you reach the centre of France, you come to Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé. These two villages are on opposite sides of the river from each other, with very chalky, stony soils (Pouilly Fumé’s soils are more flinty). Both whites are made from Sauvignon Blanc and their styles are very similar: grass, elderflower, gooseberry (or “cat’s piss” if you’re not a fan) and flinty/minerally. If you normally drink New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, have a taste of these for something a little more refined. You can get red and rosé Sancerre, not much is produced but it’s worth looking out for. Made from Pinot Noir, they tend to be full of soft red fruits and perfect for drinking in the Summer.

 Also worth looking out for is Menetou-Salon, another 100% Sauvignon Blanc white which is often referred to as a “poor man’s Sancerre.”

 

Happy Swigging!

Better late than never...

It's been a while since my last blog post and a lot has happened in that time. My boyfriend Chris is now my husband Chris, and we now live in Kent with our baby girl Sophia. Becoming parents has changed our drinking habits somewhat - hangovers are not an option anymore so we now focus on quality over quantity. Don't worry, that doesn't mean I'll only be blogging about £20+ bottles! But I hope I can help guide you towards wines that offer plenty more bang for your buck.

So I have promised myself that, between working and mummying, I will be blogging far more this year. I really hope you all enjoy what I have to say and the wines I recommend you drink.

Happy swigging!

Wine I'm drinking this month

I believe I am in the minority when I say I love cold weather. The clothes are so much more stylish, the food so wonderfully comforting, and the wine... well, it's all about rich, silky, spicy reds for me.

Right now my favourite red is L'Instant Truffier Malbec (Majestic, normally £9.99 but currently on offer at a cracking £7.49). Most of you will associate Malbec with Argentina thanks to such brilliant restaurants as GAUCHO which have made this varietal famous. But the grape originates from France, used in blending in Bordeaux but also vinified in its pure form in Cahors. The Rigal     family who make this particular wine started out in Cahors but have now extended their vineyard holdings into the Lot valley, from where this wine is produced. It's worth hunting out Cahors reds which tend to be very dark and savoury, peppery and meaty - excellent with rich meaty dishes such as cassoulet but definitely not to be sipped on their own. This Malbec however is much smoother, full of ripe fruits (even raisins) and hints of liquorice. Much more similar to the Argentine style than the French.

Keep warm and Happy Swigging!

Now for Something Completely Different

If you're lucky enough to have been dining out in London in recent years, you may have noticed that wine lists are increasingly showcasing wines that you may never have heard of. This is a trend I love as it challenges people to try something different and it also challenges restaurants to be more and more interesting with their selection. 

You'll no doubt also have seen the increased number of bars and restaurants touting "natural" wines. "Natural" is not a legally defined term so a wine could be labelled as such for many reasons, but the natural wine preachers will tell you that a wine is only natural if minimal chemicals have been used in either its viticulture or vinification, including sulphites which are used as a preservative. As a result, you will find that a lot of these wines will taste, well, a bit off. That's not to say that some natural wines aren't stunning (Morgon from Marcel Lapierre is a personal favourite) but some can take a little bit of getting used to. For example, my husband thinks that "all natural wines taste like cider."

But give my husband a glass of dry Sherry such as a Fino or a Manzanilla and he'll be in seventh heaven, which goes to show that everyone's palate is different. And his love of Sherry meant that he loved the latest wine I introduced him to. 

Jura wines are very unique and very difficult to come by in this country. This is mainly because the French drink them all! What makes them so distinctive is that traditionally they are made in an oxidative style - hence the similarity with Sherry - using a little known grape variety called Savagnin. If you are not familiar with Sherry, imagine bone dry wines with a hint of nuts and Marmite. Utterly delicious alongside smoked almonds, olives and charcuterie. We have just got back from a weekend in Paris (God Bless Grandparents) and we stumbled across an awesome little wine shop called Le Vin Qui Parle, who sold not one but TWO Jura whites: one light dry style (which went exceedingly well with our roast pork when we got home) and a "Vin Jaune" which is another level of craziness - aged for 6 or more years in partially-filled casks so that the oxidation is more intense, and the wine takes on an oiliness and richness that is not for everyone but well worth trying if you ever get the chance. 

Jura winemakers also make whites from Chardonnay and red wines from Pinot Noir and the lesser-known Trousseau grape. The one producer I have seen more than others is Tissot which I believe you can buy through Berry Bros & Rudd. But keep your eyes peeled - hopefully you'll see more of these on the market as our taste for more interesting wines grows.  

South Africa – not a football in sight...

I’m probably as guilty as the next person of having pigeon-holed South African wines as cheap and cheerful. For ages I’ve made the sweeping statement that I “hate South African reds”, simply because I’ve had a few bad experiences with inferior examples of Pinotage, which I’d often described as tasting like “licking the forecourt of a petrol station”.

A few months ago however I was made to swallow my words. In a hugely romantic gesture post his operative tour of Afghanistan, my boyfriend swept me off to South Africa for a two week holiday, which would of course include plenty of time touring the winelands.  Being the person I am, I did plenty of research in the run up to the trip: which were the best wineries to visit, which wines HAD to be tried and so on. The list looked daunting but after six months off the booze Chris told me he was up to the task.

Our first vineyard visit was rather random. Over dinner in Hermanus, Chris was reading up about the nearby vineyards and spotted the name Hamilton-Russell. “I’m pretty sure his family have something to do with my regiment,” he told me. And so the next morning, whilst wrapped up in a post-booze fog and in the pouring rain (turns out September is their Spring – who knew??) I was dragged on a detour north of Hermanus to the Hamilton-Russell winery. On arrival, we followed the signs to the Tasting Room, to find a beautiful little house with roaring fire inside and a young woman standing patiently waiting for visitors. Only two wines were on show, a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir, but OH MY GOD. Chris has had a very lucky upbringing with a father who is passionate about white burgundy, and was quite taken aback by the similarities of their Chardonnay with such fine specimens back in France. The lady explained that Walker Bay (where these vineyards stood) is one of South Africa’s coolest climate areas, with the heat of the African sun softened by the sea air. That, alongside winemaking excellence, means that they’re able to create beautiful examples of these Burgundian varietals. Granted this all comes at a price tag but I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to Fine South African Wine.

And so our journey began. Next stop was Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. With only 30 minutes drive between them (along which route a lot of the vineyards lie) these towns mark the heart of the South African winelands. They are much further inland than Hermanus, the area is made up of beautiful mountains which allow the vineyards to get the perfect amount of sun exposure. The main grapes that do well in this area are Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc (a more recent development because of this grape’s increasing fashionability). Pinotage (a crossing of Pinot Noir and Cinsault, with a pretty bad reputation on the world stage), Shiraz, and the Bordeaux varietals (mainly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot). So quite a few then! For me though, the quality of the Chenin Blanc and Pinotage really blew me away. These grape varieties back in the UK are not seen as quality produce, but this is solely because they are quite high-yielding and so are often used by the cheaper brands. However if you spend a little more money, gone are the burnt rubber or opal fruits (remember them?) characteristics and you get rich silky smoky Pinotage and crisp clean (and sometimes deliciously buttery) passionfruit Chenin Blanc.  The more commercially-friendly Sauvignon Blancs and Bordeaux blends were also fantastic however I was once again blown away by the quality of their Chardonnay. This might be because deep down I’m a Chardonnay girl these days, but I would never have thought to drink South African Chardonnay before this. Yes you need to spend a bit of money on this grape (£8 per bottle minimum back here) but that’s nothing for the quality you get. Since returning to the UK we’ve been busy hunting out our favourite wines and so far have only had success with a small few (listed below). 

Unfortunately the main conclusion drawn from our trip is that, until we in the UK start appreciating quality South African wines (and not the mass-produced sub-£5 stuff), they are unlikely to start bringing more of it over to us as they’d rather drink it themselves or export it out to other countries that do appreciate their excellence. A depressing fact, which is why I was compelled to write this. So here follows my list of the yummiest wines we tried that you CAN get over here, and I hope that it will spur you all into action. Proof perhaps that there’s more to South Africa than sport?

·       Hamilton Russell Chardonnay  (Hermanus) – in a blind tasting I would honestly pick this out as a white burgundy. Amazing. Available from Swig (www.swig.co.uk) at £24

·       Delaire Chardonnay (Stellenbosch) – if you can’t afford the above, this is a good alternative. Available from Justerini & Brooks (www.justerinis.com) at £10.15

·       Graham Beck Blanc de Blancs sparkling (Franschoek) – absolutely delicious champagne copycat, 100% Chardonnay, deliciously creamy. Available from www.thirtyfifty.co.uk at £13.99

·       Newton Johnson Sauvignon Blanc (Hermanus) – particularly delicious thanks to the small splash of Semillon inside. Available from www.everywine.co.uk at £11.65

·       Mulderbosch Chenin Blanc (Stellenbosch) – deliciously rich and fruity Chenin, available from Imbibros (www.imbibros.co.uk) at £9.95

·       Klein Steenberg Bordeaux Blend (Constantia) – our favourite red of the entire trip, and the cheapest! Available from Formula Wine (www.formulawine.co.uk) at £7.95.

·       Waterford Cabernet Sauvignon (Stellenbosch) – we tasted this in their Wine & Chocolate tasting experience, I actually didn’t like the match however the wine itself was delicious. Available from Slurp (www.slurp.co.uk) at £15.75

NB: if you just google these wines you’ll find they’re available elsewhere, but these online wine stores I find to be very reliable...