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! 

Port for Beginners

Port first became popular with us Brits back in the early 18^th Century when wars with France meant we couldn’t drink French wines anymore. Quelle horreur! So we turned to our friends in Portugal and started importing the yummy wines they were producing in the Douro valley, fortifying them with brandy so that they would survive the long journey home. Unlike Sherry (see my previous blog post), Port is fortified before fermentation has finished so that the wine is not only high in alcohol but also in sugar. A deliciously sweet and boozy red that’s synonymous with Christmas (although there’s a bottle open all year round in our house…)

 But do you really know what you’re buying when you’re faced with all those options in your local wine shop? Now that we’re deep into the festive season, I thought I’d guide you through the various different styles of Port so that you can make a more informed decision when you’re doing your grocery shopping on Christmas Eve.

 

photo courtesy of http://www.taylor.pt

Ruby Port

Ruby port is aged for only a short while in very large wooden vats so as to retain their fruit-forward style (think blackberries and cherries). Cheap ruby port is best avoided to be honest, and I would highly recommend you go with the next option…

 

Late Bottled Vintage

Late Bottled Vintage (or LBV) is not the same thing as a Vintage Port (see below) but is an aged Ruby port, produced from a single vintage (which is stated on the label) and bottled 4 to 6 years after harvest. Unlike Vintage Port, it is made to be drunk young, and it is a great all-rounder for a cheese board.

 

Tawny Port

This is my personal favourite. Tawny port is aged longer than a Ruby and in much smaller vats in order to encourage oxidation, so the resultant wine is more tawny-like in colour and the flavours are more mellow, full of nut and toffee flavours. Delicious with hard cheeses, or nutty and toffee-based puddings. Or just sipped on its own.

 

Vintage Port

Made in only the best vintages (the years for which are declared by the Port authorities), it is kept in barrel for only two years before being bottled unfiltered so that it continues to develop and improve in the bottle. That doesn’t mean that you can’t drink vintage port when it’s young, however it is at its best after a decade or two (there’s a reason why it is seen as an excellent Christening present). This is the ultimate port and the perfect match for Stilton.

 

Happy Swigging!

Curry Conundrum

I’m as guilty as the next person of defaulting to a pint of ice cold lager when I have a curry. The major problem with trying to match wine with curry is that there are normally so many different dishes with different spices and heat levels that no one wine is going to work with everything.

 However, if you’re fed up with your usual Cobra, here are my top tips for finding the most successful wine match for your Friday night Indian feast:

 

photo courtesy of http://www.lovefood.com

1. Avoid dry, tannic red wines, eg Bordeaux (Claret), Barolo, Burgundy, etc

Basically, I’d actually say avoid European reds as the vast majority are far too dry and will taste bitter when paired up with spicy food

 

2. Avoid oaky white wines eg Australian Chardonnay, white Burgundy, etc

Chardonnay itself is not the problem here, so feel free to buy a Chablis or another Chardonnay that specifies that it is “unoaked” as they can be wonderfully fruity and refreshing. But oak flavours just don’t seem to compliment spicy food. The one exception could be  with a very mild korma or butter chicken, but otherwise steer clear

 

3. For those of you who like HOT curries, stick to Riesling

The spicier your food gets, the more  a wine struggles. Riesling, and more specifically the German varieties, are a perfect match for spicy curries as they are beautifully aromatic (so can stand up to all the aromatics in the food) and the sugar in them really refreshes your palate. Think of it as the alcoholic substitute for a mango lassi

 

4. FRUITINESS IS KEY!

This kind of cuisine is big on flavour so you need wines which are big on fruit and aromatics. So for white wines, it’s best to go with New World Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier or Pinot Gris as they can all stand up to ginger, coriander, cardamom and other such vibrant spices. Gewurztraminer often gets mentioned as the perfect match for curry but I’m not an enormous fan as I find it a bit too perfumed (and I know I’m not alone in this).  

 For red wines, go for Chilean Merlot or Carmenere, or Californian Zinfandel. All are super ripe and will work well with tomato-based, more meat-heavy dishes such as lamb rogan josh.

 

If you really want to try out some interesting wine matches, I would highly recommend you visit Trishna restaurant in Marylebone. Their Michelin-starred Indian cuisine comes accompanied with an epic wine list that has been handpicked by their sommelier to match all the wonderful spices.  

 

Happy Swigging!

High Street Wine Challenge: Taste the Difference Albarino (Sainsburys, £8)

Fish pie for supper tonight, so a fresh & zesty white wine is in order. Albarino is always a brilliant bet with fish. It's made in Galicia in North-western Spain, which is renowned for its delicious seafood so, as ever, the local wine is made to go with the local food.

This is great for anyone who is normally a  Sauvignon Blanc drinker. In fact I find Albarino to be a winning wine as it has the vibrancy of Sauvignon but with a touch more body and ripeness. Fresh, peachy and zesty, it's deliciously refreshing and went brilliantly with my dinner, but would also be great sipped alone. Ideally in slightly sunnier weather...

Happy Swigging! 

High Street Wine Challenge: Fete du Gris Sauvignon Gris (M&S, £9.79)

No, before you ask: Sauvignon Gris is not a mix of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris. It's unsure whether it's a mutation of Sauvignon Blanc or an older version of the grape, but either way there are definite similarities.

This example from M&S shows lots of citrus fruit and grassy notes that you'd expect from Sauvignon Blanc, however it is fuller bodied, with notes of rhubarb, sage and with a lovely minerally finish. This is actually the first ever Sauvignon Gris I've tasted so I have nothing to compare it to, however this is a very tasty bottle of French white wine and I'm now going to be hunting out the Chilean and Kiwi versions that are apparently excellent too.

Happy Swigging! 

High Street Wine Challenge: Bijou Cuvée Sophie Valrose, Cabrieres (Waitrose, £7.99)

The label doesn't give much away about this wine but I know from the name Cabrieres (a tiny village in the Languedoc in southern France) that it'll be a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre & Carignan, so similar to Cotes du Rhone, Cotes du Roussillon et al. The fruit is super ripe and brambly (blackberry and blueberry fruit) with some delicious sweet spice (vanilla) and a good level of acidity which would make this great with roast lamb or pork belly because it would help cut through the fat. It was also very tasty with the Manchego we were scoffing this evening! A good juicy red for this beautiful Autumnal weather.

Happy Swigging!