Me? I don't give a monkeys. Dessert wines aside, I just don't like the grape.

I would rather not drink something akin to kerosene (aged Riesling) and when young most taste of little more than lime-splashed sugar water. Some of the mineral and lime Australian dry Rieslings I do enjoy; it might just come down to the European versions (generally) being low in alcohol. This is a bit strange as the weighty wines, often with an inkling of sweetness (thinking Pinot Gris, New World Chard's) are just what I enjoy. Alternatively high acidity as found in New Zealand Sauvignons is another characteristic of Riesling; love the former; ignore the latter. OK, so I WILL drink Rieslings; I just wish I was drinking something else, that's all.

In the spirit of Wine Blogging Wednesday a bottle of German Riesling found its way into the fridge. The Riesling range in Waitrose was rather impressive. Ranging in price from £6.99 up to £15.99 I do wonder how many they actually sell. Good to see a distinct lack of those Germanic scripted labels put down as one of the main reasons for disappointing sales of German wine over the last few years.

Wine Tasting Note: Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland Riesling Spätlese, 2002, Rheingau, Germany.
From Waitrose for £9.99.
Rather a surprise in the quality here - nicely judged acidity balanced with a under-ripe pear and lime flavoured lightly sweet palate. Honey on the nose. Fresh crisp acidity and no noticeable kerosene from a wine still young from the 2002 vintage. Alcohol 8%.

The Dr Wegeler estate was founded in 1882 and is now run by the 4th generation of the same family.

Scribblings Rating - 86/100 [3.25 out of 5]

The picture is a little dark (taken late in the evening) but highlights the wines (and sweeter Rieslings in general) affinity with spicy food. The dish is Chili Beef Ramen from the Wagamama Cookbook one of favourite 'oriental' cookbooks. A white wine with beef! Almost as radical as me drinking a German Riesling!

Twitter is one of those 'what is the point' geeky things that you either 'get' or you don't. You have the ability to send a short 140 character message to all of your Twitter friends. A message is called a tweet, by the way. While it began as a simple way to let everyone know what you are up to it has morphed somewhat over the last few months; well at least it has in my little group!

Now conversations rule the day, links to news and sites of interest with the TechCrunch story highlighted by fellow wine blogger Catavino being a prime example.

I must admit that firing up the computer to be faced with 600 odd tweets can be a little depressing; so I just delete them all and join in the conversation afresh! It must be even worse if you opt for them all to be sent to your mobile. Incidentally, Twitter was featured on BBC Radio 4 a week or so back. I don't think it is quite mainstream yet though, especially as the interviewer remained totally perplexed by the whole affair!

The techcrunch story, to return to the focus of this post, tells how Project Vino, an Australian wine site focused on community recommendations, tried a Twitter wine tasting. The site sent three bottles of Kirrihill, a South Australian, wine to 12 prominent Australian Twitter users, with the only obligation being to tweet their thoughts to Twitter at the designated times. A fascinating little exercise but I'm not sure exactly how such a niche activity helped in any marketing plan.

If you want to join in the Twitter conversation I'm at http://twitter.com/wine_scribbler

Wine Tasting Note: Château Laures Blanc, 2006, Entre-Deux-Mers, Bordeaux, France
Available from Bordeaux-Undiscovered [more] for £6.75 (normally £9.64)
The Semillon really comes though on the nose giving a lovely herby touch to the lemon-citrus that dominates. Palate is nicely rich and full with a slight spritz and good acidity balancing it all out. A honeyed touch to the lemony complexity all melds together wonderfully.

Château Laures is a 70 hectare estate owned and run for many generations by the same family. They've pulled together a typical Bordeaux blend for this bottle - 60% Semillon, 30% Sauvignon Blanc and 10% Muscadelle. Alcohol 12.5%.
Scribblings Rating - 92/100 [4 out of 5]

While more than suitable for a wide range of foods - salads and fish particularly recommended - a match with a Marmade Tomato Tart worked superbly well. Based on a recipe in Rick Stein's French Odyssey this combines pesto, garlic, tomatoes and puff pastry into a lovely spring-type dish. I added a slice of ham and a little Mozarella to the topping just to make them a little more substantial.

Wine Tasting Note: Howard Park Scotsdale Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005, Great Southern, Western Australia
New vintage available soon from Bibendum for £13
They make great play on the 'old vines' description on the rear label. The grapes for this bottle come are sourced from a single estate in Mount Barker (in the Great Southern region) in Western Australia. The vines were planted in 1974 and are therefore 34 years old. Old vines and extra attention in the vineyard results in a higher quality wine, in this case one brimming with wonderful blackberry and bramble flavours laced with a herbal, dark chocolate edge. It is also blessed with a long length and tannins that should see it though for several years. In fact the recommend 5-8 years cellaring. Alcohol 14.5%.
Scribblings Rating - 90/100 [3.75 out of 5]

It's a touch young at the moment but still a joy to drink. Served with Lamb Baguettes with Fresh Mint Sauce (recipe below) it was a delight. Wareing's sauce is rather sweet and, depending on how much mint you add, quite powerfully flavoured. The sweetness will swamp the wine so use sparingly.

Here's how to enter:

1. Visit CityWire and view Jancis's latest Wine Of The Week

2. Read the clue at the end. You'll find the answer on Jancis's own website.

3. Send the answer to wine@citywire.co.uk and you may win the prize.

Wine Tasting Note: Periquita White, 2007, Setabul, Portugal.
Currently on offer at Waitrose for £3.99.

Even at the normal price of £4.99 it's a fine little blend of Arinto and Moscatel from the Setubal Peninsula, south of Lisbon. The Arinto gives the crispness and freshness, while the Moscatel lends a lovely aromatic component plus a level of spiciness to the flavour that proved to match so well with the fritters.

Scribblings Rating - 90/100 [3.75 out of 5]

The fritter recipe comes from the regular food-blog event, Waiter There's Something In My..., that I co-host over on SpittoonExtra with this particular round, 'Pulses', selected and hosted by Cooksister. As a regular host I do try and make some of the dishes submitted to each round. The varied creations from across the globe never ceases to amaze. The Spicy Chickpea Fritters came from Australian blogger Kazari at I Think I Have A Recipe For That. The mix of caraway, cumin and coriander also complimented the wine; the yoghurt sauce is a must too!

Wine Tasting Note: Château Les Tonnelles, 2004, Fronsac, France.
Available from Bordeaux-Undiscovered [more] for £7.99 (normally £11.99).
Very French (for which read Bordeaux) in style and structure - the aroma has a lovely fruity edge that needs a little teasing (swirl/decant) to really reveal itself - don't forget that aroma offers so much to the overall enjoyment of wine - is that blackcurrant, blackberry, leaves, undergrowth?

The Bordeaux Undiscovered website states that this 'drinks well on it's own' but I disagree - it's a classic French food wine - unless you enjoy hearty tannins - and in that regard is highly recommended with a simple roasted game bird. In this case it is stuffed with herby sausage and served with a potato-parsley-garlic mash and a broad bean puree (the latter left over from the Pappardelle with Broad Beans and Rocket dish).

The wine is 100% Merlot. Alcohol 13.5%.
Scribblings Rating - 90/100 [3.75 out of 5]