Posted January 31, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

A new website launch for fine wine merchants Elliston & Southwick (ES Fine Wines). With the likes of Petrus, Cote Rotie Ladonne, Pahlmeyer and the like listed you would expect prices to be in the 'if you have to ask the price you can't afford it' bracket. What is really annoying is the search facility - lots of countries/regions listed that produce zero results. Off-putting. But a refined looking site overall.

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For my initial participation in this non-exclusive, non-discriminatory and (lets be honest here) fairly silly web-log event I went posh.

Ingredients
Element-charred muffin
Thick slice of black pudding
Duck egg
Cornish Butter
Three cherry Tomatoes

The black-pudding was gently fried in butter. The egg was poached. The muffin, liberally smothered with more butter, was layered first with the black pudding and then the egg. With cherry tomatoes and chopped parsley as a garnish it all slipped down rather nicely. In fact it was so good I went and made another one…

Drink with: freshly squeezed orange juice (although mine was from a carton) and, if I had any in the house, it would have been topped up with a sparkling wine of some description; but I didn’t, so it was ‘au naturel’.

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A superb, informal, evening is promised by The Wine Maestro as Richard Bampfield MW hosts a Bordeaux Dinner. Mark your calenders for the 25th November (a Thursday) 8pm-10:30pm at 24 Norsey Road, Billericay, Essex. Cost is just £45 per person.
http://thewinemaestro.co.uk/
artman/publish/article_15.shtml

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Posted January 30, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ben over at Pinot Island has just posted the results from the 2005 Tasmania Wine Show. I am off to the main Australian Trade Tasting next month. As it always helps to go with a theme or plan in mind (when confronted by hundreds of wines) I may just concentrate on this relatively unknown region.

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Posted January 29, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

The idea of the scheme is to clearly distinguish 'real ale in a bottle' as a natural live beer from other types of bottled ales. Over the coming months the CAMRA logo should appear on labels of true bottled-conditioned ales. Currently over 60 breweries have joined the scheme.
http://www.camra.org.uk/SHWebClass.asp?WCI=ShowCat&CatId=585

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It is a bit of a quiet news day so just thought I would announce my intention to participate in this months EoMEoTE! Eggs, toast.. what more do you need!
http://cooksister.typepad.com/cook_sister/
2005/01/announcing_the_.html

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Posted January 28, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Not entirely sure what the point of this new site is as the company, Hailsham Cellars, already has a fully functioning website. So why maintain Wine Direct as well? Still this one offers mixed cases only but minimum purchase is just 6 bottles… which confuses me further as a case is generally accepted to be 12 bottles. Good low delivery charge though of just £5 for 6 bottles (or 12). The site has a slightly dated, perhaps even amateurish, feel but the wines are good and the company has a good reputation. If you register you receive a 5% discount on all purchases.

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Posted January 27, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Wine Discoveries - A merchant specialising in the wines of France (like we need another). Most regions seem to be covered with a smattering of wines from most of the major wine varieties and styles. Each producer is fully detailed and listed against his wines. Some interesting stuff here so you shouldn't have problems filling a case.

I just cant feeling that there are just so many specialists covering France that they cant all possibly survive. Still I wish them all well.

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I sparked a little debate over at Lets Talk Wine (although the topic seems to have disappeared) on the subject of the latest Wine Blogging Wednesday theme – whacky wine names. Plenty of options and suggestions there and what did I come up with? 'The Cover Drive' which isn’t that wacky really... oh well, it is a nice wine. I also found a white with an Orang-utan on the label; now that is wacky!

This months topic was set and is hosted by Chez ‘you might think me a glutton' Pim. Head on over to see what other bloggers have discovered!

Jim Barry The Cover Drive, 2002, Clare Valley/Coonawarra, Australia.
£10.50 Robersons.
Aged in American and French oak. Plenty of rich ripe fruit a touch of sweetness to the midfield while silly-mid-on held an abundance of blackcurrant fruit. A complex structure kicks in around deep mid wicket. Finishes with a fine leg. For those who revel in such things this received 89 points in Wine Advocate. Various American retailers list this wine for $16.99. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Alcohol 15% but hardly noticable. Consumed with a creamy beef stroganoff - this was a beaut.
Scribblings Rating - 92/100

On the southern boundary of Coonawarra is the old Penola cricket ground, which first saw a ball bowled in anger and the flashing cover drives of the local champions in 1950. Sadly, the ground closed in 1996. Soon after Jim Barry purchased the 30 acre property and planted a Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard. The original pavilion and pitch have been retained, the vineyard was actually planted around the cricket pitch. So a little piece of history has been preserved.

Today, this vineyard provides some of the fruit for The Cover Drive Cabernet Sauvignon. Selected parcels of fruit from our other family owned Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards in the Clare Valley have been blended with the our Coonawarra fruit to produce a wine that is rich, soft and approachable.

Comte Cathare Orangutan Rainforest Chardonnay, 2002, Limoux, France.
Available from Oddbins £8.49.
Hand-picked grapes go into this minerally Chard. Nice touch of oak melds into a refined palate full of lemon and orange pith flavours. Nice weight but a little sharp on the finish for drinking on its own.
Scribblings Rating - 90/100

Comte Cathare have produced four wines in support of the Rainforest Foundation; each is named after an endangered rainforest plant or animal. By buying a bottle you are assisting the Rainforest Foundation preserve what remains of some of the world’s most precious ecosystems. As I had such an amazing experience with Orang-utans in Sarawak during my travels these litte critters are really close to my heart.

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Now on their third podcast the guys behind GrapeRadio offer shows around 20 minutes in length for you to downlaod and listen to.

"Our shows consist of the three hosts sharing their opinions and experiences with the audience. Shows topics review issues such as the enjoyment of wine, wine news and industry trends. The hallmark of the show will be guest interviews with winemaker, vineyard owners, wine retail/wholesale leaders, restaurateurs and sommeliers. The scope of the show will be international so expect to hear many guests from around the world."

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With the intention of ‘sussing out the place for future participation’ I scuttled up to Olympia yesterday for the Vive La France Show. I hated it.

A couple of years ago I swore I would never attend The BBC Good Food show again; it being one of the most overcrowded, life sapping shows I ever had the misfortune to attend. Vive La France wasn’t far behind. Hundreds of people of a certain age and disposition milling around (i.e. getting in the bloody way) with no intent or purpose and most were freeloaders too - sampling any free morsel of food or slurping any sample of booze they could get their sweaty mitts around.

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The exhibits themselves were as diverse as France itself – but generally they concentrated on holidays and buying properties in France. Food and wine were well represented – aromatic piles of fresh bread and plenty of dried sausages and the like. Can I just say to the woman at one smoked meat produce stand that if someone is waving a wallet in your face he WANTS to buy something! Grief. We walked away. Oh, and do people ever taste and compare five different types of fresh garlic? One formidable woman kept thrusting a sampling tray at me heaped with garlic; I ask you – it would have ruined the wines I wanted to taste!

From a business point of view – we were looking at the possibilities of setting up a smaller independent merchants wine stand – the punters were certainly in attendance. But the chances of selling anything to cover costs looked slim. Viewed as a publicity venture it may be more successful; but does anyone ever look at the hundreds of leaflets they collect from these shows?

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