"It ain't fair" ...

..Moaned the hosting husband at least 10 days before their wine club, why you ask, well apparently his favourite football team, Chelsea, were playing some big match.. don't ask me what, I haven't a clue about football..my heart bleeds for him (not) now you might say put the footie on in another room & let the boys watch, logical but unsocial, however, he is in a minority the others aren't big football fans..ha ha..

So we arrived, to find the house littered with Chelsea hats, scarves and tops, the tops will appear later in the proceedings as you will see.. just making his feelings felt ..actually it was quite inspired and funny, we'll give him that, his daughter thought he'd lost the plot !

Well the brief was 'Anything'.. so that was a real tricky one.. now anyone that knows Karen & Mick will not be surprised at this... we found out the old fashioned way, by phone, not email, those that know Karen & Mick will also not be surprised at this either... let me think any other things that would not surprise you about Karen & Mick, oh yes, Karen got her own way and got her new kitchen regardless of Micks moaning, sounds like he moans a bit.. anyone that knows Karen & Mick... no, must stop that ...

So on with the wine tasting, we had three white and two reds, a real mixed bag..

Wine One ~ Vaillon Chablis Premier Cru 2001 (!) probably the oldest wine we have tasted..

We did all think it was older 2006/7, it was quite buttery with a thick texture and strong aromas, those that generally like a french wine, did like this one, the others were less keen.

Wine Two ~ Chardonnay 2011

Mick about summed it up at the first sniff "what's this bleedin' fing"... it wasn't very popular, very floral aromas, general opinion was french plonk!

Wine Three ~ Sauvignon Blanc

From New Zealand, very nice, not just saying that as it was my offering.. it wasn't as minerally and sharp as you would have expected, very drinkable..and I did ..

Wine Four ~ Rioja 2005

Very dark and leggy (!), lots of tannin real hangover stuff after a few glasses I am sure. Flavours of liquorice and blackcurrants.  Not particularly liked by anybody.

Wine Five ~ DOC Amarone Della Valpolicella £15.99 (Tesco)

A treat from the hosts, shame Terry and Karen weren't there to enjoy it, as I think it is one of their favourite wines.. Aromas of cherries & berries, general opinion was that it wasn't worth the money, it just didn't seem to have the depth you'd expect..

I looked up the 'expert' view on this wine on the Tesco website:
"Medicinal aromas, cherry & coffee.  Ripe big style wine with bold fruit, imagine overripe berries squished and laced with subtle layer of peppered spice"   I think he must have been tasting a different wine ..

Ever wondered what DOC means ? ..and.. no it doesn't relate to the medicinal aromas mentioned above !

D.O.C.stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata. It is a law established in Italy in 1963 concerning Italian bottled wines only. It determines the area within which certain wines may be produced, the soil and the arrangements of the vineyards; the grapes and blend of grapes; the method of cultivation; yield of the vineyard and method of vinification; and certain details like the length of
maturation and whether wines of different vintages can be blended.

Bottles and labels similarly come under control,as well as the names of both wines and firms.

Penalties for infringements can be the closing of an offending establishment
for a year and a heavy fine on each gallon (4.54 litres) to which a false
description was applied.

Although the term D.O.C. s often compared to the French Applelation d'Origine
Controlée it works differently. The administration is centralised and does not depend, as does the A.O.C., largely on local syndicates. 

So now you know.. don't say you don't learn anything !

~ You remember those football shirts that were hanging about.. whilst Mick popped out to help with the coffee, Linda & I quickly put the T-shirts on to see how quickly he would notice...

When he did notice.. he then told us they were Neils old ones... so who knows where they'd been !

Good evening had by all..

Time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x

Slaying dragons

Our hosts Karen & Terry decided that this month we would taste English wines.. St Georges Day and all that.. and just for those that don't know their history
' St George's Day in the United Kingdom remembers St George, England's patron saint. The anniversary of his death, which is on April 23, is seen as England's national day. According to legend, he was a soldier in the Roman army who killed a dragon and saved a princess.' 

Eight of us turned up to find Terry with his head in the oven..checking the roast, not trying to gas himself..(probably an electric oven anyway!) a superb mega joint of beef it has to be said, naturally with all the trimmings, well you just wouldn't expect anything else from Terry.  Now some of you may notice our hosts were Terry and Karen, you notice I haven't mention Karen, well.. apparently she was still travelling home, I think she was probably killing time at the pub, returning when she knew it would all be ready !!

Now you can't just pop down to the local supermarket & pick up a bottle.. so we were given plenty of notice to source a bottle or two.

Before we begin, just say there is a difference between English wines and British wines.  I quote from the vineyard leaflet "English wines are made from fresh grapes grown in England, whilst British wine is simply produced from foreign grapes "... now you know !

We started with Marks presentation on behalf of the four of us (Mark Linda Geoff & I) about our buying trip to Biddenden, well done Mark, although I did get told off by one of the group for butting in with little bits about the visit... whilst watching we tasted the Huxelrebe which was well received, very light in colour, dry enough and would be great on a summer day.

This was followed by Flint Dry from Chapel Down, although purchased at the new Majestic Wine Merchants in Broadstairs, this was very tangy compared to the first wine, lots of citrus, made your mouth water, just like eating an opal fruit sweet, lots of flavours..pear, peach, melon, pineapple, greengage and stone fruits, oddly Mick wondered what these were.. maybe, just maybe, they are fruits that have stones in them.. I am just guessing here !

By the way, this was the best looking label on the wines, the others were very old fashioned, as we know, you can be swayed when buying by the label on the bottle.

Two of us had the same wine, the award winning Ortega from Biddenden, one bought at the winery and one bought at a food fair (£2 more), more about this wine further down.

We won in a raffle, a dodgy looking bottle of English wine from Essex, New Hall Bacchus 2008, only 10.5%, so we brought this one along as well... very shocked it was actually quite good, we were all very surprised.

I have to add at this point a few glasses have been drunk, not too many, we have really calmed down, a delicious meal eaten, then the singing starts, (always the singing) mentioning no names, not because I don't want to but because she would rather I didn't, not because of her singing but...opps starting to ramble on here.. Anyway the singing starts, yes, yes lovely voices, but once she starts others can't resist joining in .. and you know it is 'finally' time to stop them when 'Mr hummer' starts (don't even ask).

We finished, oddly, with a pink fizz from Chapel Down, Vintage Rose reserve, gold medal winner, very good indeed, hints of strawberries, cream and shortbread made with 100% Pinot Noir, thats the wine not the shortbread.  I thought worth the £25.

Slaying the myth~

The general opinion was they were all very 'nice' (that special wine term ) we couldn't actually vote one as top, they were all fairly equal, so a thumbs up for English wines.

If we always paid over £9 a bottle would they all seem better, less room for a nasty one ??

If you are not too bored yet, I would like to tell you a story, now who said that, I am thinking Des O'Connor but thats not right some other bloke Max something?? can't remember.. anyone know ??  Sorry sorry drifting off at a tangent once again...

On a sunny Sunday earlier this month Mark & Linda invited me to join them for a jaunt out to Biddenden Vineyard, after a little bit of doubting the Sat Nav and lack of signs to the vineyard we finally arrived at Kent's oldest commercial vineyard.

After a brief sit down in the sun (hard work all that travelling) we headed into the shop  past the 'Bikers', tell you more later, where we were met by a very friendly knowledgeable girl who helped us select the wines to buy.  Needless to say we did taste a 'few' before making our selection.

We tried the dry white 'Huxelrebe' our favourite & purchased by Mark & Linda , we then tried the 'Gribble Bridge' white then the award winning 'Ortega' very fruity with a very distinctive fragrance, I selected this one to buy as it tasted so different. We also tried the Rose, a very light flavour and colour would be good on a summer afternoon in the garden and we finished with a few sips of the red, which we didn't like.

We then took a gentle stroll round the vineyard so lovely and warm, enhanced by the fact that the site is on a gentle south facing slope in a sheltered valley.

Once the loop was complete we headed back to the shop to make our purchase but first stopped to chat with the cider drinking bikers, who were also enjoying the sunshine, it was chats and photos all round and the admittance from one of them that really he was a white wine drinker (should he really say that out loud) doesn't quite go with the image.

Spot the white wine drinker (No not Linda or I )..

So I would like to say Thank You to our hosts for selecting English wine, we had a lovely morning out tasting and meeting new people, so these wines will have fond memories (opps sounding slushy now).. really does beat grabbing a bottle off the supermarket shelf !

www.biddendenvineyards.com

Time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x

Merlot for March

Eight of us for the March get together. A small but sophisticated group (ha ha) tasting one of my least favourites.. Merlot..

There is a classic line in the film Sideways, where Miles Raymond (Paul Giamatti) an unsuccessful writer & a wine-aficionado, is about to go into the Restaurant and makes his feelings clear, that they were not going to order ' any f**~@*~~ Merlot '  that sums up my feelings too, not that I'll hold that against our hosts Mark & Linda. 

However, there is always an exception as 'they' say, whoever 'they' are... I actually thought that the Merlot we brought was quite good.  It did also come out tops for the evening.. no I am not feeling big headed about this, in light of my above Merlot feelings I gave as much thought to buying this wine as I would to buying a power tool..none !

A little Merlot background for starters ~

Merlot (pronounced Mare-LOW) is a darkly blue-coloured coloured grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird (Turdus merula), probably from the colour of the grape.

Merlot-based wines usually have medium body with hints of berry, plum, and currant. Its softness and "freshness", combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin.  Here I would like to add that I always think Merlot has the smell of wellie boots !

Anyway... on with the evening, we started rather surprisingly with a Hungarian Merlot from John Lewis, not bad, this one came in second.. a jammy cherry flavour with a slight pepper finish.

Next was the WINNING Gallo Merlot, lots of berry aromas, very smooth & velvety, hints of cream soda (would that be vanilla ??)  a good wine for £6.49 from Co-op.

Followed by a rough tart one from France( this provoked numerous comments !!) also lots of tannin, needles to say the only person who liked it was Mark, Mr Bordeaux lover...

We finished with the most expensive wine of the evening, sadly disappointing, proving the more you spend the better the wine doesn't always ring true (ask yourself...why spend much on a Merlot..or is that just me) & even more shockingly it was Australian, not often you get a dodgy Australian, well actually you probably do.. but not in wine..ha ..ha.. ha.. well I thought it was funny :)

Comments were, bit rough, jammy, cherry and YES..wellie boots ~ actually thinking about it, does that make this wine the most 'typical' out of the four ??

A smaller group this time who enjoyed delicious food, especially Linda's superb lemon tart. Conversation covered a wide range of topics, latest books read, some more intellectual than others (!) we even got into politics after a few glasses of wine,  and for a change we could all hear each other & speak at normal levels, as opposed to the normal, who can shout the loudest approach.

It was nice to welcome Terry & Karen who, it has to be said had let their attendance slip (just joking we know you have 'other' friends) although they are making up for it, next one at their house, with the challenge of English wine..better start searching now !

Time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x

Made me smile..

Which wine are you ?

First a limerick from an eloquent member ~

There is a wine club from Margate

Which tastes wines bad and great

They maintain a log

And upload a blog

With an aim to educate !

It was our turn to host the wine club so we decided to go with something a little different... each couple if possible to bring along a wine that suited their character.. e.g. you might be refreshing & bright, deep with a long finish (as someone suggested) !.. do you get the idea.. we also added a little valentine touch.. each person to wear a pink heart with clues to their wine (grape) & country.


It is actually quite fun when you think about your friends characters & which wine they would be.. puts a smile on your face..go on have a go.


Now before we get down to the wines & their clues for you to have a guess..some of the usual basics.. ten of us squeezed round the table, spilt drink ? oh yes, that was me within about five minutes of sitting down, I knocked my champagne into my lap..what a waste and real champagne too !!


Meal was once again Jamie Olivers bangers & mash, simple but yummy and stuffed tomatoes for the veggie option.

Okay here we go ~ see how you do.

Wine 1:  I am fresh, fruity & full of gas
             (Those that know our group well, can guess who wore this)
              Three classic grapes, hints of butter, biscuit & pineapple
              From the country that likes to eat snails

Wine 2:  Tart & tasty
               This wine has a great name for romantics
               Unusual aromas not often spotted include grass, asparagus & passion fruit
               This area is 'cloaked' on the West Coast
             
Wine 3:   Refreshing & zesty
               Grapefruit & gooseberries dominate
               Fairy tales, Sleeping Beauty & a long river
              (This had us completely stumped for the country.its not Germany !)
        
Wine 4:  We like to think we are this (thats this couple do..)
               One of us likes this kind food
               Skippy

Wine 5:   I still have my cherry (tones) Ooo I say...
              Spicy, oak and a touch of vanilla
              Olay (I think they were going for phonetic spelling!)


So now check you answers:

Wine 1: Charles Freminet champagne ~ grapes chardonnay, pinot noir & pinot meunier
              From M & S on offer £15   normally £30.. it was very good.
             ( Are this couple full of gas ?)

Wine 2: Darling ~ Sauvignon Blanc 2010 from South Africa
             (Are this couple romantic ?)

Wine 3: Touraine ~ Sauvignon 2010 from Loire Valley
             (Fairy tales & chateaux ~ do this couple live in a dream world ?)

Wine 4: Blaxland ~ Shiraz 2011 Spicy with subtle oak Australian
            (Are this couple subtle?)

Wine 5: Berberana Reserva ~ 2006 Rioja (Are this couple spicy)

I am pleased to say no-one scored less than 4.

There was also a prize for best valentine wrapping, which went to Stephanie, who wasn't actually there she is far too young, does that make her a princess of the fairy tale couple !!

Things drew to a close after midnight, when the bottles were empty and the chocolates gone.

All the wrapped wines & my personal favourite..

Just one big shock of the evening Mark (Mr I love Bordeaux... actually liked one of the whites..pick yourself up off the floor)

Time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x



              

           

Ciao a tutti ..

We started the New Year at The Stones, just eight of us, so no extension to the table required although it may have given us a little more space and Geoff wouldn't have knocked the glass of red wine over.. first spill of the year. 'Apparently' not his fault the mat was in the way... I think not !


The Stones decided we would taste Italian wines to go with the tasty lasagna.. one white (bianco) & three reds (rosso) came under scrutiny. Well poured into glasses, swilled a bit & then down the hatch with a few mummers about cherries and tannins.. no seriously we did actually make a few notes.  Although on collecting the tasting notes we seem to doodle more than we write, I am thinking about a) having the doodles analysed  b) making a collage..


Bianco


A very light wine in colour taste & aroma, quite pleasant would be a good lazy afternoon in the sunshine wine, although you would end up more drunk than you would expect as it was, surprisingly 12.5%

Rosso


The three reds were all voted as drinkable with none particularly outstanding but isn't this generally the case with the cheaper Italian wines ??


As Mick said this is 'R' wine (ie. the hosts offering )

Gran Conti Rosso Del Molise Riserva 75Cl from Tesco £5.39 (half price offer)

The Blurb from Tesco website ~

This noble wine is crafted from a selection of the best Montepulciano and Aglianico grapes grown in the rolling hills of the Molise region of central Italy. The wine then achieves its 'Riserva' status following three years ageing, including time spent maturing in oak barrels and in bottle.

A generous and richly textured dry red wine. Made from a blend of Montepulciano and Aglianico grape varieties grown in the hilly Molise region of Central Italy, it exudes bramble fruit flavours and its richness is balanced by sweet spiced notes.

Naturally we agree, although we had, fruity, cherry, long finish & lots of tannin and no mention of spiced notes.

Then we had a Chianti (not in the wicker covering that you used to see in restaurants with a candle stuck in the top).


This Chianti and the previous wine both included Sangiovese grapes (who knows how you pronounce that.. not 'grape' but 'Sangiovese')


Typically Sangiovese grapes make medium to full-bodied wines with tannin structure ranging from medium-soft to firm. Dominate flavors associated with Sangiovese derived wines include: cherry, plum, strawberry, cinnamon and vanilla.


( We had dry, ordinary and harsh tannin)


There is often a herbaceous quality associated with Sangiovese wines. As for acidity levels, Sangiovese leans towards medium to high acidity content. The finish can range from elegant to bitter.

Italy's most commonly planted red grape varietal, boasting over a dozen distinct clones, is a thin-skinned grape that tends to linger longer on the vine, takes its time to mature. Central Italy, specifically the region of Tuscany, is the agricultural heartland of the Sangiovese grape. 


So now you know & can impress your friends..if your friends are impressed by that sort of thing !

The last Rosso was from Mafia country..Sicily.. so only good things to be said, don't want to end up in concrete under a motorway somewhere, do we .. although I hear its nice there for holidays, thats Sicily not under a motorway !


A nice enjoyable deep ruby red wine with spicy hints. Not sure where this wine was bought, in was in our wine rack, distinctive label, maybe someone recognises it ..

Like me you may not know much about wines from Sicily, so you can expand your knowledge now.

Sicily is one of the larger expanses of vineyards in Italy and has been probably been making wine as long as people have been making wine for. Sicily's full bodied, flavoursome and fruity wines are considered the best in the world. (By the Italians ??)

The vineyards are usually owned by large cooperatives, but the rise in modern technology have meant that smaller vineyards in prime locations by dedicated and passionate winemakers have began coming to the fore.

The main grape variety is the Sangiovese, which has over 10 clones, including the Prugnello and Brunello.

Well there you have it until next month, February, the month of love, Italian wines might have linked in well with that, but hay ho will have to think of another option..

As a passing note we have been challenged to possible a 'Wine Off' with a group from Folkestone..we had better brush up, not that we are competitive !

Thanks again for the photos Mark.

Tempo di mettere un tappo di sughero in esso

Bye x

PS I hope that says what I meant it to say !!!!

Party Time

Another year of wine club get togethers came to an end on Saturday evening, where has the time gone??  It doesn't seem like a year since Mick was throwing his wine over himself and a cream carpet...not forgetting the wall & Karens top ! 

Karen & Terry hosted a Christmas Party for their friends and all the wine club, lots of chatting, laughing, drinking & eating a nice way to finish & of course the hand out of Secret Santa presents !

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all.

Time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x