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28 October 2011

Why Should You Learn More About Wine?

People keep asking me what's the point in learning about wine, I know what I like. Here's a few thoughts!

As wine consumers in the UK we are very adept at defaulting into our comfort zone when it comes to wine, and are often reticent to experiment. However, that’s normal human behaviour and it’s often our lack of knowledge and understanding that creates this reticence; particularly when faced with more expensive wines we know nothing about.

But why bother? If you know what you like, why not stick with it? Well wine styles are a product of many factors including grape variety, terroir (the combination of environmental factors that make a certain piece of land unique) and the winemaker’s style and skill, amongst others.

It is when these factors come together we experience the diversity that wine can offer, be it acidity, sweetness, body, tannins, character and much more. As passive wine drinkers we don’t look at the elements in isolation, but just as a sports fan gets more enjoyment when they understand tactics, players and strategy, or an art lover appreciates brush strokes and inspiration, we will also get much more when we understand the component parts of a wine.

And these parts all have a role to play when matching with food; a wine that’s quite acidic will kill a food that’s not; and all the factors have a similar role to play. Therefore, learning about wine will lead to greater pleasure, more confidence to experiment and a more rounded experience when matched with food.

As the demand for wine in the UK has increased, so have the opportunities to learn about it. The Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET) is the leading body that provide qualifications in wine, and courses are available UK-wide or by distance learning, for the novice through to the professional. Alongside that are a number of companies that provide tastings and courses in the evening or at weekends. The plethora of opportunities these days is numerous and on-line is a good place to start, although if you would like to start slowly and in the comfort of your own home, ‘The World Atlas of Wine’ by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson is an extremely well researched and easy to understand tome.

One word of warning though, it becomes addictive, and the more we learn, the more we want to learn. Wine is such a vast subject that you could continue to improve your knowledge to your very last days. It is however, worth every penny and every hour that you spend, the last true artisan craft of winemaking on a global scale will keep you entertained and satisfied for years to come.

So, whether you start with a book, a simple tasting or a course, the more demanding and understanding wine drinkers become, the more we will all benefit from greater ranges, more experimental winemakers and ultimately greater pleasure.

Labels: wine tasting, wine school, wine education, wine courses, wine recommendations, wine tasting event, food and wine matching,

Posted by Ian Harvey at 28/10/2011.

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23 April 2011

Be a Bit More Adventurous with Summer Wines?

At many of our recent events, people keep asking 'what would you recommend for summer drinking?'

It's pretty obvious that as the sun comes out people's thoughts turn away from rich, full bodied wines into lighter styles more suited to the current (and very welcome) summer climate. But with so many countries producing superb styles that are now much more commercial and widely available, it's a great time to experiment and broaden those horizons. So, with many people asking for recommendations I've decided to put a few thoughts down here so you can try with confidence and take advantage of the fantastic range of wines the UK retail scene has to offer.

Let's start with Sauvignon Blanc, the ubiquitous success so embraced by British consumers. To my mind, the New Zealand varieties are trying too hard and the aromatic, flowery characteristics are becoming overpowering, certainly not particularly food friendly. For a steelier, fresher and more refined wine you need to look elsewhere and classic Loire Valley Sancerre and Pouilly Fume come to mind, but many are overpriced. For value look further west to an area called Touraine, similar refinement but at about half the price; just look for 'Touraine' on the label. And also South Africa, a region producing some stunning sauvignon, key areas to look for are Walker Bay and Cape Aghulas.

Keeping with dry, steely and refreshing whites, a relatively new kid on the block is Picpoul de Pinet, an indigenous grape variety form the south of France. This has lots of minerality and is a perfect accompaniment to shellfish. Not the easiest to find but once sought out it will be difficult to resist.

For richer whites we're in obvious Chardonnay territory, but to keep with our theme of experimentation look out for Roussanne, traditionally a Rhone grape variety but now widely planted in France and increasing its presence in South Africa and Australia. Honeysuckle, melon and a tempting creaminess, this would be great with roast chicken.

And finally for now, to rose. Long gone are the days when our shelves were dominated by sickly Zinfandel blush from California, and the rose market is now seeing much drier styles, easier to drink and far more appealing with food. The Spanish display some incredible strength in this area, so look for Garnacha rosado, often in the dry style and quite simply one of the better choices for the rose lover.

Come back for more when we'll look at reds, but in the meantime, enjoy experimenting with these in the sunshine!

Labels: rose wines, white wines, summer wines, wine tasting,

Posted by Ian Harvey at 23/04/2011.

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13 March 2011

2 Great Recommendations from Saturday's Wine Tasting

Universal praise for 2 wines from yesterday's wine tasting, 'Introduction to the World of Wine' at our new venue 'Mint Hotel'.

Yesterday's wine tasting was our popular 1-day 'Introduction to the World of Wine' and we were very impressed with our latest venue, Mint Hotel in Brindley Place. During the day guests covered 16 wines including the major grape varieties and regions, but it was the 2 wines with lunch that garnered the most praise.

The menu was contemporary and well-executed with a starter of Terrine of baby chicken and leeks, spiced plum compote which we matched with Domaine Sainte Rose 'Le Vent du Nord' Roussanne Chardonnay 2009 Pays d'Oc from Majestic. This is a rich and creamy wine with lots of melon and honey, a touch of oak-induced caramel and a nice balancing acidity, and that worked perfectly with the chicken terrine. Also its abundance of ripe fruit was a great foil for the plum compote and guests just hankered for more.

The main course of spring lamb rump, pomme anna, pea and broad bean fricassee and rosemary jus was served perfectly pink and everyone loved it. But it was the wine choice that saw a few converts as certain people sceptical about Californian wines just raved about the matching red. I am the first one to doubt that you can get decent Californian wine at a reasonable price, but the Ravenswood Vintners Blend Zinfandel 2007 is simply outstanding for the money. Big, bold, fruity and spicy, with just the right level of tannins, the addition of carignan and petite sirah to the blend really helped even up the roosemary jus. At only £4.99, again from Majestic this is bonkers value but I should get in quick!

We finished off with a strawberry parfait, sloe gin granite and chocolate fondant that was just finished in time to get back and start the afternoon's exploration of main red grapes and the often maligned dessert wines.

Thanks to the guys at Mint for great service and a super lunch and hopefully we'll have many more recommendations from our forthcoming tasting events. You can see the full calendar here and we hope to see many more of you soon.

Best Wishes

Ian

Labels: food and wine matching, wine tasting event, wine recommendations, wine courses, wine education, wine school, wine tasting,

Posted by Ian Harvey at 13/03/2011.

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