Vine of the Times

Wine and Champagne Dinner at the Felin Fach Griffin

We are pleased to imform about a Billecart Salmon and Chateau Vignelaure themed dinner which will be taking place this Friday (27th October) at the Felin Fach Griffin near Brecon. This esteemed Good Food Guide Rated restaurant with rooms has a great wine pricing policy and the food is top notch, hearty fare sourcing much of their produce locally.

The evening will be hosted by John Atkinson MW, sales director of Billecart Salmon UK and Catherine O'Brien, co-proprietor of Chateau Vignelaure in Provence.

These are both highly respected producers and combined with Ricardo Van Ede's expertise in the kitchen, this is likely to be an evening to remember.

Tickets are priced at £60 per head including food and drink. Please contact Edmund Inkin for availability on 01874 620111 or enquiries@eatdrinksleep.ltd.uk

Hope to see you there.

Wine Myths and the Perils of Being a Retailer

Having been in wine retail for 13 years, I am quite often entertained, and sometimes stupified by myths which have grown around wine. A memorable one was 'white wine never tastes the same when you dye it red'. Admittedly, that was a long time ago. Here are some more which amuse our tiny minds.

• 'The Germans Keep All Their Best Red Wines For Themselves': If there are indeed, any 'good' Germans reds at all, then I am pretty sure there is not some vast consipracy to conserve them for the domestic market.

• 'Greek Wines Don't Travel Well': I must confess, that I myself have enjoyed the vinous delights of the Greek Islands 'in situ', and upon bringing bottles back to the grey damp of the UK, have found them only fit for the drains. It is not the distance the wine has travelled, it was bad to start with. It is a combination of the sun, long evenings and thirst which makes them palatable.

• 'Cloudy Bay Is Very Limited And Very Hard To Get': No, this simply isn't true. They make ship loads of it. It is allocated as a 'reward' to supporters of Moet-Hennessey's (Cloudy Bay's parent company) other products, the vast majority of which do not appeal to fine wine buyers.

• Any Of The Following Do Not Automatically Make You A Wine Expert

1. Being French
2. Owing a house in France
3. Being a member of the Wine Society

Richard

Robert Parker and Australian Wines

The rumour mill has been at it again, and it seems that after the next issue of 'The Wine Advocate' Robert Parker will be handing over the responsiblity of Australia to one of his colleagues: Hmm! This is going to cause problems for certain people.

Parker's 96 - 100 points on many of the top Australian wines has not only driven up their prices to unacceptable levels, but spawned a rash of wines which to us are overextracted, super rich and alcoholic monsters, ideal accompaniment for curried hyena. Is the lack of Parker points going to shaft this market? We think so, look out for developments.

Peter Ballantyne

Biodynamics: Does It Make A Difference?

I have been a casual follower of biodynamics for a number of years, and after attending a seminar in May by the high priest of the order, Nicholas Joly, of Coulee de Serrant fame, and attending the subsequent tasting of 70 or so biodynamic producers from all over the world, my enthusiasm has been fired up.

As a retailer I quite often encounter customers who have obviously have an understanding of what 'organic' means in relation to wine, but very few who understand or even heard of biodynamics. In a nutshell, biodynamic viticulture is all about cultivating healthy vines and promoting their natural defences against disease, and converting vineyards into self supporting micro-ecosystems. As the vineyard becomes self contained, an expression of 'terroir' (a wine's sense of place and expression of the soil) should become more apparent in the wine. Natural remedies are employed and vines are worked according to the rhythms of moon and stars. At one time, when visiting Castello dei Rampolla in Tuscany, I witnessed the proprietor Luca di Napoli rolling little balls of manure combined with camomile which he was placing near the roots to start a microbial chain reaction. The attention to detail is astonishing.

Abbey Rock Pinot: An Aussie Revelation

We have been a little disenchanted with Australian wines of late. Producers nowadays seem to courting the big supermarkets and the wines are all starting to taste the same, with increasing levels of sweetness (a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, as they say) and slot into the obligatory BOGOF offer or similar. However, the new Pinot Noir from Abbey Rock has relit our interest.

Back in September, Michael Parkinson, partner in Abbey Rock Vineyards, did a tasting in our Cardiff shop of his new and current vintages including his newly released 2003 Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir. What is so attractive about this wine is its elegance and freshness, and winemaker Les Sampson is not seeking to cram too much into the wine. Instead the natural aromatics and balance come to the fore. Needless to say, the wine was a big hit with all tasters on the night and we gave Michael an order on the spot.

This is an extraordinary wine for its £9.99 price: Pinots of this quality usually retail for £15 upwards. Snap it up!

A Good Year and Chateau La Canorgue

When the film 'Sideways' was released to huge critical acclaim last year, it seemed for a period of a few months that it was number one topic for members of the wine trade. Hot on its heals is a new film from Ridley Scott 'A Good Year' starring Russell Crowe and Albert Finney, the plot is loosely based on Peter Mayle's book 'A Year in Provence'. Will it be this year's Sideways? Perhaps, but it gives us an opportunity to plug our new wine producer, Chateau La Canorgue, at whose vineyards the film was shot.

La Canorgue is situated in the breathtaking Luberon Valley and has been organic for twenty years or so, recently converting to biodynamic, although they do not strictly follow the biodynamic calendar. The estate is run by your Natalie Margan who is well travelled and buzzes with enthusiasm. In the range there are two whites; a blend from Clairette, Bourbelenc, Marsanne and Roussanne, and a straight Viognier. Also a rosé from Cinsault and Carignan, and a red from Syrah, Grenache and Carignan. We highly recommend these wines. The film is due out on Oct 27th

Poussin with Tagliatelle

Preparation Time: 10mins
Cooking Time: 50mins

Serves 4

4 Poussins
1 Pkt Boursin Cream Cheese with Garlic
Fresh Lemon
Approx. 400 grms Tagliatelle
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh Parsley

Method

1. Gently separate the skin from the flesh at neck of Poussin.
2. Spread Boursin around breast under the skin (with fingers do not use utensil or you may burst the skin).
3. Smooth skin back carefully, then rub bird with lemon juice and salt.
4. Place in preheated oven at 180 deg.

Meanwhile....

1. Put Tagliatelle in boiling salted water and cook till tender.
2. Drain, add olive & parsley and mix through.
3. Serve a portion of Tagliatelle on individual plates and set poussin on top.

Wine Match

I personally would choose Vina Gravonia from Lopez Heredia as this is quite a flavourful dish this needs to be paired with a full bodied white. Lopez Heredia are without doubt the best Rioja producers of all and their whites can seriously age, yet mineral and still vibrant, the wines reveal themselves best at room temperature.

Mae