Taking a social look at The Wine Society (@thewinesociety)

A video I made of @thewinesociety with UK wine bloggers (and the creative ninja skills of @bennycrime)

Yes, there is a cost to join. £40 for a life-time share. £40 to ensure that for the rest of the length of your membership, the business is working in YOUR interests, and not of financially motivated shareholders. And what are your interests? I'm guessing that being able to buy great wines at decent, honest prices and having them delivered free would come very near the top of the list.

I'm not selling them, but this is a point that I feel should be made because it changes the nature of the relationship between wine seller and wine buyer, and the wine industry DESPERATELY needs new models.

Dislosure bit: I made this video to communicate some of the things that make The Wine Society different based on what I learned along with fellow wine bloggers Alastair Bathgate (@tiptoptaps),  Eamon FitzGerald (@grape_escape), Juel Mahoney (@winewomansong), Jenny Mackenzie (@ebwinenews), @missbouquet and Simon Burnton (@cellarfella) and others on a visit to Stevenage.


When I was invited I asked if they were going to record the event with a video. They thought this was a good idea, and asked me if I would make this happen for them and, as I believe there isn't enough information out there about The Wine Society, I agreed. 

To make sure the video was high quality (and worth watching) we engaged the creative maelstrom otherwise known as @bennycrime (or Ben James) and therefore this video was paid for by The Wine Society. However its content was left completely up to me, and @bennycrime

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did making it :)

Having a little something special with dinner tonight

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Petalos 2008 tasted at home (with some beef stronganoff from Cook! if you need to know)

Pétalos Del Bierzo 2008
produced by Descendientes de J. Palacios in Bierzo,
Note: A wine of its own. I don't know of many I could compare in terms not only of the taste and experience, but the story and the history.

You can research the history, with the internationally renowned Alvaro Palacios "rediscovering" a regional grape in a forgotten region, and turning it into a destination for wine lovers. You should in fact.

As for the taste, I love the savouryness of the wine. This is a wine that shows real herbal notes on top of the fruit. The name is Petalos, or petals, and there is certainly a petal-like floral hint there, but really the wine is a balance between red fruit (raspberry and cherry) and herbs (thyme and savoury). The nose is meaty, almost like bloody steak (that musky aroma you get from really fresh steak - apologies to any vegetarians), but also with the red fruit and herbs, and all wrapped up in something quite spirity. It can almost remind you of those herbal "digestive" drinks you find in Italy, except the red fruit aromas give it away. In the mouth it never threatens to be a fruit bomb. On the contrary, as you taste it the immediate impressions are of the fresh, bright acidity and tannin and a strong mineral tang. But as it rests in your mouth, and as you swallow, the darker fruit aromas suddenly emerge and waft around your mouth and nose for such a long time. Not a wine for the faint-hearted, but delicious and unique. Try it!


Rating: 4,5 (in 5)
(Tasted on May 24, 2011)

Tio Pepe En Rama and perception

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What a difference perception makes. However much you think you are being objective, there are always things that you take for granted.

I was EXTREMELY lucky to get a chance to taste the latest edition (for it is not a 'vintage' product) of the Tio Pepe En Rama on the Access Zone at the London Wine Trade Fair. I've written about this wine before (ANNIVERSARIES, HAIR AND HARE KRISHNA: A STORY ABOUT SHERRY) and I think that this wine was even better, fresher and more intense, so thank you Gonzalez Byass.

One day soon I'll write more about the wine again, but what struck me the other night was the view of the label.

I took the remnants of the bottle from the stand to a small gathering of wine bloggers that evening (it had been very well received on the stand by all those lucky enough to try it) and I poured some for Miss Vicky Wine. Miss Vicky (aka Anne-Victoire) knows a fair deal about wine, particularly her specialisms ... Beaujolais and Rose, but it seems she has rarely had much sherry. She comes from a very different perspective on the conversation.

What surprised me was her comment, "Why did they make the label so modern?"

It struck me as very odd as I consider the design to be extremely traditional, with the single colour, the waving flags, the leaf designs, the typeface, etc. Her perception, however, not knowing these "traditional cues" was that it was a very modern, design-led label.

Ultimately it does not matter. This wine will not rely on its label to sell (as it will be on strict allocation), but it does show you that whatever YOU think might be recognisable and well-known may well NOT be to someone else, particularly if you are selling beyond your own cultural group.

It reminds me of the very important lesson I learn every day when talking about wine online:

Wine may be a global product, but its consumption is local!

Small world tasting notes

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Bought this Taste the Difference Gruner Veltliner 2010 from Sainsburys today. Was looking for a refreshing but interesting white wine for dinner and this caught my eye.

It's a good example, from what little I know, of Gruner Veltliner, with a combination of citrus, peppery honey and ever so slightly nutty flavours.

What separates it from the norm is not just the taste, but the fact that although it is fresh, it has a very oily, viscous texture for such a young wine. I believe that this is a character of GV from the warmer south of Austria and in the right context can be delicious, although I have enjoyed the lighter bodied, more 'green' and leafy styles of Gruner Veltliner from cooler climates a LOT! 

However, the small world story is that, by coincidence (and you'll have to trust me on this), this wine was made by Markus Huber who I happened to meet this week at the London Wine Trade Fair as he participated in the Disrupt wine project, where the extra 10% of his Gruner Veltliner made all the difference (more on http://Vrazon.com/accesszone)

Small world, good wine.