thirstforwine http://thirstforwine.posterous.com Most recent posts at thirstforwine posterous.com Fri, 01 Jun 2012 09:41:15 -0700 Some purchases from Waitrose with 25% off deal http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/some-purchases-from-waitrose-with-25-off-deal http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/some-purchases-from-waitrose-with-25-off-deal I'm not really the kind of wine person to tell you what you should buy - I have no idea what you like and when you will be drinking the wine.

What I can do, if it happens to interest you, is let you know where I spend my money from time to time in case it gives you any ideas. These are NOT tasting notes as I have not yet opened them, but hopefully I will find time to write about them as and when I do.

On that basis, here are some of the wines that arrived today from Waitrose Wine who always have a very interesting range and happen to be offering 25% off until June 6th:


La Monacesca 2010 Verdicchio di Matelica, Marche, Italy (£8.24)

I've written about this delicious white wine before, and this is the latest vintage. Have loved it before, so have high hopes

Arco de Esporão 2010 Alentejo, Portugal (£7.11)
Yalumba Viognier 2010 Eden Valley, S Australia (£8.99)

Two wines recommended by my friend and great wine writer Sarah Ahmed on her blog, The Wine Detective

Château des Vaults, La Jalousie 2010 Savennières, Loire, France (£11.24)

I have not tasted this wine, but Savennières is an unusual dry take on Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley and at this price it was worth trying. 

Judith Beck Blaufränkisch Alte Lagen 2009 Burgenland, Austria (£10.49)
Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner Berg-Vogelsang 2010/11 Kamptal, Austria (12.74)

Feeding my love of Austrian wines, a red from my favourite Austrian grape made by what sounds like a very talented winemaker. The white, the Gruner is a classic style from a top wine producer, and something to keep for a special occasion.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/496502/mar10s.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aQQTUCZxJol Robert McIntosh thirstforwine Robert McIntosh
Thu, 10 May 2012 06:49:24 -0700 Really enjoying this Portuguese white from @UltimateWines http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/really-enjoying-this-portuguese-white-from-ul http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/really-enjoying-this-portuguese-white-from-ul

A new one to me,  this wine is from a mystery 6 pack that Paula at Ultimate Wines (www.ultimatewines.co.uk) put together for me.

Siria, Quinta dos Currais, 2008 - £9

Lots of fresh acidity but also a lovely rounded taste that is at certain moments honeyed, sometimes nutty, then grassy and herbal,  but always interesting. This is a slightly older wine,  so it has had the chance to evolve into a tasty treat.

As with so many other wines, it is made from a grape where the general rule is "it doesn't make interesting wines", but I guess this particular winery hadn't heard this before they went off and did exactly that. Rules like that SHOULD be broken as they rely on outdated "accepted wisdom" that takes no account of the skill of winemakers or the circumstances it was made. The grape is Siria (a new one on me, but so are most Portuguese indigenous varieties) and it was made in a region called Beira Interior that I must read about forthwith.

If you also fancy something different for a change, why not challenge Paula to put something together on your budget, she specialises in unusual grapes and countries and I'm certain you'll be impressed.

Cheers!

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/496502/mar10s.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aQQTUCZxJol Robert McIntosh thirstforwine Robert McIntosh
Mon, 07 May 2012 13:46:09 -0700 Wine Cheered the Video Star http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/wine-cheered-the-video-star http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/wine-cheered-the-video-star I feel I HAVE share this video.

I'm always on the lookout for examples of wine appearing 'naturally' in popular culture. If people feel it is appropriate to include wine in whatever they are doing (films, books, videos, stage shows, ...), then wine culture has taken a small step forward to being more accepted and relevant.

If that is true, then I feel it has taken a giant hop, step and a jump forward in this video - check it out:

I caught a few minutes of an interview with the band - Train (who, it appears are in the UK to promote their latest album California 37). I did not know who they were, but I have heard their previous hit "Hey, Soul Sister" and when I saw a clip of them at a table tasting wine (not drinking, not showering themselves in sparkling wine, not using it as a visual cue of a character's failings) I knew I'd have to share it.

My only concern would be that they had to include wine in a song called "Drive By" with quite so much driving in it? I guess the responsible marketing agenda here is working on me at least. But by the same token it does seem odd that this juxtaposition (wine / pop culture) happens in the US. I have to say I imagine most record labels would be too worried about the US paranoia of marketing of alcohol to underage drinkers. Well done whoever took that decision!

12 million hits on youtube must have some effect, I hope!

Happy wine appreciation. Just don't drink and drive! 

If you enjoyed that, check out the making of video for more nice Napa Valley wine stuff:

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/496502/mar10s.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aQQTUCZxJol Robert McIntosh thirstforwine Robert McIntosh
Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:24:00 -0700 Quick sample tasting and a bit of time travel http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/quick-sample-tasting-and-a-bit-of-time-travel http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/quick-sample-tasting-and-a-bit-of-time-travel

I was in the area, as you do, and as I had a little cash left on my sampling card I decided to pop into The Sampler in South Kensington.

I found I had just over £5.50 left so had to choose carefully.

First up a delicious Vin Jaune (Benoit Badoz) that was amazingly intense, dry and nutty, and only £1.90. Must explore this area more with my friends Wink and Brett.

Next, a Rioja but a special one. The Sampler is a great place for aged Rioja lovers as they always have some old bottles from the 80s and before. Today I tried a 1983 Monte Real Crianza (!) which was beautiful, cedary, baked fruit and silky smooth. A sample from 1973 for £2.10? A total bargain!

£5 very well spent

 

(edited to fix correct vintage for the Rioja - it was 1973, not 1983)

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Fri, 13 Apr 2012 09:16:00 -0700 Croatia in Colour http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/croatia-in-colour http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/croatia-in-colour
Four Soils

Four Soils
(Photo credit: thirstforwine)

We were introduced to Istria, this beautiful corner of Croatia on the Adriatic coast, as the "land of the four soils", and it is very hard to move in food and wine circles here without hearing the colourful refrain of "Red, White, Grey & Black". These are in fact only half the story, because in Spring, the country is also alive with yellow and white flowers, pink peach blossom, green grass, blue seas and purple and orange sunsets. However, we were here for just three days to focus on the soil, and its effect on the wines, foods, traditions and personalities of Croatia.

RED

The first-time visitor's first impression HAS to be the Red. "Wow, look at that soil!" I exclaimed, unaware of the initiation I was to receive over the next few days. We were on our way to visit Roxanich, the increasingly well-known producer of some fantastic, but also challenging wines. The red vineyard soils, delineated by green grass borders and yellow accents, screamed for attention through the bus windows.

Red Soil

Red Soil (Photo credit: thirstforwine)

The wines, it turned out, have the same strong personality, solid confidence and masculine charm of their wine guide (I hesitate to say 'maker' as it implies more manipulation) Mladen Roxanich, and his team. In their youth, his wines seem quiet, understated, somewhat enigmatic, but as they mature, the wines - particularly the white wines, are transformed into charming, lithe and confident individuals. Roxanich achieves this by the somewhat controversial technique of extended maceration, leaving the juice from the grapes in contact with the skins for incredibly long periods - from 20 to over 170 days (compared to mere minutes or hours for most white wines), particularly for the local hero, the Malvazija Istriana of Malvazija Istarska. This is, in his view, the best way to express the uniqueness of the soil, the grape variety and the vintage, and these views are strongly held.

His wines do not have the fresh, primary fruit we might normally look for in a white wine made from a crisp grape such as Malvazija, and instead, develop an amazing range of "secondary" flavours of dried fig fruit, wild herbs, honey while retaining a fresh minerality, perfect complements to the range of Istrian salami and other dried meats shining bright red on the plates in front of us. These are spectacular examples of what a complex wine can be, but in a fashion that the average wine drinker will probably not have experienced.

The reason, at least in part it seems, is that these red soils do not retain much water, forcing vines to dig deep roots and fight for water and nutrients deep down in the earth. This dry soil is something we then experienced first-hand later that afternoon in the newly planted vineyards belonging to Bruno Trapan. It cost him a fortune to clear a small patch of land of enough rock to be able to plant a new vineyard, and today the spindly young vines appear to stick out in desperation from a sea of reddish brown instant coffee granules, such is the consistency of the soil. Trapan's wines from these soils also show interesting minerality, but he chooses to express this through slightly more traditional crisp citrus and white floral wines, and some rather tasty, plummy and bright red wines, the star of which was a juicy young Teran. This is a local red grape that seems to capture the wild and rugged Istrian countryside well, with its bay tree hedges and other herb plants. Teran in general seems to have a green herbal bay and rosemary edge to the drier, plum and mulberry fruit, and seems to exhibit a spiky acidity that demands attention.

WHITE

White Stone

White Stone (Photo credit: thirstforwine)

But not all is Red, as generous platefuls of White fish will attest. Nothing comes close to the experience of a 16+ course fish extravaganza at Konoba Batelina by David Skoko. This outwardly unassuming restaurant was packed and served course after course of delicious Istrian fish dishes to complement the Trapan wines. This was a fantastic meal and experience that all Croatian visitors should attempt to replicate if possible.

White was also the bright backdrop created by our docked ocean-liner designed 5* hotel, Hotel Lone (Rovinj), where we took over the Presidential Suite to taste the wines of Misal, and picnic on the vast balcony. There are very few sparkling wine producers in Croatia, so this one small winery and the two young, energetic sisters who run it, have taken it upon themselves to cover the entire gamut of styles, from bone dry, 'pas dose', through vintage wines all the way to sweet and even red sparkling wines, to ensure their largely local clientelle have a wine for all occasions. My favourite was the Misal Millenium Brut presented by winemaker Ana Peršurić. 

White stone was also everywhere, showing through in the rough fields that occasionally give way to small quarries. This marble-like stone is also present in the houses, but particularly the ancient cobbles of towns like Rovinj, and set amongst weather-worn town houses with their flaking white plaster and arches built by the Venetians centuries ago. We passed along these streets to find the wonderful hospitality of the Piassa Granda Wine Bar (another must-visit) to taste the wines of Gerzinic, Cossetto, Radovan and Rossi, and acclimatise our palates on arrival. We needed this preparation as some whites, like the Gerzinic and Radovan Malvazija wines showed fresh fruit, white floral notes and minerality, whilst others, such as the fabulous Cossetto Malvazija Rustica showed more banoffee pie or vanilla crème brulee notes, an unusual but rewarding taste. The surprises weren’t limited to the whites though, as I experienced something my notes describe as "the smell of red berry fruit soaking in fresh blood from raw steak" from the Gerzinic Teran, accentuating the “funky” animal nature of this grape, but also a very drinkable juicy red fruit Radovan Merlot

GREY

Cellars at Piquentum

Cellars at Piquentum (Photo credit: thirstforwine)

Past the red fields, over the ancient white stone, lies the grey concrete of the wineries. While Croatia and Istria have been making wines for thousands of years, more recent politics & social upheaval have meant that the 50,000 hectares of vineyards that existed in the early 20th century have largely disappeared, and only recent growth has brought that number back to something like 5,000 or so hectares. Most wineries today are new constructions, and concrete is the material of choice.

There are the large, planned, modern and bespoke wineries such as Trapan or Cattunar, or the converted sheds of Roxanich, but there are also the quaint places like Piquentum’s converted, reinforced concrete water bunker. These underground cellars were once fortified military water stores for local barracks, and they have made a surprisingly chilly but productive space for Dimitri Brečević, a half French & half Croatian winemaker who trained in Bordeaux but is making his home in Croatia. Like many others like him who are new arrivals to an area, he makes a great ambassador for his town of Buzet, and for Istria, because he has gone out of his way to study the history, the language and the traditions. His winery is small, but he is doing great things with Malvazija and Teran, which we were lucky to try at Nono on arrival in the country, as well as a delicious Refosk we tasted still in barrel.

BLACK

Fun with wine and oil

Fun with wine and oil
(Photo credit: thirstforwine)

But like all good days, we finish with late, great, dark evenings and ultimately the Black of night (inevitably, it seems there is always extended “socializing” late into the night on such trips, and we saw more than our fair share of starry nights). One of these was spent in the incredibly generous company of Chiavalon who make olive oil so good, you can just about drink it on its own (which we did) but who also offered an amazing array of dishes using their oil to match wines from some of the dark horses of the Croatian wine world: Coronica and Clai. We also got a chance to stumble around a small part of their olive farm in the black of night to see the newly arrived pig & piglets who will be clearing and fertilizing the ground.

Back at the dinner, we tasted wines made in very different styles by friends and neighbours Giorgio Clai and Moreno Coronica. All the wines were expressive and really did speak of something uniquely Croatian, but as before, I was really impressed by the Clai wines in particular. His Ottocento white was soft, with huge body and complexity and some rose petal notes. The Ottocento 2010 red was still bright and very young, but tasted like a berry salad, with some tart red currant, and also some herbal and mineral notes.

Each and every winery showed us something new about the country, and 3 days was not a long time to discover a whole new food & wine culture that I knew nothing about, but it was certainly long enough to know that Croatian wines will feature heavily in my future, and that extended skin maceration for whites is not madness, but an inspired tool for winemakers deserving further research.

Thank you again to Pacta Connect for organizing the trip (if you fancy following in our footsteps, they are organizing consumer wine trips to Croatia). Thanks also to a fantastic group of fellow wine adventurers – Joe Wadsack, Tara Devon O’Leary, Christina Pickard, Niamh Shields, Douglas Blyde, Fiona Beckett,  Donald Edwards, Tamlyn CurrinSimon Woolf and Matthew Lee.

Lots more photos (full set) here:

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/496502/mar10s.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aQQTUCZxJol Robert McIntosh thirstforwine Robert McIntosh
Mon, 02 Apr 2012 04:30:00 -0700 Exploring Laithwaites' Eastern Promise http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/exploring-laithwaites-eastern-promise http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/exploring-laithwaites-eastern-promise

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I was very excited to be invited to a wine bloggers' tasting recently with a bit of a difference. This one was hosted by Laithwaites, in their swanky showroom under the railway arches next to Vinopolis in London. However, the unique opportunity was to meet Tony Laithwaite in person, something I gather he rarely does.

This is a man who has been working with wine for over 40 years - doing the hard bit of getting wines from cellars and into the hands of customers. Parts of the wine business may be developing and changing very fast these days, but over 40 years of experience, and of leading and innovating most of that time, does result in a certain amount of wisdom. 

I have been in the wine business for a few years now, and I've met some very famous people in the trade. It is still a bit strange to taste alongside someone like Jancis Robinson and talk about twitter for example, or to chat regularly with people whose faces most people will only have see on television, like Olly Smith, Tim Atkin or Oz Clarke, but even if in a small way, we are all in the same business - wine communication. There is always something different about meeting well known characters from other parts of the wine business, such as winemakers or retailers.

Unsurprisingly, I guess, Tony Laithwaite turns out to be very much like his image. Laithwaites and its vast sales empire do trade off the image of the man who travelled around the world picking up small parcels of wine to hand-sell in the UK, but you can still see the personal commitment of the man himself, and his enthusiasm for the wines even if there is now a team of wine buyers and wine makers in the business. He still buys & sells the wines, and has recently started blogging and tweeting his thoughts from around the world. 

I had a great chat with Tony, and his wife Barbara, about Turkey, Bulgaria (where I lived for a year and where they'd been some of the earliest to list wines from) and all sorts of aspects on online wine communication. I should say that Laithwaites are a sponsor of the Born Digital Wine Awards that I co-organise through Vrazon, and we did cover some of the goals we share, but the discussion was informal, fun, and very casual.

The main reason for being there that night was to join fellow wine bloggers to taste through a range of Laithwaite's wines from unusual sources, including Turkey, Greece, Georgia and India - plus they then added a couple extras from Hungary, Moldova, Bulgaria and Romania. What wine adventurer could resist?

Mantra Sauvignon Blanc 2009 - INDIA (£8.99)
This was an interesting take on Sauvignon Blanc and dispelled my fears (to be honest) of tasting a wine from India. The taste was pleasingly tropic and citrus, with some grapefruit and lime. It lacked a little zip and isn't cheap at £9 but how many Indian wines can people say they've tried? Could be a great one for a surprise at a party.

Thema Assyrtiko Sauvignon Blanc 2011 - GREECE (£11.49)
This is a fresh, crisp wine with "mouth-puckering" acidity, but there was a tasty pithy citrus as well as a hint of honey/nutty note. I'm not sure I wouldn't have preferred it to be 100% Assyrtiko (a native grape, unique to Greece) and once again, the small production means the price is not cheap. However, Greece does make some lovely wines that consumers really ought to try, so maybe a few Sauvignon Blanc lovers will give this a go as their stepping stone.

Vinart Kalecik Karasi Syrah 2010 - TURKEY (£10.99) [not on sale yet]
The Kalecik Karasi grape is steadily becoming a favourite in this household as I try to taste as many examples from Turkey as I can. This wine is a blend of this native Turkish grape with Syrah and is maybe a more softer and more international in style than some I've tried, but the red fruit and plummy style would probably make an unusual complement to grilled meats and BBQs even in the UK. 

Tbilvino Saperavi 2010 - GEORGIA (£8.99) [not on sale yet]
The cheapest, but possibly most interesting wine in this group. This is inky dark stuff, with purple, plummy fruit and some leafy green herbal hints too. The deep, young tannins and acidity in this wine do scream out for a rarer meat or spicy tomato vegetable partner to dance & tangle with ... and when it does, I suspect you'll find it as unusual and exciting experience.

I also enjoyed the second group of wines which, once again were from unusual places, but worth travelling to (at least from bottle to bottle) and here are a couple of favourites:

Albastrele Pinot Grigio Cahul 2010 - MOLDOVA (£7.79)
I very rarely would recommend a Pinot Grigio, and I'm sure that in time we will discover that Moldova offers some unique grapes of its own too, but this wine was surprisingly attractive, with a honeyed, herbal nose which was much more interesting than most watery stuff associated with this grape. The taste included some white flowers and pear fruit, very much as one might expect from Pinot Grigio's of a much higher price than this. Worth trying.

Colina Piatra Alba Pinot Noir 2009 - ROMANIA (£7.29)
Once again, the cheaper wines do well. It is very hard to get Pinot Noir wines at this price, but this simple, drinkable wine has pleasant wild strawberry and red fruit notes and a lighter body that would make it a fun wine to drink on a hotter day we hope to have this summer.

This was an interesting event for meeting people and exchanging reminiscences, and learning about some new places that wine drinkers can choose to explore. The wines are maybe a little expensive for what they offer today, but volumes are still small and there are always ways with retailers to get deals, so you might be able to reduce these a bit. 

However, wine should also be about exploration and unusual experience, not just cash, so if you're looking for a bit of a change and fancy heading East this year, I hope you find something to your taste.

For some others' takes on this tasting, check out these posts:

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/496502/mar10s.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aQQTUCZxJol Robert McIntosh thirstforwine Robert McIntosh
Tue, 27 Mar 2012 04:00:27 -0700 Spring wines you really need to try from @thewinesociety http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/spring-wines-you-really-need-to-try-from-thew http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/spring-wines-you-really-need-to-try-from-thew

I am a regular attendee at The Wine Society (TWS) Press Tastings - they serve a useful double purpose; a chance to find interesting wines to recommend to the world at large ... and a shopping list exercise for me too (as a member).

I was expecting to have to miss the Spring tasting which took place last week, but I'm very glad I didn't.

The truth is that even as a regular wine drinker and someone who has done some wine tasting in his life ... I find the complete TWS list daunting. With thousands of wines available, how are you to find something unless it is recommended or you are looking for it particularly? I have to say I often take the easy way out and try a mixed case - and I recommend this as a great way to get to know the list in more detail.

Well, these tastings focus on new listings and new vintages, so the Buyers have done a lot of the work for us, so it is always worth a shot.

The result was a long list of wines that will be going on my personal shopping list as soon as they are in stock, so here are some of my favourites in case you are tempted to join me.

WHITES

Jordan Estate Barrel-fermented Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch, South Africa - 2011 - £8.75 [details here - not yet on site]

"Barrel fermented" wines can often lose any unique character of where the wine comes from or the grape it is made from and end up tasting similar. No worries here. I thought this was delicious, with lively acidity (I wrote "tinglingly fresh") but an all-round tasty wine. 

Saarburger Kabinett Riesling (Zilliken), Germany - 2011 £16.00 [details here - not yet on site]

A bit pricey, but good German wines are, and if you are not sure about whether you "like" German Riesling then you need to try something like this to see what the fuss is about. "Amazing floral, fresh tangerine and green tea nose" say my notes, and if you like cooking, dig out a fish recipe with a hint of spice from Thailand or Korea to discover something amazing!

Concha y Toro Corte Ignacio Casablanca Viognier, Chile - 2010 - £8.50 [details here]

Some Viognier from warmer countries can be a bit overpowering and flabby, but this was delicate, frsh, tropical and rich. Lovely for a classy white for the dinner table.

REDS

However, my favourite wines on the day were for the red wines.

Viña Leyda Classic Reserve Syrah, Chile - 2010 - £6.50 [details here]

A bargain at this price. As well as the red fruit, this had an unusual orange zest on the nose which also brightened up the taste, because that zippy orange acidity made the red fruit & peppery notes even more lively. This may be one to have young, but a great outdoors wine, maybe for an early season BBQ.

Blaufrankisch, Ried Hochberg, Hans Igler, Austria - 2008 - £12.50 [details here]

This is no simple fruit-bomb - it combines ripe blueberry fruit with a savoury note and a hefty load of tannins, but a great foil for more robust meat dishes (don't skimp on the tasty fat). I've visited the Hans Igler winery and this is only one of a number of really interesting wines they make, and I'm happy to see them available in the UK.

Latria Garnatxa Carinyena, Montsant, Spain - 2006 - £7.50 [details here]

The story goes this is a more expensive wine, labelled under a "second label" to shift the wine and get the cash. One hears these marketing stories from time to time in wine, but in this case I can believe it. It has that "old Spanish oak" smell which many find appealing, but this wine is a lot more quality and interest than you'd expect from the price. Expect this to go fast.

Weinert Carrascal, Argentina - 2007 - £7.50 [details here]

Wow! This wine was right after a French wine from a famous region for 6 TIMES the price but totally owned it! A cigar box full of fruity treats! Great balance and complexity and with a bit more age than we are used to from Argentina (told you these wines would shine if someone would give them a chance!)

De Martino Viejas Tinajas Cinsault, Itata Valley, Chile - 2011 - £8.96 [details here]

My favourite wine, probably. A combination of unusual variety, amazing flavour, and this line from the tasting booklet: "Fermented for fun in amphoras". Well, amphoras are cool, and all the rage in certain quarters, but I'm not sure any winemaker does this "for fun". However, the result is delicious. Fresh, ripe, red berry and cherry fruit. One for the adventurer - including me.


I'll be looking forward to receiving these wines and seeing how they taste "in real life" and hopefully they will shine again. If you buy them, do let me know what you think ... and if you want to know a little more, check out this video about The Wine Society wine community I helped make for them some time ago

.. and you don't just need to take my word for it, here are some other views:

Susie & Peter (them off the telly) - Wines of the Week 3

Earlybird Wine News - Wine Society Winners

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/496502/mar10s.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aQQTUCZxJol Robert McIntosh thirstforwine Robert McIntosh
Tue, 20 Mar 2012 05:53:00 -0700 On the dismemberment of UK wine drinkers http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/on-the-dismemberment-of-uk-wine-drinkers http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/on-the-dismemberment-of-uk-wine-drinkers
I'm looking for a graphic artist - probably someone familiar with the more modern graphic and explicit comics, that can bring to life a vision I have in my head.

This vision concerns the UK wine consumer in 2012 as we look forward to the government's latest budget announcement in 2 days.

Media_httpuploadwikim_abwbl
(image from term "Dismemberment" on Wikipedia)

This vision has the poor consumer in the middle of the scene, possibly with a bottle of wine lying by his side, fallen and draining away, unappreciated and now forgotten.

The poor consumer is, to be frank, being tortured to death for having chosen to spend his limited income on wine instead of, let's say, illegal (untaxed) drugs or licensed medical procedures, claimed through expensive health-insurance, to deal with stress.

Attached to one leg is a huge, dark, muscular horse with supermarket branding all over it, being driven on by a suited investor, pockets bulging with cash and keys to a porsche.

Attached to the other leg via a heavy chain, is an old-fashioned weighty metal anchor, firmly dug into the ground at the point on a line, divided in £1 price increments, marking the value of £4.99

On the other end, dragging one arm in a third direction, are the Chancellor and the Treasury, desperate to find a way to balance their market scales with a heavy sackful of debt on the other side. All the time, a Doctor is inserting a needle in the outstretched arm in some vain attempt to pretend that this is actually part of a healthy medical procedure, not torture.

Finally, on the last limb, straining yet managing to hold on to an empty wine glass, we have a collection of wine makers tugging on the arm in a desperate struggle with each other to be the ones to pour their wine in the man's glass while simultaneously lecturing him about the "uniqueness" of their offering and berating him for not paying attention.

The closest I could come was the image above.

It's rather specific, but I think there are people out there who might recognise the feeling.

Any help appreciated. 

Now, back to being quartered.

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/496502/mar10s.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aQQTUCZxJol Robert McIntosh thirstforwine Robert McIntosh
Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:10:00 -0800 Tonight's Croatian wine, thanks to @mountainvalleyw http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/tonights-croatian-wine-thanks-to-mountainvall http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/tonights-croatian-wine-thanks-to-mountainvall

Croatia is firmly on my radar screen right now. I was bowled over by wines I tasted on the Pacta Connect table at a tasting a few months ago, and wrote about the Croatian wine love affair, and in part thanks to that, I will also be setting out on a trip to Istria (with a truly AWESOME group of wine communicators) in a few weeks. You'll definitely hear more about that soon.

Imag1915

However, this bottle was sent to me by a friend who I met when he was importing wines from Montenegro. Mountain Valley Wines (@mountainvalleyw) have now expanded well beyond Montenegro to Spain, France, USA, Slovenia and Croatia. They're even opening a restaurant in London dedicated to basque cuisine - so look out for Donostia.

Tonight I tried a bottle of Peljesac Plavac Mali 2010 - a grape somewhat related, but rather different to, Zinfandel

This wine initially smelled a bit closed, a bit dusty, but by the end (of the bottle) was smelling more like a bright, red-currant sauce. The wine itself is nicely balanced - it isn't too heavy but it isn't a pushover. It has warm, dark fruit flavour which is matched by good acidity and a fair amount of grippy tannins that whisper: "hey man, I'm a food wine, give me something to chew on and I'll surprise you even more!". It is a fun, but still serious wine, a little fresh and young that could still be interesting in a few years time. I like it indeed.

I thought I'd try it with some Cecina (Spanish dry cured beef) as a starter and a pasta with a tomato, olive and tuna sauce. The dark, umami flavours of both dishes matched the darker fruit and tannins of the wine very well and I suspect this is a wine that would be quite flexible.

UPDATE: I should have mentioned that this wine is just under £10 from Mountain Valley Wines, and from what I've seen of prices for wines from Croatia (at least those that get exported), that's a pretty good price.

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Sun, 04 Mar 2012 10:14:00 -0800 A surprising Sunday afternoon Hungarian fruit experience #wine http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/a-surprising-sunday-afternoon-hungarian-fruit http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/a-surprising-sunday-afternoon-hungarian-fruit

This is a rather unusual wine - unusual because of its provenance, the grapes it is made from, and the style of the wine itself.

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First, the country. This wine is from Hungary. This shouldn't be a surprising source for regular wines, and many of you will know that Hungary makes some of the world's most unusual and amazing sweet wine - Tokaj. We just don't think about it as much for still wines.

Then there's the grape - Cserszegi Fuszeres, apparently a unique crossing of Irsai Oliver (another grape I'd never heard of) and Gewurtzraminer (a friend, but your everyday wine either).

Finally, the effect. The taste reminds me of a fruity combination of pineapple and grapefruit and a lighter rose water hint that reminds me personally of Edinburgh Rock (the flavoured sugar candy). It's crisp, fruity and refreshing and works well for a slightly unusual aperitif.

This wine was part of a mixed case from The Wine Society called "Off the Beaten Track" which I recommend to wine lovers looking to try something new and challenging (all but one I have tried so far have been lovely - the other bottle just a bit disappointing)**.

This particular wine, the Hilltop Estates Cserszegi Fuszeres 2011 is a pretty amazing £5.25 a bottle at the moment.

 

** sadly it seems the mixed case has sold out, but there may be more similar ones soon. You can still buy this wine and others individually

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Fri, 02 Mar 2012 07:11:00 -0800 Its a Lot to ask for - Lot18 Launches in UK http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/its-a-lot-to-ask-for-lot18-launches-in-uk http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/its-a-lot-to-ask-for-lot18-launches-in-uk

Last night a select group of individuals that combine an interest in wine with the habit of spending a lot of time talking about it on social media, gathered at Quo Vadis. The table groaned under the combined weight of the iPhones and miscellaneous mobile internet paraphernalia of David Lowe (@bigpinots), Natasha Hughes (@londonvino), Simon Burnton (@cellarfella), Tara Devon O'Leary (@tara_devon), Matt Walls (@mattwallswine), Denise Medrano (@thewinesleuth), Lucy Shaw for The Drinks Business, and yours truly (@thirstforwine)

Our hosts were the combined talents of Tom Harrow (@WineChapUK) and the UK Lot18 team - a formidable line up that included co-founder and entrepreneur Philip James over from the US. The reason for the gathering was the launch in the UK of the highly successful US Lot18 business.

Click here to visit the Lot18 UK site (note: this link has my affiliate code embedded, as I'm keen to test this and know if these things actually work)

Lot18's business model falls under the "Flash Sale" category, but this is maybe a bit unfairly simplistic way of thinking about them. Flash Sales sites focus on selling 'lots' of highly discounted products for limited periods. The combination of attractive products, limited time offers and headline grabbing discounts are enough to get shoppers' "SALE" muscles twitching and therefore the model has been very successful in the US not only for wine, but fashion, design, and more.

In the US, the big players along with Lot18 are The Wine Spies, Cinderella Wine, Wine.Woot, Wines Til Sold Out and a few others, but so far none have made it big in the UK, although Naked Wines' Marketplace 2 might claim otherwise.

In my view there is a distinction to be drawn between those sites that are like retailers and give the consumer information on the brand they are buying (such as Lot18 and The Wine Spies), and those that are like classified ads and focus only on the discount. Discounted prices generally harm a brand but are sometimes necessary, but if it can be done for positive reasons, such as an introduction to wine brands that you may not have tried before to encourage future purchase, then they can have benefits too.

Flash Sales sites are particularly good at finding new homes for small lots of more expensive wines that retailers or wineries would like to get rid of. You would have thought that this should work well in the UK, which is why Lot18 are spending some of the $45m raised in funding for their US based business on launching in the UK.

The question is ... what wines will they stock, and will we consumers take the bait?

I have observed some of the sites that have tried this in the UK in the last few years, and they tended to list wines that were not that special and were mainly older vintages of wines that move fairly quickly. There was little "collectability" in the wines.

Lot18 say that they are investing in creating an attractive list of wines that are not just unsold inventory from existing importers (though they will be cherry-picking this) but also wines that they import directly from wineries from around the world, especially that middle tier of California and Oregon wineries whose wines rarely reach the UK consumer. Their UK team of Buyers, including Gus Moore Danowski, were certainly keen to show off some of the wines they have already found.

We will have to see what wines they get their hands on, and what kinds of discounts they will be able to offer, but the arrival of Lot18 in the UK is exciting and might mean Naked Wines are no longer the only innovative wine retail model in town!

Last night we were lucky to try 3 of the wines that you will be able to buy (visit the site to see what is currently "featured"); the deliciously rounded and creamy 2009 "Blancaneaux" from Francis Ford-Coppola's Inglenook Rubicon Estate, a juicy, lighter style of Barolo, the 2004 Vigna Croera de la Morra from Bruno Giacosa, that is for drinking now, and a Riesling Kabinett that ended up being paired uncomfortably with an almond cake and poached pear so I can't say that much about.

I look forward to see how this develops and do let me know if you spot any special deals (after you've secured your own, naturally)

UPDATE (03 March 2012): Here are some of the posts that the others present that evening have also published:

Wine Passionista: Helpfully profiles the Lot18 team

The Drinks Business: Lucy obviously had a little more time to ask questions (the professional!)

 

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Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:52:00 -0800 Hot desk, Cool wines http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/hot-desk-cool-wines http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/hot-desk-cool-wines

Working from home sounds like such bliss ... until you've been doing it for 6 years, in which case you may start to adopt a hermit-like loathing of having to leave the cave (aka home office) or you might have gone more than slightly mad from the lack of interaction with other adults. Coping mechanisms vary, and mine has been to delve deep into the social interactive pool of twitter, facebook, etc ... which creates great conversations and lots of business opportunities.

 

However, what it doesn't offer is a lot of experiences, chance meetings and observations ... the kind of stuff that feeds a blog for example.

There will be a lot of discussion of remote working (such as this piece from The Next Web), particularly with the disruption caused by the Olympics in London, this year, but I'm seriously considering the opposite. 

I'd love to rediscover some level of "office time" but where to do this? After all, it is rather wasteful considering I already have an office.

I love the idea of TechHub which I visited recently to take part in a Social Media Week presentation organised by the lovely folks Great British Chefs (cool use of storify for the wrap-up), but I'm not a developer and I suspect that this is not my natural crowd (though I bet they like their wine too).

As I read another newsletter from a friendly wine retailer today announcing the new wines being added to their enomatic machine, it came to me.

I am looking for a wine shop that has some spare desk space, good internet connection and friendly banter that I can rent as a "hot desk" from time to time. 

 This could be a new business model ... retail shops with hot desks for relevant freelance communicators that need occasional offices, like a "members club with retail benefits".

Anyone out there got any invitations?


UPDATE 22/2/2012: Thank you to all those great folks who are responding privately and publicly on this idea. Something might even come of it soon.

It has come to my attention, however, that "hot desk" may be an unusual term, so if you don't know what I mean, see the definition here 

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Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:46:48 -0800 Coffee cool http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/coffee-cool http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/coffee-cool

Check out the style that makes my local coffee shop a cool place to hang out.

Of course it has great coffee (REALLY good), and the people who run it are lovely and personable too, but in a sense this is expected. A coffee place needs to deliver with its product, and the personal touch makes you care. But how do you differentiate your coffee shop from all the others with similar coffee, cakes and lovely, carrying owners?

Style!

The benefit here is not just caffeine, it is a sense of belonging and of comfort.

I can't find the same level of differentiation, particularly focusing on comfort, in the way wine is retailed.

To much emphasis is placed only on the choice of wine, but a good list is not all I'm after.

Where are the cool wine bars?

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Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:56:00 -0800 Mouth Health and Wine Tasting http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/mouth-health-and-wine-tasting http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/mouth-health-and-wine-tasting

Apologies in advance. If you are not in the business or habit of tasting wines regularly, I strongly suggest that you ignore this post.

Big Smile

I need advice from my peers who taste wines regularly, not just for pleasure but also for business.

How do you deal with keeping a healthy mouth?

It may seem like an odd, and possibly rather off-putting, question to raise here, but where else to do this? (I think I might have to post the conclusions to Quora - finally found a use for it!)

I ask as I want to treat some possible gum disease, but I find I can't use any mouthwash. Have you ever noticed that mouthwash kills your ability to taste? I'm not sure if it is the alcohol ingredient or something else, but I had some surgery once and was forced to use Corsodyl for a while. After a week or so I found I could hardly taste anything and my tongue was numbed. It wore off after I stopped using it, but it worried me.

Recently I tried some of the more "delicate" styles such as Listerine Zero, and although I had no numbness I did find it was affecting my tongue and I did not want to continue.

Is there a wine-trade friendly solution to protecting your mouth and gums?

I have come across enough of my peers who seem to have suffered from the apparent lack of a solution to think this also deserves a public airing.

I would really welcome your hints and tips such as these by Simon Woods - Smile while you still have your teeth

For example, avoiding brushing too soon after wine-tasting as it strips the enamel from your teeth (did you know that?)

Thank you in advance, please resume your normal wine appreciation activities

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Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:17:00 -0800 More than a consolation, a prize http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/more-than-a-consolation-a-prize http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/more-than-a-consolation-a-prize

Imag1811

 

Tonight the boiler has broken down AGAIN. That makes it about the fourth time in this recent spell of winter.

In consolation of another night of cold, I decided to open this, something I picked up years ago in Alsace.

I do love wines from Alsace but they are a particular taste and my wife is not as big of a fan. I therefore make a pony of trying them when I have the (cold) house to myself.

This Gewurtztraminer is deliciously honeyed, it even looks like honey it is so dark, with a real taste of heather & hazlenut and a wild flower perfume too.

It is so rare to be able to appreciate wines with a decent time spent in bottle because they are sold so young. However, they really do develop interesting characters that make waiting for them worthwhile.

Unfortunately I can't say the same about waiting for the plumber.

 

[UPDATE 10/2/2012: This wine was superb, but honestly not for everyone. As a wine lover I seek out a variety of experiences, but I also understand that it is a bit far from people's comfort zone. My wife came home and tried it (there was still a little left) and did enjoy a small taste, but to her, the concentration of fruit and some sugar made it a "sweet" or dessert wine, which it isn't really, but I totally understand what she means.

If you have an inkling for a bit of adventure, see if you can get a good quality Gewurtztraminer with a bit of age from a good independent merchant, and try it  with friends so you don't need to finish it alone if not to your taste. Try it with some rich pork dish or something mildly spicy - I really hope it will excite you too]

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Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:16:31 -0800 Long Day. Good Day. it definitely deserves something a bit special, like this http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/long-day-good-day-it-definitely-deserves-some http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/long-day-good-day-it-definitely-deserves-some
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Vino Di Anna, IGT Sicilia 2009 - a 'natural' Wine made from Nerello Mascalese and bought from Green & Blue in east dulwich

Tasting note coming later

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Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:57:31 -0800 A pannier of ... Apples http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/a-pannier-of-apples http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/a-pannier-of-apples
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This panier de fruits is quite a find for lovers of wines off the beaten track.

This fruit basket is definitely heavily biased towards the apple orchards. The first impression on the nose is an attractive, very ripe apple skin aroma, maybe some ripe red variety with some aromatic herbal flower note.

The surprise is the crisp, fresh, mouth cleansing acid tang of the perfect autumnal apple, bright, life enhancing, and indulgent. Then the rich fruit tang starts to open up and show some oxidative character that combines the autumn fruit with a dash of honey, wild herbs and a warm, baked citrus note too.

A Wine worth seeking out and a perfect match for the fatty, indulgent dishes at Brawn in London

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Mon, 16 Jan 2012 07:48:00 -0800 Taking Wine to the People (and shoppers) http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/taking-wine-to-the-audience http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/taking-wine-to-the-audience

Wine spends a lot of time getting us to find stuff.

"Find us on the supermarkets"
"Available in specialist shops"
"On all good Wine lists"

but if you want people to REALLY see the brand, you've got to take it to THEM.

That's the great thing about the Champagne bar at Westfield (and elsewhere). Put the bar in the middle of the shopping area and make it harder NOT to notice it than to miss it.

Champagne is not in everyone's price range, but they've cleverly put it next to the aspirational and designer shops.

A great place to explore styles, regions, cocktails and more.

Today, I'm trying some Extra Brut from Billecart Salmon. Really lively, refreshing and a great pick me up while waiting for someone else to do shopping. A crisp little shopping tonic to remind the body that there is a benefit to hanging out in shopping malls to counter the sore feet and aching back.

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Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:26:00 -0800 Great news those who love to taste wine http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/great-news-those-who-love-to-taste-wine http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/great-news-those-who-love-to-taste-wine

Did you know that the law detailed EXACTLY how much wine you had to be poured?

Thankfully, that law has just been made a little more wine-friendly.  

Most of us have been used to seeing 175ml (small) and 250ml (large) glasses on all wine lists. In recent months the 125ml (properly small) has been required on restaurant and bar lists too (thankfully) and the 250ml glass has morphed into the 250ml carafe of wine to be shared - BRILLIANT! 

However, in most cases, no restaurant or bar was allowed to sell you a measure of UNDER 125ml of wine. Why? Because it was supposed to protect you as a consumer, making sure you knew exactly how much wine you were supposed to get - no more, no less. The same is true of pints and half-pints. The glasses might get fancy but the little white mark is always there!

Enter the Enomatic

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(photo of Enomatic machines in The Sampler in South Kensington)

A few years ago an Italian company created the Enomatic, a machine that could dispense small volumes of a wine AND keep the bottle fresh for almost 3 weeks - so you could theoretically open the world's most expensive wines and sell them in tiny, affordable, pours over enough time to ensure you did not waste it.

They are very successful in places such as the USA. However in the UK there is a problem. A sample is around 25ml, meaning you get 30 samples to a bottle, but this is not a legal measure as it was not your "guaranteed minimum" of 125ml.

It didn't matter that this is actually what you wanted, asked for and paid for, it was still technically illegal.

It seems that practically minded local enforcement officers in Islington and elsewhere decided that sampling in a wine shop, such as the wonderful The Sampler, was OK - you were "testing & tasting" a wine you might buy in legal measures. However, their Westminster colleagues took a different view in the Wonder Bar at Selfridges. 

Having paid what I would guess was a VAST amount of money to create and fit out the bar, the inspectors forced Dawn Davies, the sommelier heading the Wonder Bar, to stop selling samples. The reason was that this was a place to eat & drink, not just buy wine, so they were "retailing" the samples. Crazy, but that was after all the law.

It so happens that I made my first visit to the Wonder Bar the day after that fateful visit, just as Dawn was reprogramming all the machines to stop sampling.

Thankfully, after a long campaign, the law has now been changed in part thanks to her lobbying efforts, and maybe we can start to get creative with ideas that enable customers to experience a broader range of wines, at affordable prices, and get more people to love wine.

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Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:01:54 -0800 Wine adverts that have gone fishing http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/wine-adverts-that-have-gone-fishing http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/wine-adverts-that-have-gone-fishing I am all for creative marketing ideas to promote wine in general; wine drinking, wine travel, wine culture, wine beauty treatments ... even wine  dancing, but if I were to make a commercial called "I LOVE wine" I pretty sure this would not be what it would look like:

Fishing for attractive women with a wine bottle from a yacht whilst beer drinkers sit, impotently in their dinghy? Yup, those are exactly the stereotypes I'd want to make sure were in my script

(thanks to Peter Wood, who's own terrible wine video link led me to this discovery)

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