thirstforwine http://thirstforwine.posterous.com Most recent posts at thirstforwine posterous.com Thu, 15 Jul 2010 05:15:00 -0700 Find Wine? Easy! Hyde Park, by the bandstand, under a tree http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/find-wine-easy-hyde-park-by-the-bandstand-und http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/find-wine-easy-hyde-park-by-the-bandstand-und

Last week, cunningly (or otherwise) scheduled on the same night as the Spain vs Germany World Cup semi-final, I ambled along to the wine bloggers picnic organised by Find Wine.

The idea was to have an informal and unusual get-together to taste some of the wines currently on the Find Wine list. As they only stock limited cases for each available 'slot' (check out my explanation of their unusual and rather clever business model here) they need to generate regular reviews to keep the information out there accurate and fresh.

My favourite wines are mentioned below, but I particularly appreciated the effort they went to (a table, complete with white tablecloth, proper cutlery and plates to enjoy the oysters, smoked salmon, shrimp and cut meats (and more) - all under a tree in a deserted Hyde Park (see, I told you the timing was cunning).

An interesting group of winos and foodies showed up to join the party including @mathildecuisine, Joe Wadsack, @r_mccormack, @htinlondon as well as Tina Gellie and more 

The conversation and blind tasting (see below) went on late into the night, so much so we ended up with an unusual "lock-in" which involved us having to decamp and scale the Hyde Park fences in the dark ... a process resulting in some hilarity for the more vertically challenged amongst us (read the Find Wine blog for details)

I really wish these guys well. They are stocking interesting wines, care and think about the customer, and although new to the game, they are also using social media well. We need more innovators like these and we need to make sure consumers learn about them - they'll benefit greatly.

My favourite wines on the night:

Zuccardi Alma 4 Chardonnay NV (Sparkling from Argentina): A very good sparkler. Lots of bready complexity without losing freshness.

Casa Marin 'Cipreses' Sauvignon Blanc, 2008 (Chile): Stunningly BIG nose - really amazing aromatic wine, and tastes fresh, fun and yet seriously good.

Naiades Verdejo, Naia, 2006 (Rueda, Spain): A complicated wine. This is Verdejo, but not as we know it, Jim. Barrel Fermented to give it greater body and layers of nuttiness, spice and vanilla notes but lots of acidity & white peach fruit from the grape. Interesting for those more adventurous drinkers (and I happen to know that the 2009 vintage is a "Top 100" Spanish wine)

Santa Lucia Sangiovese 2008 (Tuscany, Italy): Not yet listed (they're on the 2007) but the 2008 was tasting very good, with lots of red fruit and that dryish, soft tannin I associate with Tuscan wines. Look out for it

Conan The Barbera 2007 (Barbera d'Asti, Italy): Bucket-loads of dark fruit, tannin and ... pretty much everything you can think of that's big & dark. Seems a delicious wine, if still very young. If you like BIG wines, or have the chance to hold onto this for a bit, it is highly worth it.

And then, the blind tasting wine:

This had us all pretty well stumped. We started off in Italy (probably the south), toyed with Chile, spent a while in South Africa, and took a tour around Australia. It was a red wine, lots of "heat" (ripe fruit, soft tannins) but a spicy, leafy and green pepper style character that we assumed was Cabernet Sauvignon. It obviously had age, with balsam & cedar notes, but was still reasonably dense and alive. I can't remember what I guessed, never mind what the others did - though Rachel McCormack is happy to remind me she did suggest Australia ... amongst the other dozen countries she mentioned ;)

However, I will admit we were all pleasantly surprised to find out it was :

2002 Summerfield Shiraz (Pyrenees, Australia) at £19.99

Well worth trying if you like wines with a bit of age and character, and you've never tried what New World wines like this can turn into.

Great evening and I look forward to the next one

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/496502/mar10s.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aQQTUCZxJol Robert McIntosh thirstforwine Robert McIntosh
Sun, 27 Jun 2010 03:21:59 -0700 Some stunning views on the way to Tapas Fantasticas today #tapasfan http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/some-stunning-views-on-the-way-to-tapas-fanta http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/some-stunning-views-on-the-way-to-tapas-fanta

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/496502/mar10s.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aQQTUCZxJol Robert McIntosh thirstforwine Robert McIntosh
Wed, 21 Apr 2010 08:42:00 -0700 Getting local with a global reach http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/getting-local-with-a-global-reach http://thirstforwine.posterous.com/getting-local-with-a-global-reach

Last night saw the first (of several more in future?) gathering of those of us who love talking about food and wine in social media, and live in South East London. Six food and wine bloggers, twitterers, facebookers, etc. got together under the “SE Massive (#semassive)”  banner – apologies for the tag – to enjoy a meal at a LOCAL restaurant.

We are used to travelling around London and the world for our experiences, and sharing them on these global communications platforms, but this time we used this reach to find people and places that were much closer to home.

Following an invitation, we decided to try a restaurant called “Bella Vista” in Blackheath (http://www.bellavistarestaurant.co.uk/). The restaurant has been there for many years, but has recently been restyled and had a completely new menu created. As they say on their site:

“The menu at Bella Vista has been created by Piero Marenghi, recently of London’s multi award winning Italian restaurant L’Anima, and is led by the very talented head chef Alex Tyndall, who has also worked at Michelin starred Chapter One.”

Alex really did do us proud and the menu was delicious. The photos below hopefully speak for themselves, but every dish was very well executed, with fresh ingredients and perfectly cooked. I was particularly impressed with the moist, flavourful Mackerel and the Lamb, in fact my mouth is watering again just thinking about them. The full menu was:

Calamari Ripieni  With Sautéed Monks Beard
Bresaolo di Toro, Beetroot, Goats Cheese & Rocket
Grilled Mackerel, Caper, Anchovy, Fennel, Salsa di Pomodoro
Paccheri Amatriciana & Pecorino Cheese
Grilled Rump Of Lamb, Semi Dried Tomato, Marjoram Sauce
Date & Mascarpone Tart, Frangelico & Hazelnut Sauce

To accompany the food, we were joined by Ben Smith of Enotria (www.enotria.co.uk) who brought along 6 wines to match the dishes. Each was brilliant, and showcased the quality and variety of wines you can get from Italy if you know what you are looking for and are prepared to pay a little more than normal. My own favourites were the very refreshing Pinot Bianco which married with the Mackerel extremely well, and the minerally and juicy Dolcetto d’Alba from Ascheri with the Bresaola. The full list of wines was:

Ottella Lugana Superiore DOC Molceo (wonderful acidity and citrus fruit, opened up as it warmed a little)
Dolcetto Nirane Ascheri 2009 (plums, cherries and minerality)
2008 Pinot Bianco Classici DOC, Colterenzio (crisp, refreshing, citrus but balanced)
2008 Valpolicella Classico DOC Villa Novare, Bertani (juicy dark fruit and soft tannins)
Parusso Barolo DOCG 2005 (young and a touch closed, but showing lots of promise)
2006 Morsi di Luce, Cantine Florio (marmalade in a glass)

Thank you so much to Lizzie (@hollowlegs), Ben (@benbush), EuWen (@tehbus), Jess (@lovelychaos), Louis (@spiltwine) and Ben (@enotriauk) - from me (@thirstforwine) for a great evening.

I must go back to Bella Vista with my family. It is a great local restaurant to have, and reminds us all that you do not necessarily have to travel into the centre of London to get great quality food, and that local restaurants such as these can actually provide a great balance between the quality of food and service, and a more relaxed, cosy atmosphere to welcome local customers.

Grazie, e buon apetito!


Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/496502/mar10s.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4aQQTUCZxJol Robert McIntosh thirstforwine Robert McIntosh