Many years ago, back when a TV still cost a week’s wages, red was a colour to be feared, and China was something you drank tea out of rather than flew to for a spot of shopping, I backpacked in that distant country. While out there I sampled a few of their ‘rice wines’, getting a little inebriated along the way. I liked what I drank, and also what I saw – many came in special, fascinatingly shaped bottles -, and so packed what I could in a big box and shipped it back to the UK for later pleasures.

Several thousand miles and several months later, and not long back home, I learned that one of the world’s largest wine collections – real, grape based wine this time – was in my own home town, above a mainstay of the local restaurant scene. A certain French number. They also happened to have some decent lunchtime deals. So, one lunchtime I went for a meal, and while there took the opportunity to say hello to the owner, mention the Chinese wines, and asked if it was possible to see his collection. He was interested and yes it was.

I took the bottles in a few days later, we chatted about the ‘rice wines’ I’d found, what they tasted like and so on, and the guy then asked if I’d like to sell him the wines I’d shipped back. I told him I’d think about it. In the meantime he gave me a bottle of ‘good wine’ to take away. At the time I knew next to nothing about wines but a friend advised me the wine really was good and a ‘keeper’.

In the end I decided not to sell the wines, In fact I decided to not even open them for myself. They became souvenirs rather than potential liquid pleasure. The years passed and I began to drink more wine and learned more about it. But I forgot I had the ‘keeper’. There was a birthday coming up so I thought ‘great, we’ll go with this one’.

The day arrived and the food was to be lovely. I retrieved the ‘keeper’, opened it up, and as you’ll probably guess, smelled my mistake. The wine was way past its best and fit only for the drain. In fact it may never have been that ‘good’. Soon after I decided to open the rice wine bottles after all. I think you can guess the result.

What I learned from this was two things. No, three things. First, always have a suitable backup bottle! Second, learn about wines yourself, rather than relying on what other people might or might not know. And third, drink them! A good wine is only a good wine if you can actually taste it. Otherwise it is just an anonymous liquid in a coloured bottle.

Salut!

I’m so tired of wine being exclusive. I’m so bored of the London scene. Why can’t us Gorillas have some of the action?

I love wine and I think I understand it, so I sent a message out to fellow wine lovers.

“Join me by the river to explore and enjoy good wine.”

We had fun. We had wine. You saw what all happened…

A wine loving Gorilla

Wine is one of my favourite things. A glass with a friend or over dinner is one of the most pleasant ways to spend an evening. A bold and spicy glass of red for winter, or a gorgeous sparkler for summer, for every season and occasion there’s a glass of wine.

I’ve been exploring and learned a lot this last few years. It’s been one of the many pleasures I’ve indulged in since starting blogging. I have always had a healthy interest, but have been further investigating regions, vintages, grape varieties and it has been an enormous education.

It seems a great shame that for most people, exposure is limited. People fear it’s scientific and that they will get it wrong. Perceived to be an elitist sport, they stick to the supermarket offerings, anxious that they will be exposed in a local wine shop as someone who doesn’t understand.

The Line up

I felt like this too once, until I realised that it is personal and subjective and the only way to learn and appreciate is to try. There’s so much to try, and so much fun to be had in the process, so why not do something different, available and democratic?

We thought that we would get out there, and do a Guerilla Wine Tasting and make it fun. Crowd sourced over twiter and open to everyone, a merry band of some friends and some strangers collected on the South Bank and explored some fine Portugese Wines and a delicious French Sauternes. We had a great time and discovered some great new wines in the process. We also had a wine tasting gorilla. Why not, eh?

Thanks to Casa Leal, Quinta de Lagoalva and Nicole for donating the wines, and to Ailbhe for the photos. The inimitable Wine Sleuth was at her best, you can see how much so in the video below.

The Portugese red wines were particular favourites of all whoe tried. I’ll be writing about these more soon, as I was lucky enough to visit Quinta de Lagoalva late last year.

Watch this space for further Guerilla Wine Tastings!

Best before?

40 years ago I visited a winery in New York State. After a tour and during the tasting session the guide said “Our aim is to make very bottle the same and as reliable as Coca Cola”. As the only European present I explained that we had the opposite view and half the fun was opening the bottle, sniffing the cork and eventually deciding whether one had a winner. Few agreed with me then. Well, four decades later I have changed my mind.

Most of my purchases these days are at the British owned warehouses in France and my wartime austerity upbringing still means that I mainly drink ‘New World’ bargains-and I am seldom disappointed. British wine buyers are almost certainly the most knowledgeable in the World and give us the widest of choices. Even our little village’s general store offers well over a hundred labels to choose from. But at the same time I do treat myself. Otherwise, how can one ever know that it is special? The main problem is that I find myself awaiting a special occasion and these become increasingly rare. The photograph above shows just some of my special bottles most of which are now probably way ‘over the hill’.

Having said all that I never lose the opportunity to try wines from little know regions, Chinese, Japanese, Georgian (whilst in the Soviet Union in 1963),Indian and so on. In the early 70’s I used to belong to a local wine-tasting society. I remember clearly (yet maybe for the wrong reasons) an evening of Australian wines. They were dreadful-gosh, what a change now.

Having had the good fortune to travel all over the United States I have been impressed by some wines from the lesser known States, even some from Texas. As Lyndon Johnson might have said “Guys, a day without wine is like a day without Coca Cola”.

This post was submitted as an entry for our Argento competition.

Bibendum Times has teamed up with Argento wines to offer a fantastic 5 night trip for 2 people to see The Real Argentina. All you have to do is get writing / snapping / filming and then send us the results. With a bit of luck you could be jetting off to Buenos Aires and Mendoza!

How to win

• The winner will be the person who comes up with the best and most creative contribution to Bibendum Times – it could be an article about something that really gets your pulse racing, a vinous video or even an amazing photograph. It’s up to you how you get involved.
• We’ll be judging the best contributions at the end of February 2010
• We will then put our Top 5 to a public vote
• Only one vote per person is allowed
• The winner of the public vote will then be jetting off to Argentina with Argento

The Prize

This prize is for two people travelling together and includes:

• 2 economy return flights to Argentina visiting Buenos Aires and Mendoza
• 2 internal flights
• 5 nights accommodation
• Winery and Vineyard Tour with Argento
• A one day tour  experiencing the majestic Andes and the gaucho lifestyle including horse-back riding and an outdoor asado, a traditional Argentintean barbecue
• The prize must be taken in September or October 2010 and must be booked eight weeks in advance of departure

Terms and Conditions

• The Competition is organised by Bibendum Wine Ltd, 113 Regents Park Road, London, NW1 8UR.
• To enter the competition you must be 21 years old or over at the time of the entry.
• This competition is open to all contributors to Bibendum Times with the exception of employees of Bibendum Wine Ltd, A&N Media and their families.
• The prize is non-transferable and there is no cash alternative. Bibendum Wine Ltd reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal or greater value at any time.
• Any expenses occurred outwith of those explicity stated in the prize are the responsibility of the winner.
• Nominees will be informed by publication on www.bibendum-wine.co.uk on March 1st 2010 and the overall winner announced by April 1st at the latest.
• It is the responsibility of the winner to contact Bibendum Wine Ltd in sufficient time to allow all travel arrangements to be booked at least eight weeks before departure.
• In the event of any dispute regarding the Rules, conduct, results and all other matters relating to a Competition, the decision of Bibendum Wine Ltd shall be final and no correspondence or discussion shall be entered into.

Chinese New Year 2008 - London

Chinese New Year. Now that’s my kind of New Year. Celebrated for 2 weeks and centred on food, bright colours, parades packed with drama, and people having fun. I have always had an affection for it. Clearly, I have a strong sense of food occasion, the only bit that I don’t like is the whole tidying thing you have to do in advance. I am still waiting until I am wealthy enough to pay someone to do all of that stuff for me. As I am not Chinese I don’t adhere to that, I do enjoy the food though, and always indulge.

Chinese New Year 2008 - London

For this celebratory dish, I am going to Beijing land of the dumpling, cosy velvet pouches of steamy savoury goodness. Dumplings are excellent comfort food, especially when dipped in black vinegar and chilli oil, and they’re really easy to make too. A little finicky at first, but like everything, after a few Frankenstein attempts, you’ll reward yourself with a perfect little dumpling and a glorious bite.

Chinese New Year 2008 - London

Beijin Dumplings

I have been making these for a week in an attempt to unlock their secrets. I researched many recipes, and tried different techniques and fillings. There are many ways of doing them, and the fillings are supremely flexible. Pork is a popular choice, particularly popular with me, so no surprise then that it was one of my favourites. Some like to cook the filling first, I prefer to put the filling in raw, it helps to shape the dumpling and the resulting texture is solid and the flavours are more fused. Cooking the filling, meat ones at least, results in a more fragmented filling with a drier texture. I could see that cooking would be essential for some vegetarian fillings but it’s not for me otherwise.

Beijin Dumplings

If you can, I urge you to make the dough. It’s infinitely superior and not that challenging, it just takes time. The texture is also more gentle and malleable for rolling and shaping, and it tastes so much better. However, there is no real harm in buying jiaozi wrappers in your local Chinese shop (if you have one) and are short on time.

Beijin Dumplings

Petaluma Riesling

There’s no perfect meal without a good wine, and when that wine matches, well, life is sweet and that little bit more in tune. The jiaozi are quite delicate, with no strong spicing, save some white pepper so a crisp white wine with body, creaminess and a little zing matches well. I tried two, a Marlborough Pinot Gris instead from Wither Hills (2008), at a very good £9.99 at Waitrose. It was lovely and fresh with lots of sweetness and aromas of honeysuckle and quince. It had a gentle sweetness and creaminess, but I felt wasn’t crisp enough to be a perfect match. I preferred the second, Petaluma Riesling 2008 Hanlin Hill, Clare Valley, Australia, which had a really refreshing acidity and was sufficiently dry yet fruity. It was a lovely wine and was a great match for the Jiaozi.

Jiaozi Recipe
Dumpling Wrapper Ingredients
1 cup dumpling flour from your local Chinese shop OR plain flour
¼ cup water
A pinch of salt
Filling Ingredients:
450g minced pork
3 spring onions finely, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
A handful of finely chopped Chinese chives (or normal chives)
I tbsp rice wine vinegar
½ tsp sesame oil
Salt & white pepper to taste
To serve: black vinegar & chilli oil
Method:
Filling: mix the ingredients and leave covered in the fridge while you make the dumpling wrappers. This will allow the flavours to integrate.
Wrappers: combine the flour, salt and water and mix. Knead until shiny and elastic for 10 minutes, or chuck in your mixer and let it do the work for 5 minutes. This is what I did!
You may want to add more water or flour; you want a mixture that is firm without being too wet.
Cover in cling film or put in a plastic bag for 30 minutes in the fridge. Roll your jiaozi wrappers by pulling off little balls, smaller than a 10p piece, and rolling until thin, about as thin as pasta, and about three inches in diameter. Roughly!
Brush the edges of the wrappers lightly with water (not too much as they’ll get soggy). Place a teaspoon of filling in the centre and fold in a half moon shape and press closed ensuring they are sealed.
Add to boiling water for a few minutes, when they rise to the top they are cooked in theory but do check by cutting into one, as you don’t want to eat raw pork. I didn’t have any problems with this, they were always cooked through, so don’t worry too much. Be careful not to boil for too long, as the wrapper may burst if it’s quite thin.
Serve with a dipping sauce of Chinese black vinegar with some chilli oil.

The real stuff in its lavender box

Yes, it must be a half-bottle. Of course, it would be more practical, economical and sensible to buy a full bottle. But don’t be ridiculous. This is my wish list, and it really is not the moment to consider such prosaic things.

It’s the time to dream extravagantly. So it must be a half bottle of Krug Rose and it must be in its lavender box.

When it’s a half bottle, Krug Rose becomes more than just Champagne. It joins the modern consumer pantheon: objects such as the smooth black packaging of an iPod or the pale blue egg-shell expectation of a Tiffany’s box; things coveted for how they are presented as for much as what’s inside.

Once you get past the pale lavender packaging – a colour that seems only to be found in very expensive cashmere – marveling how it is the same shape as the full-size version and squeal at how everything is so much smaller, you take the bottle out of its box, hold its swan-like neck and wonder: how is it possible to make this bottleneck even more slender? You want to hold it like a new-born animal.

I heard Madonna ordered all the Krug Rose available in London and New York for her 50th birthday at the Volstead Club in London two years ago. Every wine merchant on both sides of the Atlantic had emptied their stock for her party. It’s quite obvious to see why Madonna would want it for her 50th.

This is all about power. It’s a Rose Champagne, but in the Krug style. It blushes deeply in lavender, it is not fainting in pink. It looks bruised, almost shocking. This is not about giggly bubbles, this is serious fun. But, it wasn’t Madonna drinking it that put this Champagne on my Wish List for 2010.

The wish was born from meeting a woman who bought cases of it once a week. To drink every day. From half bottles.

Every evening she opened a bottle with, or without, her husband, and found that a glass or two was just enough. At the time, I thought this must be the most decadent way to drink Champagne I have ever seen. Why not buy full bottles and use a stopper? You’d save and then you could….

Oh, silly girl.

It’s supposed to be extravagant. And if this wish list is about dreams, then might as well dream extravagantly. That’s why wish number 4 is: a half-bottle of Krug Rose, every day.

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Klein Constantia Estate

We are happy to publish a series of extracts from Olivier Gasselin’s wine travels across south Africa. Olivier is currently the Head Sommelier at the Blue Bird in Chelsea.

After almost 3 years of service at Le Pont de la Tour restaurant in central London, I thought the moment was right for me to leave. I was ready for a new challenge, ready to go back to where I first fell in love with wine: the Bluebird in Chelsea. But before jumping to this new and exciting adventure I had one last thing in mind. I wanted me and my wife Sophie to tour the winelands of South Africa.

While I managed, thanks to some professional connections and friendships to organize a healthy and busy two weeks trip to the wine country, Sophie booked us the best guest houses around. We have been overwhelmed by the replies received from our various contacts, their kindness and flexibility, some of which will remain our true friends for the rest of our lives.

South Africa “Nous Voila!!!”

The arrival in Cape Town airport was a frantic one, as the place proved to be very busy. Sophie and I made our way to our car rental company, and after a long wait, we were denied any possibility of a car, owing to our lack of credit card. Rather than making a big fuss, we decided on a calmer approach. We grabbed a cab to our first Guest House (Villa Azure), situated in Camps Bay, a posh and trendy south suburb of Cape Town. The place was immaculate, the owners extremely accommodating and helpful. We felt straight at home, and the stress of the car rental failure was soon forgotten.

After few discreet inquiries the landlady even managed to organize a car rental for us with a local agency. Although it seemed a bit risky but extremely good value, we had nothing to lose and accepted her help. We were pleased to see an old cranky Ford Fiesta making its way to the parking lot early the next morning. It was far from being a Formula One car, or a fancy one, but it did the trick for us. The old Fiesta turned to be our trusty companion throughout the journey. With the car up and running using the left side of the road in the African chaos now seemed even to be a challenge in its own right but after all this is why we came here.

After adapting to the area for a couple of days it was time to leave. We started our Fiesta and carefully drove it to our first appointment. Our destination: Constantia, suburb of Cape Town which surprised us by its dense vegetation and almost tropical feel. We safely arrived to our new guest house, Villa Coloniale then drove straight to catch up with Lowell Jooste, owner of the family-run Constantia Estate. As it was a Sunday we were grateful to Lowell who kindly agreed to break his family day activities to show us around.

Vin de Constance

The estate is breathtaking (see first picture).  This is surely one of the most beautiful settings for a winery that one can imagine. Klein Constantia Estate produces diverse types of wines but are mainly concentrating on Sauvignon Blanc, which we found delightful. Their most famous and renowned wine, the Vin de Constance is made from Muscat de Frontignan gapes. The grapes are late harvested and the wine is credibly intense, deep, and luscious but at the same time still fresh and vibrant.

La Colombe Restaurant

After a very agreeable afternoon we were back in the Fiesta navigating towards the Constantia Uitsig Estate. A fancy estate that comprises of a winery, a hotel, a spa and 3 different restaurants. Proud of our origins we chose the French La Colombe and a memorable evening of fine wine and food followed. We drank a bottle of Raats Chenin Blanc 2006 (one of my favourites), and some Rupert & Rothschild Cabernet Sauvignon that worked particularly well with the delicious food. Back to our guest room, we finished our night on the terrace enjoying a Cohiba Siglo II with a glass of local port, and this perfect day closed to an end.

The biodynamic line up

Organic and biodynamic practices are all around nowadays covering everything from chocolate to whiskey but what does it mean in the wine trade and does it actually make wine taste better? As a host/tutor for Wine Unearthed I am often asked this question in our wine tasting workshops so I felt it was merely my duty to try and find out a bit more about it. No, it’s ok….. I insist!

I attended a biodynamic wine tasting on what was, according to the biodynamic calendar, the ‘best’ day that month to taste wine. All the forces of the universe were impacting on the wine so it tastes at its best. All days fall on either a fruit, root, flower or leaf day; fruit obviously being the best one to taste wine on. The fact that the wines are made using biodynamic practices just makes it a double whammy and so I had very high hopes for the offerings at The Winery in Maida vale.

My first surprise when I saw the line up of wines was that out of the 10 only one of them was a New World wine, a Zinfandel from the Napa Valley in California, all the rest were from either Italy, France or Germany. There is a misconception that biodynamics is a New World phenomenon when in fact many winemakers in the Old World follow these practices and as with many things in the world of wine, the New World follows the Old. There are many merchants and wine bars these days specialising in organic and biodynamic wine so they really are presenting their case in the market and becoming easier to source locally.

The wines on offer ranged from a crisp appley German sparkling wine in the style of an Italian Prosecco, through to a rich floral Chenin Blanc from Anjou in Loire Valley to a fabulous Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir) from Ahr in Germany and several hearty, heady southern French reds before ending on a juicy, licorice laden Zinfandel from Napa Valley, California. Prices ranged from £9.99 to £22.99 of course my favourite of the day the Spatburgunder came in at £19.99 and was typically the second most expensive. It was fabulous though, I could have quite happily just smelled it for ages, the nose was so complex and dynamic with every swirl; loads of cherry pie, earth, and cranberry with just enough of a savoury, gamey quality to keep my interest.

In honesty none of the wines disappointed but there were realistically only 4 of the 10 that I would have happily bought there and then knowing I’d received value for money. However I refrained from making any purchases as a thought had struck me during the afternoon. If today is the best day of the month to taste wine, what are they going to taste like on a bad day and will I still consider them value for money?

As for the question of whether biodynamic practices produce better wine, I’m not entirely convinced. There were undoubtedly some very good, even excellent wines on offer but had they been compared against non-biodynamic wines of similar quality I’m not sure I would have noticed the difference. A common complaint of biodynamic wines is that they are a tad on the pricey side. Given that biodynamic wine is around 10 times more labour intensive than non- biodynamic wines to produce one can understand why the price tag is relatively high. However if one considers costs on a more environmental stage then biodynamic wines are definitely paying their own way by giving back to the land rather than taking away.

Overall I think I definitely need to drink more wines….er, I mean do more research… before my mind is made up either way but for now I think my safest standpoint is asking the question every time a try a wine, is it good quality and is it value for money? Like everything with wine tasting the concept of value for money is entirely subjective and whether or not I taste on a fruit or a root day to form my opinions just means I’ll have to keep trying. On your behalf of course J.

Leeds at night

Aye, ‘tis reet by ‘eck and merely a stones throw from where this lass was born and bred (means I’m allowed to type the accent J) and if there’s two things I’m passionate about it’s wine and Yorkshire, and cheese, that’s 3, oh well, that’s for another day. As a host and tutor for Wine Unearthed I am often asked my opinion of English wines and my response is always positive and with this vineyard firmly in mind.

The vineyard I refer to is Leventhorpe in Leeds, just off junction 46 of the M1. It is a small site with just 5 acres (about 2 Hectares) on a south-facing slope enjoying a unique microclimate making it ideal for wine growing. On arrival I thought it impossible there could be anyone out there who has just as much passion for Yorkshire as I do for wine but upon meeting the ever enthusiastic and engaging George and Janet Bowden who own the vineyard I knew I had met my match.

The couple have owned the vineyard since 1985 and in good years can produce up to 20,000 bottles of wine from it, all of which is sold on site and in local deli’s and restaurants. George and Janet produce mainly white wines at Leventhorpe along with a little red and some sparkling and they have received accolade from some well known people. Oz Clarke stated that he would recognise Leventhorpe Madeline Angevine in a blind tasting anywhere and ranked it amongst his top 6 wines. Certainly not to be sniffed at and the vineyard has also been recommended by Rick Stein, presumably as the whites here would match perfectly with fish.

I was lucky enough to arrive on a day that was bright and sunshiney, see it’s not always grim up north, and one could be excused for thinking you were actually somewhere much more exotic and more in keeping with the winemaking way of life.

This far up north a lot of the success of Leventhorpe is partly down to its unique microclimate. The vineyard nestles in a suntrap, it enjoys well draining soil and a slope that raises it out of the reach of Jack Frost and it is sheltered from winds by a bank of trees.

George Bowden and his Leventhorpe vineyard

The grapes grown are not widely recognised to most but are typical of what is generally grown in England and Wales today: Seyval Blanc, Madeline Angevine and Sylvaner for the whites and Pinot Noir, Regent and Triompe for the reds.

The Sparkling wine they produce gives any ‘cheap’ Champagne a run for its money but it was the Madeline Angevine that really held in my mind, just as it did for Oz.

Leventhorpe Madeline Angevine 2005

With a little bit of age I can totally understand why Oz Clarke said he would recognise this wine anywhere, the way I’m going to describe it sounds really quite wrong but it is in fact a real chameleon and one of the most ‘interesting’ (in a good way) whites I’ve tasted. Here goes…….

Ok, the first thing I get on the nose is minted peas ala pungent New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Next comes a lovely floral character, almost like jasmine flowers, quite heady and warm. The fragrant quality continues with a waft of wild garlic followed by a sweaty, slightly cheesy note. This I am assured is due to ripe fruit, battonage and age. Whatever it’s from I can’t get enough and every swirl reveals something new. The palate is just as intriguing, grapefruit and melon abound but there is a savoury quality too that really hits the mid palate and lingers on the finish. It’s cheesy, asparagussy and aromatic and would work perfectly with Thai dishes and fishy food, and I mean proper fishy fish.

I enjoyed my visit to Leventhorpe with its rustic simplicity and would urge anyone visiting God’s Own Country of Yorkshire to drop by and say ‘hi’, as I would for the other 390 odd vineyards around us. The best way to experience English wine is to go and see where it’s made and who made it, make a day of it and get the full experience. Many wineries and vineyards welcome you with cafés, restaurants and visitors centres and I shall certainly be taking a trip to a few this vintage.

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For more details on English wines follow:

http://www.englishwineproducers.com/

More information about Wine Tasting

http://www.wineunearthed.co.uk