Wadebridge Wine Tasting 22nd November 2012

It’s Saturday afternoon and I am still buzzing about the wine tasting I attended on Thursday night. Wadebridge wines put on a fantastic evening at the Royal Cornwall Showground. The venue was heaving with people guzzling their way through the over 100 wines on show looking for the perfect bottles to order in time for Christmas.

The event was very well organised and despite the number of guests I found it just about possible to take a look at almost all the tables. My one and only difficultly was trying to squeeze my way through to the spittoons. I must say I was definitely in the minority, most folks seemed happy quaffing glass after glass, luckily for them Relish were on had with yummy cheeses and olives to break up the drinking.

A highlight for me was most definitely Mr. Geoff Cole, his lovely wife and their delicious and diverse selection of Madeira’s, my favourite was D’Oliveiras 1988, Terrantez. It was medium dry, super complex with a real appley fresh finish that blew me away, amazing considering it is over 20 years old!

My second highlight was meeting Ben Llewellyn of Carte Blanche. His genuine enthusiasm and knowledge made him really stand out. After tasting his line up it was clear that bright, interesting and elegant are qualities Ben holds highly when selecting wines and producers to work with. I would be happy to receive any of his wines for Christmas, but was particularly captivated by Domaine Cheveaux, Pouilly Fuisse, 2010, Burgundy. Subtle and elegant yet complex and exciting with a real purity; the sort of wine I could drink all-night and go to bed fooled I will be waking up with a clear head- dangerous.

It was also really wonderful to meet Mark Hellyar of Chateau Civrac, a Cornishman making his mark in Bordeaux. His billed 2007 and 2008 were very drinkable, but his stand out for me was a sneaky bottle of 2006, plenty of structure and acidity, a real winner.

Thank you to Tamsin and everyone at Wadebridge Wines for a marvelous evening. I will most definitely be popping in to stock up before Christmas!

http://www.wadebridgewines.co.uk/

http://www.carteblanchewines.com/

http://www.civrac.com/

 

It’s all about value…

I have recently tasted some incredible French wines; a couple of captivating old Red Burgundies, an absolutely incredible rich and opulent Condrieu and some stunning vintage Champagnes to mention but a few. They were all undoubtedly good wines and all unfortunately out of my price range; certainly for everyday drinking anyway. Their expense is something I don’t mind as that keeps them special… What I do have a problem with is paying over the odds for a decidedly average bottle of wine, something that seems to happen all too often when I spend around the £10 mark on a bottle at the weekend. At the beginning of the summer in a state of rage after a disappointing bottle of £12 Côtes du Rhône I decided to pick up a £3.69 Côtes du Rhône from Aldi. The wine is by no stretch of the imagination the best Côtes du Rhône I have ever tasted, but it is definitely a contender for the best value. It is full of fruit, great acidity to balance and a lovely velvety medium body. The Perfect match for the wide range of foods that summer BBQs ensure are piled up on your plate all at once! It has been a wonderful companion throughout the summer months, through rain and shine and one I am not ashamed to take round to dinner at friends especially as it comes in a pretty Art Nouveau inspired bottle.

Why am I talking about wine?

When people find out I am a sommelier they often ask what my favourite wine is and what I like to drink at home. My answer to both is the same; it depends on my mood, the occasion, the company, what I am eating and often the weather.

I live surrounded by the countryside and work with a panoramic view of Watergate Bay, it would be hard not to be inspired by these beautiful ever-changing natural surroundings.

Another source of inspiration for my choice of wine is of course food. Like many I am passionate about eating local and seasonal produce and I find that my choices of wines seem to change seasonally with my veg box; fruity, fragrant Valpolicellas to go with the delicious sweet and slightly aromatic squashes frequenting my veg boxes over the Autumn and Winter, crisp green Semillion-Sauvigon blends for the bounty of peas and asparagus that come with Spring and the mere thought of eating strawberries in the Summer sun has me dreaming of Pink Moscato.

For me it is also important to consider who I will be enjoying the wine with and the occasion. Opening a bottle of wine and appreciating it with people can be a wonderful shared experience. I love drinking Prosecco with my girl friends and choosing big, interesting reds to share with my husband because I know he will like them. On my wedding day I enjoyed a bottle of my favourite Alsace Gewurztraminer with my Dad, to my surprise he loved it as much as I did. Drinking it next to him while we gorged on the wedding breakfast is such a happy memory. Ever since when I visit my parents I take a bottle of Alsace Gewurtztraminer, it’s distinctive, rich, opulent, exotic flavours transport me back to the marquee in the middle of a field, on a beautiful summers day, surrounded by all my favourite people, drinking wine with my Dad and I can’t help but feel deeply happy, I hope it’s the same for my Dad.

I’m hoping to record the wines (and sometimes other drinks) I fall in and sometimes back out of love with…

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