Wine Of The Week

[NoMercy]

Block 13 Mclaren Vale Australian Rousanne/Marsanne/Viognier.

This is a dry and elegant wine with flavours of crisp, crunchy green apple and tropical fruits, with a sherbety tang on the finish. Would make an excellent partner to Asian and spicy foods, or finger foods such as duck rolls and Tempura prawns. Available in Tesco at the normal price of £8.99. Also available online:

http://www.tesco.com/...94966007&id=266847155

[carrot99]

I'm not a wine drinker but will stick a bottle on the table on Christmas day.
I know it should be white wine with the turkey so what wine would you recommend? Preferably reasonably priced and available in the supermarkets.

[sunny-dave]

Yes NoM - you can't just turn up, it's pre-arranged tours only - so I booked over the interweb (very brave of me considering that the booking process was entirely in Spanish).

They had spotted that I was English & had arranged a multi-lingual guide for my tour - he was really knowledgeable about the whole process from vine to glass & even took time to chat to me afterwards over a cava or three.

The storage caves are just amazing - they have little electric trains to carry staff & visitors around - brilliant afternoon :)

[Euphemia]

We did a similar tour in Beaune a few years ago. It was fascinating.

[NoMercy]

Ooh Piggy... I am Jealous of your paella . :-)

Carrot... What style of wine do you like?

[NoMercy]

Dave, that sounds amazing. I did a day trip to Utiel Requena with the Golf Society a few years ago. I didn't think their wines were great but I enjoyed the experience.

[piggynose]

i´m a lucky bleeder,her indoors/novia, makes a really good to die for seafood paella, i´ll have to download a pic tomorrow if i dont get carried away by the fragrances.

[NoMercy]

I do love a paella, especially when served with a nice chilled Verdejo or Albarino.

Asda have an excellent Albarino for around £7.49. It featured on Saturday Morning Kitchen a couple of months back.

[carrot99]

Style, NoM? If you mean flat or fizzy I should like to try fizzy but would like a standard flat wine for the rest of the family. thanks...

[NoMercy]

Hi carrot. Do you prefer full bodied or light. Dry or medium. Fruity or floral or citrussy?

Let me know and I would love to recommend a wine for you.

[sunny-dave]

Pardon me for ambling in Nom - but I'm bored and opinionated (a dangerous combination) ;-)

Hi carrot -I'll leave NoM to think about your table wine, but for fizz I don't think you can go far wrong with Aldi Cremant de Jura - a very smart bottle containing a cracking good wine ...

http://www.aldi.co.uk...roduct_range_3421.htm

... or if you want something a bit 'softer' (with more of a foamy mousse than a flat out champagne fizz) then try

http://www.aldi.co.uk...oduct_range_18781.htm

Cheers

dave (hic)

[NoMercy]

I have tried the Cremant de Jura and it's superb. It's made from.Chardonnay I think and sells for £6.99. So very similar to Champagne, it is unbeatable value.

Sainsburys have proseccos on offer at the minute.

[NoMercy]

Lol. I just clicked on the link and it's got all the info on there.

[carrot99]

NoM, I'm thinking light and citrussy - that sounds quite refreshing, thanks again...

Sunny-dave I shall have a look at those Aldi fizzers - the softer mousse sounds ideal for New Year's eve too - I've tried M&S and Sainsbury's champagnes as it's only ever me at home on NY eve and I do find them a bit too sharp. Many thanks to you too....

[NoMercy]

Hi carrot, sorry I couldn't reply sooner, I am in the midst of cooking a roast duck dinner.

If you want a light and not too overpowering white, I can highly recommend The Boulders Californian Viognier from the Co-op. Viogniers are quite variable but this is more delicate than most in its class. It displays aromas of fleshy white fruits without the perfumed intensity of other viogniers currently on sale in the major supermarkets. It's available in the co-op for around £5.99.


If you prefer something more aromatic, give me a shout and I will endeavour to find a good Muscadet or Riesling.

[carrot99]

NoM that sounds like it might hit the spot and I shouldn't have too much trouble picking it up as we are awash with Co-ops here in SE London.

I shall report back after Christmas with marks out of 10...thanks very much.

[DTCwordfan]

The delicious discovery for the last ten days is a very nice Italian Montepulciano in a Yume Caldora.....from the Abruzzo region, though that is like saying Scotland! Caldora wines come from Ortona, (Pescara) up on the East coast, latitude wise, just across from Roma and north a bit ......

This one is actually a cooperative with 800 members and rather special in the way it operates - by paying the growers according to the size of their land rather than annual crop, the yields are kept lower, pushing the quality higher. Delicious the red is in being full of body, tannin and loaded with spice and liquorice, alongside lots of plums and black fruit. And pretty smooth which some of the "MontePs" are not.... They make a white from the Malvasia grape, one of Italy's odest vines but yet to try that.

Tenner a bottle by the way.

[NoMercy]

Sounds quite delicious, DT.

I picked up a beautiful Italian white the other day - a meritorious variety I have never heard of before.

I will leave that 'til this coming Thursday.


Carrot, I would be very interested to have some feedback.

[DTCwordfan]

Look forward to that, NoM as the Christmas buying is underway

Just bought some of the Odfjell (Chile), La Manga del Bruya, a couple of Madeiras and a Sipsmith Plymouth Gin for the Bro-in-law.....that is so smooth you can drink it neat on the rocks - I would describe it as a light Tanqueray with just a hint of lemon on the uppernotes - what that ghastly Ten should have been. Not cheap at £28 - I had better get a good glass of it!

[NoMercy]

Have you tried Hendricks Gin, DT?

[DTCwordfan]

Yes NoM, smoother and lighter than the Hendricks - mind you been some time since I had one.