We tried some Waitrose Brazilian Merlot to drown our sorrows after England's unfortunate venture in the World Cup and their defeat to Uruguay. At £8.99 it was rather expensive but Waitrose had discounted it to a more realistic price of £6.99. It went down well with rare English beef. The beef and wine were much better than England's football. One of our French guests found the wine rather palatable.
It seems that the English players were rather naive and got caught out by a half-fit Uruguayan player, Suarez,who spent the whole match lurking around unmarked in the England penalty area. He only touched the ball twice but to score goals - brilliant and quick witted thinking. How could this have happened? Our football players did rather a lot of spitting so perhaps they had spent more time on wine tasting courses than football training but I doubt it; they are just bad mannered. They should have concentrated on the football and not trying to look cool or macho.
The Brazilian Merlot could not compare with a bottle 2010 Château Peybonhomme Les Tours Cru Bourgeois red from Blaye. This red is produced from organically grown grapes and is a complex wine which is typical of Bordeaux. It left the rather simple Brazilian Merlot far behind and in France it does not cost that much more.
I could see my guests casting admiring glances in my direction but they were too polite to cheat and try and grab the bottle of the good stuff so there was no need for the use of shaving foam to prevent a cheating hand crossing the demarcation line. They waited for me to serve it.
This is what I like about wine lovers: they know that it is not good manners to spit at the dining table or in public and they have learnt not to cheat, play act and writhe about to create a diversion. Wine lovers can be found in every country and they may not be rich but they have learnt to behave like urbane and civilised citizens. It really is a pity that the footballers cannot follow in their wake.
http://www.vignobles-hubert.com/en/chateau-peybonhomme/
Monday 23 June 2014
Tuesday 17 June 2014
World Cup Wine - Waitrose Brazilian Chardonnay
I tried a bottle of Brazilian wine for the first time last Sunday: Waitrose Brazilian Chardonnay 2013 vintage at £8.99 a bottle. Someone had to bring out a Brazilian wine for the world cup but couldn't Waitrose have thought of a better brand name? At least Tesco and Marks and Spencer have thought of some brand names. What about about Pele Blanco or "Hand of God Cuvée".
Brazil produces this wine in the Serra Gaúcha region which is on the 29th parallel south of the equator in the hills; the Argentinian border is nearby. The hills provide a cooler climate to grow grapes and about 5,000 hectares are planted with vitis vinifera vines for quality wine production. The 29th parallel is outside of the conventionally accepted wine zone of between 30 and 45 degrees South and you can tell even though the vines are grown in a cooler micro-climate that this is really not top flight wine.
Vine growing was introduced by the Portuguese when they arrived to colonise Brazil in the 16th century but it was not until the mid 19th century that wine production in Brazil was mastered because of the marginal climate.
We drank this wine with some Brazilian friends as an aperitif with some smoked salmon. I was really looking forward to it after a 10km run through High Elms with Orpington runners. To prepare for the run I had not had a drink for a week and I was thinking about a glass of wine as I ran through the pain in my knees on the steep inclines. Maybe, I should have downed a bottle before I started the run to dull my senses.
Was the wine as good as the football? Well it provided some novel entertainment and was better than England's performance against Italy the previous evening. I rather liked its sporting behaviour; the bottle did not take a dive when the cat just brushed his tail against the label to get to my smoked salmon. However, the wine did not really score any goals; it wasn't bad wine but it was ordinary and hardly a match for fine dining provided by my wife.
This wine cannot hold a candle up to Waitrose Macon Villages Cave de Lugny Chardonnay at just £7.99 a bottle so it looses 3 nil.
Waitrose also do a Brazilian Merlot at £8.99 a bottle and from the same region so more of this later. I shall buy some to drink with the England v Uruguay match if it is not on too late. Perhaps, it will get a score draw against some Jacob's Creek Shiraz.
£8.99 is a lot to pay for a bottle of wine but why not get into the spirit of things as at least you do get some value for money and it is better than paying for a hyped up FIFA rip-off.
I shall buy a bottle of Marks and Spencer Coconova Sparkling wine to celebrate if England get through to the last sixteen , even though I am half English and half Welsh and was born Wales - they play real champagne football there and it is called rugby. Perhaps, Waitrose will break out some real English wine for the Rugby World cup in England next year. Why not drink some Webb Ellis Reichensteiner Blanc - heaven forbid? But then, there is always some marvellous Tenterden Sparkling Wine to celebrate England winning the Rugby World Cup - at least they have got a real chance.
More to come I think........
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichensteiner
http://www.marksandspencer.com/c/style-and-living/the-brazilian-bubbles
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/10187866/Why-Brazil-is-on-the-wine-radar.html - Come off it.
http://www.waitrosecellar.com/all-wines/recommended-wines/new-exclusive-wine/waitrose-brazilian-chardonnay-861344
Brazil produces this wine in the Serra Gaúcha region which is on the 29th parallel south of the equator in the hills; the Argentinian border is nearby. The hills provide a cooler climate to grow grapes and about 5,000 hectares are planted with vitis vinifera vines for quality wine production. The 29th parallel is outside of the conventionally accepted wine zone of between 30 and 45 degrees South and you can tell even though the vines are grown in a cooler micro-climate that this is really not top flight wine.
Vine growing was introduced by the Portuguese when they arrived to colonise Brazil in the 16th century but it was not until the mid 19th century that wine production in Brazil was mastered because of the marginal climate.
We drank this wine with some Brazilian friends as an aperitif with some smoked salmon. I was really looking forward to it after a 10km run through High Elms with Orpington runners. To prepare for the run I had not had a drink for a week and I was thinking about a glass of wine as I ran through the pain in my knees on the steep inclines. Maybe, I should have downed a bottle before I started the run to dull my senses.
Was the wine as good as the football? Well it provided some novel entertainment and was better than England's performance against Italy the previous evening. I rather liked its sporting behaviour; the bottle did not take a dive when the cat just brushed his tail against the label to get to my smoked salmon. However, the wine did not really score any goals; it wasn't bad wine but it was ordinary and hardly a match for fine dining provided by my wife.
This wine cannot hold a candle up to Waitrose Macon Villages Cave de Lugny Chardonnay at just £7.99 a bottle so it looses 3 nil.
Waitrose also do a Brazilian Merlot at £8.99 a bottle and from the same region so more of this later. I shall buy some to drink with the England v Uruguay match if it is not on too late. Perhaps, it will get a score draw against some Jacob's Creek Shiraz.
£8.99 is a lot to pay for a bottle of wine but why not get into the spirit of things as at least you do get some value for money and it is better than paying for a hyped up FIFA rip-off.
I shall buy a bottle of Marks and Spencer Coconova Sparkling wine to celebrate if England get through to the last sixteen , even though I am half English and half Welsh and was born Wales - they play real champagne football there and it is called rugby. Perhaps, Waitrose will break out some real English wine for the Rugby World cup in England next year. Why not drink some Webb Ellis Reichensteiner Blanc - heaven forbid? But then, there is always some marvellous Tenterden Sparkling Wine to celebrate England winning the Rugby World Cup - at least they have got a real chance.
More to come I think........
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichensteiner
http://www.marksandspencer.com/c/style-and-living/the-brazilian-bubbles
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/10187866/Why-Brazil-is-on-the-wine-radar.html - Come off it.
http://www.waitrosecellar.com/all-wines/recommended-wines/new-exclusive-wine/waitrose-brazilian-chardonnay-861344
Tuesday 10 June 2014
Château de Canon - Organic Cider
We spent last weekend with some friends in Calvados in Normandy to see some of the 70th anniversary D-Day commemorations and to enjoy some good food and wine and of course some really good cider.
We paid a visit to the Château de Cannon and farm which is situated 20 kms or so just south east of Caen. The Cidre Fermier Biologique of Hervé et Héloïse De Mezerac is superb. It has fine bubbles and has a taste reminiscent of Champagne. Their Champoiré or perry is also superb. And , of course they make Calvados and Pommeau. Pommeau is a type of fortified cider; Calvados is used for the fortification to around 18% alcohol. My wife and I do not drink much Calvados or Pommeau but we do use it for cooking.
Cider is a good alternative to wine if you do not want to drink a stronger alcoholic beverage and I find that it goes well with the cuisine of Calvados. I like it with shellfish, pancakes and of course pork. Cheese is better with wine , however.
It is worth paying a visit to Château de Canon as the farm uses organic farming techniques as well as the vineyard. The sheep looked particularly healthy and they seem to leave the lambs with their mothers for longer than they would on a non-organic farm.
http://www.bienvenue-a-la-ferme.com/normandie/produits-de-la-ferme/ferme-ferme-du-chateau-de-canon-2661-146789
We paid a visit to the Château de Cannon and farm which is situated 20 kms or so just south east of Caen. The Cidre Fermier Biologique of Hervé et Héloïse De Mezerac is superb. It has fine bubbles and has a taste reminiscent of Champagne. Their Champoiré or perry is also superb. And , of course they make Calvados and Pommeau. Pommeau is a type of fortified cider; Calvados is used for the fortification to around 18% alcohol. My wife and I do not drink much Calvados or Pommeau but we do use it for cooking.
Cider is a good alternative to wine if you do not want to drink a stronger alcoholic beverage and I find that it goes well with the cuisine of Calvados. I like it with shellfish, pancakes and of course pork. Cheese is better with wine , however.
It is worth paying a visit to Château de Canon as the farm uses organic farming techniques as well as the vineyard. The sheep looked particularly healthy and they seem to leave the lambs with their mothers for longer than they would on a non-organic farm.
http://www.bienvenue-a-la-ferme.com/normandie/produits-de-la-ferme/ferme-ferme-du-chateau-de-canon-2661-146789
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