Fino and Manzanilla Sherry - they both go well with most types of food

On a recent trip to Andalucia, in Spain, my wife and I only drank one bottle of table wine. We fell in love again with Fino and Manzanilla sherries. Both wines are dry, white and fortified to between 14.5 and 16% alcohol. Fino is produced in Jerez and nearby Puerto on the coast. Fino is more famous than its Manzanilla cousin which is produced on the coast in Sanlúcar de Barrameda - not far from Jerez.

Both wines are produced by the same method from Palomino grapes. Manzanilla has a more salty taste. The saltiness is reputedly derived for the fact that the barrels, used to produce the wine, are more exposed to the salty air of the Atlantic than the Fino wine of Jerez which is further in land..

Both wines go very well with tapas. Whilst in Andulucia, we ate a wide range of foods ranging from shell fish to steak and sweet desserts. Fino and Manzanilla went well with all sorts of this food. I can think of only one other wine that I could drink throughout a meal and that is Champagne.

You have to drink the youngest wines available and drink them chilled; then, if possible, finish the bottle.  A 750 ml bottle will easily keep 4 or 6 friends happy over a meal. These wines should only be drunk with good food. Although stronger than table wines Fino and Manzanilla are best sipped rather than slugged back. One copita of these wines can quite easily last a whole meal.

We brought a litre bottle back from our trip and drank about 125 ml each for four nights with fish, meat and dessert.  I estimate that a 125 ml glass has about 2 units of alcohol so over four nights we only consumed about 8 units of alcohol- how very abstemious of us and the ministry of health would be very proud.

After the first serving we used a "vacu-vin" stopper to draw all the air out of the bottle and then kept the wine in the fridge; this way our litre bottle would have lasted a week if we could have resisted having a sip every evening.

Fino and Manzanilla have a nutty taste and they are tangy with a hint of fresh bread. They have lower levels of acidity but the higher levels of acetaldehyde as opposed to organic acids give them that typical sherry taste.

They are lovely wines and are almost always worthy of consideration when eating good food which is full of flavour. It is time to give both of these great wines a try.

http://www.sherrynotes.com/sherry-types/types-of-sherry-manzanilla/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flor

http://www.bbr.com/region-5401-fino?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=SD%20-%20Regions%20-%20Port&utm_term=fino%20sherry&utm_content=Fino

Porta 6 Vinho Branco 2015 Portuguese White Wine

We went on a family trip to the Algarve in June of this year. We stayed in a resort near the sea to go to a wedding. I was pleasantly surprised how nice the Algarve really was especially the walks around the coast. The interior of the Algarve was great and there is lots of quiet country to enjoy which is well away from the crowds.

There was also lots of wild life to see and we were particularly impressed by the storks soaring above our heads and nesting in the the interior towns and villages: this is a very rare sight in the UK. The local people are doing their best to protect the wildlife and maintain a balance between tourist development around the coast and protecting the environment. There is even a plan to re-introduce the Iberian lynx. Hopefully their plan to protect endangered species will prove to be successful.

The food was great especially the seafood and we ate some wonderful sea bass, sardines and gambas.

All this was washed down with local dry white wine from the carafe.

When we left the airport was crowded and I could nor work up the courage to leave the bar and go and buy some wine.

Luckily, my wife was more spirited and she bought a souvenir bottle of 2105 Porta 6 dry white wine from the Lisbon region.

We opened it a week after downing a bottle of Chateau Tahbilk Marsanne. Obviously it did not hold up a candle to the the Australian gem but it only cost a few Euros for a bottle. The wine is described below. I cannot agree that it had a taste of red berries but it did have a nutty and white berry flavour. Not bad for a couple of quid a bottle; but of course the price of all wines is about to go up with the fall in the value of the pound.

 If and when we leave the EU then what will happen to the rather generous personal allowance to import 90 bottles of wine, with no questions asked? Will we go back to the bad old days of only being allowed to carry 6 bottles of wine through customs?  Vote leave wine lovers might be crying into their Riedel glasses  - and me! I have broken most of my Riedel glasses and now the extra duty and the fall in the pound might make them unaffordable again.

It might be a good moment to rush out to buy a case Porta 6 white wine: they also do reds. We drank the white wine with fish but it will also go down well with roast chicken.

My favourite Portuguese White is Alvarinho from the North West of Portugal and on the Spanish border. The Portuguese claim that their wine is better than the Albariño produced on the Spanish side of the border and vice versa. I just love both.

https://www.vinha.co.uk/wine/white-wine-porta-6-2015-75cl-lisboa-17203/

Chateau Tahbilk Marsanne 2014

I was first introduced to the wines of Chateau Tahbilk by Australian friends in London, way back in the 1970's. We used to go to the "Cork and Bottle" wine bar on Leicester Square. The wine bar is still going strong and the balance of clientele, service, food and atmosphere is superb. The range and quality of the wines would be difficult beat; even the house wines are great. The wine bar is certainly worth visiting when you are in London. There are two entrances.

http://www.thecorkandbottle.co.uk/

Most of our Australian friends are from Victoria state and this is why they are so proud of Chateau Tahbilk wines. Tahbilk makes some of the finest wines that Victoria and Australia have to offer and their wines can easily compete with top wines from France, Italy, Spain and California.

Their Marsanne 2014 is no exception. I rarely agree with the description on the bottle or the website but this time I could not agree more. It genuinely has a taste of tropical fruits and minerals. It is a complex and concentrated wine with long length on the palate.

This wine is not for slugging back in a bar or at a barbecue but it should be savoured over a home cooked meal or at a restaurant with good food.

We drank ours with pasta and with some friends.  Before tasting the wine make sure it is served slightly chilled. Drink the wine from a reasonably sized tulip glass and give the wine a good swirl before smelling and tasting. To obtain the full flavour wash the wine around your mouth - lips closed of course.

http://www.tahbilk.com.au/

http://www.tahbilk.com.au/buy-tahbilk-wine-online/tahbilk-2014-marsanne.html

I can forgive Tahbilk for the varietal labelling as the wine is so good. There is a hefty duty on non-EU wines, in the UK and other EU countries, but the wine still stays competitive price wise.  I recommend it highly and if  you can find it then give it a try. I bought my bottle in "The Planet of The Grapes" in Bow Lane.

You can also find it here for about £10 a bottle if you buy half a case.

https://www.armitwines.co.uk/australia/victoria/tahbilk/
  

There is no prize for guessing where the Marsanne grape originated.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsanne

Don't be tempted by a wine scam

I have written about this before. Interest rates are plunging and savers, especially in Britain and Europe, are faced with extremely low interests rates on their bank accounts. The stock market in the UK is also taking a bit of a battering especially the FTSE 250.  The annuity rates on pensions are also taking a battering.

You may be tempted to invest in wine instead for your old age. Please read my previous blogs if you are tempted. Do not fall for the cold caller who promises you wonderful capital gains on a wine investment account. Check out the bona fide of a trader before you invest. Only trade with a reputable and well established trader. Always remember that a higher rate of return represents a higher risk.

This is true of any investment. If a wine deal is promising higher rates of return than a reputable and well established trader then your risk of losing both your money and your wine is much higher.

The trouble with organic farming

Many wine producers in France are turning to organic or bio-dynamic farming methods. There are some fabulous wines produced from organic wines and there are some not so fabulous.

Organic wine production can be very profitable especially as there is a trend for some drinkers to prefer only organically produced wines and these drinkers are prepared to pay a premium.

I am not so certain that organically produced wines always taste better: but organic wine production can hold its own in a niche market.

Organic farming holds many dangers fro wine producers. This year, in the Burgundy region of France there has been a severe problem with mildew destroying the crops owing to heavy rainfall and high temperatures providing excellent conditions for the breeding of mildew spores. There is very little that organic farmers can do to prevent mildew other than ensuring that their vines are  well ventilated.  If the farmer resorts to chemical means to prevent mildew then he loses his organic "licence" for three years. There is a difficult investment decision to make.

The mildew problem in Burgundy comes on top the problems that wine producers in the north of the region were faced with, in May, when thousands of hectares of vines were severely affect by intense hail storms. There is precious little that farmers can do to protect themselves from the vagaries of the weather. Hundreds of wine growers in Burgundy and other regions of France will see their profits diminish.

Champagne and glasses

The conditions this year for the growth of the vines have been appalling with late frosts in spring and heavy rain in early summer. On a recent trip to the Champagne region we were attacked everywhere we went by mosquitoes. Conditions for insect "pests" were ideal as the heavy downpours were frequently followed by hot temperatures. Neighbouring Burgundy suffered the same problems.

I expect the yields for Champagne to be much lower this year so prices will inevitably go up. All this is not so great for British wine lovers who will have to face a price rise of around 9% owing to the fall in the value of the pound.

If you keep to the new government recommended limits of only 14 units per week then your pocket won't be stretched so much. I suspect that UK wine lovers will find a way of paying a little bit more for their wine and that they will continue to ignore the blandishments of the government not to drink at all.

As far as I am concerned I would rather sit down and drink a glass of wine for entertainment in the company of good friends than indulge in the mind numbing experience of watching reality television or song and dancing contests.

There is now talk that we should all be drinking our Champagne out of tulip shaped glasses rather than flutes and one glass manufacturer is committed to making the flute obsolete. I have been to several tastings where the flute has bitten the dust. I agree that you can taste the wine better from a tulip shaped glass rather than a flute. When you do wine courses you are encouraged to use a standarised glass. I admit that it is easier to taste the difference between different house styles when using a tulip shaped glass which allows more flavour to be produced from the surface of the wine.

For every day drinking with friends at a special occasion I prefer the flute. The bubbles last longer and it is the bubbles which add to the special quality of an occasion. It is not just about taste and we can't all be wine experts. And, who wants to write wine notes when they are at a party? The same applies to Cava and other sparkling wines.


I am a little bit sceptical about using special glasses for Bordeaux, Burgundy or Chianti etc. If you a are drinking a still table wine it just has to be sufficiently big to allow you do poke your nose in the glass and have a sniff. You can do this discretely without upsetting your host or or friends. I have tried out some very expensive glasses and found that Bordeaux tastes the same whether I use a speciality Bordeaux glass or a Burgundy one. The "experts" should prove that they can tell the difference by using peer reviewed double blind tests. This will demonstrate that they are not fooling themselves or the public.

I have also found that a decent sized glass which is not made of crystal can be used to appreciate wine just as well. You do not have to be rich to either drink or appreciate good wine.

http://www.decanter.com/learn/farewell-to-champagne-flutes-in-2016-286743/


If you are throwing a party and expect to be drinking Champagne or Cava then flutes are much more practical as you can pack more of them into a limited space - so this is one up for the flute.

Chinese Rosé Wine

On a recent visit to France, I went to eat out at a Chinese Restaurant. When I eat Chinese food I normally drink a Tsingtao or abTiger beer which I find goes down marvellously with the sweet and sour flavours.

The French members of our company selected a Chinese rosé wine, 2014, recommended by a merchant from Burgundy. Most French people are not very adventurous about selecting wine from anywhere but France. I gave the wine a go and tried to be positive but after a couple of sips I decided that it was best to stick to the Tsingtao: the Chinese rosé was one adventurous step too far.

The wine will remain nameless.