The spice of life...

Variety, right? 

But we keep on buying the same wines, week in, week out. So y' know what's happening? Across the world we are planting more and more Cabernet Sauvignons and Merlots and we are seeing less of the smaller, quirky grapes.  Or at least we will, if we don’t start exploring a little.

The Old World (traditional wine producing countries like France, Spain, Italy, Portugal) doesn’t always put the grape on the label, as usually the name of the wine shows a style. For example, a wine labelled ‘Chablis’ is a very specific style of wine made from Chardonnay, so the word 'Chablis' tells you the grape, the style AND where it is from (unlike just listing the grape). Grape isn't always (in fact, it hardly ever is) indicative of style.  But the problem with the Old World style is it assumes we all have this knowledge in our brains already. Which we don't.

Any idea?

The 'New World' wins points as it puts grapes on the label that we recognise and therefore buy. I think we need a little more joined up thinking - it would be good to know more of a style of a New World grape, but maybe it'd be useful to have the grape on the Old World wine? Then we won't all be so bloody baffled, or maybe we will revert for something different rather than Rioja, Cab Sauv or Sauv Blanc.

So, here's the deal on a few grapes that you may not have heard from, but I can highly recommend!

Picpoul

Piquepoul/Picpoul/Picapoll is the name of the white grape grown mainly in the south of France, in the Rhone Valley and Languedoc. It’s zinginess, acidity and apple/lemony fruitiness is simple, refreshing and delicious. Those who like the light and fresh Sauv-Blancs will enjoy this. Tesco Finest Picpoul De Pinet, £7.99 is a top banana example, its won an award too. Picpoul de Pinet is also a small 'appellation' (recognised wine area) down in the Languedoc, as well as the name of the grape, just to confuse matters.

Albariño

Yes, I know I have harped on about this before. But it’s my favourite and if you haven’t tried it yet, go out immediately and buy it.  It’s a white wine again, this time Spanish. The last recommend was a Sainsbury’s one… this one is from Morrisons, Vina Ludy Albarino, £7.99. Albariño is aromatic, giving your nasal passages a little burst of happiness before the fresh acidity and hints of peach make you feel oh! So happy inside.

Touriga Nacional

Sounds scary, right? It’s not – you probably will have tried it already in Port. A red grape, it also makes some great still, unfortified wines.  Yes – Portugal produces other stuff as well as Port. And it’s well worth sipping. This is an award winner from M&S (by the case, but once you try it, drinking six won’t be a problem – not in one sitting, mind). I guess it’s pretty similar to a big Shiraz, with cherries and sweet spice.

Try something different.... you will not regret it!

PortTalk

Dry January working out well for you?

Well done all you smugladites who have managed this – you are a stronger man than I. Not only that, I have a list of (fortified) wines to study longer than my arm and I’m not entirely sure I’ve got it in me.  I love most wines – but not sure how my taste buds will stand up under exam pressure scrutinising the idiosyncrasies of a 10 or 20 year tawny Port.  I also have to fight the urge to get out a huge slab of Stilton and whack on the fire.

This is for those of you who need a little more encouragement on dry January:

http://www.dryjanuary.org.uk/

For anyone like me who is just crossing their fingers and hoping for their waistline to shrink, here’s the crack with one type of fortified wine, Port.

Port, Port lovely Port.

Christ, this was good.

Before I took up a keen interest in Port, I used to drink it as per wine. 125ml minimum, usually with food on the side.  Following a trip to a very lovely guesthouse some years ago and wondering why they gave you a ‘taster’ portion first when ordering Port, I learnt a valuable lesson. Not only that I was one greedy, ill-informed customer who now had a reason to her post-Port stomach aches but there was a whole WORLD out there of variation that needed to be explored. Give me a break – I grew up in a pretty much non-drinking household other than ale and fizz at Christmas and we’re not born with this knowledge, right?!

First off, fortified means adding alcohol either during, or after fermentation of the grapes.  Port comes in red, white and rosé and quality levels vary.  The vineyard area for Port is in the Upper Douro, with three key sub areas; Baixa Corgo, Cima Corgo (classic area for premium Ports) and Douro Superior.  The first two have really steep slopes with terracing and the latter is flatter; all of which have an effect of the vines in terms of sunshine, drainage, sunlight…and therefore affect the end grape. 

In winemaking, extraction of the colour and tannin is key – this has to be done quickly (2-3 days). Now it is rare to see traditional techniques (treading with feet) as extraction isn’t quick enough.  Love the romance of it, but it’s just not practical, so machines are widely used. Once the grapes have started fermenting, alcohol is added (77% ABV grape spirit). This is different to sherry which is fortified after fermentation. Adding the alcohol during fermentation stops the process, leaving behind some of the sugar as the high alcohol kills any yeasts.  Following this, the style depends on how the wine is treated.   Here’s the low down on Port lingo, many of these terms you may see on the bottle.

Waitrose Tawny

Basic styles of Port include:

Aldi Ruby Port -
it's won lots of
awards,
don't you know.

-    Ruby - Fresh, fruity and robust, these are stored in large oak barrels, with up to three years ageing.  Try Fletcher's Ruby Port - a steal at £6.29, Aldi. Rich and velvety, great value. Aldi continue to drive good value with their wines.

-          Tawny – These are the same age as ruby Ports, but given oxidative conditions to gain a tawny hue. Pictured tawny from Waitrose, £8.49.

-          White –Modern examples are unaged but some rare examples do exist which show a little colour. A modern, light and fresh example is from Tesco, £8.50.

Tesco's White Port

-          Rosé – this is quite a recent market trend led by Croft which is made in a similar way to rosé wine, with limited exposure to the grape skins.

-          http://www.croftpink.com/en/

  

There are also special categories of Port which you may see on the label.  Here is a summary of them….

	Reserve	Vintage	Late Bottled Vintage (LBV)	Crusted	Single Quinta Vintage	10- 40 year	Colheita	Garrafeira
Ruby	Premium Port approved by the authorities. Better than 'just' Port.	Only the best years	Filtered or unfiltered. Single vintage with 4-6 years maturation.	Single vintage or blended. Bottled unfiltered.	Made from a single estate, in a good year (declared vintage).	Refers to length of time ageing in oak.		Rare vintage dated style of Port, single harvest with oxidative reductive maturation in large glass demijohns.
Tawny							From a single vintage, where the year is given rather than the age in years.	Term can be found on bottles of exceptional age.
White		Rare				Very rare.

If you are going to spend a bit more on Port, steer clear of the supermarkets and get down to your local independant. If you are going to spend a bit, you need to get it right. 

So I raise a glass to a wet, fortified January. Have fun with yours. x

Let's all blow a raspberry to January's abstinence.

From Etsy

Happy New Year!

Here at Barnett HQ, we drank enough fizz to sail a small ship in, bickered to ‘Cranium’ and suffered every second on the 1^st. A perfect start to the year.

On the 2^nd, I joined a gym and promised to get fit/drink less/be a better person/yadah yadah yadah. 

That said, I’m not going for the no-alcohol-in-January promise; I just haven’t got it in me. I have no excuse other than my mother told me ‘a little of what you love does you good’ (note term ‘little’) – thanks Mum. To compensate for my inner evil, I have taken a look at the naturally lower ABV drinks that you may wish to switch to during January. It really depends how much of them you drink, but they are certainly a step in the right direction.

To be classified as a wine, an ABV of 8.5% must be achieved by the winemaker. Some German wines are allowed to go down to 6.5% ABV. This is due to their cool climate. English wines are also commonly lower and ABVs around 11% are usual for both countries.  The benefit to the cooler climate = less sugar. Less sugar = less alcohol. So, rather than a reduced alcohol wine-like drink, these can be really lovely, well balanced wines that are lighter in the bad stuff.  To counteract the usual higher acidity levels, some sugar can be left unfermented. This helps balance the taste of the wine as well as reduce the ABV. Perfect. 

Dr. Loosen Riesling, 8.5% ABV (Sainsbury’s £7.49 for 75cl)

This is delicious. Aromatic, fresh and light, with a slight sweetness and good acidity. It drinks well alone (or goes well with a Chinese if you fall off the waggon completely).

There are approximately 70 calories (1.1 units) in 125ml. Around the same as a plain Hobnob. I know what I’d prefer. (Compared to last week’s Rioja which is around 119 calories for a 125ml glass).

                                                    

Sparkle in January

Just because New Year has come and gone, don’t push away the Prosecco. Don’t chuck your Cava or abandon the Asti.  Certainly do not conceal the Champers… (enough!?!). Alliteration aside, fizz can be a good option for the health conscious. Rather than your usual fizz, look for Champagne with ‘Nature’ on the label. This means no ‘dosage’ is used (topping up with sweet liquid just before the cork is put in). This has around 65 calories per 125 ml glass.

An awful moment of realisation when you scrutinise your booze:

125ml glass of regular (i.e. not ‘Nature’) Champagne (1 unit) equals one chocolate digestive (86 calories).

25ml whisky (1 unit) is a plain Hobnob (67 calories).

250ml glass of wine (3.3 units) or a pint of beer (2.2 units) would be a slice of Victoria sponge (196 calories).

One pint of cider (2.6 units) is a sugar doughnut (210 calories).

It’s Champers and Scotch during January then….

http://runninghumor.com/running-app/

Cheers! x