Wino of the Week: Andrew Barrow (spittoon.biz)

Wino of the Week took a brief break last week but it’s back in full force now. This week I’m very excited to have one of the veterans of wine blogging, Andrew Barrow of Spitoon.Biz.
Andrew has been blogging since before wine blogging became cool (maybe we all have actually) and he’s someone who’s gone from pisshead with a pen to a real wine writer and someone highly regarded within the wine writing community – thanks Sarah BB for the suggestion.

Andy was kind enough to respond to my questions about blogging, photography, food and wine…along with some very interesting recommendations for wines which are mentioned below.

Spitoon.biz started, as far as I can tell, around 8 years ago which in wine blog terms is quite old. What spurred you to start a blog then?

Pre-blog I had actually issued a regular email newsletter, (Andys Scribblings) back then such things were all the rage, on all things wine and drink. I built up quite a following over the years, think it started in 2003, but as with all things internet things change and I eventually switched to writing a blog, spittoon.

Along with wine, Spitoon.biz is known for its outstanding photography. Let’s talk cameras and gadgets for a second – what kind of camera do you use, how did you get into photography…basically how are your photos so damn good?

It was only because of Spittoon and the wine/food trips I get to go on that I took up photography in a more serious manner, rather than just taking a few snaps. I now own a Canon 7D with a couple of lenses but only really use the basic 18-135mm one when I travel. I hanker after ‘better’ equipment like all photographers do – a prime 100mm would be nice and the L series zooms would be damn handy too. But the basic zoom seems to deliver some decent enough images at the moment.

Why are my photos so good? Why thanks for saying so…. I could delve into how much studying I do on the use of light in old master oil paintings, how I study form and its use by the ancient Greeks and Romans, how many hours I wander the London galleries taking notes and soaking up inspiration from photographs and paintings, how long it takes to set up a shot, revealing the inner personality of a wine maker or the subtle colours swirling in a glass of claret. I could mention the hours of discussion between myself and other photo friends on twitter on the placing of a knife in the food pictures or how changing to a different shade of table cloth would give subtle changes to the final image. But all that would be bollocks. All I do is point and click.

Now if that means I have a decent eye for an image then all well and good. It must come naturally. But I am hugely self-critical. Many is the time I’ve asked (mainly the long suffering Jeanne of cooksister fame http://www.cooksister.com ) if an image is Ok or passable. I think it just comes with practice. And taking plenty of images so you end up with something useable. I have plans to do a BA course at some point on Photography; it probably wont happen this year, but it has allowed me to open another blog to showcase my efforts (http://andys-scribblings.co.uk/photo)

Since starting Spittoon.biz you’ve gone on to write for the likes of The Guardian, AOL and Via Michelin. Any tips for fellow wine bloggers on how to earn themselves similar writing gigs?

All the writing gigs comes from people contacting me. I’m not great on the ‘personal sell’ thing. But having a decent name that you write for certainly widens the opportunities. Wine as a solo subject is a very narrow field; hence my breaking out into different areas – travel, food and related subjects.

Now I know you’re a big foodie and a lot of your posts mention restaurants or dishes that usually end up making everyone’s mouth water. Is there any where you’ve eaten recently, or any cuisines or regional dishes you’ve cooked up yourself that are worth mentioning?

I actually love baking. Desserts, cakes, puddings and so on. Shows I have a sweet tooth I suppose. But I actually love food of all types and willing to try most things (though I rule out brains and eyes) and really hate it with a passion when people don’t even try something and just decide they don’t like it. What they need is a slap.

One of the perks especially with all the travel I do is getting to eat such great food. I love tapas. I adore Italian cuisine in all its forms and have been fortunate in visiting Italy quite a lot last year so managed to eat loads of differing foods. I’m just greedy.

Finally, I always like to ask other winos for one or two recommendations, something that everyone should go out and try today. Any you’d care to recommend to Regular Wino readers?

Pic via Wikipedia Commons

Wines to try? With the Italian focus of late I could only suggest that some exploration of the more obscure grapes should be undertaken. Look to the whites of Fruili and to the red blends from across the country. Have you had a Sagrantino? Or a Vitovska? Or a Schioppettino? There is plenty to find, admittedly some are a little expensive and you will have to go to an Italian specialist to find them, but the flavour profiles can be refreshingly different from the international norm.

Really the final question this time…who should be the next Wino of the Week?

Jeanne of cooksister.com - she does quite a bit on wine amongst the food.

If you’re looking for more wine inspiration, photography and humour, you can catch Andrew over at his blog on Spitoon.biz or say hello to him on Twitter.

Aboard the WineTubeMap

Get 100 football fans into a room, ask them what the offside rule is and no doubt at least 95 of them will be able to tell you. Actually they probably won’t tell you, they’ll drone on about it. Depending on how many world cups you’ve lived through, you’ve probably heard the explanation from an over-eager fan more times than you care to remember.

But how many of those football fans started off by learning what the offside rule was? Or, let’s say started off by learning that Beckham was Britain’s Sportsman of the Year and  BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2001. Not many. The majority, I would imagine, started off by kicking a football around a field or an astroturf, trying to do silly things like balance it on their head or flick it up behind them. Experiential passion – or mild interest at least – spurs people to learn stats and figures about the number of yellow cards a certain player has had or the likelihood of another team actually qualifying this year. But it starts off by kicking a ball around.

I’m not a big football fan (if you haven’t guessed already) so don’t worry I’m not going to talk about it anymore. My point is when something is experiential, such as playing a sport, learning a language or appreciating wine, it seems crazy to start with the dry academics side: learning about soil types or EU regulations for example.

Give someone a glass of your favourite wine and help them understand why it’s good – why that particular region is particularly good for it, why the soil and climate make such a big difference here as opposed to the same grape grown in other part of the world as you’ll see people’s interest start to grow.

A few weeks ago I attended a different kind of wine class – the wine tube map (or #winetubemap as it’s officially known). The concept is very clever, although its presentation is simple: take the London tube map. Here each station represents a different grape (Sauvignon Blanc or Merlot for example). Each station sits on a particular line e.g. non-vintage champagne, cava and prosecco would all sit on the same line. Now, work your way around London, tube station to tube station.

If you’re a fan of Sauvignon Blanc, a good place to start would be at that station. Try an old world wine and a new world wine and compare the differences. We had a few carefully-matched canapés (my favourites were the goat’s cheese mousse and haggis balls) to try as well which definitely went down a treat. After you’re done, you could stay on the same line and go for either Semillon or Rueda next or switch lines at Sauv Blanc and try either Albarino or Pinot Gris next (each one with a canapé to match of course).

For me, this was a fantastic way to learn about wine. I was able to learn a lot more about what I liked, and didn’t and a couple of reasons for both. Most importantly there was a clear path for me to go from one wine I liked to another I might not have tried, or at least normally wouldn’t order.

I really enjoyed it. You’re on your feet for two hours, but for me that’s a good thing. I spend most of my time sitting in front of a computer so any chance to stand up is welcomed. Besides, concentration spans are only an average of 20 minutes so it makes sense to be moving around interacting with wine rather than sitting in a classroom wondering why you signed up to take yet another class on what seems to mainly be EU wine regulations.

We only did a portion of the tube map and being honest that was more than enough. Any more and I think I would have been a lot worse for wear the next day. Each station lasts around 8 minutes and in this time you have a chance to sample two wines, chat about them (you go round in groups of 2-3 people) and compare notes. At the end, the winners (the wines everybody favoured) are revealed as well as their prices.

I’m hoping to return for another portion of the map and have already convinced a few other, typically amateur winos, to come join. If they find something they like, maybe just maybe, they’ll begin to research what makes it so special and why those regulations or soil types, really do make such a difference. I won’t though, I’ll just be getting hammered :)

The WineTubeMap is run by Convivium Wine. This event was held in Edinburgh and I’m not sure what plans there are for events in other cities but you can keep up to date with them here and also on Twitter.  

Wino of the Week: Sarah Belizaire-Butler (eatsdrinksandsleeps.wordpress.com)

It’s that time of the week again and so I’m very happy to introduce this week’s wino, Sarah Belizaire-Butler or Sarah BB. Sarah is an academic wino, or at least that seems to be her excuse anyway – she’s currently working her way through WSET and blogging as she does it. Her blog Eats, Drinks and Sleeps chronicles her studies, the tastings she’s been attending and a couple of very tempting recipes she’s been kind enough to share.

There’s a lot of great posts on Sarah’s blog and I recommend you take a look at it. There’s the academic side, with posts about the natural factors and human influences of wine production to fun posts where she tells tales of her supper club adventures.

Sarah was kind enough to provide me with a few words for this week’s wino of the week.

First of all, tell me a little bit about ‘Eats, Drinks and Sleeps’.

Eats, Drinks and Sleeps kind of sums up my existence – eating and drinking is all I seem to do both at work and as an active member of the London food and drink community. I feel very lucky being in London there is literally something amazing happening food and drink wise pretty much every night of the week if you look hard enough.

My blog started as a way to document my WSET Wine and Spirit Diploma studies and continues to reflect my passion for learning more about food and drink. I passed my Spirits exam last November but that doesn’t stop me heading down to the Juniper Society, for example, and listening to how Sipsmith is developing and learning more about gin. I love all the stories, history and personalities behind a drink almost as much as I enjoy what is in the glass.

Now I know you’re studying for WSET and a lot of your posts give notes from your studies (which is very interesting by the way). You’ve posted about quite a few regions – any noteworthy ones that other winos should check out.

I have a natural leaning towards Spanish wines and for those who may enjoy Rioja I would urge them to explore Ribera del Duero or the boutique wines made in Priorat – a rugged, isolated winemaking region, not far from Barcelona. Right now, I’m knee deep in revision for my Fortified Wine exam and so am a little obsessed with Sherry, Port and Madeira– all have such a fascinating story to tell and a keen following but need to be loved more by a new generation of wine lovers.

Since you work in the wine PR industry do you have any tips on how bloggers can work closer with wine companies and PR companies?

Good PRs like to have done their homework and want to offer products/events/experiences that they know will be right up a specific blogger’s street.

The more you can be up front about your interests and how you like to be contacted, the more likely you are to be contacted with relevant stuff. Also, don’t be afraid to be proactive and get in touch with companies/events of interest – you’ll find most PRs and wine companies will bend over backwards to help a blogger with a genuine interest in their area/product.

I always send a link of my post to the relevant company after I’ve posted, whether it’s something I’ve done off my own back or because I’ve been invited to an event. This is a great way to start building personal relationships and be kept in the loop about upcoming launches/tastings/events.

Your write-ups are rarely about a particular wine but rather a tasting or an event. Just wondering out of all the different events, tastings and restaurants are there any particular wines that have stood out?

Again, as I’m obsessed with fortified wines right now I’d have to say Quinta do Vesuvio 1997, I loved it so much I bought several bottles of this Port as gifts for a friends and family this Christmas and all were very well received. I’ve got a bottle of the 1999 vintage at home to try this week. Sherry-wise Gonzalez Byass’ Tio Pepe Fino en Rama is something I look forward to being released each year – it single-handedly converted me to Sherry a few years ago – and I’ve not looked back.

Finally, who should be the next Wino of the Week?

Ooh a hard one. I’d have to say Andrew Barrow from Spittoon.biz, he is hugely knowledgeable about wine and food – and I’m very jealous of his camera skills, he has some stunning food and drink photography – I could only wish to be able to capture.

Take the time to check out Sarah’s blog and if you’re on Twitter, say hello to her as well! 

Review: Cairn O’ Mohr Shrubbery Wine

I’ve been on the lookout for a Scottish wine for quite some time. Ever since English wines came into vogue, there have been news stories popping up about Scots who were planning to get in on the act as well.

Pete Gottdens, for example, a chef at the Ardeonaig hotel and restaurant is hoping to produce a Scottish Riesling. Then there’s Christpher Trotter, of Chateau Largo, who is hoping to have first Fife-produced bottles of wine on the shelves by 2014.

So while there are a lot of Scottish entrepreneurs tending to their grapes at the moment, one winery has already got Scottish wine on the shelves – Cairn O’ Mohr.

Now purists will argue that this isn’t the same, Cairn O’ Mohr wines are fruit wines made from berries such as blackberries and elderberries, flowers and leaves not grapes. Now technically wine can be made from anything but I can see the purist’s point. On the other hand I don’t have time to wait for Gottdens and Trotter to get their grapes grown, fermented and bottled so I decided to give Cairn O’ Mohr a go.

First off, the name is brilliant. I had to read it aloud before I got it, but maybe you’re sharper than me. Probably.

The dry humour doesn’t stop there though it’s throughout the company’s website and any leaflets or marketing material you pick up.

I decided to try the ‘bramble’ (shrubbery) wine. It’s funny because when you smell red wine one of the most common characteristics, particularly with big medium-full bodied reds is a bramble or blackberry smell/taste. Naturally, this wine had a lot of that.

Tastewise, it was a little sweeter than what I would normally go for. It had a strong jammy flavour which was pleasant and easily drinkable. It doesn’t have the complexity of many grape-grown reds, but it goes down easy and would go well with a lasagne or something along those lines.

To make this wine the fruit is gathered from around the Cairn O’ Mohr farm, mushed up with boiling water then blended with sugary syrup. The crushed berries are initially fermented before being strained and then left to “ferment to dryness”. What surprises me most is the alcohol levels this manages to reach – 13.5% in this case, the same as most red wines.

I’d happily drink this again as a mid-week wine with food. On its own I don’t think it has enough character to make me want to drink it regularly though. Their Elderberry fizzy wines are quite interesting too; non-alcoholic so they would be ideal for a pregnant friend.

You can buy Cairn O’ Mohr wine on the web from their online shop. I’ve seen them in quite a few shops in Scotland, not sure how well distributed they are in the rest of the world. 

Wino of the Week: Jade Lucas (winehosguide.wordpress.com)

“Winehos don’t spit, they swallow.” Although there’s a lot of fun tidbits on winehosguide I have to admit it’s sentences like this that stick out the most. For me, it’s a sign of a good wine writer (or writers in this case), essentially someone who’s not afraid to have a laugh and enjoy themselves. Jade and her possy of hos don’t play on the pun too much; just enough to show you that a wine ho, like any good ho, is one that’s out to have a good time.

That sense of fun is clearly transparent throughout the blog and it always makes for an enjoyable read. So it’s with great pleasure that I announce this week’s Wino of the Week, Jade Lucas from Winehos.

There’s some really great content on this Winehos..if you’re looking for an introduction I would recommend reading the Steven Spurrier and Sarah Kemp interview or their New Zealand wine reviews which demonstrate lots of true Kiwi pride (there’s some great wine reviews as well).

Tell me a little bit more about winehos. What’s the story behind it? Do you really sell yourself for wine or is that all a rumour?

Winehos started up as group of ladies who wanted to learn more about wine. Most of us had recently migrated from New Zealand, and back home all you really drink is New Zealand or Australian wine because European wine is so damn expensive for what it is over there (and there’s loads of great Kiwi and Aussie wine!). Therefore we were used to seeing simple labels that stated the region it was from and the grape variety – easy. Coming over here and seeing all the European labels was a little intimidating, but really exciting and we loved how affordable everything was so decided to start a night where we all bring a bottle, drink, review and learn.

We did do some time courting PRs (as I was an unemployed PR myself). It was a convenient way to keep my writing skills up to scratch, score some free wine and have some fun along the way – so essentially yes for a time. Now that I finally have a real job we’re back to being completely independent which is great.

You’ve reviewed everything from Blue Nun to wines like Johnny Q Shiraz, encompassing a mixture of price ranges, styles and tastes. How does a wine end up on Winehosguide?

We choose wines we want to drink and wines we have been given. So that explains the randomness. The Blue Nun definitely wasn’t something I’d choose but it was really fun to review. I’m not a wine snob and I’m not afraid to say it wasn’t too bad!

I’ve seen recommendations for Laithwaites on your blog and was just wondering if you could talk a little bit more about what makes them stand out, and any other wine retailers worth mentioning?

I had a friend who did PR for them, so ended up heading to their birthday bash which was fun, and also went into the store for some other event and every time the staff have been really patient with me, telling me all about the wine, making recommendations – you can really tell they know their stuff. My favourite online retailer is Slurp, you can buy a single bottle of anything you like which is handy if you’re on a budget and don’t want to fork out for a case, and they have some fantastic wines. My local fave is Highbury Vintners, as well as great wines they also have a very nice selection of ‘craft beer’.

On the subject of blogging, what do you love and hate about wine blogging?

I love the freedom, I love learning about new things, I love writing and I love drinking. I hate it when I don’t manage to take a good bottle shot.

Who should be the next wino of the week?

Tough question. Naturally I would choose Nik Byrne, but since you already did him, I’m going for Sarah BB of – it’s not just about the wine, and she knows her stuff – http://eatsdrinksandsleeps.wordpress.com/about/

You can find out more about Winehos at their blog winehosguide.wordpress.com. They’re on Twitter as well. Worth a follow :)

Review: Castillo San Lorenzo Rioja Reserva

This week I decided to try the Castillo San Lorenzo Rioja Reserva. It’s at Tesco and it’s on offer, just £5.49. That’s a very good price for a Rioja.

Flash back a few weeks and I had just decided to watch some porn. This wasn’t a ‘oh I need some release and there’s no wine left’ moment. Rather I had ended up on celebrity gossip website (not usually my cup of tea, or glass of wine, honestly) and was reading an article about celebrity super-injunctions which talked a little about Colin Farrell’s attempt to stop former shag Nicole Naraine from releasing a sex tape of them both going at it. Yep that’s how I ended up on Youporn, reading about super-injunctions.  </excuse>

Even if you don’t watch porn there’s always something slightly intriguing about a celebrity sex tape. The papers love them. The public loves them. Why? I think it’s because, in a roundabout way, we kind of know celebrities, at least a little bit. More than some pornstar whose washing machine has broken and her bra, for some strange reason, won’t stay up at least. People are intrigued by celebrity sex tapes in the same way as they are by non-sex stories in celeb magazines; it reveals a more ‘real’ and more ‘human’ side to celebrities that you don’t get when they’re onscreen.

So I was curious to see what Colin Farrell was like in the sack. After all, he’s a pretty cool guy and he certainly gets his fair share of women. Although his entrance into the adult industry was completely unintentional – the mistake of sleeping with a model who sole ambition seems to be fame at any cost – and although we shouldn’t expect pornstar skill and finesse from someone who never expected to have their sex life so very naked, if anyone was to put on a decent amateur performance, I would say Colin Farrell was the guy. So you can imagine my disappointment watching this when I realised this is actually terrible.

The film opens with Farrell saying in his deep Irish accent “come here pretty. If a f*cking camera could blush this thing would be f*cking red…god you are so hot”. A little cheesy perhaps but being Irish Farrell is granted a certain diplomatic immunity with cheesiness that allows comments like that to come across as simply charming. A couple of seconds later he tells her how “f*cking beautiful she is.”

That’s ok. The problem is that he says that about 30 times throughout the 15 minute video. It gets a bit draining being honest. Now, I appreciate he wasn’t making this for the big screen, or even the little ‘laptop’ screen that most people are watching it on, but a bit of improv would go a long way here. Farrell of all accidental porn stars should know the importance of dialogue; a reasonable patter, mixed with his Irish brogue, could have made up for some of the other areas where his performance otherwise lacked.

So yes, I was disappointed and the wine I’m talking about today, the Castillo San Lorenzo Rioja Reserva, was also a disappointment. Not that it was undrinkable, it wasn’t. Like Colin Farrell it did everything it was supposed to do, it just did it in a rather tame manner and had a lot more wood than anything else such as subtleties , character or genuinely fascinating individuality.

These half-price wines, as more and more people are beginning to realise, were never worth their initial asking price (they’re possibly worth just slightly more than their discounted price). They were designed to be discounted; price is simply a marketing strategy that was factored in a long time ago – probably long before it even hit the shelves. Some of these wines live to be discounted almost all the time, others are designed for a two week promotion, get people drinking it and then whack up the price again and get them drinking it at double that.

So I guess I should have expected to be slightly disappointed with this one, and being honest I probably wouldn’t have even expected it much had it not been for the excellent ratings it’s been receiving on Wine Demon. It isn’t any criticism on Wine Demon; this was February’s top rated supermarket special offer. Read that carefully. Not the top-rated wine for February, not even the top-rated supermarket wine but the top-rated supermarket special offer wine for February.

You shouldn’t expect a performance of Hamlet from a first time pornstar and you shouldn’t expect a decent bottle or Rioja for £5.49. Other new world countries maybe. Possibly. It depends on the supermarket. Or does it?

Maybe I’m wrong here. Maybe everyone else was genuinely impressed with Farrell’s performance.

Wino of the Week: Nik Byrne (winefromatumbler.com)

Today I’m very excited to announce the first ever issue of wino of the week. Basically I’m looking to feature another wino every now and then. Nothing too flashy; just a chance to showcase some of the best wine writing of the moment. So, it’s with great pleasure that I introduce Nik Byrne from winefromatumbler.com as the first wino of the week.

I’ve followed Nik on twitter for a few months now. I’m not quite sure how I came across his blog, Wine From a Tumbler, but I like it. It’s simple, it has a catchy, puntastic name and it’s very easy to read.

About winefromatumbler.com

Nik makes understanding and appreciating wine very, very simple with bullet points which he includes at the end of each review.

E.g.

• Colour: Red
• Made from: Malbec
• Say it: Mahl-beck
• Made in: Mendoza, Argentina
• Drink with: Steak
• Priced at: £10.95
• Buy from: Berry Bros & Rudd

There’s also an accompanying photo, with little pointers on how to understand the wine bottle.

A few questions for Nik

I caught up with Nik to talk about wine, blogging and everything else.

Nik, what’s the inspiration behind Wine from a Tumbler?

I wanted to create a site of wine recommendations for people who like wine, but who may be put off by the jargon and technical terms you normally see in wine reviews. I like to offer buying advice with the focus being on good value. There’s a wine of the week each week, with a breakdown of the terms on the label, and also a shopping list for when a store offers a big discount like 25% off. The average buyer doesn’t need to know about soil types or weather – they’re concerned with getting the best wine for the least money.

You have a wine of the week every week. How do you go about deciding what wine that’s going to be? Is there a special selection process, do you read any reviews from others or do you just spend the week half-cut trying as many as you can?

I go along to tastings, as well as drinking at home, and keep a note of anything that impresses me (my phone has a ridiculous amount of photos of wine labels). I like to keep most selections for the wine of the week under £10 as there are more than enough websites for people who want to buy expensive wine. Value is key; I’m more concerned with finding a very good wine for £6.99 than to find a great one for £69.99.

You seem to source your wine from all over, both online and offline. Are there any retailers that stand out above the rest?

Many people in the wine industry dislike selections from supermarkets, but I think it would be crazy not to have selections from them; I pick out wines from both independent stores and supermarkets. Waitrose and Majestic stand out as they offer interesting wines at many different price points.

Looking back at all of your wine reviews, if you had to list three wines that everyone should go out of their way to try, what would it be?

1. Cuvée Chasseur 2010 Vin de France: one the best red wines you’ll find under £5. People are often put off wine as they think you need to spend a lot, but this shows you the quality you can get for the price of two coffees.

2. Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference 2010 Côtes du Rhône Villages: everything you could want for £7. Shows how good some of the supermarket own-brands can be and also that buying the wine that isn’t “half-price” can be the better option.

3. Graham Beck Brut: Champagne quality at half the price. Sparkling wine is a tricky category to find wines to recommend under £10, but this one at £12 is a steal compared to many lacklustre Champagnes on the market.

Who should be the next Featured Wino?

Jade Lucas from http://winehosguide.wordpress.com

If you want to read more about Nik and his wine reviews, check out his blog here. He’s on Twitter and Facebook as well!

Drew Barrymore Launches Pinot Griogio Wine Label

I know what you’re thinking, not another celebrity wine brand. Or maybe not. Maybe you’re thinking if she’s out picking grapes, how are Charlie’s Angels ever going to function? A lot of questions are going through everyone’s mind since Drew Barrymore announced that she was the latest in a line of celebrities to launch her own wine label.

Barrymore will work alongside California-based distributor Wilson Daniels to create her own Pinot Grigio which will be made from grapes grown in Northern Italy. Barrymore 2011 Pinot Grigio is expected to retail at $19.99

I’ve blogged about celebrities like Dave Matthews launching their own wine labels before. I remember when launching your own diet was the trend, now it’s wine labels. Being honest my problem isn’t the fad, it’s the missed opportunities with wine naming. On this bottle of wine, for example, Barrymore hired street artist Shepard Fairey to create the label. Fairey was the designed of the 2008 red and blue Barack Obama “Hope” poster. Clearly a lot of money and time was spent on getting the label right, it would have been nice if the same amount of effort had been put into the name.

‘Barrymore’? Come on! What kind of name is that? Here are some better options:

• Never been pissed – there’s a first time for everything
• 50 First Grapes - guaranteed blackouts !
• The Wedding Flinger – that tasty little white that’ll get you in all kinds of shite!

Speaking to The Drinks Business, Barrymore said:

“Wine is all about the journey, the discovery of new places and new varieties. I’m excited about sharing this Pinot Grigio with my friends and family and other wine lovers.”

Since this will only initially be available in California, it might be a while before I get to write a review.

Review: Bons Ventos 2010

Before we get into the latest wine review, a Bons Ventos 2010, I wanted to share the web’s latest viral sensation: Food on my Dog blog. The concept is simple as the tumblr blog states: “This is a blog where I post pictures of food on my dog.”

How does it work? Well Tiger, a Staffordshire Terrier and American Bulldog mix who lives in Florida balances a piece of food on his head. Andrew Small, the dog’s owner, then takes a picture, posts it to his blog and somewhere along the way, the world sits up and goes “hey this is an amazing piece of work”. Tweets and likes spread like wildfire and before you know it, it’s the latest trend. Some of the most interesting pieces of food to be balanced on Tiger include a stack of pancakes, two shrimp and a giant cucumber.

For pet owners, the concept of balancing a snack on the dog’s nose is nothing new. Tiger, I guess just leaves it there longer than most, enabling Andy to get a decent picture. I know my dog would eat it up straight away.

Food on my Dog - shrimp

Food on my Dog - cucumber

I take a wine tasting class every Monday night. It isn’t anything too fancy; I’m not studying for the WSET qualification or anything like that, it’s just a simple wine appreciation course run by the local council here in Edinburgh. I’ve been taking the class for well over a year now and one of the points the teacher has continually hammered home is the difficulty of finding a decent bottle of wine for under £7. £7 is the new £5 she says and you’ll struggle to find anything decent, non-superbrand on offer (Hardy’s, Kumala etc), for less than that.

Often she’s right. In fact shopping in supermarkets, particularly Tesco which is one of my nearest, I do struggle to find anything non-superbrand for less than £7, decent or otherwise. For retailers like Tesco I guess it’s a balancing act; there are definitely plenty of great bottles of wine out there within this price range, but would they sell? People tend to get nervous trying anything new when it comes to wine and seeing that Tesco has all but removed any names apart from those that you constantly see advertised in the adverts surrounding Friends and Come Dine With Me, it seems that Tesco customers, more than any other, aren’t ready for trying anything to new.

Tesco knows this and that’s why they introduced their ‘Simply’ range of wines last year. Their research helped them pinpoint a customer type know as the ‘Tell Me’ wine drinker; the wine drinker who wants a decent bottle of wine but wants to be told what’s food rather than experiment for themselves. These wine buyers look for brands they recognise, promotions (hey if it was £10 and it’s now £5 it must be good, right?), safe own brand labels (Tesco finest for example) and other signals which suggest this wine is a safe bet. Those type of shoppers make up 47% of people according to The Telegraph, although it wasn’t specified whether it was up 47% of the population of 47% of Tesco shoppers in general. My guess is, based on the way the Tesco shelves are laid out, that it’s 47% of the population and Tesco shoppers themselves are more likely to be a ‘Tell Me’ customer than the average shopper.

Having a varied selection of wine, versus having lots of the big brands that people will instinctively reach for is a balancing act like the one above with Tiger and good but it’s one that Tesco aren’t getting involved with. It’s a shame because I’ve tried most of their wines and am now spending more and more of my time in other supermarkets and wine shops, looking for new bottles that I haven’t seen before.

Oddbins is one of those places and it’s where I did find this great bottle of wine for £6, yes less than £7 and not from a supermarket. Since re-opening Oddbins have really been an interesting one to follow; they’ve got a new skip in their stride, a decent selection and their prices seem to be very reasonable (you, the customer decided those prices).

Although quite a few of the other reviews of Bons Ventos have described it as everyday drinking wine, I think that’s more a reflection on the price rather than anything else. I thought it had very nice black and summer fruit flavours and a good touch of oak. Possibly some pepper as well, but I didn’t take notes and can’t remember if it was that wine or the wine from the next-again night (it’s been a busy few days). This is designed for salty grilled meats (the Portuguese love their salt) and would go great with lamb chops or if you can get it, something similar to Porco Preto. I drank it on it’s own without any complaints, but then again I quite like Portuguese wines so am used to the style.

Bons Ventos wine is available to buy from Oddbins. Picture is for an older bottle of wine as I forgot to grab a picture! 

Aldi Wine: Reviews, Award-Winners & All Round Recommendations

Aldi wines. Paint stripper or incredible value for money? Well, although I’m sure there are a few wines in Aldi that you wouldn’t touch, there are also quite a few that are worth investigating. Aldi may be a discount supermarket, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have some very quaffable wines at discount prices.

Sure, you probably won’t be keeping this in your cellar for that special occassion or even giving it to the inlaws at your next get-together, but for mid-week easy drinkin I think it’s definitely worth taking a look at Aldi’s wine selection.

I’m doing just that at the moment (actually I started it once before but forgot to take notes), so I thought I would share my shopping list. I’ll add the reviews as we go along, but in the meantime you should be able to see which wines are worth looking out for, simply by the awards they’ve won. For the time being, it’s definitely a very good starting point.

Happy drinking!

Aldi’s Best Wines (probably)