My First Tasting Event

If you follow me on twitter or have read the previous blog you may know I have now started a new company offering bespoke, personal wine tastings in private homes. I realise from the outset this will be a major challenge and probably cause me a lot of frustration but no matter I am determined this is a viable business idea which I intend to make successful.

My wife Louise suggested I do a tasting event as a test run where I covered the cost of the event and invited guests to our house. We invited neighbours, who we know to say hello to, but not much more than that; the idea being that they would give me honest feedback. Also the advantage of neighbours is that they did not have to drive home afterwards. Three couples accepted our invitation and I also invited my mother and father in law who are big wine lovers. So with myself and Louise there would be 10 of us. Ideal.

The programme of wines

ISO tasting glasses were hired, a wine tasting program prepared and the wines purchased.

tasting glasses and wine tasting notes set up

At 7.30pm, once all my guests had arrived, I began the evening by thanking them all for coming and by telling them all they were guineas pigs tonight. I was quite nervous, obviously the onus was on me to keep things moving along with information and guidance but I was desperate not to come across as a wine bore. It's a fine balance that my wife and parents-in-law said afterwards I managed well. Judging the knowledge and interest of my audience is going to be a key skill if I am to make my business a success.

The first wine was a Picpoul from Felines Jourdan, purchased from Waitrose. Picpoul is one of those wines drunk heavily by the locals of Languedoc where it is produced but is not much seen in Britain. I started with it because it makes an excellent aperitif wine being crisp and dry. It was actually much darker in colour and heavier on the palate than I expected but it made a good start as everyone liked it.

Never mind the wine admire the label

The second wine was an Organic Viognier from South Australia produced by Yalumba, also from Waitrose. As you will no doubt know Viognier is one of my favourite grape varieties and this one did not disappoint. Rich and tropical with the usual palate of apricots. My audience were less keen, although they all agreed it was the nicest designed label of the evening.

Miolo Chardonnay - Disappointing

Third up was a Brazilian Chardonnay from Miolo that I have had for a number of months. I blogged about Brazilian wine previously and had high hopes but unfortunately the wine was disappointing. Rather thin, with dull flavours and little body everyone was quite happy to move rapidly on to the next wine.

Marlborough Sauv - Yummy!

The final white wine of the evening was a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc purchased from Tanners. Pretty much all Marlborough Sauv is great despite the recent glut of it to take advantage of the demand but I can say with all honesty that Tanners only sell good and mostly great wines and this was no exception. The usual nettle and gooseberry flavours were present and for most of my guests this was their favourite of the white wines.


After we completed the four white wines I was anxiously looking at my watch worrying about the time. I thought 90 minutes for the event and we were less than 45 minutes in but I need not have worried. After a little break where we enjoyed some of the food we had provided we started on the four red wines and the time flowed along nicely.

First up was a Cono Sur Pinot Noir from Sainsbury's. I figured a lighter red was the best way to start and I always think Pinot Noir is the first wine to try if you are new to red wines. I have to say I love Chilean wines, there hardly seems to be a bad one made and this was great too. Simple yes, but delicious all the same.

Next was another Chilean wine, a Gran Reserva Merlot from Luis Felipe Edwards. The use of Reserva, Gran Reserva and the like by Chilean winemakers is a bit arbitary as they have no legal standing but it does suggest better quality and this was superb. Merlot is probably my favourite red grape as it makes such easy to drink wine and this was definitely my favourite wine of the night.

Argentinian Malbec - Bring me that steak

Batting at number three was a Malbec from Argentina. It was a full on 14% and tasted it. I warned all the guests that it was probably a food wine beforehand and so it proved. Full of dark plum fruits with overtones of dark chocolate and mocha it would be great with a sirloin steak and chips!

Wow!!

The final wine of the night was really the centrepiece of the evening. It was by far the most expensive wine of the event and I hoped it would really stand out. A famous name from a famous appellation. Purchased from Tanners the Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Télégramme, H Brunier et Fils is a classic only outranked by its bigger brother the Vieux Télégraphe. My guests immediately knew it was the most expensive wine of the night and all but one thought it the best and that says it all. Delicious plummy fruit with spice, a touch of leather and soft, ripe tannins.

The conversation flowed long after the last wine was poured and my guests enjoyed helping themselves to more of the wines they liked the most.

My final duty was to award a nice Hugh Johnson Wine Journal prize to Anita who I thought made the most interesting contributions to the evening. I was warmly thanked by all in attendance and those thanks have continued for a couple of days now. All in all a very successful event.

So now its over to you. Why not let me come to you and organise a wine tasting for you and your friends and family. Please do take a look at my website. www.gloryofwine.com and I hope you will get in touch. My packages start at £15 per person with 10 being the minimum charge (although it would work with any number from 6 up). I am based near Wolverhampton and will travel anywhere in the wider Midlands area. I look forward to hearing from you.

Next time: Tales of the old waiters friend, oh and the Stelvin Closure!

Enjoy you wine. Cheers!

Simon
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Viognier, Verdelho and Verdejo

What is it about grape varieties beginning with V. There are loads of them, I suspect because the Italians and Spanish secretly love the letter V. And it's also confusing because many of them are also known by other names. Actually, a little confession here, it confuses me too. Until a week ago in my mind Verdelho and Verdejo were one and the same just different spellings from a different language. You know, the old syrah - shiraz or pinot gris - pinot grigio thing that still confuses my staff sometimes. Only when I tried a bottle of Verdejo did I think, hang on this doesn't taste like those lovely wines from Australia I tried that I realised my mix up. More of which later.

Firstly to Viognier - hard to pronounce, easy to drink. It's been on my list of up and coming varieties for some time now and whilst it's still somewhere in the higher reaches of the Championship rather than the Premiership (little English football analogy there for you) I'm pleased to say you do now see it in most supermarkets as well as the better merchants. And so you should. It's really rather good. In my mind I usually associate a fruit flavour with different varieties. For example say Chianti and I will shout cherries, say New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and I will shout gooseberries. A form of tourettes if you like. Well for Viognier it is apricots. I don't think I have tried one yet where they haven't been present.

Classically Viognier is French, like most of the classic varieties and is grown in the Rhône Valley. It produces, most famously, wines of the AC Condrieu which are 100% Viognier but is also grown in Languedoc and blended with the likes of Roussane and Marsanne in Vin de Pays from that region. Until recent times it was very much out of fashion and declining but successful production in Chile, the United States and Australia has seen it rise again.

But I think Viognier has one great asset, it is a fantastic accompaniment to chicken, virtually any kind of chicken dish you could think of from a whole roast bird to chicken tikka massala. So much so I call it the chicken wine and tell this to my guests in our restaurant. Having roast chicken for lunch this Sunday? Why not give it a try.

Crisp, dry Verdelho

Whilst I was in Australia I came across a variety that I did not know too much about. Verdelho is the principal grape variety of Madeira and is grown extensively in Portugal but I discovered it makes a lovely white wine and I tried two whilst in Oz. One from the Hunter Valley and one from Margaret River region. 

 

Rich, creamy Verdejo

Once back in the UK I decided I would blog about Verdelho and set out to find another one to taste. In my confusion in Majestic I purchased a Verdejo instead thinking it was the same grape. Of course it's not and I realised immediately. The Verdelho were herbaceous with bundles of acidity whilst the Verdejo was rich and creamy with notes of pineapple, almost like a Chardonnay. Still great wine though and well worth a try.





Next time: The launch of my new business offering bespoke, fun, informative wine tastings in your home.  Oh, and the importance of wine temperatures.


Enjoy your wine. Cheers!
Simon

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