It’s holiday time and the destination is Padstow, Cornwall. There are certainly worse places for a wine and food lover to be cooped up for five days! The agenda is tough but I’m prepared to give it a go:

Saturday – wine at Bin Two, dinner at Rick Stein Fish & Chips, couple of pints
Sunday – lunch, wine at Bin Two, dinner at St Petroc’s, couple of pints
Monday – lunch and tasting at Camel Valley, dinner at Outlaw’s
Tuesday – sod all, dinner at Restaurant Nathan Outlaw
Wednesday – lunch & tasting at Knightor Winery, home

I’m looking forward to it all and hope you enjoy reading about it… Here’s episode #1!

Bin Two is the most fantastic wine shop/bar in the middle of the almost perfect seaside town that is Padstow. There are a number of interesting wines by the glass as well as a fine selection of Billecart Salmon Champagne, but the real delight here is the vast selection by the bottle, any of which you can buy to take away, or for a corkage charge of £7.50, drink there and then.

I really fancied a fantastic bottle of red to kick off the holiday in style. Amarone, Coonawarra Cabernet, Hermitage… But of course, I reached the Burgundy selection and knew that’s where Saturday afternoon would begin. And what a fine selection there is. I decided on a Beaune 1er Cru from the wonderful Domaine DeMontille (check out the tasting notes!) and was rewarded with a fine bottle to get things started.

Domaine de Montille 1er Cru Les Sizies 2005, Beaune, Burgundy (Bin Two £45.00)
First stop an obvious choice… But a good one. Cherries and raspberries jump out of the glass, with that gorgeous leathery Burgundian aroma, along with a dash of violet. Good texture with a bit of chew even though the body is very light. Red cherries, Kirsch even, on the pâté with an interesting animal note, and fine, gentle tannins. Good length and got better after 30 minutes. Still a few years left here. 91 points

Next port of call was Stein’s chippy. I’ve been here a couple of times and really enjoyed it, but today was a new level. To start, me and The Fish had a couple of battered scallops each and my lord were they good! Big, plump and just so sweet… Why can’t you buy these in more chip shops? But the star of the show was my main event. The Fish went for locally caught squid, which was served calamari style, deep fried in breadcrumbs and was truly delicious. But not a patch on my battered bream. It’s not often you can recognise the species of fish in a fine beer batter, but this was like eating a fillet straight from the shores of Portugal. Magnificent! And to accompany, a couple of large glasses of Muscadet:

Chateau du Cleray Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie Reserve 2009 (£8.50 250ml)
Beautiful aromas of grapefruit, pear and sea salt. The fruit and salt comes through on the palate but the yeasty goodness on good Muscadet is missing. I’m a big fan of this very under-appreciated wine, but this just falls a tad short. 86 points

And to finish, a couple of delicious pints of St Austell Tribute and Doom Bar… Then bed and preparation for another tough day!