Hi Winos

Some of you seem to be a bit wrapped up in the World Cup thing that’s going on; being Welsh has made me immune to the whole thing (1958 is the only time Wales got to the finals) but luckily there is lots of wine to be drunk and plenty to be written about!

PS. I’m only joking you prickly lot… it’s half an hour ’till kick-off and I’ve got a bottle of Sharpham English red on the go!

New post

On a sunny Sunday in London I can’t think of anything worse to do than go to a car boot sale… but this wasn’t any car boot, this was WINE CAR BOOT!

http://confessionsofawinegeek.com/2014/06/14/wine-car-boot-simply-a-brilliant-day-out/

#newwinethisweek

We’re being a bit more challenging this week after last week’s Pinot love-in… forget what you think you know about Greek wine and get stuck into Assyrtiko:

http://confessionsofawinegeek.com/2014/06/16/newwinethisweek-week-11-assyrtiko-greece/​

Supermarket wine

It’s a quiet week on the supermarket shelves so here’s the best of a not so great bunch:

Tesco Finest Muscadet 2012, Loire, France (Tesco £6.49 was £7.69)

Tesco Finest Fiano 2012, Campania, Italy (Tesco £5.99 was £7.99)

Piccini Chianti Classico 2009, Tuscany, Italy (Tesco £5.99 was £8.99)

Tesco Finest Cotes Catalanes Grenache 2012, Languedoc, France (Tesco £5.99 was £7.49)

Taste The Difference Greco Di Tufo, 2011, Campania, Italy (Sainsbury’s £8.00 was £9.00)

Taste the Difference Barbaresco 2011, Piedmont, Italy (Sainsbury’s £7.50 was £10.00)

Extra Special Cotes du Rhone Villages 2012, Rhone, France (Asda £5.00 was £6.75)

Extra Special Falanghina 2012, Puglia, Italy (Asda £5.50 was £7.00)

Piccini Winemaker’s Choice Chianti Riserva 2008, Tuscany, Italy (Morrison’s £5.99 was £8.99)

Baron De Ley Rioja Gran Reserva 2004, Rioja, Spain (Morrison’s £10.99 was £12.99)

Xanadu Chardonnay 2008, Margaret River, Australia (Morrison’s £15.99 was £17.49)

​

Wine in the news

Majestic’s growth is slowing and they may bring in an own label… don’t do it!!
http://www.harpers.co.uk/sectors/retailers/majestic-wine/majestic-boss-says-wine-price-inflation-has-stymied-growth/358576.article

Jancis takes a look at the true cost of the wine in your bottle at different price points. Scary.
http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a20140606.html

Katherine Larsen is named UK Sommelier of the year
http://www.decanter.com/news/wine-news/587174/kathrine-larsen-ms-wins-uk-sommelier-of-the-year

The Hosemaster ruffles a few more feathers!
http://hosemasterofwine.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/announcing-hosemaster-of-wine.html

Tom Cannavan meets Steve Smith of Craggy range:
http://www.wine-pages.com/organise/craggy-range-steve-smith.htm

Light relief

The Golfing Nun

​

A nun walks into Mother Superior’s office and plunks down into a chair.
She lets out a sigh, heavy with frustration.

‘What troubles you, Sister?’ asked the Mother Superior.
‘I thought this was the day you spent with your family.’

‘It was,’ sighed the Sister. ‘And I went to play golf with my brother. We try to play golf as often as we can. You know I was quite a talented golfer before I devoted my life to Christ.’

‘I seem to recall that,’ the Mother Superior agreed.
‘So I take it your day of recreation was not relaxing?’

‘Far from it,’ snorted the Sister. ‘In fact, I even took the Lord’s name in vain today!’

‘Goodness, Sister!’ gasped the Mother Superior, astonished. ‘You must tell me all about it!’

‘Well, we were on the fifth tee…and this hole is a monster, Mother. A 540-yard, Par 5, with a nasty dogleg to the right and a hidden green… I hit the drive of my life. I creamed it. The sweetest swing I ever made. And it’s flying straight and true, right along the line I wanted… but it hits a bird in mid-flight !’

‘Oh my!’ commiserated the Mother. ‘How unfortunate! But surely that didn’t make you blaspheme, Sister!’

‘No, that wasn’t it,’ admitted Sister.
‘While I was still trying to fathom what had happened, this squirrel runs out of the woods, grabs my ball and runs off down the fairway!’

‘Oh, that would have made me blaspheme!’ sympathized the Mother.

‘But I didn’t, Mother!’ sobbed the Sister. ‘And I was so proud of myself!And while I was pondering whether this was a sign from God, this hawk swoops out of the sky and grabs the squirrel and flies off, with my ball still clutched in his paws!’

‘So that’s when you cursed,’ said the Mother with a knowing smile.

‘No, that wasn’t it either,’ cried the Sister, anguished, ‘because as the hawk started to fly out of sight, the squirrel started struggling, and the hawk dropped him right there on the green, and the ball popped out of his paws and rolled to about 18 inches from the cup!’

Mother Superior sat back in her chair, folded her arms across her chest, fixed the Sister with a baleful stare and said…
‘You missed the fucking putt, didn’t you?’

The boring stuff

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Cheers & enjoy

Wine Geek

http://confessionsofawinegeek.com
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