Hi Winos

I love a glass of wine at the weekend; in fact I love a glass of wine most nights (except for Monday and Tuesday, which I try and keep booze free… but often fail!) However, I am aware that wine and alcohol doesn’t play such an important part in everyone’s life. To this end, this week’s #newwinethisweek has become #nowwinethisweek and I’ve recruited my sister to recommend a few non-alcoholic drinks when these strange types come knocking at your door!

But don’t worry, there is plenty for you vinous freaks as usual with lots of supermarket deals, wine events, wine news and even an article on some decent value claret to whet your weekend whistles…

New post

Top-end Bordeaux has become unattainable to most of us since prices skyrocketed after the majestic vintages of 2009 and 2010, but a recent tasting of the 2004 vintage I found there is still some (relative!) value to be found:

http://confessionsofawinegeek.com/2014/10/19/bordeaux-2014-you-can-get-value-claret/

 

#newwinethisweek

We’ve got to week 42 and Mike has plumped for a non-alcoholic week at the behest of his pregnant sister. I’ve explored a few options you may want to consider for your non-drinking guests:

http://confessionsofawinegeek.com/2014/10/21/newwinethisweek-week-42-is-nowinethisweek/

 

Supermarket wine

If you’re off to the shops this weekend why not pick up a bottle or two for yourself as well as the Schloer for your guests!

Finest Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, South Africa (Tesco £9.99 was £14.99)

Errazuriz Merlot 2012, Chile (Tesco £6.66 was £9.99)

Finest Denman Semillon 2013, Hunter Valley (Tesco £7.99 was £8.99)

Jean-Luc Colombo Les Gravières Crozes-Hermitage 2012, Rhone (Waitrose £10.99 was £13.99)

Hahn Pinot Noir 2012, California (Waitrose £9.99 was £13.99)

Yalumba Organics Shiraz 2012, South Australia (£7.49 was £9.99)

First Press Chardonnay 2012, Napa Valley (Waitrose £13.49 was £16.99)

Yalumba Organics Viognier 2012, South Australia (£7.49 was £9.99)

Bodega Santa Ana Reserve Malbec 2013, Mendoza (Morrisons £10.99 was £11.49)

Baron De Ley Rioja Gran Reserva 2004, Rioja (Morrisons £9.49 was £12.99)

Wine events

Taste of Portugal – £55

7pm, 6th November 2014

​28°-50° Wine Workshop & Kitchen, Maddox Street, London W1S 2QH

28-50 have teamed up with Taste of Portugal to offer a fantastic Portuguese wine tasting and food event. Executive Chef Ben Mellor and Henrique Sa Pessoa, one of the Portugal’s top celebrity chefs, will be preparing a special six course menu to accompany an extensive list of Portuguese wines for an ​informal evening of gourmet delights.

http://www.2850.co.uk/wine?event=500270

 

The Christmas walkabout tasting – £25

7pm, Thursday 27th November 2014

Roberson, 348 Kensington High Street, London W14 8NS

The Roberson Christmas walkabout tasting has been one of the highlights of our tasting calendar for years. Around fifty wines are open and available to taste, poured by the Roberson with offerings from Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy, dessert wine and Port all featuring heavily, and a few seriously decent bottles are always part of the line-up.

http://www.robersonwine.com/store-and-tastings/the-christmas-walkabout-tasting-at-roberson-wine-166

I wrote an article about the 2012 event, which featured a 1995 Richebourg and a fantastic Barolo from the same year (link below), and I will certainly be attending in 2014!

http://confessionsofawinegeek.com/2012/12/01/tasting-in-a-winter-wonderland/

 

Wine in the news

France are officially the World Wine Tasting champions:

http://www.chamonet.com/events/news/france-officially-world-wine-tasting-champions-677717

The best airline wine lists:

http://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2014/02/world-s-best-in-flight-wine-lists-revealed

Vote in this month’s wine writing challenge (I didn’t enter again!):

http://mwwcblog.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/mwwc12-time-to-vote/

Should you let the sommelier taste your wine?

http://online.wsj.com/articles/should-you-let-the-sommelier-taste-your-wine-1413483507

More on the shambles at Tesco:

http://www.harpers.co.uk/sectors/retailers/tesco/tescogate-supermarket-is-rudderless-and-fighting-fires-in-wake-of-suspensions/372711.article

An exquisite vintage for English wine:

http://www.decanter.com/news/wine-news/587647/english-winemakers-hail-exquisite-2014-vintage

Light relief

My #1 comedic contributor, my Dad, has once again failed to come up with the goods this week so you’ll have to do with a few great lines from his support act, Sean Lock!

Interesting fact: a shark will only attack you if you’re wet.

I’m in therapy at the moment. I don’t need it, obviously, but I got all these psychiatrist gift vouchers for Christmas which my family clubbed together for. What I wanted was a crossbow.

A bit of advice; never read a pop-up book about giraffes.

If you permed a fox I think it’d look a bit like Mick Hucknall. I actually think it’d be kinder to perm them than hunt them. And they’d be too embarrassed to go out and bother the sheep.

So what if Jesus turned water into wine…I turned a whole student loan into Vodka once. Your move Jesus…

Thirty million acres of rainforest are being destroyed every year and I’m attempting to recycle a single jar of Marmite.

You can tell a lot about a person by which X Factor contestant they like. For example, if they like any of them, they’re complete morons.

This year I’ve asked for 400 packs of pork scratchings, I’m not going to eat them, my theory is that basically the outside of a pig, pork scratchings are a pig jigsaw.

‎One Christmas my wife said ‘surprise me’, so iIphoned her from Morocco.

I don’t mind the X-factor at all, my only problem is that it’s on TV.

‎The weird thing is they’re rivals, you know, the apple and blackberry, but in a crumble, they’re harmony.

‎When they did the autopsy on Michael Jackson they found 6 different chemicals and 2 of those were artificial colouring.

The boring stuff

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Cheers and have a great weekend!

 

Wine Geek

 

confessionsofawinegeek.com

[email protected]

@winegeekconfess