Confessions of a Wino

Why keep an online diary?  I am not Samuel Pepys.  I don’t have a burning desire to share my (albeit valuable) thoughts with the world.  I have no reason to create an alibi, or lay a false trail for the police.  I don’t have much spare time in my life, so I have to write quickly and from the gut (well, bladder to be precise).  So why do I do it?

The answer is as simple as the various thoughts that meander through my sponge-like brain.  I am exploring the world of wine and I wanted to keep a record for myself because my memory is patchy.  But even I would be bored by reading bland tasting notes, or wine ratings (no, no, no, no, no, please, wine is subjective!).  So I wrap my thoughts in inane claptrap…for some reason.  And I know it’s bad form, but when I do look back at my various posts, I sometimes laugh at my own jokes (someone has to).  Above all I recall happy things that simply would have fallen through my colandar like memory otherwise.

The imaginatively titled “102T” is not a name likely to hang around my hippocampus.  It came from the Chilean Pinot Noir case I ordered from the Wine Society for about £82 recently.

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My tour of the Pinot Noirs of the world is a long way from completion and getting more and more interesting by the minute.  This one, from the Wine Society mixed case Chile Pinot Noirs (£82 for twelve bottles) is earthy and earthy.

An earthy smell with compost and wet leaves is not the greatest compliment to a wine.  The taste was sharp at first but it mellowed over time.  Mixed berries, carrot, grapefruit skin and mushroom – nice? You judge…..

14% alcohol is not too much really, but it is a bit new world. Then again Chile is in the New World so maybe this is a great wine, just not to my taste.

Life is a box of chocolates according to Forrest Gump’s mama, which probably suits my moody temperament.  My current mood in respect of grapes is, as ever, two faced.  One old school tie, one new kid on the block (to me anyway).  I am currently on a virtual world tour of Pinot Noirs which I described as the Brigitte Bardot of grapes.  The other varietal that has piqued my interest recently is Carmenère, which is the James Dean of grapes.  A rebel without a cause that lives on the edge, smokes a lot, and whilst externally attractive, lacks substance.  Scratch under the surface, and often you will simply find more surface.

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If the Wolseley is the best restaurant in London, then what about the provinces?  Leeds, for example, has a proud tradition of brewing beer, staffing call centres, building the world’s first Dalek shaped skyscraper, and breeding people who say “eeh bah gum!”.  So surely not a place for fine dining then?

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Following recent accusations that GCSE’s and A Levels are being dumbed down, I can reveal that a new education scandal has just emerged.  University Challenge questions are getting easier!  I can prove it.  My average score is two correct answers per episode and tonight I scored nine!  A personal best!

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I was invited to Live Earth.  What a dilemma.  All tickets cost £55.  I went free.  Should I make a charitable donation to some worthy cause?  Which cause exactly?  I mean this was not a charity event, it was about awareness, man.  Quite a hippy concept really, but played out in the hard commercial word of the new millennium.  Some of the messages from the various entertainers who participated were more genuine than others but I have to admit to laughing.  It’s not very rock and roll having some pop idol jumping on stage and telling us all not to leave our TVs on standby, before launching into some familiar guitar riff.

There were also doubts about the CO2 created by the event itself.  I travelled public transport all the way, only to see the Black Eyed Peas being helicoptered in to Wembley for Al Gore’s denouement.

All in all though, a fantastic day out.  It’s not often you get to see such a high class line up.  Here’s the pictures:

Firstly my (somewhat feeble) attempt at a panoramic view of Wembley.

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Shepherd’s Market in Mayfair is one of the most charming places in the capital.  It’s totally unique.

By contrast, Turkish resto Sofra, has a number of branches across London.  My myopic view of restaurant chains is that they totally lack flair and employ cooks rather than chefs to dish out someone else’s imagination…poorly.

So when invited to Sofra (Mayfair) I attended with some trepidation, that turned out to be totally unwarranted.

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Recently I went to the Harrogate Flower Show at the Great Yorkshire (everything in bloody Yorkshire is bloody “great” apparently!) Showground.  Amongst the commercial stands selling everything from gardening gloves and phallic water features, to clothes and picnic hampers, there was an odd display of flowers….and the usual bit of local produce…

Now you’ve all been there.  The twee little stands where grannies used to sell their home made pickles and marmalade – well guess what?  Yep, they have been replaced by commercial organisations making a profession out of attending shows and selling mass produced jam.  Actually that’s a bit unfair – there are still some good ones to buy from, just make sure you taste first.

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I started this blog on a South American theme and I am happy to keep that going for a short while because the current exchange rates are making S. American wines superb value for money for us UK winos.

I am a fairly new member of The Wine Society, (HQ at Stevenage in the UK). My first experience was of two bottles of Ch. Kirwan at a very reasonable price but sadly very badly corked.

I am happy to say that following a swift refund (no need to return the bottles) the service and wine quality since then has been excellent and I have continue to buy (er.. I mean invest….)

Recently, I have focussed particularly on S. American wines partly because of the value and partly because of a Wine Society promotion.

So this is how I encountered Cono Sur Signature, El Centinela, Sauvignon Blanc 2006 priced at £7.95 direct from the Wine Society.  This wine from the Casablanca Valley in Chile is a classic example of why you should buy wines from South America right now.

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