At my local sandwich shop I have been lunching on fruit, sandwiches, and crisps (hey if you’re American I mean chips, ok?). I am not particularly loyal to any brand of crisps so I was tempted by an offer from Seabrooks which suggested that by collecting 8 packets I could send off to claim a pint sized mug.
Dr Thaksin sent me a text message (at his expense) with a personal invite to meet him in Albert Square after the Man City game against Valencia.
Man City invites a European team over at the start of every season for the “Thomas Cook” trophy. Some would say that this is the only chance we get to watch any European football and I have sympathy with that view. Valencia were the opponents on this occasion.
City lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, a welcome change to the dire 4-5-1 inspired home performances of last season that resulted in only 10 goals all season. However, even as pre-season friendlies go, this turned out to be amongst the most non-eventful.
Is Channel M the future? As I sat in my living room in Leeds I pondered the segmentation going on in the digital TV market. I have a foot either side of the Pennines so frequently flick to Channel M to find out what is going on in Manchester. I could equally be living in Spain and watching the aptly named Living in Spain channel, or enjoying a glass of plonk whilst watching Wine TV. However, as a Man City fan there is fat chance you will find me subscribing to MUTV (no hyperlink – I don’t want to promote that channel).
So it seems that whatever your interest, you can find a TV channel to suit. So why not specialised wine dealers, I thought. My next business plan may be to open a wine shop that specialises in unfashionable Bordeaux wines.
La Réserve du Grand Plantier 1990 is a Côtes de Bourg wine that I have never heard of, so this is not a good start to my business idea.
So I hear that Sven is in the running for my beleaguered team Manchester City. As if crisis following crisis following crisis is not enough, we are trying to tempt the heel enhanced weather girl lover to manage our sorry club.
It’s not that I dislike Eriksson for footballing reasons, it’s just that the reasons he would want to join would only be financial. He is a clever man and despite all the moanings, he was one of the most successful England managers and that followed a highly successful club career.
I admire Malbec because it is classy, very tasty and compares well to many old world wines. But there is another Argentinean grape that makes wine so far from the norm it makes me shiver. It’s even better than a cup of tea (or did Boy George already do that line?)
The grape is Torrontés and as far as I know it may have originated from Spain. Now Spain as we know are football’s great under achievers, whereas Argentina cheat, for example the “Hand of God” incident in the 1986 World Cup. So I am going to assume that the grape came from Spain and that the Argies stole it.
I am working my way, manfully, through a case of Wine Society branded wines. Not all this evening I might add but nonetheless at a steady pace.
After all, it’s necessary to find some solace when Steve McClaren is manager of your national football team.
This wine is a Saar Reisling Von Kesselstat 2004 and to be frank I am as confused about it as the Wine Society is.
In 1988 I was at the cafeteria of a motorway service station buying a sandwich and I asked where the corned beef was from. I advised the assistant that I hoped it wasn’t from Argentina.
“Oh, you’re not still sore about the Falklands are you?” she retorted.
“No, actually it was Maradona’s 1986 Hand of God goal. I’ve boycotted Argentinean products since that day”
Wind forward several years and with the self righteous ban a distant memory, I had occasion to visit the Gaucho Grill on Chancery Lane in London. An Argentinean “Grill” restaurant and probably the best steak I have ever tasted. During that meal I ordered a bottle of Malbec and was wowed.
Stumble It!