Wine Tasting

[dulwichmum]

Notes from Threshers re. Saint Veran White Burgundy =

It is clear, golden green in colour.

Hints of peach and melon on the nose.

Fresh Stoney apples with almonds and honey on the finish.

It is apparently ideal with chicken and light fish or salads...

What do you think then?

[Ant]

Here's something I've been wondering; perhaps someone can tell me the answer: is it worth taking the wine out of the fridge to warm up a little first, or does it not really make any difference?

(And while I'm at it: does all wine benefit from breathing - i.e. being opened and left to stand for a while before drinking - or is that only good for some? And if so, how can you tell which ones?)

[TillieTrotter]

As far as my knowledge allows...a red should breathe but it isnt necessary for a white. Although times are achanging, it would have been sacriliege (?) to have served a chilled red a few years back. The most important thing, IMO, is not to get too caught up in other peoples opinions of what is good and what is not. Like art and music, it is very much a personal taste.:)-D

[Ant]

Very true, Tillie - but if there's something I can do to make the most of a particular wine then I'd certainly like to know. :)

(I quite like a lightly chilled red, as it goes.)

[dulwichmum]

Shall we begin?

I must admit I have opened mine! I have taken a little sip, and it seems to be nice and light with a clean finish. I can only say how I find it, I am afraid I don't know any jargon. It tastes nice!:-$

[SeanMacGabhann]

The rule of thumb for those of us in UK is:

We drink red too warm and white too cold

Only very very complex wines probably need to be decanted and left to breathe for any great length of time

We have just started on a red picked up at G&B today - it's Di Barro - Torente Valle D'Aoste and is a amazingly low (by today's standards) 12.5% vol

Very pleasant drinking if not the most sophisticated wine I've ever drunk (if anyone still reading thinks this makes me sound like I know what I'm talking about, rest assured I am a low grade amateur - as in 1 out of 100 score)

But it does have some structure and enough bite to be tasty - And it has stood up to my chicken very well

As I walked back from G&B I saw someone in front carrying a 3 for 2 bag from Threshers... I won't say anymore because it's a different thread but it did make me wonder.....

[TillieTrotter]

Not sure I agree there Sean, I think even a mediocre red does well to be opened for 15 mins or so, even better decanted.

[Asset]

Well I've had a couple of glasses of this white - it benefited from being cold I would say, my first glass was not cold enough. It was a bit too cloying for my personal tastes. I like whites that are very crisp and this was a bit too fruity.

I agree that we drink reds too cold. Room temperature for red wines normally means around 17 degrees, much cooler than our average room temp and there are some reds that definitely need chilling to around 12/15 degrees, particularly those from the Loire region.

This white is not one that I could drink too much of (no bad thing probably).

Roll on next weeks tasting!

[TillieTrotter]

I feel all left out!!! Which is probably a good thing also, as I have been a bad girl of late:(

[Ant]

Cor! Yummy! Mrs Ant enjoyed it very much too.

It started off much too cold - we could hardly taste anything compared to later on when it had warmed up a bit. Then, I got melon, a kind of light floweriness and, perhaps, a hint of vanilla. However, I definitely need to train my palate more. I probably would have headed straight to the Italian wines had I been going for white, but I'm glad to have tried a burgundy that I wouldn't have done otherwise. Feels like my range has been extended.

Am I imagining it, or was this slightly lively on the tongue? Not quite petillant, and definitely not sparkling, but... I dunno, lively. I wasn't entirely confident about some of the other flavours - honey, almond - and whether I was actually tasting them or whether I was looking for them because I'd been told they were there.

Is this going to be a weekly thing? I do hope so! Also, Sunday night is the perfect night to do it as far as I'm concered. Hope others feel the same way.

Right - moving on to some Pinot Grigio now, which is probably going to taste like shite after this stuff. Hey ho... Thanks for getting this started DM; it was a wonderful idea. Cheers!

[Ant]

Forgot to add: we got apples too. Mrs Ant said it tasted like a Granny Smith.

[dulwichmum]

Wow Ant, thanks for that. I really enjoyed that wine. I have never bought white Burgundy before myself apart from when eating out. I feel it has widened my range too now. I was looking for the flavours that Will indicated would be there, and I am rather easily lead, so I think I found them - perhaps for that reason! I know what you mean about getting more of the flavour when it had warmed up a little.

I am hoping that Will comes in at some point with some more guidance for us.

It is up to you to choose for next week I believe though Ant. Isn't it?

DM

[Ant]

edited... went off on one about the next wine but though it best to delete all that until after we've talked about this one some more!

[SeanMacGabhann]

ach I hate it when people write a whole bunch of stuff and then delete it*

On the wine-tasting front I popped into G&B today, (bumped into fragrant Bellenden Belle and assorted friends) and picked up details of upcoming events

Not all of them but some quick highlights:

June 11 - Clean Green New Zealand... Lots of cool crisp wines to taste

June 15 - Rose & Summer Reds

July 2nd - How to taste like a professional (i've done this one - very good. Takes a while to get to the wine but worth the wait)

Lots more throughout June and July too

Also - next School of wine happens from Sep thru Dec every Mon night - seems to take in every wine region across 13 countries/regions

*you should have seen how long this message was

[peckham_perkster]

Gosh I feel like I've been out of the loop for a bit! Anyhoo, I'm afraid to say I didn't get a chance to open my bottle last night due to an impromptu but very lovely walk from Putney to Kew along the river, as you do! By the time we got back we were good for nothing.

Tonight I am going to open it up and have some with my dinner and will definitely report back straight after. I've read everyone else's comments so will take these on board when drinking it.

Oh, I bought my bottle from Will at Threshers but when I mentioned it was for the EDF wine tasting he said that the discount he gave was a 'one off' so well done DM it sounds like you were lucky! I've no probs with this obviously but it made me wonder if he'd misunderstood how we were doing our tasting by it being virtual rather than all together, though I can't believe he would have thought one bottle would be enough between us. Just thought I'd mention it but no biggie.

[badger]

Me too - will try and get to open it tonight if I ever get home from work :-S

[peckham_perkster]

OK have had a glass or 2 and it's very nice. Rich was a word that sprung to mind and I agree that it was better after being warmed up a bit. I did get the melon and peach smell but I also thought it tasted of melons a bit as well. I liked that it filled my mouth and lingered, I believe that's a sign of a good wine? I also got the Granny Smith thing and it was very fruity.

Good choice and a nice way to start my week knowing there is another glass or so left for me tomorrow. I'm looking forward to next week's wine already.

One thing I really didn't like, PLASTIC CORK! I prefer a screw top to a plastic cork.(6)

[SeanMacGabhann]

PP

Definitely agree with you on the plastic cork. Part of the wine tasting I went on went through the various types of bottle tops and the pros and cons.... very interesting indeed

Back to wine - I had none last night after a successful Sunday ;-)

[Ant]

Time to start thinking about next week's wine perhaps. A light red, maybe? How many people are going to join in this time - come on, hands up now.

[peckham_perkster]

I like the idea of a light red as I've never bought one before unless by accident but have always been pleasantly surprised. Aren't light reds supposed to go well with curry?

So Ant what will be your choice?

[Ant]

That's a very good question... I was thinking Treshers again. Granted, Green and Blue might have the edge, but it's not as convenient for everyone. Some of us might want to be able to buy the wine over a lunchbreak in town during the week, for instance.

I'll have a think and a chat, maybe get them to recommend one. And if I can get an idea of numbers perhaps I can ask about a discount at the LL branch.

[Asset]

I'm in

[peckham_perkster]

OMG! Has the government suddenly heard about our genius scheme and decided that we're a danger to ourselves?! I'm no conspiracy theory lover but this did make me giggle...

Binge Drinking Strategy

We're their exact target audience! Maybe we should make sure our slogan is more prominent 'one bottle at a time'. (tu)

[dulwichmum]

Oh for crying out loud! We are not smoking crack! How very dare they? Soon they will put a government health warning on chocolate. When will they give us poor house bound parents back our Tamazepam instead? That is what I want to know?

[Asset]

Hey Ant - are you going to speak to Threshers on LL ad get a wine for this Sunday?

who else is joining this week?