d'Arenberg The High Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

What a beauty, and only for about £7.50 as I picked this up in the recent 25% off promotion at Morrisons (it's usually a little over a tenner).

On first sniff you know this is a big one - I seem to drink fewer "big" reds these days, making it stand out all the more - but in contrast to some full-bodied wines that you might tire of after half a glass, this just seemed to get better and better.

Full-on, yes, but it's beautiful, pure, concentrated stuff, and with a lovely minty note in there - which all makes me think it would be brilliant drunk with some rare lamb.

Wine jargon explained!

Like any specialist subject, wine has its own weird and wonderful jargon. A quick look at tasting notes and you'll find wines are described in a very funny way - often as though they were people - precise... serious... focused... playful... feminine... approachable.

So I thought I'd do a handy guide to what one or two of these oddities might mean - to help you sort the Lafite from the Graff, if you will.

My tongue-in-cheek guide to funny wine terms.

• PRICE POINT - price
• WINE TRADE - wine business, wine industry
• FINE - usually 1) great; may sometimes mean 2) not heavy in texture; never means 3) decent, not bad
• SERIOUS - see FINE, above (antonym: quaffable)
• CROWD-PLEASER - I can see why people with poor taste like it
• QUAFFABLE or QUAFFER - nothing fancy but does the job
• OVERDELIVERS - is good value
• REFLECTS ITS TERROIR or HAS A SENSE OF PLACE - fits my preconceived idea of how wines from this region should taste
• GOOD TYPICITY - ignore the bit about terroir; tastes how I expect this grape to taste
• FOCUSED or PRECISE - a posh quaffer
• ON THE NOSE I'M GETTING... - it smells like...
• THIS WINE IS SHOWING WELL - this tastes good today

Love this wine: Emilio Valerio 2010, from Harvey Nichols in Leeds

This is so good.

Without wanting to sound too poncey, it tastes like it came from the earth - all earthy and pure; the kind of stuff natural wine fans talk about.

Aromas of rocks, violets and blueberries. Fresh in the mouth, a slip of acidity.

You somehow know it's been made with care.

Well worth pouring this one into a jug for a while before drinking - any aroma you don't want should flutter away, leaving behind the deliciously pure drink. I remember going to an inspiring tasting once at Gaucho in Leeds led by Phil Crozier, and he used the great analogy of opening a teenager's bedroom door to get some air in. That's what you want to do here.

Interesting side note - I don't think I've ever seen as much sediment around a cork as there was with this particular bottle on opening.

I bought the Emilio Valerio 2010 - from Navarra in northern Spain - for around £11.50 at Harvey Nichols in Leeds.

Waitrose signs up Phillip Schofield to promote its wines

Waitrose has signed up TV presenter Phillip Schofield to help promote its wine range, not long after its in-house magazine recruited Pippa Middleton as a food columnist.

The move got criticism from one or two wine writers, but I'm not sure it's totally justified. It is definitely annoying how a celebrity is seemingly attached to everything, whether you want one or not (Alan Partridge's Youth Hostelling With Chris Eubank is totally un-far-fetched now). But celebrity sells - and if nothing else, supermarkets are there to sell.

If wine's a big part of your life, I doubt you go to the supermarkets for your main inspiration anyway. Supermarkets are generalists. If Waitrose thinks a celebrity and experienced presenter who loves wine is the best man to engage mildly interested shoppers via some online videos, then fair enough.

To those strongly against the decision to hire him: Waitrose is a supermarket! It definitely is a supermarket. It sells mass-produced products, it does half-price offers, it sells ready meals, sometimes with celebrity chef endorsements. It has checkouts, it does meal deals. In general it sells better quality stuff than most other supermarkets, its wine range is good, it's usually a nice place to shop, and its ethics are arguably better than most (though not so much if you clean parent company John Lewis's Oxford Street store), but it's definitely a supermarket.

The clever bit about Waitrose though is its customers can forget they're supermarket shoppers. Whether it's good old English snobbery, or simply a desire for a quality shopping experience, it's true. Some of the Phillip Schofield criticism spoke of that illusion being broken.

Brands that manage to make you feel exclusive, or cool - even though you're one of millions of customers buying the same products - have to expand carefully. If Waitrose is opening more stores outside its heartlands and adding to its celebrity element, its profits might well go up as a result. But - big but - is there a risk it becomes any old supermarket? Good news for most supermarket shoppers - it might raise the bar for other supermarkets - but what about its core following who like to feel that their shop, and by extension them, is something different?

Apple's a similar example. I've sensed a few cracks in the sheen recently, a few murmurs that make me think it's not quite the flavour of the month it once was. Apple has enjoyed a cult-like following - even though, again, this is just mass-produced electronics we're talking about; albeit high-quality ones. Nicely designed and generally work very well, but mass-produced in not-so-glamorous Far East factories.

You might argue this is more to do with Samsung, Google and others catching Apple up in quality terms (we recently bought a Note 10.1 tablet and it's blummin' great!). But it's not just about quality - brands are vulnerable to the fashions that made them a success to begin with. Has Apple become too ubiquitous? You can buy Apple products in Argos, in Sainsbury's and in Tesco. When do the cool kids decide a brand has become too popular? A cliche?

I say fair play to Waitrose and Phillip Schofield though - I hope it gets more people into wine.

Handmade Pasta and Italian Wine Night with Yorkshire Wine School

I really enjoyed this event, which I attended as a guest of Yorkshire Wine School. A cookery demonstration from chef Tom Guise and a tasting of six Italian wines with Laura Kent – a welcome glass of Prosecco, three more whites and two reds.

The pasta was absolutely superb. If I'm honest I'm a huge fan of plain old dried pasta dressed in a good sauce – I love pasta – and sometimes find the fresh stuff to be a slight disappointment, but this was just brilliant. Linguine with clams was excellent; later, a small bowl of spiced squash ravioli in sage butter was an absolute beauty - really supremely good, top-notch stuff. Very impressive.

On to the wines. Of the whites, the slightly off-dry Roero Arneis Malvira 2010 (£10.99, Waitrose) from Piedmont was my favourite, evoking warmer climes as it swished around with the clams like a leisurely breaking tide.

My stand-out red - and favourite wine of the night - was the Langhe Nebbiolo Renato Ratti 2010 (M&S, £13.99), again from Piedmont. I love this kind of thing: big, earthy, savoury aromas mellowing and melding together, just calling out for a fireside swirl in a nice big glass and, I imagine, it'd be great alongside a deep meaty stew or a joint of meat falling from the bone.

The other wines we tasted on the night all went down well: the softly textured Greco Sannio 2011 (£6.95, The Wine Society) white wine from Campania represents very good value; the Primitivo A Mano 2008 (Latitude Wines & Spirits, £8.99) a touch on the sweeter and jammier side of things for me but went down very easily; and the Prosecco Collezione NV Brut (£7.99, Waitrose) simply did what Prosecco does and nicely relaxed the tasting muscles for the main event.

As well as the food and wine tasting, an interesting feature of the night was a talk about the 'flavour wheel' and the principles of food and wine matching. Laura said that, while different people will have their own tastes in terms of the kinds of drinks they like to match with different foods, there are certain effects that always tend to take place when you combine different things. For example, eating salty food can make a wine taste less bitter, it can play down the acid and can make the wine feel smoother or "bigger" in the mouth - certainly the clam linguine eaten along with a slurp of Soave Classico Pieropan 2011 (Latitude Wines & Spirits, £12.99) appeared to give the wine a bit more richness, a bit more body than when I tasted it on its own.

It's all really interesting stuff – a good reminder of the fact that, yes foods and drinks objectively have flavour properties, but how we taste or experience those flavours will vary depending on when we taste them. As well as the chemistry that comes into play as in this example of salty foods, there are also psychological factors that sway how we experience flavours. Think of the "holiday effect" when you bring back a case of wine that seemed delicious at the time, but then you taste it when you get back home…

Oh, and one final point, this was also the first time I'd had the chance to taste monosodium glutamate (MSG) in its naked state. A strange experience! Converting flavour experiences into words is notoriously tricky anyway, but with the umami, savoury type thing that MSG is all about, it's almost impossible to put into words. It doesn't taste of a whole lot on its own - although it does taste of something - it's more like a bass note that delivers a bit of oomph to everything else; enhances other flavours as opposed to adding something immediately definable in itself. Parmesan cheese and soy sauce are packed full of it.

Bourgueil Les Cent Boisselees 2003 - cabernet franc from the Loire

I love how a wine that was made 10 years ago can still retain some freshness. More mellow and less lively perhaps than it once was - slippers on, sitting back and settling down for its retirement - but with its own qualities gained over time that a young wine has yet to experience.

This one tasted of strawberries, raspberries and cherries just before they've been left too long, easing out a little juice. It also smells and tastes a bit like vine tomatoes. Got this for somewhere close to a tenner from Majestic.

Vidal-Fleury Cotes du Rhone 2009 on offer at Majestic

I enjoyed the slightly retro label on this one; could imagine them quaffing this at Abigail's Party. Not a bad wine at around £7 on offer at Majestic.

Berrys' Extra Ordinary Claret '09 and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

I've just finished reading a very good novel called The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which is about an elderly gentleman who sets off on an unlikely walk from south-west to north-east England with the aim of saving the life of a terminally ill friend who is in a hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed.

There's a line in the book where Harold says something to the effect of "we're the post-war generation - we don't talk up our achievements". There's a theme running throughout the book that ordinary people might go unnoticed because at first sight they may seem unremarkable, but beneath the surface they're of course extraordinary in one way or another. As the proverb says: "Be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle." Everyone is so alike, and yet unique. Seemingly trivial things can have the most meaning. Something understated, less obvious, can have quiet depths that are all the more meaningful or rewarding when reached.

This kind of classic red wine isn't loud or showy, but the more you give it the chance to open up, the more you gain from it. Everything in balance.

Exploring loose leaf tea - why is coffee cool and tea isn't?

I've decided to explore loose leaf tea at the start of this year. Try a few different varieties, taste something a bit different.

It's interesting how fresh coffee has taken over so much on the high street but a similar thing hasn't happened with tea - perhaps especially surprising in England, given the history of tea tied in with its colonial past.

Why does the thought of a mega-chain of Costalotabucks tea shops on every street corner seem odd? It's partly a marketing thing - coffee's successfully been sold as a lifestyle choice for the Apple-toting backpacker generation. Tea in comparison seems so last century. It's amazing what marketing can do. Just think of food trends - is there a traditional working class food that hasn't been gentrified in the past year or so in London? If some bare brick, stripped wood and pendant lighting (and good quality meat and cooking, obviously) is all the hotdog and burger needed, then why hasn't tea fully got in on the act?

Or is it not down to marketing so much - is it simply because the difference in flavour between instant and fresh coffee is much greater than the difference between a teabag and loose leaf tea?

The tea in the picture is an Assam. My first impression is there are definitely flavour notes you don't get in teabag tea. A maltiness, a fruitiness almost, and also more of a green tea type feel to it. That's not to say it's necessarily better - some people might prefer one or the other - but it is definitely different.

There's also the ceremony of it: you're giving your drink and the occasion a bit more respect. And there's a lot to be said for that. Although obviously there will be times when thirst trumps ceremony.

I'm looking forward to trying more.

Steak & chips with French red

My version of a January detox: steak, chips, a glass of southern French red wine. Hopefully the French paradox really does exist.

Good value Christmas Wine

Happy New Year!

Here's a quick round-up of some of the very good wines we had over Christmas and New Year. In the spirit of the current financial climate, we weren't exactly necking the Cristal this year. Not that we ever do. Some good value wines lately though.






First up, some Portillo Malbec. Actually, we had this in early December. I remember making a really poor political/geek's joke in my head about this wine - given its name - thinking it might be harsh in its youth but somehow meld into something smooth and easygoing with age. Got this for £7 a bottle on offer at Majestic.










A few days later we went to the brilliant Stockeld Park Christmas Adventure. And then, back home late after a crisp and wintry cold day out, we braved a Morrisons £10 meal deal. For that, you get a main, side and dessert plus a bottle of wine. Yep, that's all a tenner for two people. You don't expect a Michelin starred experience. Then again I bet loads of Michelin starred chefs sometimes eat a McDonald's. Yes you can cook something proper for far less and spend the difference on a real wine to go with it. Blah blah. I agree. But that kind of misses the point here. Horses for courses. It did the job at that moment. That's the wine to the right - origin unknown but bottled in Madrid, I remember from the label. That's about all I remember of it.


Now for some pictures of the Christmas Adventure at Stockeld Park. Why not; it was great. A magical fairy wonderland in a forest; ski trail; ice rink; Santa's grotto.

Back to the wine...

Le XV du President from Laithwaites, received as a present. A hefty 15% - some wine fans might predictably retread the well-trodden ground about high ABVs here - but there's a good amount of freshness here to balance it all out. It's good, and I can see why it's popular.

This next one was very, very good. Been so impressed with a number of Spanish reds around the £10 mark lately. I bought this at Harvey Nichols in Leeds and I think it was about £11. Lovely.

Speaking of Spanish reds, this next one - a 1994 Rioja - was a New Year's Eve treat. Again, only around a tenner for the bottle. Before you say that's a lot for a bottle of wine - go out on New Year's Eve and you'll pay that for two rubbish drinks after battling through a sweaty queue for half an hour. Well worth it for an old wine (old compared to the vast majority of wines we drink).

I think drinking an old wine isn't just about the aroma and taste. This liquid was made from grapes that grew when I was - ahem.. a bit younger. It's then relaxed in the bottle for almost 20 years while I've done stuff in my life, trivial and poignant, before it found its way into my hands and was opened and drunk by me and my wife in the hours leading up to 2013. Lovely stuff - mellow but still amazingly fresh. On the border of the past and the future. I'm really glad we had it.

 I can sense I'm going on a bit now. Here's another good value Spanish wine. Got it for £8 from Majestic on offer. Again if you expect a big wine drowning in over-baked fruit here then you're way off the mark: this is fresh and tasty, with a balancing level of acidity that keeps your lips coming back to the glass as if drawn by a magnet.

The Natalie Maclean case and ethics in wine writing

Wine site Palate Press says wine writer Natalie Maclean "appears to be building her reputation, and her business, on the work of others". In this latest piece she is accused of reproducing other writers' reviews without properly attributing them. Secondly, commenters below the line also accuse her of charging winemakers a fee if they want her to review their wines.

I'm not commenting on the specifics of the Natalie Maclean case, but in general terms the first point seems pretty clear – it's a given that if you quote from someone else's work, at the very least you properly cite the source. News organisations do this all the time – newspapers report a story or quote that was previously an 'exclusive' in another paper – and they cite (or should do) the original paper somewhere in their article ('…the Sun reported'). So that's it. Attribute sources properly. Even better, make your own content where you can.

But point 2) raises some more interesting stuff, some grey areas. Average readers might rightly be shocked by the thought of a writer asking for a fee to review someone's wine. But how widespread is this? How many other wine writers have taken something in exchange – not necessarily cash, maybe a gift or hospitality or whatever – in return for running a review?

Writing as a profession has to be commercially viable. How you make it so is the challenge.

Well respected wine awards might choose to charge fees for people to submit their wines. Publications (not just wine) might give more editorial space to advertisers. Wine writers might be paid by retailers to write for their magazines or appear in their marketing brochures (incidentally the pressure to do this might grow as writers try to make a living while readers increasingly expect not to pay for content).

Wine writers often have their travel to vineyards paid for by someone. That someone, maybe a winemaker/region/PR, is doing so in the knowledge they'll get much sought-after editorial space in exchange. They're not doing it for the greater good.

Which of the above points are ethically sound or not? And for example with the last point about travel to vineyards etc, what's the best alternative? Writers paying their own way for all their samples and travel? Then who's going to be able to afford to be a wine writer? There's a serious point behind all those red-trouser jokes after all – the wine industry might be more accessible than it once was, but it still comes across as about as diverse as the current cabinet.

This raises the kind of issues freelance journalist George Monbiot talks about here, in his decision to disclose all of his payments throughout the year.

Once criticism gets commercial, what's ethical and what isn't?

A bargain cheap red wine – Aldi Côtes du Rhône 2011 at £3.65

Côtes du Rhône, £3.65 at Aldi

I think this is brilliant value at £3.65. Yes, if you can afford a tenner for your "house wine" then fair enough, but if like many people you don't have loads of cash and you want a decent red wine for glugging on the sofa, I think this is better than many bottles you'd get for five or six quid.

At this price I'd expect a wine to go one of two ways: too sweet and jammy if from the New World, or completely dilute and lacklustre if, as in this case, it came from the Old World. But this manages to avoid both – it's got nice red fruit flavours, it's balanced and it's easy drinking.

At this price it's obviously not going to be amazingly complex, but it's like one of those great value house red wines you'd be served in a carafe at a low-key French bistro. So it works a treat with an easy midweek meal – a ready meal maybe, a pizza, something else that takes minutes to make. It went nicely with pasta and pesto.

Maybe we should be concerned at how anyone can sell a wine this cheap. Who's losing out somewhere along the line? But then again, there are not necessarily any ethical guarantees if you splash out silly money either.

When you think of clothes I do cringe when I see Primark or Asda selling tops for, say, £3 – sweatshops come to mind – but then again expensive high fashion ain't necessarily ethical either. And perhaps there's a lot of corruption in expensive wine too – drinkers of fine wine will have to be sure their own bottles are super ethical before they criticise poorer shoppers who have less choice in what they buy. But you do wonder what the producers get from wine at this price.

Anyway purely from a bargain point of view this is a great buy. It also gets better after it's been open for a bit, so maybe try pouring it into a jug for the full Parisian bistro effect to get a bit of air to it, or just leave it in your glass for 10 minutes or so while your food's cooking.

Freddie King's Ain't No Sunshine and some nice Italian red wine

How good is this; the epitome of cool. Freddie King doing a version of Ain't No Sunshine.

Freddie King tragically died at 42. I love the story on his Wikipedia page saying he would drink bloody marys "in lieu of solid food so as not to waste time when setting up shows".

Copertino 2008

I think this video calls for a bittersweet, dusky, honest Italian red wine. Something that tastes real.

Really enjoyed this Copertino 2008 Masseria Monaci the other night, which I bought for a bargain £6.39 a bottle (when buying two Italian wines) at Majestic. Was perfect with a mushroom, lemon and thyme risotto topped with a bit of creamy, earthy cheese.

I find it's the amazing savoury aromas draw you in with many good Italian reds, an earthiness; olives, herbs. I think I once saw these kinds of wines described as walking through an olive grove in and out of dusky shadows.

On first opening, this wine smelt of history, of old antique furniture, which seemed to mellow and give way to other things.

Virtual winetasting: Palataia Pinot Noir 2011

Palataia Pinot Noir 2011

I took part in a virtual tasting of this German pinot noir with @JacquiWine on Twitter, which was great. We simultaneously tasted the wine and tweeted our thoughts, comparing notes.

I really enjoyed the wine, although Jacqui felt it had just something on the finish she wasn't 100% keen on. Perhaps a gamey or meaty note.

And as she pointed out it has a slightly spicy edge to it, which I definitely picked up on in the aroma: a curryish smell almost, like cinnamon. Though with another glass I decided it was the smell of a bonfire.

Quite a savoury wine we both agreed, and I thought it was a bit irony, with some strawberry fruit flavours and, daft as it might sound, the smell of a damp forest. Lots of different smells and flavours to pick up on. I liked it.

As Tim Atkin pointed out, it's very good value at £8.99 from M&S.