tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56499208540248081102024-03-05T03:00:16.865-08:00simon says:wine | food | beerSimon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-34402171989309436332015-03-12T09:30:00.001-07:002015-03-12T10:28:28.749-07:00A tasting of Foncalieu wines hosted by Yorkshire Wine School<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpfGEkm_8DjS8jtgQngzzLr71dRf1AhhlHBXSVeaagzDANhif7JKDXXjaAr6wQWwukmRi3iR_qzq_ACMP2EOJResk6yxfQzsFQmiOEf5xv0phfBiXJ6aSDaMnMm2r-wWJGGnujAtKMZFV/s1600/20150223_190120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpfGEkm_8DjS8jtgQngzzLr71dRf1AhhlHBXSVeaagzDANhif7JKDXXjaAr6wQWwukmRi3iR_qzq_ACMP2EOJResk6yxfQzsFQmiOEf5xv0phfBiXJ6aSDaMnMm2r-wWJGGnujAtKMZFV/s1600/20150223_190120.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tasting Foncalieu wines with Yorkshire Wine School</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A fancy Big Mac style burger from Original Fry Up Material</td></tr>
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This was a good way of cheering up a Monday night in February: tasting eight sunny wines from the south of France. From work I take a train from Bradford to Leeds, call in for a tasty hipster burger at Trinity Kitchen and then head up to the Radisson Hotel for the tasting. I'm always excited trying wines that are new to me. Life's all about retaining that excitement for new things isn't it?<br />
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The wines are from <a href="http://en.foncalieu.com/" target="_blank">Foncalieu</a>, a big cooperative of more than 1,000 wine estates, whose winemaker and marketing supremo Isabelle Pangault appears in person to help bring them to life. <a href="http://www.yorkshirewineschool.com/" target="_blank">Yorkshire Wine School</a>'s Laura Kent is also on hand to provide expert titbits; Laura is hosting the event and has kindly let me experience it as a guest. <br />
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French wine often projects an image of bringing the landscape to the glass - terroir - but I'm interested to hear Isabelle talk a bit more pragmatically about how Foncalieu's agronomist (soil and plant man) Gabriel Ruetsch tailors the wines to the market where they sell them; in other words they look at what sort of stuff British drinkers tend to like and they try to satisfy that demand. That's not to say they aren't reflecting the land though - they have lots of different landscapes and microclimates to choose from, a mosaic of terroir as Isabelle nicely puts it, giving them scope to create different styles of wine. And it is encouraging to hear Isabelle emphasise that it's elegance and freshness they're looking for, in other words they're keen not to obscure the pure fruit with too much oak. The more I'm a wine fanatic, it seems the more I enjoy fresh tasting wines over big oaky ones.<br />
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I really enjoyed these wines - in particular the three from Chateau Haut Gleon we tried, especially the white - and it'd be great to try them again with a meal which I bet would make them even better. Here's a quick run-through of my thoughts as I tasted them on the night:<br />
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<b>Le Versant Viognier 2013, Pays d'Oc</b><br />
Smells champagney; tastes like peach, lemon and lime with elderflower freshness. Reminds me of vinho verde.<br />
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<b>Le Versant Pinot Noir 2013, Pays d'Oc</b><br />
Smells of strawberry, or maybe raspberry, and mint. Easy-drinking, a touch dilute?, round and soft texture, nice and fresh.<br />
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<b>Griset Sauvignon Gris 2014, Pays d'Oc</b><br />
Fresh, light rose coloured, a nice refreshing summer drink. Agree with the suggestion of watermelon, rose water and rhubarb from the YWS and Foncalieu tasting notes.<br />
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<b>Les Illustres 2012, Coteaux d'Enserune IGP</b><br />
Smells of Marmite, blackberries, oak and leather. Also brings to mind blackberries in the mouth with black plums and parsley and coriander! Dry finish, would be good with slow cooked beef I think.<br />
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<b>Le Lien 2012, Minervois AOP</b><br />
Smells great - to me of liquorice and lavender - which mixes with coffee and cigar smoke in the mouth. Tastes of expensive oak. Again would be good with beef. Enjoyed this more with a slice of the Friends of Ham salami provided on the table.<br />
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<b>Chateau Haut Gleon Blanc 2013, Corbieres AOC</b><br />
Really like this wine. Reminds me of an Australian semillon. Tastes of nuts to me - hazelnuts, almonds, pistachio with apricots. Really good.<br />
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<b>Chateau Haut Gleon Rose 2013, Corbieres AOC</b><br />
Also really enjoyed this one. Light but with a faint peppery spice, bit more to it than a standard light rose. Tastes and smells of strawberry and pepper, fresh tomato and gooseberry.<br />
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<b>Chateau Haut Gleon Rouge 2009, Corbieres AOC</b><br />
Smells of blueberry and blackberry or blackcurrant and scrubby herbs, rosemary and thyme, with a taste of liquorice.<br />
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As I understand it, Le Versant wines will cost around £7.99-8.99 in shops; Les Illustres and Le Lien around £25 (or £60 in a restaurant); and the Chateau Haut Gleon wines around £23-25 each.Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-47458728795164906872014-04-16T14:34:00.001-07:002014-04-16T14:40:48.033-07:00Sir Alex Ferguson, his wine sale and David Moyes<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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A relaxed Sir Alex Ferguson, basking in the twilight of
retirement and the limelight of success, is selling off some of the extremely
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/apr/16/sir-alex-ferguson-vintage-wine-auction" target="_blank">expensive wines</a> in his cellar.</div>
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David Moyes, meanwhile - embattled, furrowed brow, all to
prove - is facing a task bigger than anyone realised, to rebuild a Manchester
United squad of fading stars.</div>
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The problem when a big charismatic winner like Alex
Ferguson or Tony Blair gets to choose their own time of departure, to go out at
the top, their successor, Moyes or Brown, faces a struggle and a half to put the brakes on as
they head down the other side. Like fine wines, the best footballers get better
with age and then they reach a peak, fall away.</div>
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So one man battles for his job, the chance to chop away
the dead wood he never bought, the other is pruning the fruits of the amazing
success he achieved through the series of incredible football teams he created.</div>
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Speaking personally, I've been ridiculously lucky to be a Manchester United fan
and season ticket holder while Sir Alex Ferguson was manager. Amazing, entertaining and winning teams he created. By the same
token, I respect the scale of the job facing David Moyes.</div>
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And there's a curious contrast. The way Fergie filled
his wine cellar seems so alien to the way he built his football teams! At least
in the latter part of his reign, anyway.</div>
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To any fan who watched the games in recent years, his squad was obviously running out of
juice - yet this supreme figurehead, this master of management, was somehow able to
squeeze out every last drop. The entertainment levels weren't quite as high, but the titles still came.</div>
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Ferguson started to speak obsessively of the need to find value in
the transfer market. Part of this was probably pragmatic - I think people
underestimated what a pragmatist Fergie was - as there's no doubt he tried to
get some of the top players but failed when they followed money
over prestige. And his budget-buying seemed to coincide with the indebted Glazer
takeover.</div>
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Even so, he meant what he was saying: he started to favour
undervalued talents and young players of potential. As superstars like Beckham,
Keane and Ronaldo left the stage, unknowns or less heralded performers like
Anderson and Nani, Valencia, Jones and Smalling took their place. From a wine
point of view, it's not quite going from Berry Brothers & Rudd to Bargain
Booze, but it's a definite shift in what you're looking for. You might find
some decent value, some undiscovered gems, but you might also end up with some duds.<br />
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Such a strategy can be successful, as shown in the brilliant <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Moneyball-Art-Winning-Unfair-Game/dp/0393324818" target="_blank">Moneyball</a> - but it relies on strengths other than quality and pure talent. Unity, the habit of winning, respect for or even fear of your boss. These are the things that so quickly drained away, like releasing the cork from a bottle, when Sir Alex retired.</div>
Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-38386391407506092382014-03-13T09:54:00.000-07:002014-03-13T09:54:18.948-07:00A really unusual red wine: Fonte del Re Lacrima di Morro d'Alba<br />
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Are you stuck in a wine drinking rut? Sick of drinking stuff that tastes just a bit, well, winey? A bit dull? Here's a weird one to get you thinking while you're drinking. I suspect it might divide people into the "wow, that's really interesting" camp and the "wow, that's really <i>weird</i>" camp, so choose the right time to open it.<br />
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Twirl your glass around a bit, stick your nose in and it smells amazing. Very orangey; also peaches; blossom of some kind; lavender, maybe. Floral and perfumed like a hippy's patchouli-scented boudoir, in my mouth sensing a squirt of honey and lemon, a slice of orange peel.<br />
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In fact - thinking about this wine from memory now (I had it a couple of days ago) - I suspect if tasted blind you could be forgiven for thinking it a white rather than a red wine, what with all those citrussy and floral flavours, maybe a viognier or something like that.<br />
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Did I enjoy it? I loved the experience: the reminder you can get all these different scents and flavours inside one glass of wine, like an Aladdin's cave discovering new things as you work your way through it. With the <a href="http://simonohare.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/novelty-versus-classic-wine-eastern-med.html" target="_blank">debate about novelty wine</a> in mind, it was drinkable too.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.marksandspencer.com/fonte-del-re-lacrima-di-morro-d-alba-case-of-6/p/p60054416" target="_blank">Fonte del Re Lacrima di Morro d'Alba</a>, £11.99 from M&S</b>Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-16055008464292926082014-03-06T05:24:00.000-08:002014-03-07T06:58:04.814-08:00Can you make sparkling wine in a SodaStream?What happens if you put cheap white wine in a SodaStream and fizz it up? Well, apparently it can make for a decent sparkling wine. Helen McGinn, author of the <a href="http://knackeredmotherswineclub.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Knackered Mothers' Wine Club</a> blog, says <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-2563409/Sham-pagne-Or-turn-supermarket-plonk-instant-bubbly.html" target="_blank">here</a> celebrity chefs <b>Jamie Oliver</b> and <b>Heston Blumenthal</b> are big fans of the technique.<br />
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(I'm guessing Heston whizzes his wine up to a specific RPM twice a day over a three-day period before freeze-drying it and serving it as foam over some really small fish and chips. Meanwhile you can picture Jamie in his kitchen with some cheap Italian chardonnay in one corner, a SodaStream in the other, and a dream of <i>Pukka Prosecco!</i> in Jamie's Italians everywhere.)<br />
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The best SodaStream wines </h3>
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Helen McGinn found <b>Aldi's Toro Loco rose</b> to be the best of a selection she tried out in the SodaStream, closely followed by <b>Waitrose Italian Dry White</b> and <b>Las Falleras Rose from M&S</b>. So there you go - it might be worth a whizz. That's if you still have a SodaStream lying around. (Incidentally, after hearing nothing of SodaStream since about 1987, this is the second story about the brand I read in a matter of days: the other one was about <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25958176" target="_blank">Scarlett Johannson's decision to quit her Oxfam role</a> due to conflict with her SodaStream advertising deal.)<br />
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How to aerate wine without a decanter</h3>
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Anyway while I'm talking about whizzing up wine, I came across this other <a href="http://modernistcuisine.com/2013/12/improve-that-red-wine-with-just-a-push-of-a-button/" target="_blank">article</a> about sticking your wine in a food blender. This time, the aim is to add air to it and open up the flavours. Apparently it's a very effective way of aerating the wine - no doubt despite the serious risk of looking like you're having a Basil Fawlty moment in front of your dinner guests.<br />
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Bottle shock </h3>
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Incidentally both articles make me wonder whether you could "damage" your wine with a kind of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottle_shock" target="_blank">bottle shock</a> by whizzing it up like this. Then again, I suppose that's more pertinent with wines that are more expensive than your £3.69 bottle of Toro Loco.<br />
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A similar thought came to mind when I saw <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1wROm-OF9w&noredirect=1" target="_blank">this</a> YouTube video by Stephen Cronk, the British owner of French wine producer Mirabeau, which went viral. Again, I suppose you wouldn't want to be bashing your Chateau Cheval Blanc against a wall inside a shoe - but then I suppose if you're the person who can afford that then you're also the person who can afford a corkscrew, or at least one who doesn't lose their corkscrew every other day. Pass me the Toro Loco...<br />
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<br />Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-46962745175257916302014-02-21T09:19:00.003-08:002014-02-21T09:22:14.019-08:00What is problem drinking and how do we tackle it?Alcohol misuse has been in the news again this week after the latest set of official figures were released - I did a news story on it <a href="http://www.ageuk.org.uk/latest-news/alcohol-a-growing-problem-for-older-people/" target="_blank">here</a> and a lot of the main news outlets covered it, including an opinion piece by Owen Jones in the Independent headlined <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/owen-jones-the-drug-we-ignore-that-kills-thousands-9139239.html" target="_blank">The drug we ignore that kills thousands</a>.<br />
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This is such a complex area - beer writer Pete Brown makes the case against the stats and a general clampdown on booze <a href="http://petebrown.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/six-ways-to-spot-if-anti-drink-stories.html" target="_blank">here</a> - that it's notoriously difficult to either a) work out how much of a problem alcohol is in society; and b) if it is a big problem, what to do about it.<br />
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People who do drink too much do it in different ways and for different reasons. A well-off pensioner who drinks excessive amounts of fine claret from breakfast onwards every day will have different motivations to a student who gets trashed in clubs every night, who is different again to an unemployed young bloke who drinks heavily at home on a night, and who is different again to a pub regular who downs six or seven pints a night without noticing.<br />
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They might all be causing various amounts of harm as well as pleasure, either to themselves or others, so how do you come up with one policy to help them all? Perhaps we need to segment problem drinkers: <i>What</i> are they drinking? <i>Where</i> are they drinking? <i>Why</i> are they drinking?<br />
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Do higher prices work? What about the fact that penalises safe drinkers too? Or is education the main thing - if so, how? Do we need a clearer message on units? What is or isn't safe drinking for that matter?<br />
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It's such a tricky area, how to reduce alcohol misuse without penalising safe drinkers. And moderate drinking can, of course, be such a positive thing for individuals and society. Studies have suggested it's good for health but, perhaps more importantly, it enriches life - something that's so difficult to quantify. Even drinking at home, you can enhance your wonder of the world through your wine glass. There's the sensual enjoyment, the learning, the conversation, the stress release of just a single glass. How can you ever quantify those benefits for society to offset the harm elsewhere? And then there's the positive benefits of decent pubs to working class communities, as acknowledged by Professor David Nutt:<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/Simon_OH">@Simon_OH</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/OwenJones84">@OwenJones84</a> I totally agree re pubs and communities. All increase in alcohol consumption in last 20 yrs is from shops not pubs.<br />
— David Nutt (@ProfDavidNutt) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProfDavidNutt/statuses/436822428548079616">February 21, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Drinking habits don't exist in a vacuum: perhaps all the talk of pricing, licensing hours and units is a bit of a red herring. Maybe the best way to curb the most severe problem drinking might well be to deal with wider social issues fuelling it. If people have jobs, and jobs that pay, if people live in warm housing, if they have hope and reason to get up on a morning, if they have more to lose, if they don't feel lonely or bored, won't it be less likely they'll turn to problem drinking? As long as you drink to add flavour to life and not to dull it, you're more likely to keep it under control. That's not to say your drinking can't go from there to becoming a serious problem on an individual level - it can, as it's a powerful drug - but maybe it's less likely.<br />
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One last note - I sometimes wonder about the effect of wine costing so much more in restaurants and pubs than in shops. People are trying £20 bottles of wine when eating out and wondering why it tastes no better than a £5 bottle at home. Wine in this country is so, so much cheaper when bought and drunk on its own than with food.Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-58363494626046832532014-02-18T08:26:00.003-08:002014-02-18T08:26:50.238-08:00Novelty versus classic wine: the Eastern Med range from M&S<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was funny timing, buying these interesting looking wines on Valentine's Day with some M&S vouchers.<br />
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Not really funny as in hilarious.<br />
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We all fell ill with a nasty sickness bug the same day. This wasn't much more than the "24-hour thing" all sickness bugs are required to be by popular demand - but it was fairly extreme and a sickness bug does not go nicely with an M&S chicken jalfrezi and a Turkish red. When you're in and out of the bathroom with the shivers, followed by a fever and thumping headache, the mere idea of a chicken jalfrezi seems comically wrong.<br />
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<h4>
Classic wine versus unusual wine</h4>
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Our selection included a wine from Greece called <b>Red on Black</b>; <b>Chateau Ksara</b> from Lebanon; and <b>Sevilen Okuzogu</b> from Turkey, along with Italian red <b>Lacrima di Morro d'Alba</b> and a couple of bottles of Argentinian malbec, the reliable <b>Vinalta</b> on offer at two for £12.<br />
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As well as the sickness, it was also funny timing because almost as soon as we'd got the bottles home, wine writers were debating the merits of classic wines versus lesser known varieties. Just as we were looking to try some wines off the beaten track, Robert Parker and <a href="http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a201402112.html" target="_blank">Jancis Robinson</a> were saying "ignore the classics at your peril" (they mean regions like Bordeaux and Burgundy; grapes like cabernet, merlot and pinot noir, as opposed to wines from other areas that may have existed for even longer but earned less repute). Parker in particular was arguing that hipster sommeliers are going for novelty over quality. Others like <a href="http://www.wineanorak.com/wineblog/uncategorized/novelty-at-the-expense-of-quality" target="_blank">Jamie Goode</a>, on the other hand, disagreed saying variety is the spice of life and unusual wines offer better value in restaurants. <br />
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To those of us outside the south-eastern England wine bubble, they might as well have been arguing over an old Rolls-Royce and a new Ferrari. Don't bother with the overpriced old prestige car, they're old hat! You want to get yourself a flash new sports car instead - it's more interesting <i>and</i> cheaper! You know - don't bother with the £100 a bottle Bordeaux, get some of this delicious natural Serbian stuff for a mere £75!<br />
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In other words, all properly good wine whether it's new or old is so bloody expensive, in restaurants especially, that for most of us it's usually of interest only - excruciatingly - in an academic sense. This debate is a reminder of why, sadly, proper wine and wine
analysis remains stuck in an echo chamber, the critics' slurps bouncing back in off the glass walls like a big spittoon. In short, really good wine tends to be so bloody expensive!<br />
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<h4>
What does <i>better</i> wine mean? </h4>
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I'm exaggerating, a bit. I actually think the unusual-wine-versus-classic-wine debate was of some interest, the protection of "unknown" and indigenous wine regions and styles being both exciting and really important. Also, to counter the 100-pointers and their classic wines, surely the <i>better</i> wine is only ever the one you personally find most compelling. The music of a given band or composer might be the product of a great talent, it might be objectively adept, but if you don't like it, you don't like it. Because let's not forget scoring wines out of 100 is just as daft as it would be to rate a film or a book or a cheese out of 100. Stuff tends to be amazing, good, decent and not good - as a combination of quality and your personal preference at that given time - and that about covers it.<br />
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<h4>
Faulty wines and a nightmare bed</h4>
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The wines from M&S's eastern Mediterranean range were not eyewateringly expensive but not bargain basement either at around the £10 mark. But at least with wine you do have the reassuring thing that the retailer should swap it for another if it's faulty; often they even pledge to do so if you simply don't like it.<br />
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This is reassuring, as we recently had a nightmare bed buying experience ('scuse the pun) with, yes, M&S. To cut a long and boring story short, the bed isn't level, it is uncomfortable and it is objectively not the same as the one we tried in the shop. We have bad backs. M&S sent out an "independent" inspector from FIRA to take a look. FIRA is an organisation funded by bed retailers to <strike>keep their returns to an absolute minimum</strike> efficiently deal with their customer returns, and their inspector acknowledged our mattress was not level. But this, it turned out, did not qualify us for a refund.<br />
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I'm not sure what the moral of this convoluted tale is. Apart from to spend your money on wine and not on beds. Classic or adventurous, cheap or expensive, either way you should at least be guaranteed a good night's sleep.Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-76692146191349868052014-02-03T04:35:00.000-08:002014-02-20T00:31:21.482-08:00A brewery-turned-gallery: The Tetley in Leeds<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Tetley, Leeds</td></tr>
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Called into <a href="http://thetetley.org/" target="_blank">The Tetley</a> for the first time this weekend and was impressed. This is the old headquarters of the Tetley brewery, a building dating back to 1931, and it's great to be able to wander around and take a look inside. The grandness of it all is a real reminder of how successful a big family brewery like Tetley's must've been at the time, and also of how much things change. Tetley's has now all but left Leeds but loads of small breweries have popped up around the city at the same time. It's funny how industries change, social and drinking habits change and buildings, like people, evolve. It reminds me of a job I once had with the civil service in another part of Leeds in a big old mill that had been converted into offices: where once there had been the noisy and dirty click-click-click of industrial machinery years earlier, there was now a quieter flow of immigration casework passing through the building, a conveyor belt of sorts.<br />
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The location of The Tetley feels like a historic little patch of Leeds, with the Salem Chapel nearby and a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16500518@N05/8115825553/" target="_blank">blue plaque</a> marking the formation of Leeds United; the great <a href="http://www.theadelphileeds.co.uk/" target="_blank">Adelphi</a> pub is also a stone's throw away. <br />
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As a gallery and events space The Tetley has loads of potential, so fingers crossed it's a success. Leeds needs more stuff like this, both from a culture and family-friendly point of view. As a city it seems to have a less obvious culture than places like Manchester and Liverpool. It's debatable why that's the case: Manchester and Liverpool have proximity to ports and they also have a bigger Irish influence; Leeds and Yorkshire on the other hand have a more "look after the pennies" tradition that isn't necessarily conducive to a cultural hotbed. Maybe that's something to do with it. Either way, kudos to those behind The Tetley to get this up and running, as it'd be excellent if this could become something like a Leeds <a href="http://www.saltsmill.org.uk/" target="_blank">Salt's Mill</a>. Also not forgetting this is primarily a drink and food blog, the cafe (set up with consultation from Anthony Flinn's company) looked and smelled good too.<br />
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Our kids really enjoyed the <a href="http://thetetley.org/springboard-saturdays/" target="_blank">Springboard Saturdays</a> session - basically a relaxed crafty area for them to draw, stick and create stuff to their hearts' content to a theme that changes each week, with friendly volunteer artists on hand.<br />
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And we enjoyed having a look in the grand boardroom, wondering about the people and conversations that have lived in there over the years.<br />
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I hope The Tetley is a success. <br />
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<br />Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-82281346012048257072014-02-01T13:54:00.002-08:002014-02-01T13:56:34.785-08:00A good book for foodies: Edible Stories by Mark Kurlansky<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>"It smelled of so many things, different fruits and woods, that it seemed almost unnecessary to drink it. Whole five-course meals did not have as many flavors as a tiny sip of this wine, and a single sip kept tasting for minutes..." </i></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edible Stories by Mark Kurlansky (Gibson Square)</td></tr>
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This novel starts with a chapter called <i>Red Sea Salt</i> - each chapter takes the name of a food or drink - in which a man is stuck down a hole in a pavement and has no clue whatsoever of how he came to be there or even who he is. Having lost his memory, and it turns out his sense of taste, he ends up becoming one of the top food critics and TV chefs in America.<br />
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Each chapter is really a short story in its own right and they all just about tie loosely together in a kind of tapas way, with the same characters popping up every now and then but the food theme never going away.<br />
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I loved how this novel spoke of a time and a place for specific foods. A girl's on a date at a New York Yankees baseball match and her new boyfriend has gone to the trouble of preparing a fancy picnic with Italian white wine - but secretly all she really, really wants is a hot dog to watch the match with, the meaty aromas tantalising her as they waft across their seats.<br />
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The book touches on snobbery, of daft social conventions but also important ones in food, of how it helps oil the wheels of family life and communities. In one amusing chapter (<i>Osetra</i>), a young gang member in the Bronx gets an insatiable taste for caviar and he can't stop shoplifting it; in another (<i>Orangina</i>), the arrival of Orangina in a town in south-west France is seen as a threat to the town itself, older locals fretting "<i>this is a vin rouge town!</i>" and calling for a ban.<br />
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<a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/mark+kurlansky/edible+stories/8157705/" target="_blank">Edible Stories</a> is a witty and fun book and a clever reminder of how food and drink are at the heart of human relationships.Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-89638503745545405642014-01-31T02:31:00.000-08:002014-02-20T04:14:20.818-08:00A photo of Leeds Kirkgate Market<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kirkgate Market</td></tr>
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Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-20408546851001854202014-01-28T05:47:00.000-08:002014-01-28T05:47:33.851-08:00Two interesting cheap wines from Latitude Wine in Leeds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I bought these two from the brilliant <a href="https://latitudewine.co.uk/magento/" target="_blank">Latitude Wine</a> the other day. I've had the garnacha before - it's very good value - and I'm hoping the Paparuda pinot noir from Romania will be a bargain too.<br />
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It seems Eastern Europe is making a comeback, with a growing reputation for good value and interesting wines - I remember really enjoying a <a href="http://simonohare.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/a-night-of-cheese-and-wine-at-sams-chop.html" target="_blank">Hungarian pinot noir</a> at Sam's Chop House last year - so I'm looking forward to trying this one.<br />
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Also, a reminder you don't have to shop at supermarkets to find cheap wine: with a Latitude loyalty card giving 10% off, the Paparuda pinot noir cost me just £6.75 and the Borsao garnacha was £5.85.Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-11554182463115809422014-01-24T06:19:00.001-08:002014-01-24T06:54:13.897-08:00How to get through a dry January - Netflix!There are valid arguments <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129501.500-a-break-from-booze-a-break-from-bad-habits.html#.UuJ6bvtFBiw" target="_blank">for</a> and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/19/giving-up-dry-january-eva-wiseman" target="_blank">against</a> doing a <b>Dry January</b> or at least cutting down your alcohol intake for a month. It's a personal choice - only you will know whether it would be worthwhile. But if you are doing a dry January and you've come this far, well done - and I bet in many cases it's because you've devoted that wine glass-shaped hole in your life to other things.<br />
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That's what I think might often be the key to cutting down your drinking: making sure you do something else instead. Because drinking good wine or good beer is a hobby like any other - in fact no, <i>it's a passion</i>, as they'd say on Masterchef - and when you suddenly drop any pastime you love, especially one with addictive properties, you're going to miss it.<br />
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<h4>
How to cut down your alcohol intake </h4>
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So, do something else you enjoy doing that'll feed your senses or your soul, much like wine would've done. Go out for runs; read more novels; watch more films; do whatever appeals to you, so long as it's fairly healthy and it's something you'll realistically stick with.<br />
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I was thinking about this, as we've been enjoying the free introductory trial to <a href="http://www.netflix.com/" target="_blank">Netflix</a> this month while simultaneously giving our livers a break, and it's been great. There's been plenty of good stuff to watch so far, and that's without yet even starting on any of the TV series, just sticking to the films. In an ideal world the selection on offer could do with more recently released films, but we've still found plenty to enjoy.<br />
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<h4>
Netflix tips </h4>
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<b>There Will Be Blood</b> is great: a performance of proper acting by Daniel Day-Lewis in a slightly odd and old-school way (director Paul Thomas Anderson's other films, not on Netflix, are great too by the way); <b>Shame</b> was compelling and dark; <b>The Help</b> was excellent (apparently it's a great book too); <b>Amour</b> was beautifully shot and brilliantly played by both leads - in particular I thought by Jean-Louis Trintignant who played the husband - though a tiny glint of more humour here and there to ease the relentless gloom might've improved it still further.<br />
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We've also watched a fair few less serious films - January can be dark enough as it is, after all - and if romcoms or daft capers are your thing I'd say give <b>Nine Months</b>; <b>High Fidelity</b>, <b>Priceless</b> and <b>Gambit</b> a go. Wasn't massively taken, though, with <b>When In Rome</b>; <b>Conversations With Other Women</b> and <b>Like Crazy</b>.<br />
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So there you go, consider this an early recommendation of Netflix. And who knows, maybe it can even improve your health. Unless watching a film without glass of wine in hand just isn't the same...Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-81295399384666188712014-01-10T06:55:00.000-08:002014-01-14T02:32:25.768-08:00Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz 2011 - a brilliant wine <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuvuS4XSFXgtRiFcl1zsiEjh8hmS1VgwFHN9BVP7gQzHHkMT0JbwClNFpESyro0yHmM3HSPSWvd7DUXqvHTF-GeLLU5BESUbS33WEfX-hU7hdLCxMq91uidrWYHyq82UpuPAo89Wrv4lda/s1600/20131231_222110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuvuS4XSFXgtRiFcl1zsiEjh8hmS1VgwFHN9BVP7gQzHHkMT0JbwClNFpESyro0yHmM3HSPSWvd7DUXqvHTF-GeLLU5BESUbS33WEfX-hU7hdLCxMq91uidrWYHyq82UpuPAo89Wrv4lda/s1600/20131231_222110.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
We drank this in the last hour or two of the final day of 2013 - and it might just've been my favourite wine of the whole year.<br />
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It smelt and tasted floral and natural, somehow, reminding me a bit of the <a href="http://simonohare.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/love-this-wine-emilio-valerio-2010-from.html" target="_blank">really good Spanish wines</a> I've drunk. It made us think of weddings: fragrant wafts of perfume; bright flowers; deep, fruity cake.<br />
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A brilliant way to end the year, though with the bittersweet realisation there are very few wines of this class left in our rack now and they're not going to be replaced any time soon...<br />
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I bought it many months ago at Harvey Nichols, but it looks a great buy at <a href="http://www.slurp.co.uk/red-wine/australian-red-wine/30244-clonakilla-hilltops-shiraz-2011/" target="_blank">Slurp</a> for £16.95 if your new year budget can stretch to it.<br />
<br />Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-72742231072095041672013-12-20T05:55:00.003-08:002013-12-20T05:59:08.096-08:00Why does wine on TV make geeks angry?The BBC showed a programme last night called <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03mjypr" target="_blank">The 12 Drinks of Christmas</a>, presented by brothers-in-law Giles Coren and Alexander Armstrong. I thought it was quite good.<br />
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This is a rare thing, a TV programme about alcohol. Surprisingly so, given how much time and money Brits devote to booze.<br />
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But one thing's for certain: every single time wine or beer is in the mainstream media, a backlash from experts and enthusiasts will follow.<br />
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Keeping an eye on Twitter as the programme went out, many (but not all) wine people were critical of the show. <br />
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Exactly the same thing happens with beer whenever it appears in papers or on TV.<br />
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<i>They're talking about Blue Moon and craft beer!</i> the beer people laugh. <i>He said Bollinger is the best you'll get for £35!</i> the coloured trouser wearers scoff. And so on.<br />
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(I even saw one comment last night bemoaning the fact beer <i>wasn't</i> covered on 12 Drinks, so you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. Though it was a fair comment actually. And interestingly it was suggested beer may've been excluded to avoid conflict with Armstrong's Shepherd Neame advertising deal.)<br />
<br />
Why do these shows come in for such criticism? Does it come from a genuine desire for the information to be accurate? Maybe. Or is it a kneejerk response by geeks to separate themselves from the rest; to say <i>I know more than this mainstream show</i>.<br />
<br />
I thought The 12 Drinks of Christmas did its job pretty well - it was entertaining enough and there was enough info to get people thinking more about what they taste. Surely this is the important thing for a non-specialist audience: as long as the basic info is accurate, the main point is to entertain, get people into good drinks to begin with, trigger something, and the bigger story can come later if they want it.<br />
<br />
As has been said before, <a href="http://www.booktrust.org.uk/books/writing/online-writer-in-residence/blog/558/" target="_blank">you don't have to be <i>serious</i> about something to be serious about something</a>. Maybe sometimes, experts feel threatened by the masses discovering their niche interest, much like an indier-than-thou music geek realising their undiscovered band has gone mainstream.Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-82103819210839643592013-12-04T08:14:00.000-08:002013-12-04T08:15:41.755-08:00Campo Viejo Rioja 1976<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig16Ocyg1AHBe-y64F0qDoFkNXCGkssVy2hhyl_iQZTMyktcdLLMx3rNeoU-2ABcOL-4VDkKBmhyXRntEQbu_C11YDapNNzwVgbme0caaECc0D5qFoPwlAKKjXaGG-ep2gssW_9vEXwexQ/s1600/20131202_131454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig16Ocyg1AHBe-y64F0qDoFkNXCGkssVy2hhyl_iQZTMyktcdLLMx3rNeoU-2ABcOL-4VDkKBmhyXRntEQbu_C11YDapNNzwVgbme0caaECc0D5qFoPwlAKKjXaGG-ep2gssW_9vEXwexQ/s1600/20131202_131454.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>When you see a star, you're seeing the present and the past at the same time. You're seeing it now but what you also see is how it looked a long time ago.<br />
<br />
We uncorked this old wine - the cork gently came apart - and poured it into glinting glasses, that very second smelling aromas from 37 years ago. Beautiful.<br />
<br />
The liquid was light red and smelt leafy and herbal, a bit tomatoey, a smell of the earth from all that time ago; like beauty in a star that might already have burst. It tasted mellow and made me think of sage, of cloves and raspberries, and maybe of <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://vadakkus.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/pale_blue_dot.jpg&imgrefurl=http://vadakkus.com/2011/10/01/the-pale-blue-dot-we-are-nothing/&h=596&w=439&sz=218&tbnid=qafhQy24pRrBRM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=67&zoom=1&usg=__lXSX0pvI4fYuYa-WE4jfZuk6bsU=&docid=ytW22H0tGwEbIM&sa=X&ei=RE-fUtT2FYq60QXi3oHADQ&ved=0CDkQ9QEwAw" target="_blank">life and the passing of time</a>.Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-4328775920470745762013-11-29T06:42:00.002-08:002013-11-29T06:51:04.692-08:00Starting a sentence with So – why did it catch on?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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It's all the rage, starting sentences with the word So.</div>
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I see Radio 4's <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9644000/9644002.stm" target="_blank">Today</a> programme covered it back in 2011,
noting it seems particularly common among scientist types. Other than that,
they were at a loss about its origins.</div>
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So. I've got two kind-of theories about this bizarre trend
entirely plucked out of thin air. One about the reason people started to do it and the
other about where it started.</div>
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I think people often do it in a bid to convey authority,
to take the senior role in a conversation. Maybe this explains the scientists
thing and it'd also fit in with the fact I've noticed politicians doing it
quite a lot (I'm pretty sure I noticed <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24779368" target="_blank">Grant Shapps</a> doing it in a recent
Question Time episode - the one featuring that memorable <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JIvARoGbS4" target="_blank">Mehdi Hasan Daily Mail</a> bit). I'd be interested to see if other types of salespeople aside from
politicians use it too.</div>
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Just in that one word at the start of your sentence you're
showing the person you're speaking to that you mean business; that you've taken
firm hold of the conversational baton; that you're not merely having a chat
with them but informing them. So, listen to me, this is the important bit, kind
of thing. A shorter version of the old politician's favourite "The fact of
the matter is…" (which is usually followed by a non-fact).</div>
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<br /></div>
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I wonder if it started on social media, where it might make
more sense to use the word So at the start of tweets, blogposts and so on to
make your writing seem informal and most importantly to give it a feel of
continuity. A shorter way of saying "Following on from my last post
yesterday…". Maybe it's served a purpose in the 24-hour connected thing,
of giving the impression you're constantly in touch with your online friends
rather than giving intermittent broadcasts, and it's spread from there to
speech. And now it's there people are doing it unconsciously.</div>
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I also have an inkling it's the offspring of the Australian
inflection: by that I mean people who do one are likely to do the other. In my
limited experience it seems to be used more in the south-east of England and by
a professional/aspirational kind of demographic, though I may be wrong.</div>
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<br /></div>
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">So where do you think it came from? And does it add an
air of authority, or does it just sound condescending?</span></b>Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-28423887532937738382013-10-31T10:10:00.000-07:002013-10-31T10:12:54.168-07:0025% off supermarket wine: Terres de Galets 2012 Cotes du Rhone for £4 and McWilliam's Semillon at under £7<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSK6ZOVwaoMv11nLCBEhHZc1wH44WlsdFrEcyZhIREfCED2RbECR5bXwoAAcuZViAK07DoalIO2JgNEtlqHDNtQHUYe1uCXzeX9oYlUbVrU5bUkAn85Ov9H9xcUpNMzr-QLKQt99O2Fe61/s1600/galets1.jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSK6ZOVwaoMv11nLCBEhHZc1wH44WlsdFrEcyZhIREfCED2RbECR5bXwoAAcuZViAK07DoalIO2JgNEtlqHDNtQHUYe1uCXzeX9oYlUbVrU5bUkAn85Ov9H9xcUpNMzr-QLKQt99O2Fe61/s1600/galets1.jpg.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McWilliam's semillon and Terres de Galets Cotes du Rhone</td></tr>
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It seems like all the supermarkets are offering 25% off six bottles of wine at the moment - I've taken advantage in recent weeks at Tesco and Sainsbury's.<br />
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<a href="http://www.tesco.com/wine/product/details/default.aspx?N=8130+4294965366+4294967087&No=10&id=250515596" target="_blank"><b>McWilliam's Mount Pleasant Elizabeth 2005</b></a> is really brilliant at £6.75 a bottle, a proper white wine that warranted its original £9 price in the first place. Speaking of real wine, that's how <a href="http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a201206201.html" target="_blank">Jancis Robinson</a> described the red I went for to complete the Tesco case with the McWilliam's semillon - <a href="http://www.tesco.com/wine/product/details/default.aspx?N=4294962074+8069+4294965479&id=272593290" target="_blank"><b>Finest Somontano</b></a>, a Spanish region that was new to me and an unshowy wine that had a savoury finish, like tea without sugar.<br />
<br />
Then over at Sainsbury's this week I picked up some of the <a href="http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/groceries/index.jsp?bmUID=1383238669632" target="_blank"><b>Terres de Galets 2012</b></a>, a Cotes du Rhone that makes for a good house red at the daft price of just over £4 a bottle when you buy six. It's a wine I like, especially for the price, but you don't have to take my word for it as a quick Google search shows it's won a <a href="http://www.internationalwinechallenge.com/canopy/beverage_details.php?wid=56001" target="_blank">medal</a> or <a href="http://www.iwsc.net/search2013/info/2547/" target="_blank">two</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.morrisonscellar.com/" target="_blank">Morrisons</a>, <a href="http://www.waitrosedirect.com/wine" target="_blank">Waitrose</a> and <a href="http://www.marksandspencer.com/Wine-Food-Wine/b/44092030" target="_blank">M&S</a> are also currently offering similar 25% reductions on their wine selections, so it's well worth stocking up on a few bottles. Depending on your finances, you can pick up some <a href="http://simonohare.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/my-10-top-tips-for-buying-cheap-wine.html" target="_blank">good cheap wines</a> or you can take the chance to try something more interesting than you could usually afford.<br />
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These offers are great for consumers - but not without concern for independent wine shops which presumably lose out on a fair amount of trade as a result.<br />
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Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-15528373480165953582013-09-12T13:17:00.000-07:002013-09-12T13:17:22.473-07:00My 10 top tips for buying cheap wineCheap doesn't always equal good value. As a general rule, the less you pay for something, the less likely it'll be of good quality. So I'd always say beware false economies and, if you have a bit more spare cash, spending just that little bit more can be well worth it.<br />
<br />
But that doesn't mean expensive stuff will always be great, or cheap stuff will always be rubbish. If you don't have much to spend, you just need to be selective, and a bit lucky.<br />
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My <b>advice for buying cheap wine</b> is based simply on my own experience - so feel free to agree, disagree or add your own top tips.<br />
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<h3>
<b>1. Ignore half-price wine offers in supermarkets</b></h3>
These half-price offers would be great if they were applied at random and on rotation to all the wines in a retailer's range... but they're not. You can find better value wines not on offer.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>2. Use supermarket 25% off promotions</b></h3>
These are applied across the whole range (apart from usually the very high-end stuff) and you typically get the discount if you buy six or 12 bottles. A good tactic here is to mix up a few very cheap (but good) bottles - treat these as your "house" or weekday wines - with a few much more interesting ones with the money you've saved.<br />
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<h3>
<b>3. Shop at specialist wine shops</b></h3>
It's become a bit of a wine writer's cliche to say it, but it's true. This is where the all important concept of value rather than cheapness comes in - you're more likely to find interesting or memorable wines in these shops, as wine is their reason for being - it's their speciality rather than a means of driving sales of other items. <br />
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<h3>
<b>4. Go for France, Spain, Argentina and Portugal</b></h3>
I generally find these countries a good bet for cheaper wines - especially reds - by that I mean around the £5-7 mark. <a href="http://www.wineanorak.com/wineblog/spain/where-does-the-worlds-best-cheap-wine-come-from" target="_blank">Spain</a> in particular seems a top choice for good value wines at the moment, both for classic styles and more new wave examples.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>5. Tread carefully elsewhere</b></h3>
On the other hand, if I fancy trying the wines of, say, the USA, South Africa or New Zealand, I might spend a bit more rather than focus on the bargain end, here in the UK at least. <a href="http://simonohare.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/oz-clarke-if-youre-in-bad-mood-its.html" target="_blank">Oz Clarke</a> said similar, and if there's anyone who knows his stuff, it's Oz.<br />
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<h3>
<b>6. Shop around</b></h3>
This might seem a bit obvious, but use different retailers. One day you might pick up a bottle in <a href="http://www.selfridges.com/en/Food-Wine/" target="_blank">Selfridges</a> or <a href="http://www.harveynichols.com/food-wine/categories/wines-spirits.html" target="_blank">Harvey Nichols</a>, the next it might be <a href="http://www.tesco.com/wine/" target="_blank">Tesco</a> or <a href="https://www.aldi.co.uk/" target="_blank">Aldi</a>. There's good and bad value all over the place, so keep an eye out and take advantage when you spot a good deal, whether for a fancy or a simple bottle of wine.<br />
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<h3>
<b>7. Use the web</b></h3>
Another obvious one, but it is a brilliant tool for finding the best wine deals. And the beauty of it is that while building up a case online you can open another tab in your browser and Google any wine you're thinking of getting to find out more and see what other people and experts thought of it before you commit.<br />
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<h3>
<b>8. Read, read, read and find wine experts you trust</b></h3>
There's no quick fix for this one, but it'll pay dividends - it'll take time and lots of reading to work out who you like and whose tastes are similar to your own. I regularly keep an eye on the blogs and sites of Jamie Goode, Tim Atkin, Jancis Robinson and many, many others. Not just for individual wine recommendations, but general winey titbits.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>9. Use social media</b></h3>
This links in with the previous two tips - make use of social media. Following a mix of experts and enthusiasts on Twitter is a great way to learn more about wine.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>10. Get clues from the label</b></h3>
It's true the label isn't always a good barometer of what's in the bottle, but sometimes you can pick up little clues to help you. For instance does the label name the winemaker, does it give specifics about the winemaking site and method (eg it was made naturally, unfiltered, from a specific vineyard etc). This is a tricky area as a lot of these things can easily cross over into marketing bumf, but sometimes you just get a sense this is a wine someone's cared about rather than just churned out.Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-20106076268304773472013-08-23T07:31:00.001-07:002013-08-23T07:38:32.621-07:00A brilliant rioja - Urbina Gran Reserva 1994<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFk0HUwvzL8qylOULKgbwqHbH7PsU6yoac-Y6t7f2WqjaqBu1P5aE3cAis7fPEbbk4bxq6czLA1aBeGJZ6wibc_r1K4bYiMXKpa4XSvHejCw6t8wJI7ERcJsP98wpDOYoGW9RoIGwNz0Ve/s1600/20130722_223049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFk0HUwvzL8qylOULKgbwqHbH7PsU6yoac-Y6t7f2WqjaqBu1P5aE3cAis7fPEbbk4bxq6czLA1aBeGJZ6wibc_r1K4bYiMXKpa4XSvHejCw6t8wJI7ERcJsP98wpDOYoGW9RoIGwNz0Ve/s1600/20130722_223049.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
This wine was beautiful.<br />
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Somehow had an understated, cushioned power to it; the sweet smell of a library's old red leather chair.<br />
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Highly recommended - we got it for £14.99 from <a href="http://www.majestic.co.uk/Rioja-Gran-Reserva-zid14022" target="_blank">Majestic</a>.<br />
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That's the kind of price you might pay for a forgettable house wine in a restaurant. Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-30504637834659335862013-08-15T08:02:00.001-07:002013-08-15T08:02:57.157-07:00How cheap should wine be?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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What should be the cheapest price for a bottle of wine in
the UK?</div>
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And should wine critics recommend very cheap wine?</div>
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I've been mulling this over after enjoying some pretty
decent cheap wines lately with mixed feelings.</div>
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You might argue a wine critic's job is to recommend any wine
that's good value, and the cheaper the better. The critic is meant to be on the
side of the consumer.</div>
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<br /></div>
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But - a big but. What's good for the consumer in the short
term - very cheap but tasty wine - might not be good for the winemaker and
retailer, and in turn the consumer, in the long run.</div>
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<br /></div>
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What if it's a race to the bottom with winemakers getting
less and less income until the decent ones who can't afford to take the losses
drop out?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Should we be willing to pay a bit more per bottle to make
sure the people who make our wines earn a sustainable living?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Or should we let the market decide: get the best wine we can
at the cheapest price we can get hold of it, especially when we have very
little money ourselves? After all, spending a few more quid doesn't bring any
guarantees of ethical production.</div>
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I try to earn a living from writing, so I can empathise with
winemakers who feel they're trying to do something meaningful or creative for
little reward. I recently saw an advert for apprenticeships for 16-year-old
school leavers with a couple of GCSEs, and the apprenticeships paid as well
(/badly) as many freelance writing jobs. This is after you've got into debt
studying and got work experience over several years; minimum wage territory.</div>
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So - I appreciate the frustration of winemakers or anyone
else who cares about doing something properly and gets barely a liveable
reward.</div>
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But in another sense, because of that I feel less bad about
buying cheap wine, for now at least. If winemakers are paid as little as I am,
I'm pretty sure they might, for example, choose to read a newspaper for free
online instead of paying for a print subscription, even though journalists'
jobs are dropping faster than vines in a storm.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I suppose what I'm saying is, the chance to spend a few quid
less on anything is pretty useful for many people right now. It's a bit
depressing, it leaves a bad aftertaste, but is it a necessary evil?</div>
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What is a fair minimum price for a bottle of wine?</div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-15382780583627427362013-06-29T01:54:00.000-07:002013-06-29T01:58:30.526-07:00Wine - what's hot and what's not?Your non-wine geek friend is over for a drink, you reach for a bottle of red <i>from the fridge</i>, and they laugh.<br />
<br />
You can't blame them. Putting a red wine in the fridge probably looks a bit daft.<br />
<br />
When wine isn't an obsession, you don't tend to do it. Wine's a rare treat you have on a Friday or Saturday night for a cosy night in, just one or two glasses, treating it in the same way as a brandy in front of the fire. A big, deep, rich and oaky red is perhaps what you fancy more often than not.<br />
<br />
But then you get more fascinated by wine, and you drink it more often. And gradually, you don't mind your red wines served slightly cooler.<br />
<br />
At least I think that's what I've found. Just lately - maybe it's the warmer weather - when I've opened a red wine it's tasted a bit soupy. It has a certain effect on the feel of a red wine in the mouth when it's too warm - a bit like taking a clothes hanger from out of a shirt and letting it crumple to the floor. Putting it in the fridge for even just 10 minutes seems to freshen it up again, gets the shape back.<br />
<br />
Obviously as always it depends on the wine, the mood, the weather and the occasion and there are definitely no set rules. Each to their own; no two people will have exactly the same preferences in anything.<br />
<br />
But it made me wonder - has my taste/palate evolved as I've got more into wine, or is it simply that when you drink the stuff a bit more often, refreshment becomes more important? As wine is more of an everyday drink, you want it to refresh you? <br />
<br />
It also made me wonder about wine tastings, wine scores and wine awards.<br />
<br />
Wine writers, rightly, are always telling us about the importance of serving wine in the right way to get it at its best - not just the right temperature, but also the right glass, letting it breathe, and so on. All of these variables are different for different wines. After all, it's the main selling point for wine glass makers and retailers - certain wines seem better in certain glasses. Different wines also taste better at different temperatures and some need more exposure to air than others.<br />
<br />
I've never judged at a wine awards, so I don't know the ins and outs. But I gather that generally every wine is served in the same glass as all the others, and presumably at the same temperature. I don't know whether they're all given the same amount of time to breathe.<br />
<br />
At first glance that might look fair, as you're treating them all the same. But equal opportunities isn't about taking a uniform approach. Think about an office building - to give everyone the same opportunities you need to provide different options. A ramp at the entrance; the chance to adjust our chairs to different heights, and so on.<br />
<br />
Think about the best drama you've ever seen on the telly. For me, maybe The Killing or Six Feet Under. Amazing TV, but we all need the volume turned up to different levels to appreciate it equally.<br />
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Different wines, even within the same category, might taste at their best when given different treatment. Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-75711950673565416092013-06-26T14:00:00.000-07:002013-06-26T14:15:34.033-07:00A night of cheese and wine at Sam's Chop House, Leeds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgezq67xBQ664Q_0DVC2k9nyL4gr0KvdLOf99QwFvbWWetkJjQ8xDKhMVOhyphenhyphenIHml2Gqk9ZTr2CN47YMyLCPuuVXJaRYi6P6wtQIgLZD_5X6fe374oJnFskYfMIs5gYWUDsumNzi4WvRm0ug/s1600/2013-06-19+18.03.58.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgezq67xBQ664Q_0DVC2k9nyL4gr0KvdLOf99QwFvbWWetkJjQ8xDKhMVOhyphenhyphenIHml2Gqk9ZTr2CN47YMyLCPuuVXJaRYi6P6wtQIgLZD_5X6fe374oJnFskYfMIs5gYWUDsumNzi4WvRm0ug/s1600/2013-06-19+18.03.58.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Wine, cheese, good company, a nice restaurant - you can't go far wrong can you?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George Bergier</td></tr>
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This was a great night made memorable by the brilliant <a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeBergier" target="_blank"><b>George Bergier</b></a>, sommelier at <a href="http://samschophouse.com/" target="_blank">Sam's Chop House</a> and its sister restaurants who gave a masterclass in the art of sommeliering (I'd like to think that's a word). He presented various wines to match the cheeses, constantly nipping out and coming back with a different bottle for us all to try, his generosity and knowledge carried so lightly yet flowing round the table so easily.<br />
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For some unknown reason I don't have a photo of the first cheese, though that's probably because it was quickly scoffed. It was a <b>burrata</b>, which is like a super-rich mozzarella made with double cream and it can be eaten sweet or savoury, a bit like mascarpone. It's like a very creamy yogurt, the kind of thing where less is probably more, pretty irresistible really. If you think of the unctuous and creaminess implied in those comically suggestive Danone adverts, and then add a bit, you're in the right ball park. It went very nicely with the lemony, maybe even honey-tinged <b>Le Coste</b> trebbiano.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSb8G_U3pR8uIVKLtxDXXHkNMyFTR1Fx8JSb79JZtyO7xleJyN71tuaPEc-xbJVGFnjs1gB-hM1TZHWimkhSuXZJNdoMiEPTX839BsWA-l6XcobyptW71_XIM8M3FDo80i9ytBecwKIj77/s1600/2013-06-19+18.35.28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSb8G_U3pR8uIVKLtxDXXHkNMyFTR1Fx8JSb79JZtyO7xleJyN71tuaPEc-xbJVGFnjs1gB-hM1TZHWimkhSuXZJNdoMiEPTX839BsWA-l6XcobyptW71_XIM8M3FDo80i9ytBecwKIj77/s1600/2013-06-19+18.35.28.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Croix Belle 2011</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkpBVW_BIUqBHSeR0goOWmegTVbUXNezvzhm-M8mE69ljeGY5lBMuCEJe4-X1wFcxVTcMaHeCD5fPB0a_TOhaxPwnp_WnUFWzyoRMoTe-dkmcCNhsYDug2WmS1c_A1rVF0exvH73V4Rxy/s1600/4d1947238e20007f55aa145fd6e4fb90-204x208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkpBVW_BIUqBHSeR0goOWmegTVbUXNezvzhm-M8mE69ljeGY5lBMuCEJe4-X1wFcxVTcMaHeCD5fPB0a_TOhaxPwnp_WnUFWzyoRMoTe-dkmcCNhsYDug2WmS1c_A1rVF0exvH73V4Rxy/s1600/4d1947238e20007f55aa145fd6e4fb90-204x208.JPG" height="200" width="196" /></a>The <b>Old Amsterdam</b> cheese was next, my first thought being it was a kind of gouda/parmesan hybrid. Which is certainly a good thing for me. It seemed packed full of those savoury, umami type flavours you get from parmesan and perhaps a bit of caramel in there too, with George pointing out there was also a pineappley note to the smell. With <b>La Croix Belle</b> chardonnay this was a great match, and it also mingled nicely as an alternative with some good bordeaux - <b>Chateau Bonnet 2008</b>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWcDFMkh2H7FANhr_E9gyEXmRxYKC_MjJJfUcXi5Rnh8DZZBo93OJBZ65XN3sycrpmxNWu7-r4mjUzc9ByGEieN9aLkUOPgXewS9CJbRqWrSTpnaZ6fVSpjEt_-wwOviuEs-GkrJzoU4JY/s1600/2013-06-19+18.40.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWcDFMkh2H7FANhr_E9gyEXmRxYKC_MjJJfUcXi5Rnh8DZZBo93OJBZ65XN3sycrpmxNWu7-r4mjUzc9ByGEieN9aLkUOPgXewS9CJbRqWrSTpnaZ6fVSpjEt_-wwOviuEs-GkrJzoU4JY/s1600/2013-06-19+18.40.02.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>Some Swedish cheddar next, if that's not a contradiction. <b>Vasterbottensost</b> came with a legend about a milk maid getting distracted by a man and forgetting to stir the curd - I've heard similar stories about beers where brewers forgot to add hops and whacked a load in at the end - and whether or not it's true that that's how it was invented, either way I'm glad it was. It's a salty, gravelly iceberg of a cheese and it was paired with the aromatic <b>Torres Esmeralda</b> and the <b>Berri Shiraz</b>.<br />
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<b>Epoisses</b>. Wow, epoisses. How good is this stuff. The kind of cheese that sags and oozes into the cheeseboard as it sweats at room temperature, easing out its almost animal smell. As is probably often the case its taste isn't as strong as its smell; mellow to begin with in the mouth, slowly building to a crescendo with whatever wine you stick in there with it.<br />
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The epoisses was amazing with the dessert wines George brought out - the <b>Chateau du Seuil 2009</b>, which I loved, and the <b>Royal Tokaji 2007</b> which, well, I loved too. The French wine smelt clean and lemony and soft in the mouth with flavours of apricot, herbs and lime that went on and on. At least that's what my notes say. And the Tokaji was a dream match, an amazing aroma, old floorboards with a story to tell, but a fresh juiciness on the palate. Amazing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfkXcm5Pd_udecOPUakiJyYpCTxgSgJeKh4vA_lAfnseWK6l-MPsu_IOsOuEsXeG6nt0CHxj2sdjyq0_39B5ijPVttdPlLsv7g94Bp75T0W9OTt1ybcg78xT4JAy69enIQMMM20k91RCA/s1600/2013-06-19+19.08.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfkXcm5Pd_udecOPUakiJyYpCTxgSgJeKh4vA_lAfnseWK6l-MPsu_IOsOuEsXeG6nt0CHxj2sdjyq0_39B5ijPVttdPlLsv7g94Bp75T0W9OTt1ybcg78xT4JAy69enIQMMM20k91RCA/s1600/2013-06-19+19.08.42.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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I'm always a fan of <b>gorgonzola</b> and we had a picante version on the night which I really enjoyed; it had a faintly spicy, nutty note on the tongue.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEmN9GvqKgu2q_AEQ-jobGNMujw1_6QGf1sS0y4rh5Si-GuXW6mUn6jlAsp3WdzPpzxM6AH2IakWCtjWEwsHEwn4n97MdInxCFjUyxuxcfuKLOybCx2TVrYKxXc6R4pwdjg9GCnuKr0pdb/s1600/2013-06-19+20.06.12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEmN9GvqKgu2q_AEQ-jobGNMujw1_6QGf1sS0y4rh5Si-GuXW6mUn6jlAsp3WdzPpzxM6AH2IakWCtjWEwsHEwn4n97MdInxCFjUyxuxcfuKLOybCx2TVrYKxXc6R4pwdjg9GCnuKr0pdb/s1600/2013-06-19+20.06.12.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
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Another highlight of the night for me was trying the <b>Moon River</b> pinot noir from Hungary - which had a really natural smell to it, if that doesn't sound daft - roses, undergrowth, that kind of thing. A wine of character. In that way it reminded me of the <a href="http://www.robersonwine.com/shop/producers/france/languedoc-roussillon-234/mas-coutelou" target="_blank">Mas Coutelou wines</a> I've tried. There were little strips of sediment in the bottom of the glass. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXEm2V98Yf511Hjm-IePknYpA5zMNBWJcOnrOLxjC1L6bw6RCYY5y_ts-YT-po1fYv0PKH7fDEns1KTTsE1a0M61i56HSvAItn420CqDIrT6f0JT0OmVNEhJMUelzHPRgzoAnVW79Cttcf/s1600/2013-06-19+20.06.49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXEm2V98Yf511Hjm-IePknYpA5zMNBWJcOnrOLxjC1L6bw6RCYY5y_ts-YT-po1fYv0PKH7fDEns1KTTsE1a0M61i56HSvAItn420CqDIrT6f0JT0OmVNEhJMUelzHPRgzoAnVW79Cttcf/s1600/2013-06-19+20.06.49.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>I also enjoyed the fresh berry flavours of this sangiovese, one of the bottles George left for us to finish off at the end, rounding off what was a great night.<br />
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In the interests of disclosure, I was invited to this event by the people promoting <a href="https://www.facebook.com/UKOldAmsterdam?ref=ts&fref=ts" target="_blank">Old Amsterdam</a> and went away with a generous cheesy goodie bag. Which was very much a bonus as I thoroughly enjoyed the cheeses anyway.<br />
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At the event I also enjoyed the great company of <a href="http://breadsticklers.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Breadsticklers</a>, <a href="http://www.littleblondelife.com/" target="_blank">Littleblondlife </a>and <a href="http://www.yorkshirepudd.co.uk/" target="_blank">Yorkshire Pudd</a>.Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-78444235319091585302013-06-22T09:11:00.000-07:002013-06-22T09:11:27.613-07:00Wine and the obsession with choiceSome wine critics are very earnest.<br />
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Like a pope standing between the masses and enlightenment, they taste wine after wine after wine and score each one out of 100. The suggestion seems to be it's a totally cold and objective process; they're scoring wines against set criteria for a public duty, a job that a well-programmed robot could surely do one day. Enjoyment doesn't come into it.<br />
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Which keeps things nice and simple. You might have a wine rated at 96, another at 94, another at 91 and another at 90.<br />
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Why would you ever buy the lowest-ranked wines? By this logic there is absolutely no reason to. Someone with encyclopaedic knowledge, and the memory powers to compare all that knowledge in one sip to within one percentile of accuracy, has told us which are the best wines and which are the worst. Which ones to buy and which to avoid.<br />
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This is the Ofsted of wine. <br />
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Thatcher's governments (and perhaps Reagan's in the US) - and each administration since - promoted an obsession with choice. And with league tables. Choice in public services. The freedom to choose. You can even choose which hospital to have an operation in. Again, as with the wine, I think I'll choose the good one please.<br />
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Supermarkets are masters at this. Shelves packed full with wine, loads at under £7 a bottle. You go into an independent wine shop and there might be only seven or eight bottles under a tenner in the whole store. A lack of choice, so it seems.<br />
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We're always chasing something better, sipping a wine while looking over the glass to the next label, and the one after that, wondering if they will be 1% better or worse and forgetting to enjoy the moment.<br />
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It's a bit like being lucky enough to experience an amazing event, a live concert or football match say, and spending more time worrying about capturing it on your camera than <i>feeling</i> it.<br />
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We're constantly choosing and comparing, and in wine this obsession's been fuelled by the 100-point scores.<br />
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The best thing in the world at a brief moment in your life - that fleeting moment - might be a cheap bottle of Cotes du Rhones with a plate of cheese. Whether the wine is a rustic 85 or 87 or a 93 or 95 may be irrelevant. The moment is what it's about, and moments are personal and social, and they're there and then they're gone.<br />
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<br />Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-43320578038974252172013-06-21T05:44:00.000-07:002013-06-21T06:07:56.193-07:00Swillington Organic Farm set to be lost to HS2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've visited <a href="http://swillingtonorganicfarm.co.uk/" target="_blank">Swillington Organic Farm</a> on the edge of Leeds a couple of times in recent weeks. It's a beautiful, unspoilt bit of land which seems to stand for a lot of what politicians talk about when they speak of the need to change how we live, to become greener, to support small family businesses. The animals appear very well cared-for, there's a walled garden where locals grow their own vegetables, the farm hosts school visits and other activities to help people learn new skills and see where their food comes from. I'd say the farm does a lot to benefit the local area.<br />
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But it's set to be demolished. The proposed route for the high-speed rail link known as <b>HS2</b> runs right through the farm. HS2 is being proposed on the basis it will be <a href="http://www.hs2.org.uk/about-hs2/facts-figures" target="_blank">better for the environment and the economy</a>, bringing other cities closer to London and taking the pressure off the existing transport network. These claims have been <a href="http://stophs2.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/National-interest-and-North-South-divide.pdf" target="_blank">strongly questioned</a> by those against the scheme, who think a small fraction of the project's cost would be better spent elsewhere, like by improving the existing infrastructure.<br />
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As the world increasingly connects via virtual rather than physical networks - a train journey itself can be time productively spent - the amount of benefit from cutting, say, half-an-hour off a trip certainly seems debatable or even quaint in the digital age.<br />
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No doubt there are many other small businesses along the route facing a similar fate. With any new development like this, where it's unavoidable people and businesses will be affected, we have to be wary of nimbyism, of course. But this is actually the opposite - this is stepping back and looking at the big picture, which looks like lots of tiny dots of people and businesses in local communities interconnected by short lines, a picture that will be redrawn with fewer but bigger dots connected by longer lines. Primarily with a bigger flow of people into the capital. This does not seem like an obviously good thing for local communities outside London.<br />
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Where I live in the Kirkstall area, across the other side of Leeds from Swillington, you can tell it was once very green. Development has brought lots of benefits - we wouldn't have houses to live in or convenient shops to shop at if we never built anything - but that doesn't mean we don't have choices about how we build. It seems as though our area is becoming more and more a place that people drive to and drive through, a bit like a big Ikea shopping complex in suburb form, with a weird road network designed for traffic not people. It's as though when the big shops moved in, we were blinded by the light of the new jobs and the convenience and we forgot to make sure we also kept a high street. I'm sure Kirkstall's not unusual in that way.<br />
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Isn't there a danger we're making the same mistakes all over again? Or do you think HS2 is too important to drop?<br />
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It will be a very sad day if this lovely farm is lost to HS2. Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-20088964703725490332013-05-21T08:20:00.000-07:002013-05-21T08:20:49.951-07:00d'Arenberg The High Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon 2009<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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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).<br />
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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.<br />
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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.Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5649920854024808110.post-60653892097164804922013-05-03T05:28:00.000-07:002013-05-03T05:28:41.794-07:00Wine jargon explained!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_wPm66o3pyR5b5gj00DDFELPqmq6zteyogEI419AAPY6vYsAwKqWdiq5fT3RFAc3QB_mnFSh_x4Ct6PURdRij2B8vnnTby38YFqAoXlwivcWymAF2Rr5eN0He7_N_T-dGTQ88hchdilv/s1600/20130413_211032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_wPm66o3pyR5b5gj00DDFELPqmq6zteyogEI419AAPY6vYsAwKqWdiq5fT3RFAc3QB_mnFSh_x4Ct6PURdRij2B8vnnTby38YFqAoXlwivcWymAF2Rr5eN0He7_N_T-dGTQ88hchdilv/s1600/20130413_211032.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
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 - <i>precise</i>... <i>serious</i>... <i>focused</i>... <i>playful</i>... <i>feminine</i>... <i>approachable</i>.<br />
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So I thought I'd do a handy guide to what one or two of these oddities might mean - to help you sort the <a href="http://www.lafite.com/eng" target="_blank">Lafite</a> from the <a href="http://www.delaire.co.za/" target="_blank">Graff</a>, if you will.<br />
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My tongue-in-cheek guide to funny wine terms.<br />
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<ul>
<li>PRICE POINT - price </li>
<li>WINE TRADE - wine business, wine industry</li>
<li>FINE - usually 1) great; may sometimes mean 2) not heavy in texture; never means 3) decent, not bad</li>
<li>SERIOUS - see FINE, above (antonym: quaffable)</li>
<li>CROWD-PLEASER - I can see why people with poor taste like it</li>
<li>QUAFFABLE or QUAFFER - nothing fancy but does the job</li>
<li>OVERDELIVERS - is good value</li>
<li>REFLECTS ITS TERROIR or HAS A SENSE OF PLACE - fits my preconceived idea of how wines from this region should taste</li>
<li>GOOD TYPICITY - ignore the bit about terroir; tastes how I expect this grape to taste</li>
<li>FOCUSED or PRECISE - a posh quaffer</li>
<li>ON THE NOSE I'M GETTING... - it smells like...</li>
<li>THIS WINE IS SHOWING WELL - this tastes good today</li>
</ul>
Simon O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10944144832414040484noreply@blogger.com0