Harvest with Harrow & Hope

I was lucky to be invited by Kaye Laithwaite to join the harvest of Pinot Noir grapes on the Harrow & Hope vineyard this morning. I have to say it is back-breaking work and I am amazed at the seasoned pickers who work from 7am-7pm, but I left with a sense of achievement that comes from hard work and a full stomach thanks to the gorgeous Barbara Laithwaite who served a delicious lunch. 

H&H hand pick their grapes allowing selection of prime grapes with minimal damage, which is important for this small vineyard. Hand-picking grapes is also important for regions with steep aspects, such as Mosel, Duoro, and Northern Rhône. Mechanical picking can't be used for wines that require whole-bunch grapes, such as Champagne and Beaujolais. As you would expect, machine harvesting is cheaper and easier, but can also be valuable for night-picking which is required for Sauvignon Blanc grapes which over-ripen very quickly once picked.

The juice that was pressed this morning by Henry Laithwaite was like no grape juice I've ever tasted, it was intense, refined, and like nectar. I can't wait to try the Harrow & Hope English sparkling wine that my grapes make!

If you would like to find out more about the story of Harrow & Hope and the wines they make, take a look at their website www.harrowandhope.com

If you would like to learn how to grow vines or make wine, you can take courses at Plumpton College in Sussex www.plumpton.ac.uk

If you want to work in vineyards in the UK, or need help setting up your own vineyard, get in touch with Vine Works www.vine-works.com

Best 10 under £10 at Jeroboams Summer Tasting

Jeroboams fine wine merchant invited me to their summer tasting and unfortunately I was double-booked so didn't have much time. I set myself the task of tasting only the wines under £10 and finding the best ones.

Sparkling:

Cote Mas Piquepoul Frisant, Paul Mas, Vin de France 2013 £8.50 - this was a lively sparkling with stone fruit flavours and minerality. It lacked some of the autolytic flavours (toast, yeast etc.) from Champagne, but I have to say a sparkling from France that's not Champagne tends to be awfully good value.

White:

Excellens Blanco, marques de caceres, Rioja 2013 £7.50 - a white Rioja is often overlooked and hence often good value. This was exceptional, my favourite white on the night, with tropical fruit flavours and a lovely minerality.

Hunter's Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand 2013 £8.95 - Everything you should expect.

Quincy, Domaine Andre Pigeat, Loire 2013 £9.95 - Pretty good value from the Loire (buying from vineyards next to premium ones such as Sancerre often gets you a good deal). Lovely Qumquat flavour.

Rose:

Villa Wolf Rose, Pinot Noir, Ernst Loosen Pfalz, Germany 2012 £8.95 - Delicious peach and lemon sherbert flavours, light with a little residual sugar, like eating a fruit salad.

Red:

Les Tannes Syrah, Tradition, IGP Pays D'Oc, Paul Mas 2012 £6.95 - this was my favourite red, it had fantastic structure, its organic, you can taste violets, and I would consider it to be a touch arrogant (well Jancis Robinson likes it too, so why shouldn't it be?).

Rosso Maniero, IGT Colli della Toscana Centrale, Fattoria Casaloste, Italy 2010 £10.95 - OK I've gone over £10 for this one, but its worth it, its very heavy, savoury, with umami flavours, wondering if it has Mafia connections with the punch it pulls!

Fleurie, Domaine de Sermezy, Patrice Chevrier, Beaujolais 2011 £9.95 - light and delicious, plenty of red fruits bursting on the palate, exactly what you expect from a Fleurie.

Raza Reserva Malbec, Famatina Valley, Vinas Riojanas 2012 £7.95 - Most people I know will love a Malbec when they're having steak in a restaurant, but never at home. For this price, its time to get Malbec on your dinner table! This has had 12 months in oak, but is still quite young, so could age a bit to allow those leathery flavours to develop.

St Nicholas de Bourgueil, Les VII Arpents, Foucher-Lebrun, Loire £8.50 - this is fresh yet smokey, and perhaps a little young, but in six months' time you'll be licking your lips to get a taste of this.

10 at £10, bargain! I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised, these wines are really something. Although Jeroboams are known for their fine wines, I think you'd be pleased to have them as your wine merchant, even if your budget is £10 a bottle. They will be able to tailor to your tastes, learn over time what style of wine you prefer, and I'm sure they'd be happy to serve your needs even with a limited budget, although you'll have to forgive them for up-selling occasionally I'm sure. Same goes for other merchants. It might be daunting at first, but you certainly get better value wines than from a supermarket. Plus you'll be getting wines from the more obscure producers and brands. Only downside really is you don't get to browse and choose (my favourite thing to do, although I know others hate that task), and you have to buy by the case (which shouldn't be a problem if you drink as much wine as I do, but might be if you're on a weekly budget).

Why Champagne from chateaux is expensive

When faced with the champagne section of the alcohol aisle in your supermarket, you may start to wonder why there is such a price difference. So what makes some Champagnes more expensive than others?

Champagne is more expensive than a lot of other sparkling wines because:

• Champagne method is more expensive than tank method
• Champagne enforces strict rules on its producers, that other sparklings do not have to worry about
• Using red grapes (Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) means grapes have to be picked by hand so as not to break the skins

Champagne from the Grand Marques (famous houses) is more expensive than other Champagne (e.g. supermarket bends) because:

• Grand Marques tend to use the best part of the wine (the wash is thrown away, the cuvee is used, and the taille is sold to other producers)
• Grand Marques ensure their cuvee (house blend) is absolutely consistent year on year
• Grand Marques only produce vintages in very good years
• Grand Marques employ remueurs to manage the bottle by hand, where others can use gyropalettes
• Grand Marques age their wines to develop autolytic flavours, so they need to be able to store millions of bottles

Of course reputation plays a role, and some of the reasons above won't change the quality of the wine (e.g. gyropalettes are just as good as wiggling bottles by hand), but the higher price will no doubt give you higher quality wine. If you can't taste the difference then don't worry about it, buy what you like!

Oh and one more thing, Champagne house tend to keep about two years of wine in stock, as well as the bottles that are currently fermenting, so if you ever feel pressured to panic buy Champagne because the media say they will run out (as they did in the run up to NYE 2000), you should know they won't run out. Although I have it on good authority that Bollinger Rose NV always runs out!

Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs 2001

Badger and I couldn't decide between the Nyetimber Classic Cuvee and the Blanc de Blancs. So we bought both and decided to compare. However, he thought it too extravagant to drink two bottles of bubbles in one sitting, so here are my notes for the Blanc de Blancs.

Absolutely delicious, very appley and lemoney, lots of flavour and colour. A hint of elderflower (I wonder if this has come from the terroir - the english countryside). Its a clean and rewarding bubble. I envisage the moment when you've finished cleaning the kitchen with a fresh citrus smell, no greasy marks and its time to reward yourself. This is the perfect reward.

Blanc de blancs is a term used for Champagne that only uses the Chardonnay grape. It tastes like a Chablis with sparkle. A Cuvee will use a mix of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, the three grape varietals allowed in Champagne.

Nyetimber has an award winning sparkling wine from Sussex that I highly recommend. The down side to it being so good is that it costs as much as Champagne. Friends of mine prefer this as it has less of the oak/butter/nut/vanilla flavours of Champagne,making it lighter, easy to drink and very refreshing. If you prefer Prosecco to Champagne, but would like more intensity, try English bubbles! But don't skimp on price or you'll never return to English.

Sunday School at The Sampler

The Sampler http://www.thesampler.co.uk/ (Islington and South Kensington in London) is my favourite place to try wines. They have a great system where you have a top-up card that you can then use to try wines from vacuum dispensing machines - a small taste, a large taste or a glassful. Very handy for trying something new.

But what I really love about The Sampler is their Sunday School - what Sunday School should be about. They're normally on a Sunday (you'd think always!) at around 5pm and they pick a grape or a region and teach you about the origins, what you can expect from a bottle etc. Price is normally £15, but it depends if they're planning something special. It's fun and friendly and a quick and cheap way to not only learn about wines, but to taste them too!

Next sessions are:
Northern Italy with Alex in South Kensington branch on Tuesday 21st August 6.45pm £15
Sparkling Wines of the World with Liz in Islington branch on Sunday 16th September 5pm £20

You need to book in advance. They do other tasting events too, but these tend to be more serious and more expensive.

Antoine de Clevecy cuvee Champagne brut (Price: 2)

What a lovely treat - champagne. This is delightfully light and fruity with apple, grape and blossom notes. Lots of teeny little bubbles.

Sitting in the garden at dusk surrounded by jasmine with its little white flowers, enveloping flavours of unripe plums and gooseberries. The bubbles feel like peach fuzz on the tip of your tongue.

I was drinking this with a friend, after work in her garden, so wondering how much real events influenced this tasting? Although, it was only after I mentioned a vision of little white flowers that the Jasmine was pointed out to me! As a substitute tasting note, I give you that of my friend, a little less obvious, but just as valid...

"It tastes like the little apples from my garden, you get a grape high first and then the flowers lower it."

Then we compared it to a Cordoniu cava, which, in comparison, clearly highlighted the complex flavours and long length of the Antoine de Clevency. Verdict: It's worth spending a bit more for a treat you can savour.

Champagne offer

Majestic have an offer on champagne Ruinart now £30 (was £50)

http://www.majestic.co.uk/find/category-is-Champagne+and+Sparkling+Wine/category-is-Champagne/product-is-22248?cmp=Email20120724&utm_source=Summer2012&utm_medium=email&utm_content=header1&utm_campaign=20120724