Practice for WSET 3 - blind tasting

Ok it's a new week and I have another wine to try blind...

Appearance: clear, medium intensity, lemon yellow, low alcohol/sugar.

Nose: clean, pronounced, developing.

Aromas: green apple, gooseberry, grapefruit, pineapple.

At this point I thought Sauvignon Blanc, so looked for green tinge and passion fruit and lime but couldn't find it...

Palate: dry, med+ acidity, med- alcohol, light body, med+ intensity, refreshing, delicate, med+ finish.

Flavour: lemon juice, grapefruit flesh, lemon peel, gooseberry, white pepper.

Quality: good, drink now not for ageing, mid-priced.

Identity: Italian? Normally they're light intensity but maybe it's Soave, I read that has a bit more to it, but I haven't tried that in a while so couldn't really say... Eden valley Riesling? That's quite fresh right? But I'm coming back to France... It's not Sav Blanc, could it be cheap Chablis?

No. Dammit. It's Pouilly Fume!! Argh!! I need to learn about Pouilly Fume, what makes it different from other Sav Blanc and why did I dismiss it? Is there a trick/ knack/ cheat sheet? 

Any tips welcome!

Verdicchio

I went to Pizzeria on the Green for my sister's birthday, a great and cheap restaurant in Clapham, and we had to choose a white wine because my sister has braces, so we tried a Verdicchio. It was a refreshing Italian white wine, which tasted of bitter lemon and chamomile. When we got back, I check my WSET notes, and amazingly it said: expect flavours of lemon peel, fennel and bitter almond. It was a great middle ground, and I found it delicious, although the bitter lemon gives it complexity which can also be challenging, but it worked with pizza! The one we had was Fazi Battaglia. It even comes with a cute little map and story (in Italian) attached to the neck of this unusual shaped bottle.

And by the way the pizza there is delicious!! http://www.potgclapham.com/

So what do I think about Bulgarian chardonnay?

Peach Garden 2011 12% from M&S <£10 Bulgaria

I've not tried much Bulgarian wine before, if at all, but I have been keeping an eye out for more unusual wines on the high street, and when I saw this in M&S I had to buy it!

Well, the flavours are nice, warm fruit, white peach, lychee, is that chamomile? There is a slight bitterness - walnut? No, hazelnut. And very strangely (maybe this is a feature of Bulgarian wine) I taste no apple. They say, if you ever go to a wine tasting and the instructor asks what you can taste in a white wine you should say apple, because there's always apple. Not in this one!

It's very light. And when I say light I don't mean what the label means by "light" (not much flavour, could be a little acidic), it almost flutters on your tongue.

It's short in length,probably due to its low acidity (note: Acidity prolongs the flavour in your mouth because your mouth produces saliva that keeps the taste going for longer).

This wine makes me feel very tall (and I'm not even wearing heels today, wearing wellies for the snow!), like you're reaching for the sun in the sky. Feels like wearing stilts - really enjoying yourself, but it doesn't feel quite right.

This is a great wine to try if you're an ABC (anything but chardonnay).

Italian wines

Before I started my WSET (Wine & Spirits Education Trust) course, I "didn't like" Italian wines. That is to say I knew very little about them other than Pinot Grigio which I find tasteless, Chianti which I find a little bitter, and Valpolicella which is sour. Now I love them, purely because I know what I'm buying. There are lots of varietals and regions to learn, probably why we don't know much, and they're wrongly seen as "less good" than French wines, which often means you get better value for money. Here are a few you should try...

Hannibal Lecter infamously drank Chianti with liver and fava beans - not a bad choice as it happens! Chianti is made from the Sangiovese grape, which is high in body, acidity and tannin, has plum, earth, tomato and tea flavours. I would suggest this if you like Cabernet Sauvignon and  Bordeaux wines. I'm not saying they taste the same, but should appeal to a similar palate.

If you like Pinot Noir, may I suggest you try the Nebbiolo grape, either in the form of Barolo or Barbaresco wines. Nebbiolo has high body, acidity and tannin, and has red fruit, floral and earthy flavours that might be enjoyed by a Pinot-phile (I've just re-read this and noticed how dreadful that sounds!!). Be aware though, a Barolo can be quite full-on, a "meal wine", and is best enjoyed with (or instead of!) food .

If you love Shiraz, particularly Australian Shiraz, then I would strongly suggest you try Primitivo or Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. Both are rich in black fruits, the former with jammy notes and the latter with black pepper and raisin. Yum! (NB. Primitivo is the same family as Zinfandel, but don't let that put you off!)

For white wines, don't bother with bland Pinot Grigio or Soave, instead try something more unusual with a Castelli di Jesi (Verdicchio grape - lemon, fennel, bitter almond) or a Gavi (Cortese grape - citrus, candied fruit). Oh and one thing to remember,  don't buy Trebbiano - this is a mass-produced grape that is used for making cheap blends! The way I remember this is its the white grape with two Bs, for Bad Blends.

Look for DOC or DOCG on the label, this means it comes from a quality wine-producing area.

Quick note on Italian sparkling wines: Prosecco is a good alternative to Champagne, although will have less complex flavours, because it is made using the Tank method. "Spumante" means its fully sparkling and "Frizzante" means its lightly sparkling. The best Prosecco is, apparently, Conegliano-Valdobbiadene DOCG (I have yet to try this).

How to choose cheap wine

Happy 2013!

I have the flu, so haven't posted since the new year, and I suspect people are detoxing after the holidays, so I thought I would give a few simple tips for buying cheaper wine.

1. If you have a red and a white at the same price point (and have no preference), go for the red as its easier to make red one (white requires more balance of acidity and flavours are more delicate).
2. If you're buying in a restaurant or bar, and you think the establishment cares about its wines,go for the house wine, this should have been selected to represent their values at a reasonable price. But be sure to check prices for glasses vs bottle, as I recently found two restaurants in London were charging more per ml for the bottle than for glasses, as I suspect they had found many people say "oh lets get a bottle", either that or the people writing the prices on the menus were idiots!
3. Don't buy discounted wines in the supermarket. They have false deals that make you believe the wine is worth more, but it isn't. Take the deal price as the representation of quality.
4. Have a price in mind when going in store, have a look at the wines at that price point, but don't be afraid of spending £1 more, for cheaper wines, £1 can make quite a difference in quality.
5. French wines can be really differentiated, so it might be safer and cheaper to go for an Italian wine (see my Italian wine blog post for tips). My favourite wines at the moment come from Chile and Luis Felipe Edwards have some really great wines at cheaper price points. Winemakers in Chile are trying hard to break the global wine market so you can get some cracking value for money.

Hope this helps!!

Challenger wine #9

Arca Nova Colheita 2011 Vinho Verde 11%

Vinho Verde was a wine that lost me a mark on my WSET exam, as I thought it was a grape varietal from Portugal, but it is a wine region in Portugal. So I had to try it.

Lovely! All is forgiven. It's a refreshing wine with a spritz. It's like a sav blanc spritzer but hasn't lost its flavour from watering it down. It's light and refreshing and finished with a nutty flavour as it passes over your bitter taste buds. I'm very impressed! It's not harsh or acidic even though it is awash with citrus and gooseberry flavour. From a wine called "verde", I was expecting young and harsh, but its not, not at all, at least not this Arca Nova.

I'm imagining myself sitting next to a swimming pool in the 1940s, Great Gatsby style.

We scored this a 3 on likeability and 3 for quality = 6/10, a surprisingly decent score.

Challenger wine #3

Domaine de Mercey Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Baunes 100% Chardonnay 2005 12.5%

Oh my, I was excited to tickle my tastebuds with this wine, Glancing at the label I thought "Badger has done well, he's charged in with a Cotes de Baunes". I was preparing for the buttery, French oaked deliciousness, and was begrudgingly expecting to give a high score for this wine. But what I failed to notice was that this is a Nuits-Saint-Georges, which is more well-known for its Pinots. It's further South that the produces the white Burgundies I love.

I was disappointed to find that although this wine has great body (mouthfeel), it lacks depth. I would class it more as elegant, fragile even, my new description as "glassy". It's very drinkable, and its lack of length means you gulp it down rather quickly I'm afraid. But actually quite a good Chardonnay for my ABC friends. Good to try if you normally prefer Sav Blancs and would like to like Chardy.

Badger and I agreed it deserves a 4 for its great Quality, but neither of us would buy it again unless it was less than a tenner, so it gets a 3 for Niceness. So Badger's second wine scores 7/10 - not bad, although we both expected more from a Cote de Baunes.

Pouilly Fume for a tenner?

Majestic Wine are selling a Pouilly Fume Les Cascadelles 2011 for £10.99 - I've not tasted it but it looks like a very good deal.

Pouilly Fume is made from the Sauvignon Blanc grape. It's a small area east of the Loire Valley, a prestigious appellation. It should taste of green apples, gooseberry and have a flint or stone flavour that comes with the dryness of this wine.

Great wine to try if you like something fresh and crisp. As its a Pouilly Fume it should have long length which means you can make it linger, only drink half a bottle and avoid a hangover. Good as a mid-week wine.

http://www.majestic.co.uk/find/keyword-is-Explore+Sauvignon+Blanc/product-is-05361?cmp=Email20120918&utm_source=Autumn2012&utm_medium=email&utm_content=bottle&utm_campaign=20120918

Whispering Angel Chateau d'Esclans Cotes de Provence 2011 (Price: 1)

Another rose, which is unusual for me, but since I tend not to like roses, any good ones I will be posting up here. This is a beautiful pale pink and is made of a combination of Grenache, Rolle, Cinsualt, Syrah and Mourvedre grapes. There is a sexy combination of peach and redcurrant flavours, sharp & sweet, fruity but shy. It's dry and I would guess it was a white wine if I was tasting it blind, but it is oh so much more delicate with a secret complexity. A very good wine and definitely deserving of the name.

I'm lying on a chaise longue with feather cushions, and a gentle breeze floating through the white muslin drapes. Rosehip tea is served from an antique silver teapot.

A great wine to try if you don't like roses but want to.

Luis Felipe Edwards Chardonnay Casablanca 2011 (Price: 0)

What a fantastic find! This creamy chardonnay with low acidity comes from a warm climate and it has a warming in the throat from the high alcohol level (14%), but is completely different from what you might know from a French or an Australian chardonnay. Currently available from Majestic Wine for £6.99. Proper bargain. And a great buy for ABCs. Seriously, try it.

Its a delight on the nose and on the tongue, it has a fragrant sweetness with flavours of banana, butterscotch and caramel. It's fun, something you don't come across very often. It takes me to the funfair, when you try new things and there are sweet smells in the air. It's playful, like long blonde curly hair with ribbons.

Viognier

Although my last wine was a red from South Africa, it contained Viognier. Viognier is a white wine grape, but is often used in Cote Rotie, Rhone, France who often add a small amount to their Syrah. Maybe this type of blending will help South Africa make more mellow wines for a mainstream market.