What is Tokaji?

Tokaji is a wine region in Hungary, which produces some wonderful dry wines, but you really should look out for their sweet wines. They can be pricey, but definitely worth it for accompanying a sticky toffee pudding. It was Tokaji that opened me up to dessert wines, before thinking there was not much point to them.

I pronounce Tokaji as “To-Kai” with “To” as in Top and “Kai” as in Kite. Although I’m not sure this is exactly right it gets me passed the sommelier!

Tokaji is made from grapes that have been infected by a fungus called botrytis. This mould grows on grapes in areas that have damp mornings and warm sunny afternoons. This process of rotting and drying causes the grapes to shrivel up and lose water, causing the juice inside to become concentrated. Additional flavour compounds often develop in botrytis berries, such as apricot and ginger. The grapes that are affected by botrytis in Hungary are called Aszu berries, which are carefully selected at harvest to be made into the Tokaji dessert wine I love.

When you order a Tokaji sweet wine you will notice that it has a number of puttonyos. This is a very interesting part of Hungarian winemaking… Once the Aszu berries are picked, they were traditionally collected in baskets called Puttony. The number of baskets of sweet Aszu grapes that are added to the non-botrytis grape juice (also known as must) were counted and labelled on the wine. The system uses 3-6 puttonyos for Tokaji sweet wine, and these days actual sugar content is measured. The number of puttonyos is regarded as a level of quality and in 2014 the labelling changed to just “Tokaji Aszu” and only 5- and 6-puttonyos wines can be made under this label. However, I still find it cute to see the puttonyos on the label as it provokes evocative mental imagery of aged Hungarian men and women carrying large baskets of shrivelled up grapes. Wine that is made entirely from Aszu grapes is called Eszencia. Tokaji Eszencia is a syrupy wine that is so sweet it is typically served in a tablespoon, and because of its high sugar content can age for over 200yrs.

You may have already tried the sweet wines of the Sauternes and Mosel Riesling which aim to copy the nectar properties of Tokaji dessert wines. Some producers in Alsace France and Friuli Italy use “Tokay” or “Tokai” to attract attention, so don’t get tricked, you really should try the traditional Hungarian Tokaji Aszu wine.

If you’re not keen on dessert wines, then I would also recommend seeking out Tokaji dry wines, such as the dry white wine single-varietal Furmint. These wines are typically off-dry with high acidity, and although they are often aged in Hungarian oak you wouldn’t know it to taste it. A good alternative to a NZ Sauvignon Blanc and can certainly generate discussion around the dinner table.

To read about my review of a Furmint wine go to http://princessandthepinot.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/firmint-royal-tokaji-2010.html

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

Lay of the land

I've been drinking three Lay of the Land wines and I'm finding them very interesting and very drinkable. The NZ Pinot noir is full of strawberry and delicious, the Sauvignon blanc has the characteristics of a NZ Sav b but with the full roundness of an unoaked Chardonnay (not quite sure how they did that, need to look into it), and the Nahe Pinot Gris well bloody hell a German wine that has the NZ/ Aussie / UK requirements of "I just want to enjoy drinking it", thank you LotL I'm thoroughly enjoying your wines... But not sure who you are!

In this case judge a wine by its bottle...

Normally I would tell you not to judge a bottle of wine by its bottle, because the labels can be so misleading. However, I picked this wine for that very reason: Calvet Côtes du Rhône Villages 2014 £7 from Tesco, Ocado etc.

Strong brand name, Côtes du Rhône Villages is going to be good quality Syrah yet inexpensive, and look at the gorgeous bottle shape, and here the lovely textured neck:

Very pleasing to the eye and touch. And inside? A gorgeous, fruity, zingy red wine with punch (13%)! I drank the lot! Well almost... I couldn't squeeze in the last glass 😉

I'm very happy to recommend this wine, and at the price if say to buy half a case. Enjoy!

Taste of London review

I went to Taste of London for the first time this year and I LOVED it! We were booked in for Champagne tasting tickets which included lounge access, 20 crowns each and a free glass of bubbles on arrival. Of course we needed double the Crowns for all the food and wine we wanted to try!

We read the menus in advance and headed round the park to seek out our bite-sized feast. One thing I really liked was most stalls having their dishes on show so you could see what it looks like before ordering. The dishes I loved the most were the Pudhina chops from Tamarind of Mayfair (Welsh lamb cutlets, ginger, mint, crushed peppercorns) and the Pannacotta from Barbecoa (Amedei white chocolate panna cotta with wild strawberries, champagne and basil). Absolutely delicious and I will definitely be visiting their restaurants soon.

We saw Michel Roux Jnr in the Taste Theatre (tip: get there 15 mins early with food and drink so you get a seat), and I met David Hesketh, the MD of Laurent Perrier, at the Champagne blind tasting. It's a great place to meet some of your foodie heroes, we saw one woman who was getting all the chefs to sign her apron.

After eating our weight in mini-food and enjoying the delights that Laurent Perrier had to offer (Ultra Brut, Brut NV and Le Grand Siecle), we sat down in the Gaucho wine tent and had a flight of Malbec, which included the deliciously violet Colome Terruno from the highest vineyard in the world.

Needless to say I will be going back next year.

WSET Advanced wine exam tips

Last Saturday I took my WSET Advanced exam. Phew! It was pretty intense and I was completely exhausted afterwards, I didn't realise how stressed I had been.

The exam is 50 multiple choice questions, a short answer paper, and a blind tasting of two wines.

You could say it was easier than I was expecting it to be, because I thought there would be more drill down in each of the regions for the short answer questions. But I think that made it harder, because I had spent so much time learning the regions, geology and geography, and not enough time on wine service!

Since the exam I have been dreaming about taking it again but as is the way with dreams in much different circumstance - in a hall with a hundred other students, one a cliff as a one-on-one interview... but soon my brain will realise its over. I have another five weeks to wait for the results.

There were some very tough questions, so here are my top tips:

1. For each region don't forget to learn the sweet and fortified wines as well as the main red and white wines made in that region. 
2. Keep studying all the way up to the exam, you never know what final piece of information you might learn.
3. Read the question twice (a tip given to me before going in), because although they ask you about Chenin Blanc, they are asking you a particular question about it, so focus on the actual question.
4. If English is your first language, don't worry too much about your grammar, they are marking your knowledge, although full sentences is preferred.
5. Write SOMETHING for every short answer question, you will get marks even by saying its a white or red wine for example. You do know something, so write something!
6. For the blind tasting, get on with it. Time ran out for me, I think I spent too much time writing elaborate sentences. Although it might impress the examiner, you don't extra marks for that and there's not much room on the paper anyway. I'd recommend doing timed practice tests at home.
7. Practice short answer questions by picking a region and thinking about which four wines you can talk about in that region.
8. Spend time making sure you know each wine-making method (red, white, rose, sparkling, sweet, fortified) and the variations of each.
9. Remember to read about wine-service and social responsibility chapters, they may seem like common sense, but you may need to answer short answer questions on these.
10. Draw your own maps if you have a visual memory. I found these very useful to consolidate knowledge on the varieties, geography, geology and climate.

The way I answered the exam is to answer the short answer questions that you know, make a note of the ones you don't know, then answer the multiple response questions you know, marking those you don't know. Then go back to the short answer, then go back to multiple choice. The reason I felt this was a good way is because you get some hard questions out the way, you will have read all the short-answer questions so when you go through the multiple choice it might trigger a memory that helps with the ones you thought you don't know. I'd leave the multiple choice you don't know to the end, because these will be down to (educated) chance if you get them right and if you run out of time are the least likely to have got you extra marks.

One things I wasn't sure about was for the blind tasting, identifying the wine, do I go with my heart (what I think it is) or my head (what my tasting notes say)? I went with my heart and I'm pretty sure I got the red wrong!

I'm happy its over and waiting in anticipation to get my results. If you have any other questions about the WSET Advanced exam, or want to share your experience, please do comment on this post.

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).