BIY - Brew It Yourself

A new book by The Two Thirsty Gardeners

You don't actually need a beard (hipster or non-ironic) to buy Brew It Yourself. But a sprinkling of New Age stubble, like that on the eponymous thirsty gardeners, will certainly help.

The book is arranged into sections starting with The Basics before moving on to the tricky areas of wine and mead.

I have had various flirtations with home brewing and, unless you find natural wines a bit too crowd-pleasing and mainstream, it is generally easiest to stick with cocktails and liqueurs with an occasional foray into beers.

The novice, then, should start at the back of the book with Glogg, a Swedish mulled wine that uses ingredients you are likely to have lying around and requires a preparation time of minutes rather than weeks

Likewise, the egg nog recipe is equally straightforward and Christmassy.

Other infusions, liqueurs and cocktails are more versatile and simple enough to give the confidence to move onto something more ambitious.

Beers and ciders require more kit, attention and patience but the end results can be a pleasing source of reliable quaffing - a good alternative to a six-pack from the supermarket.

Lager, IPA and wheat beer are all here along with off-the-beaten track beers like honey ale, Viking ale and liquorice stout.

If you want to go all Good Life, there is parsnip wine (extra authenticity if grown on your own allotment), oak leaf, rhubarb and fragrant fig.

And don't forget your chunky-knit jumper.

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Dinner With Private Cellar

A dinner and tasting with Private Cellar's Nicola Arcedeckne-Butler

For a dinner at work, I gave Private Cellar a menu and a budget, then asked them to suggest some wines.

Not only were all the wines amazing, they even brought their buyer, Nicola Arcedeckne-Butler, along to provide a masterclass.

On arrival

Hattingley Valley Classic Cuvée 2010 a genuine Champagne alternative, rather than a wine for patriots. Nicola was impressed by one attendee spotting a high level of dosage (10 g/l) to counteract the high acidity.

With starter - scallops

Graacher Himmelreich Spätlese, JJ Prüm 2009 a stunning Mosel Riesling drinking beautifully now; racy, off-dry, rich and concentrated with some aged character. The popular favourite.

With main - Angus beef fillet, red wine jus

Gran Reserva 904, La Rioja Alta 2005 an incredibly long and concentrated Rioja, but amazingly still too young and grippy. Technically my top wine of the evening, but needs another decade in bottle

With dessert - Almond & orange polenta cake, Roasted plums, Crème fraiche

Château Rayne Vigneau Sauternes 2007 deft, rich, botrytised sticky with roasted peach and orange peel flavours

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Masi Campofiorin Rosso del Veronese, 2011, Waitrose

A rich Italian red from Waitrose

Italian wines can sometimes be like Italian driving to the outsider - chaotic and hard to understand. This Masi Campofiorin, however, is as pleasing and enjoyable as sitting behind the wheel of a Fiat 500.

Waitrose describe this wine as "first made in 1964 and Veneto's answer to a 'Super Tuscan'; full-bodied with a soft tannin structure, cherry and plum flavours with hints of cinnamon, cocoa, tobacco and vanilla on the long finish. Exceptional value."

It is a blend of three grapes: Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. The wine is made using the appassimento method of re-fermentation using partially-dried grapes for extra richness.

Masi Campofiorin Rosso del Veronese, 2011, Waitrose

Pure cherry and red plum fruit with sweet spices, cool mint and some aged complexity. Rich concentration, pure and fresh.

Good.

Match with beef ragu.

£12.99 from Waitrose.

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And here's was Vino Views has to say about it: Rosso del Veronese : Masi Campofiorin Rosso 2017 : Vinoviews

Big Fortified Tasting

Three fortified wines from Marks & Spencer and Waitrose

Defined by their production methods, these fortified wines have flavours that are not of fruit, but something more nutty, roasted and tangy.


Dry Old Amontillado Sherry (£7.49, 35cl M&S) fragrant, tangy and savoury with roasted nuts, spices and freshness. Good and excellent value.

Fresh enough to drink as an aperitif with roasted almonds, or match with roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.

Blandy's Sercial 10-Year-Old Madeira (£19.49, 50cl, Waitrose) the driest of the four Madeira styles, amber mahogany, fragrant with roasted nuts, spices and fruitcake. Sweet-savoury and fresh. Good.

Drink as an aperitif with olives and roasted almonds.

5 Year Old Finest Medium Rich Madeira (£13, 50cl M&S) Rich deep treacly brown; figs, roasted nuts and butterscotch-caramel with an intense freshness. Pleasing entry level sweet Madeira.

Drink as an after dinner dessert or match with Christmas pudding.

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Stars of The Loire

Stars of the Loire dinner and tasting at New Street Wine Shop and Grill

Think of the Loire and what most easily comes to mind are inexpensive Muscadet and Sauvignon Blanc.

Beyond these, of course, the Loire does fizz, red and sweet wines, as well as rosé - all with a characteristic lightness and freshness.

Anyone looking for alternatives to big, ripe pantechnicons that retain a pretty fruit elegance could do a lot worse than look at the Loire's alluringly fresh and versatile, food-friendly wines.

What impressed me most from this tasting was the consistency of quality, but it was also interesting to see some more ambitious wines on show.

Cremant de Loire, Domain Penet, Chateau de la Presle NV (D&D, Gerrard Steele £13.50) fresh, elegant orchard fruit

Vouvray Francois Chidane Les Argiles 2014 (D&D, Majestic, £25) linear, precise, mineral

Savennieres Domaine des Baumard, Clos du Papillon 2007 (D&D, £32) complex, waxy, substantial

Saumur Champigny, Domaine des Roches Neuves, Terres Chaudes 2013 (D&D, Excel, £19.80) fresh, berry-fruited, elegant

Coteaux du Layon, Philippe Delesvaux, Selection de Grains Nobles 2014 (D&D, F&R, £18.60, 50cl) complex, rich, honeycombed

Match the lighter (and less expensive) whites with seafood, the more structured examples with ham hock terrine or crab.

Reds will stand up to a rare steak.

Sweet wines need a simple classic: Eton mess or creme brulee.

The wines are all available at D&D: http://www.danddwineshop.com/

Stars of the Loire

The Stars of the Loire festival, which runs from 21 September to 25 October, will see Loire Valley Wines as the guests of honour at a range of D&D London restaurants across the capital. Throughout the five week festival, over a dozen top restaurants and three wine shops across the D&D group will be offering a variety of different Stars of the Loire events.

There will also be a number of pop-up events and tastings including special dinners hosted by BBC Saturday Kitchen’s Jane Parkinson; Channel 4’s Four Rooms art dealer Wendy Meakin; and Daily Telegraph wine correspondent Victoria Moore.

Further information about the Stars of the Loire festival can be found on at http://www.danddwine.com/campaigns-and-partnerships/loirestars/.

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Crus Bourgeois 2013

A tasting of the newly released Crus Bourgeois 2013 with Frédérique de Lamothe

Frédérique de Lamothe has two priorities for the revived Cru Bourgeois; improved quality for the wines and greater awareness by consumers.

Quality is a simple, controllable matter - in theory at least.

Awareness is the more open-ended challenge. But Cru Bourgeois is focusing on influencing the key influencers in key markets - that means wine writers, buyers, educators and sommeliers in the UK and US. And occasional top university wine societies as well.

It is no understatement to say that 2013 was not the easiest of years in Bordeaux - cold and wet with hail, it was merely the worst in a series of increasingly difficult vintages.

Good winemakers understand that balance is key and you can't put in what God left out; the best wines from 2013 have a light, almost Burgundian freshness and will be early drinkers, even if they are still quite chewy now.

Quick facts

- Crus Bourgeois wines are from the Medoc and are selected by blind tasting two years after the harvest.

- There are currently 251 chateaux with Cru Bourgeois status, around a quarter of the total.

- They are generally priced from £10 to £25.

The wines I tried and liked were (in alphabetical order):

Medoc
Ch Bournac
Ch La Branne (Walkers)
Ch Les Grands Chenes
Ch Preuillac (Freixenet)

Haut-Medoc
Ch Barreyres (Sainsbury's)
Ch Beaumont (Wine Society)
Ch Belle-Vue (Millesma)
Ch Bernadotte
Ch Cissac (Wine Society, Averys)
Ch du Retout

Moulis
Ch La Garricq (F&R, Lea and Sandman)

Margaux
Ch Paveil de Luze (Corney & Barrow, Goedhuis)

Pauillac
Ch la Fleur Peyrabon (F&R, Millesma)
Ch Fontbadet

Saint-Estephe
Ch le Boscq (Thienot)

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D'Oliveiras - The Tasting

A tasting of D'Oliveiras wines with Luis D'Oliveiras

From my interview with Luis D'Oliveiras, I established that he is a focused, intense individual with a self-assured presence and an Old School attention to detail.

I find much the same character in his wines.

Sercial

10 years fresh, aromatic and complex with roasted bitter spices; long and intense

1989 darker mahogany, more complex and especially mellow; intense

1981 fragrant, soft, mellow and balanced with balsamic and tobacco

1969 fragrant, plump and mellow

1937 dark golden, soft and plump but with a muscular core as the intensity develops; roasted bitter spices, complex caramel and butterscotch; fresh with a long finish of roasted spices

Medium Dry

10 years rich fruitcake, sweetness, freshness

1994 Verdelho more mellow and complex

1985 Verdelho raisiny, complex roasted spices; mellow with lively acidity 

Others

Terrantez 1971 near-extinct grape variety, less aromatic and more elegant, medium dry 

Bual 1968 his best seller over 40 years; very dark with golden hints; rich fruitcake, intense roasted nuts and spices. Complex

Bastardo 1927 blackish, medium sweet, complex roasted spices, fragrant, long and intense. This is absolutely bottled electricity; vibrant and athletic, it dances on the tongue. 

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