Hints And Tips On Choosing The Perfect Wedding Wines

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Frostie

There’s so much to think about when organising a wedding, but planning (and most importantly tasting) your wedding wines should be fun. So we’ve worked with Hattie’s Wines to bring you the top 10 tips for anyone thinking about wine for a wedding day.

1. Before you do anything else, work out what your venue will allow. Can you bring your own wines? Will they charge ‘corkage’ (a fee per bottle to let you bring your own)? Or do you have to choose from their wine list?

2. If you have to select from their list, make sure you ask to taste the wines that you’re thinking of choosing, ideally with the food you’re having, to check that you like them. If you’re struggling with the venue’s wine list, you can upload it to Hattie’s Wines for some free help, if you’d like.

3. If you can bring your own wines (yay!), the next step is to be clear on your budget, bearing in mind any corkage you might have to pay on top. On balance, while it’s great to splash out on some fabulous wines for such a special occasion, it’s also really important to make sure you don’t run out halfway through the meal, so if your budget is limited then consider some of the great value for money wines we’ve suggested below.

4. Next up, think about the food you’re having but also think about the people coming (younger crowd, trendy crowd, boozy crowd?!), the weather (if you can predict it!) and the time of day. Red wines can get quite heavy after a while, especially on a summer afternoon.

5. Most of us know the broad rule of thumb is to pair white wine with white meats and fish and red wine with red meat dishes. But like everything else you’re organising, this is your day, so do it your way. You might prefer to have a white wine with the starter and a red with the main, or both on the table at once for people to pour for themselves. In this instance, think about the weight of the wines and the foods – lighter wines with lighter foods and bigger wines with richer foods.

6. When you look for a wine supplier, make sure you’re able to get some good advice on what you’re buying – whoever you buy from should be happy to have a look at what you’re trying to achieve and help by advising you on the best wines for your needs and budget.

7. Don’t forget to consider the delivery options. It will probably be much easier for you if the wines are delivered direct a day or so in advance, then it’s one thing off your to-do list.

8. Get tough with your supplier, especially if you’re buying lots! Look into wine companies that can give you some kind of offer for a bulk purchase, e.g. free delivery or money off when you spend over a certain amount.

9. Don’t forget the bubbles! There are lots of times you may need to serve something sparkly, perhaps while guests are waiting for you to have your photos done and of course during the toasts. Splash out on Champagne if you can but if not don’t worry, there are some fantastic Proseccos and Cavas out there which will suit just as well.

10. And our final tip? Don’t worry about over-ordering – whatever you don’t drink can be taken home for you and your beloved to enjoy whilst perusing your wedding photos.

Some wedding wine suggestions from the Hattie’s wine list:

Aperitif / during photos:

Bach Extrisimo Semi-Seco Cava, £8.99. For those of you who don’t like their sparkling wines really, really dry, this will be music to your ears. It won’t make you suck your cheeks in (think lemon sherbets, or Victoria Beckham). Made in the Cava region, this is all apples, citrus and almonds in liquid form. A great alternative to Pimms.

White wines:

Clique Viognier, £8.99. This is a wine stuffed with gallons of juicy exotic fruits, from pineapple to grapefruit, but is still dry and highly drinkable. This is not the moment for British reserve – it’s time to kick off your shoes and dance like nobody’s watching. This is punchy, unabashed, unembarrassed joy. Oh and the label looks fab on the table!

Or splash out on Coulaudin Bussy Chablis Premier Cru, £14.99. A wonderfully fresh, lemony wine, but with real backbone. It’s ‘Premier Cru’ (more Marc Jacobs than Mark Owen) which means it’s even better quality than the average Chablis. This is the Chanel handbag of wine – a classic that accessorizes anything, and oozes style and sophistication – just like your big day.

Red wines:

Domaine d’Aumieres Merlot, £7.99. This little gem of a wine comes from a family that started making wine in this region over a century ago. So, they really know what they are doing. The beauty of this Merlot is in its simplicity – ripe, juicy and soft with baked plum fruit flavours. A definite crowd-pleaser!

Or splash out on Le Blason du Prince Chateauneuf du Pape, £14.99. It’s time for a celebration. A big classy celebration. Even the scantest French skills will pick out ‘prince’ and ‘chateau’ here, and should tell you that you’re dealing with something pretty regal. The flavours manage to be both restrained and powerful at the same time: a sophisticated glass of dark brambly fruit. The quintessential posh red wine – a princely bottle for the day’s princess!

Toast:

A toast to the happy couple deserves Champagne, and why not go pink with the Louis Massing Champagne Premier Cru, £19.99. Light and delicately done, but with lush redcurrant fruit flavours, and a twinkle in its eye.

Roasted Christmas Day Lunch ‘Cottage Pie’ With Cheesy Mash Recipe

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Frostie

Roasted Christmas Day lunch ‘cottage pie’ with cheesy mash

By Paul Merrett

After the excess of Christmas Day this is the perfect comfort food. It also manages to use up just about every savoury ingredient from a Christmas Day lunch which is a bonus too!

Use whatever you have left over to make your version of this dish, but this recipe will serve as a good guide.

Serves 4

About 500g of roast turkey – brown and white meat – roughly chopped

4 or 5 leftover chipolatas (if they’re wrapped in bacon that’s even better)

2 or 3 tablespoons of leftover stuffing

25 left over sprouts

Spoonful of leftover carrots

2 or 3 leftover roast potatoes

4 left over parsnips

Handful of peas from the freezer

1 pint of left over gravy (or make with gravy granules if you didn’t have any leftover)

2 teaspoons redcurrant jelly

Splash of Worcestershire sauce

Mashed potato – leftover or made from scratch by peeling 4 large potatoes, then chopping into large chunks. Boil for around 10-15 minutes until tender but not mushy. Drain and return to the pot before adding a large knob of butter, salt and pepper and mashing.

Handful of grated cheddar

Find a large sauce pan and add the turkey and the gravy before bringing to a very gentle simmer
Meanwhile chop up the chipolatas in to bite sized chunks and tip them in to the pan
Do the same with the sprouts, carrots, parsnips and roast potatoes – again return the pan to a very gentle simmer – by now the mixture should be moist but not too wet
Add the peas and add the Worcestershire sauce and red currant jelly to taste
Finally chop the stuffing into chunks and add to the pan
Stir the pan very gently and then tip into a large shallow casserole dish
Pipe or spoon the mash on top and scatter with grated cheddar
Bake in the oven at 170C for about 20 minutes until golden brown and piping hot

Wine match

Cono Sur Bicicleta Pinot Noir

This voluptuous Pinot Noir has rich fruit notes of cherry, raspberry, plum and strawberry, making it a great lighter red wine to pair with white meat, pastas and even seafood. Young and refreshing with subtly smoky hints, it’s a perfect wine to match with food.

Stockists

£5.61 (25% off) in Sainsbury’s from 16^th October-5^th November and from 11^th-31^st December

£5.99 in Tesco from 23^rd October-3^rd December

£5.99 or £30 for a case of 6 in Musgraves from 28^th October-17^th November

£6.99 in One Stop from 5^th November-3^rd December

£6 in Morrisons from 19^th November-6^th January

£5.99 in The Co-operative from 20^th November-3^rd December

£5.50 in Asda from 5^th December-1^st January

£7.49 in Ocado

Fattoria La Vialla Review: Organic Italian Food Fresh From The Farm

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Frostie

I was first introduced to Fattoria La Vialla by my grandmother. Fattoria La Vialla is a family run organic Italian farm located in Tuscany. It produces food and wine strictly for itself in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner. Fattoria La Vialla sell directly to their customers like ‘a farmer who brings the fruits of his land right to your home’. No middlemen. It almost sounds too good to be true!

We got sent one of their large hampers to review. To say we were happy is too much of an understatement. You can see from the picture below just how impressive it is. Here is our review. Are their products as good as they look? Let’s find out…

Fattoria = farm and wine estate

We were immediately blown away by the Fattoria La Vialla catalogue (or service card as they call it), which is the most beautiful and charming book I have ever seen. It’s packed with wonderful facts about the food and the amazing history of the farm. It’s filled with genuine love and passion, something you would never experience with a mega brand, and it leaves you feeling totally invested. I highly recommend asking for one.

Our hamper is generously packed, bottles and sauces of different sorts hide under straw. In total we have 4 bottles of wine, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, four different types of pasta, three different sauces, olives and a huge box of biscotti.

Wine The four bottles of wine consisted of:

Barriccato, a strong, intense red. Fruity and wonderful. This is my favourite red wine now. Superb Riserva, fruity, woody and amazing.

Le Chiassaie is a sparkling white wine. La Vialla call this their ‘most classic’ and says it takes you to the very ‘soul’ of their farm. In that case, I would quite like to stay there, drinking this every day.

Vin Santo; even after all of that praise for the previous bottles of wine, this was probably my favourite. A wonderful sweet wine which is perfect to have in the (late) afternoon with biscotti. In Tuscany they call this ‘death’ because it is a match made in heaven. Made with the most high-quality grapes and then ‘forgotten’ for three years, the time and effort shows; I love it.

Biscotti – The box is a lot bigger than it looks

A wonderful box packed with three different Biscotti was included. These Tuscan biscuits were; Cantucci,; faithfully follows the traditional recipe, flour, almonds, sugar, almonds and organic eggs; amazing, Viallini,; invented by Piera, one of La Vialla’s cooks who is now retired, they taste like goodness and happiness, Brutti ma Buoni; classic and yummy. I can honestly say that all three biscotti were by far and away better than any biscotti I have ever had before. They’re in another league. When we finished the box we actually felt sad.

Olio, Olive Oil; I love the cute bottle, though not as much as I love the Extra Virgin Olive Oil. So high quality that you will never be able to eat supermarket bought olive oil ever again.

The Pecorino Stagionato cheese is matured for at least 3 months. It’s a delicious hard cheese made from sheep’s milk. It has great flavor and texture. A classic Tuscan food staple.

Aceto Balsamico di Modena No kitchen is complete without Balsamic Vinegar and La Vialla’s has a complex fragrance of cooked fruit and wild berries. Delicious and can be added to almost any meal, even some dessert.

Olive Piccanti al Finocchio; I loved the olives. They make the ones we eat in Britain look completely sub-standard. They are big and juicy and full of flavour. I was not as keen on the spicy sauce. I am not a fan of hot things or spice in general. If you like spice this shouldn’t bother you though, and you can also use the leftover sauce for pasta, etc.

Pasta; A good selection of organic pasta came in the hamper. Calamari; which has a great, fun shape, the ever popular Spaghetti and the very traditionally Tuscan Pappardelle all’uovo. The pasta is as tasty and healthy as you would expect.

The Sauces were also amazing. Sugo Bombolino (what a name); Bombolino tomatoes, extra virgin oil, salt, garlic, basil and chilli pepper make up this great sauce. It was delicious. It tasted so real and was packed with so much flavor that I will definitely be ordering some more.

My effort at cooking – Papperdelle pasta with lardons and Bombolino sauce, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and pasta all from Fattoria La Vialla

Sugo di carne alla toscana la vialla (Ragu), I must be honest, we have not tried this one yet. It has chicken liver in it which I have never eaten. Will give to another writer and report back. La Rosmarina; Rosemary Tomato sauce. Yum and yum. Like homemade sauce your grandmother would make. If your grandmother was Italian and a professional cook. Another incredible sauce.

Another effort this time with the La Rosmarina sauce and Pecorino cheese

During my research of La Vialla I realised they also have a restaurant. I want to go. Every day. My only criticism of La Vialla is the lack of information on pricing. Apart from that, I am hook, line and sinker in love with their food, their social responsibility and environmentally-friendliness. If every food producer copied them the world would be a better place. There food is amazing, organic and the farm is family-run. I don’t know what else you could possibly want.

http://www.lavialla.it/uk/home_uk.php

In fact we were so inspired by La Vialla’s food that we have filmed are first cookery program using some of their ingredients. Sign up to our youtube channel to watch it and other cookery films in the near future.

The Wine Cocktail Guide

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Frostie

Frost has come across an excellent wine cocktail guide from the great people at formulawine.co.uk. Mixologists from five London based cocktail bars (Callooh Callay, Sketch, Stories, Detroit bar and Dabbous) have created cocktail recipes containing wine and we have a graphic to display the recipes. The guide gives delicious wine cocktail recipes but also interesting new places to visit around London. Let us know what you think. Will you try them all?

Domaine Vintur Cuvee Le Gentleman 2011 Wine Review

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Frostie

I am fussy about red wine. Some of it just tastes like acid and gives me a headache. So was Domaine Vintur Cuvee Le Gentleman 2011 (£14) drinkable? Yes, more than. It is a very good, full bodied red wine with a great taste and no bad aftertaste. It has a bit of spice and is well balanced. It has ripe, dark fruits and a good balancing of acidity,

This lightly oaked wine has full, fresh tastes of cherry and red fruit. It is a very fruity red wine. It has lots of flavour and does not have the acid-like aftertaste I feel some red wines have. It is also dominated by grenache.

My favourite thing about this wine is that it is not too heavy. It is just fresh and light and full of flavour. Worth every pound of the 14 it cost.

The wine is dedicated to all the cyclists who have climbed Mon Ventoux – one of the most famous final ascents in Tour de France history by the English owner of the estate Graham Shore.

What They Say.

Cuvée Le Gentleman 2011, Appellation AOC Ventoux

Our flagship red wine, made from grapes selected from the best and oldest vines. 70% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre and 5% Carignan. Aged for 20 months before bottling with a light touch of oak.

The wine is complex. It has a round nose rich in woodland fruit, with a hint of oak. The palate is full and succulent, with fresh cherries and notes of the garrigue -Provençal herbs- and spice. Its tannins complement the length and balance of the sweet wild fruit and give a rounded full finish.

It is named to honour all the men who have ridden up Mont Ventoux by bike and to celebrate Bradley Wiggins’ Tour de France win in 2012. It is a wine to enjoy with meats, cheeses and on its own. Ready to drink now but with aging potential.

The Young Airhawk | Wine Review

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Catherine Balavage

The Young Airhawk is a very interesting wine. In fact it is different from most other wines I have tried. It is a dry wine. Very much so. It also makes you want more. It tastes expensive, fresh and crisp. It also has a running taste of oak, but not too much.

I loved how fruity it was. It has a great, notable taste of peach, some lemon tones, green fig and a unique taste of asparagus. Which I don’t think I have ever tried in a wine before. This is a great wine full of a lot of great different flavours. A unique mix that really works. Fans of dry wine will especially love it.

Although this wine is priced at £14.99 from Morrisons I do think it is worth it. It tastes much more expensive.

The Young Airhawk – This wine is made entirely from barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc. Bouquet: Layer of green figs, asparagus and minerality, very well integrated with wood. Fresh, crisp and zesty with creamy texture.

The Young Airhawk, a fresh, crisp and zesty wine with a creamy texture made entirely from barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc, pays tribute to Nederburg founder Johann Graue’s son, Arnold. Arnold Graue loved speed, action and adventure and showed his bravery from an early age by signing on as a trainee air gunner with the South African Air Force.

Like his father, Arnold was renowned for his winemaking prowess, winning many wine prizes, but sadly after hiring a light aircraft to celebrate a perfect spring day his life was tragically cut short in a fatal collision with another aircraft. The Young Airhawk Wooded Sauvignon Blanc captures the spirit of this professionally driven young man with a huge appetite for life.

The Young Airhawk is available from Morrisons for £14.99

Decanting The Real Wine Fair 2013

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Frostie

The dust has settled, the broken glass swept up, the spittoons dismantled for another year, the lights switched off and aching limbs and slightly sore heads placed in cold storage. Time to take stock of another Real Wine Fair and recollect the emotion of the occasion in a state of comparative tranquillity.

A time to thank the growers for their huge contribution in coming and showing their wines, for their enthusiasm and spirit and for generating that special friendly atmosphere that big tastings thrive on.

And to thank those who made their way through the claggy rain to Tobacco Dock and have subsequently given us the most positive feedback. And thanks also for your suggestions to make it an even better fair next year.

It was a pleasure to be part of this event. A couple of people asked me what financial benefit we derive from our investment in the fair. There is rather more (or less) to it than that. The rewards are not commercial; their real value is far more profound:

*The pleasure in seeing old friends

*The pleasure in making new ones

*Bringing likeminded people together

*Conveying that wine is not all about profit and for narrow purpose but has an identity, a history and cultural distinctiveness and personal foundation.

The Real Wine Fair strikes no didactic agenda despite what some commentators might write. The fair exists to bring the growers to the people and allow the public and the trade to experience wines that they might not normally taste or even know about. A fair is sometimes just that, a festival or celebration of the good things in life, a whirl of human interactions rather than a succession of cold financial transactions. If everyone feels positive then we’ve done our job and that is reward enough.

Photo by Roberson Wine

The Real Wine Fair ~ More than a wine tasting

The dates – Sunday 17th March – Monday 18th March

The weather – cold, murky, mizzly

Marie Thun calendar – two root days!

Summary

Two days in Wapping

1,500 visitors

110 wine growers

500 + organic, biodynamic and naturally made wines

Street food snacks

Artisan food and drink

Pop up wine shop

Pop up wine bar and restaurant

Real Wine posters

Seminars

The Real Wine Month

Promotions and events throughout the UK in March

The Venue – Tobacco Dock, Wapping, E1

Tobacco Dock, a Grade One listed warehouse, was smokin’ hot, a superb venue. The Great Gallery was the perfect exhibition space, light (despite the gloomy weather), airy, with sufficient room comfortably to accommodate over 100 growers and many hundreds of visitors at a time. There was a separate room for the food, a big restaurant which doubled as a wine bar and rooms dedicated to seminars.

The Partners

Real Wine 2013 was the collective enterprise of Les Caves de Pyrène, Indigo Wine, Passione Vino, Roberson, Ethical Edibles, Tutto Wines and Modern Portuguese and their many growers and we were also honoured to host a terrific contingent of Georgian winemakers.

The Growers

It is invidious to single out growers, so a few extra honourable mentions. It was good to see the South West growers back en bloc – Luc, Pascal, Ludo & Jean-Bernard lent their usual cheery demeanours to the occasion. Spain was particularly well represented with great growers from lesser-known regions such as Alicante, Manchuela and Tenerife. The Georgians brought a variety of superb, exciting and unusual wines from their homeland. Artisans from Italy were exceptionally well-represented – they came from Piedmont, Lombardy, Friuli, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and Sicily – amongst others – bearing a bewildering array of indigenous grapes and styles. This was, to coin a phrase, the real Italy, a far cry from milquetoast Pinot Grigio and over-sulphured Trebbiano. We had a fine sprinkling from Australia, South Africa, Chile and New Zealand – wine made from wild vines, in old tinajas or concrete eggs, with skin contact and sans soufre. The old new world or the new new world? Only time will tell. The Real Wine Fair may be viewed as putting a girdle around the world; this is the new small-scale globalism, connecting the dots, those dots being small growers working in a unique idiom, not necessarily recognised or honoured by their own local critics or peers, but working in an intelligent and prescient fashion to become the most eloquent advocates for the terroir of their own vineyards.

Matt’s Big Match: Warm Steak and Roquefort Salad

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Catherine Balavage

Get a sneak peak to see self-confessed foodie, Matt Dawson match his very own Warm Steak and Roquefort Salad recipe with the perfect pick from Bordeaux

Since winning Celebrity MasterChef back in 2006, Matt Dawson has now become a firm fixture in the culinary world. Good Food Would Choose Bordeaux, and so does Matt.

This winter the foodie becomes a Bordeaux wine lover: Matt shows Brits how to match great food with great Bordeaux wines without breaking the bank. Discover culinary passion with a series of cooking demos that will introduce you to the versatility of Bordeaux wines and endless pairing possibilities for any occasion.

Matt has fond memories of Bordeaux that date back to his teenage days when he spent Easters playing rugby against the local side, Bordeaux Bègles, and enjoying the hospitality of host families.

Food and wine are central to Bordeaux-style life, but back then Matt had no idea food was going to become his central focus after hanging up his boots. This self-confessed foodie now has time to devote to his great passion. Being able to match his own recipes to a selection of Bordeaux wines is a labour of love that takes Matt back to those memorable Easters in Bordeaux.

Watch our video where Matt cooks up a delicious Warm Steak and Roquefort Salad, and with help from Wine Expert Ewan Lacey matches his creation to the perfect style of wine from Bordeaux.

Watch the full recipes: http://www.bordeaux.com/uk/artofliving/aficionados

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