Snips to the rescue: the fight for Pinot Noir
Happy Tuesday Club Members!
The last taste of the summer sun…it only lasted a day here but what a delight it was, a sunny day at the start of my holiday! We had a fabulous weekend filled with some very interesting wines and luckily, a rain-free trip to the vineyard. And I have some beautiful treasures to share with you from our last Accidental Tuesday Night Wine Club.
Oh, and the exciting trip is coming up, filled with amazing food and wine, but more about that on Friday!
Stuck in the wine spiral and ready to pick up something new on your way home from work? Head to our Home page where you can find reviews, tips and our favourite wines, all in one place.
Today’s mood calls for ….
Some European treasures
Last week we had to move our Accidental Tuesday Night Wine Club to Wednesday, you know, work got busier than expected and I wanted to get some really cool wines for us. So this time, I decided to take friend to Marks and Spencer. He completely felt out of his comfort zone as it’s not his usual place for wine supplies but as soon as I pointed out some of the wines they have on offer he felt more at ease.
I have used M&S for wine quite a lot in the past, especially when I was going through my early wine exams. They seem to have a keen eye on lesser-known grapes and producers which is perfect for us when we want to try and discover something different.
M&S Classics No.30 Grüner Veltliner was a good start and also at a very good price, for only £9 a bottle! Austrian wines might not be your first choice when you are on a hunt for a bottle but this one certainly deserves a place in anyone’s basket.
With the intriguing combination of citrus and green apples, alongside some white pepper and a lot of herbaceous aromas, this one comes across as a bit of an eccentric but such a likeable white wine. So vibrant and clean on the palate, it is an easy choice for anyone who prefers something light on an early evening. But once it’s been paired with food, this wine becomes even more alive. The crisp, high acidity Grüner cuts through any tougher carbs such as creamy potato dishes or dumplings but can handle spicier cuisine too as well as of course some seafood.
So if you want to switch from that weekly new world Sauvignon Blanc, give Grüner Veltliner a go and you might never turn back!
(Available at Marks & Spencer nationwide )
Name: M&S Classics No.30 Grüner Veltliner, Vom Löss
Origin: Austria, Niederösterreich
Grape: 100% Grüner Veltliner
ABV: 12.5%
Notes: Citrus and green apples, white pepper spices and herbaceous aromas, clean dry finish, high acidity
Price: £9 a bottle
Recommend with: Dumplings, creamy dishes, sushi
Where: Marks & Spencer nationwide
Want to venture out even more?
Then look no further than this great bottle of Found Furmint from Hungary, Tokaj. Most of you think that anything from Tokaj will be super sweet but not this Furmint. Slight floral and honey notes on the nose, and white peach, apples and pears on the palate, balanced by the clean-cut, crisp acidity and minerality. It is so light you don’t even notice you finished your first glass. Such a character, zesty and fruity at the same time with a beautifully long finish.
Origin: Tokaj, Hungary, Chateau Dereszla
Grape: 100% Furmint
ABV: 11%
Where: Marks & Spencer nationwide, £8.50/bottle
Snips to the rescue
Vineyard Saturdays! It has been my favourite activity in the past few weeks but harvest days are almost over so this one had to be the last for me( only this year though as I already signed up to help with work next year!!)
This week I decided to take my friend with me ( Accidental Wine Club one ) so he could see what it was all about. First lesson learnt? I am definitely slower with a friend! Previously I had planned my own vineyard, bottle labels and so on whilst snipping away but this time I had no chance for planning. Instead, it was constant talk about restaurants, food, wine plans, and trips to wine tastings.
We cut through rows of Solaris in a timely manner( well, with some breaks for friend) and almost started to feel proud of ourselves for how good we were at this. And then the plans changed and we were taken to some beautifully ink-coloured bunches, Pinot Noir Précoce. This early ripening mutation of Pinot Noir or Frühburgunder as they call it in some parts of Germany appeared to be in an even better condition than Solaris. Easier to get to them, smaller bunches and what seemed like at first, hardly any rot. How wrong we were!! As we moved on further every single bunch needed our help to rescue them from that grey rot. First, it seemed like a challenge we were happy to take on. But as time passed and our buckets stayed half-full we realised it was not the challenge we expected. Quickly I had to tackle many obstacles: rescuing all the Pinot, not being annoyed by constantly sticky hands, and trying to keep friend entertained, gosh, who knew harvest can be so tricky! Especially after friend declared complete war on the grey rot and decided to go on a search for only the perfect bunches and leave the rest behind.
It wasn’t what we were asked to do but hey, he came at dawn to help me chase my dream of owning a vineyard one day. So I let him. And I just carried on, snipping away the rot.
Next time…
Manchester, Soave and that fruity red!
Have a grape day!
The 4pm Club