I love Champagne, it is absolutely delicious - crisp, dry, slightly toasty with a soft mousse of bubbles that stimulate your palate. Just wonderful! There are many sparkling wines which are equally delicious but there is something special about Champagne, what makes it so is difficult to say, undoubtedly the terroir has a huge part to play in it.
Currently the world demand for Champagne is such that the area defined by the AOC is struggling to fulfil the demand. When the original area was set up in the 1820’s some communes elected to stay outside the boundaries and despite several attempt to reverse that decision they have always been turned down - until now. The boundaries have been redrawn and some around 40 villages whose soil and weather conditions have been deemed appropriate, have been included in the newly designated region.
The current production is some 330 million bottles, about half of which is exported with the UK being the biggest importer. Quite how much production will increase, and what the effect on prices will be, remains to be seen. I’m looking forward to tasting some of the new champagnes to see if they live up to my favourite!
How do you know whether you will like a wine? The best advice I was ever given (where wine is concerned!) is to find which grape varieties you enjoy either as single varietal wines, or in a blended wine and explore that. Then when you are ready, spread your wings and pick one that is similar but has some of its own characteristics too. Then you just repeat that process discovering new wines as you go. I do have favourites, Pinot Noir among the reds and Viognier among the white. But how do you know what to expect?
This section of the site will be, quite simply, a list of grape varieties and their characteristics which I will build up as time goes on. I will try and put each grape into context with those that are similar and give examples of the wines that are made with it so you can experiment without too much risk.
Someone once said to me - it doesn’t matter if you drink wine out a tin can, it still tastes the same! I beg to differ. Whilst I am not of the view that you can ONLY drink certain wines out of certain shapes of glass, there is no doubt that a good glass enhances the experience. Wine is a pleasure and small things like the right glasses make it even more of a pleasure.
Equally storing wine properly, in appropriate wine racks or cabinets is important especially if you have invested a proportion of your hard earned money in it. You want it to be at it’s best when you drink it. Equally you want the cork to come out properly… the story goes on.
There are many excellent books written on the subject of wine, sometimes too many to choose from - like most subjects there are some which are almost ‘Bibles’ and should be on the bookshelf of every wine lover - read on to find out about them.
There is no doubt that the pleasure of wine is increased by the how, when and where it is drunk, and an amount of knowledge about what you are drinking further enhances that experience. Wine Accessories is the section of the site where you will find all those things.
How we react to a bottle of wine is a very individual thing - some we like, some we don’t. Each of us has our favourite style, grape or type of wine but it is always interesting to find out what someone thinks about a bottle of wine, especially if it is one we haven’t tried before. Some wines are inexpensive, some are not and before risking a lot of money it is good to have an idea of what we are getting for our money.
I am fortunate to be a member of a number of wine groups and we get to taste lots of interesting wines that we might otherwise not come across. This section of the site is where I will share my opinions of a wine with you - and where you can share yours too if you wish. Remember these are only my opinions, yours may differ - and please feel free to say so!
There are some basic rules and guidelines for tasting wine and some things we look for that are not a matter of taste, but of fact. It is my intention to share those things in this part of the site as well so if you are new to wine and wine tasting this will be a good starting point!
‘What type of wine do you like?’ is one of those subjective questions that many people find themselves unable to answer. There is a simple reason, they don’t know! There are so many types of wine and we tend to just drink what is offered - and enjoy it - without thinking about what type of wine it is that we are drinking. Items in this part of the site will be about the different types of wine that are available and what you should expect and look for within the glass that you are enjoying.
When you know a little about the types of wine that you enjoy it makes the trip to the supermarket or the wine merchants more interesting as you will have some idea of where to start. Once you have established a taste range that you like, then you can start to expand it and discover some wines that you would perhaps never have considered before.
It is very easy to get trapped into one variety or producer and never experience the delights of other wines that might fall into the category of ‘I don’t like it’ when perhaps it should be ‘I haven’t tried it’. I hope to provide you with the inspiration to stretch your palate and maybe you will find something special.
Wine has long been one of my great passions, ever since I was given my first glass at a very early age. It is a passion that is meant to be shared and in sharing it improves. So I am sitting here with a glass of excellent Pinot Noir, one of my favourite types of wine, and looking forward to sharing my passion for wine with you. Let’s raise a glass together and look forward to a long and interesting relationship, discussing and sharing our favourite wines. Cheers!
