It Must Be Wine O'clock

Why not try something out of the ordinary this Easter: a dry Furmint and a Lebanese red

With Easter fast approaching, here are a couple of unusual suggestions to enjoy with your food over the holiday weekend.

Royal Tokaji Dry Furmint, Hungary 2019, Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference

You may know Furmint as the grape used for the excellent Tokaji sweet wines from the Tokaj region of Hungary but it can also be used to make premium dry wines with refreshing acidity and flavours of apple, pear and peach, and a hint of minerality.

Tokaj, in the north-east of Hungary, has a moderate, humid climate conducive to the development of noble rot, hence the long-standing reputation of Furmint for producing premium botrytised sweet wines. But in recent years, this versatile grape variety has been gradually building a name for itself as a dry white wine with a character of its own – think sassy Bohemian with a touch of nobility. It’s a wine that can certainly hold its own with Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

This Dry Furmint from Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference range is an excellent find. With high acidity, it is a medium bodied wine with a medium (+) finish and a smooth texture. It has aromas of apple, pear and peach, and flavours of apple, lemon, peach and pear, with hints of vanilla and an attractive minerality. An excellent match for grilled fish or other seafood dish.

Available from Sainsbury’s (£10)

Domaine des Tourelles Rouge 2018 (Lebanon)

Wine is probably not the first thing we normally associate with Lebanon but wine has been produced in the country for thousands of years. Archaeologists know that the Phoenicians were trading wine across the Mediterranean from what is now modern-day Lebanon for centuries before the birth of Christ, and as we read in the book of the prophet Hosea (780-725 BC): ‘People will dwell again in his shade; they will flourish like the grain, they will blossom like the vine – Israel’s fame will be like the wine of Lebanon’ (Hosea 14:7).

Fast forward to more modern times when in the 1850s, Jesuit monks re-introduced viticulture with the planting of Cinsault cuttings in the Bekaa Valley where it had largely disappeared since the 16^th-century when Lebanon was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire and wine-making was forbidden.

The rest, as they say, is history. These plantings, in what is now Château Ksara, were the foundation of the modern Lebanese wine industry which is thriving, with some 50-60 wineries nowadays in a country the size of Wales. Today, Château Ksara, together with Domaine des Tourelles, Château Musar, and Iksir, is among the top producers in the country.

Most grapes are grown at altitudes of over 1000m to counter-balance the hot, dry climate, and Lebanese wines are attracting attention from discerning wine drinkers around the world. The influence of French wine production is strong and Mediterranean red varieties such as Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Cinsault, together with the Bordeaux varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, dominate.

This wine from Domaine des Tourelles is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cinsault and Carignan. A medium (+) bodied wine, with medium (+) acidity and medium tannins, it has pronounced aromas of red cherries on the nose, and flavours of cherry, blackberry and plum, with a hint of spice, on the palate. It is a smooth, fruity wine, with a medium (+) finish that goes very well with lamb. It’s a perfect choice for Easter.

Available from Slurp (£11.95)

Pedro Ximénez: a dessert wine that’s a dessert in its own right!

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Pedro Ximénez

There is so much more to sherry than its image of that rather fusty bottle of Bristol Cream that lives at the back of the drinks cabinet and only makes an appearance when Granny has a glass at Christmas.

Indeed, sherry is an incredibly versatile and varied wine, ranging from dry fino sherry, pale lemon in colour, with aromas of apple and almond, and bready flavours from the yeast used in the ageing process, to the dark, lusciously sweet Pedro Ximénez sherry with its pronounced dried fruit flavours, made from the eponymous Pedro Ximénez grapes that have been concentrated by sun-drying.

And in between, there are the oloroso and amontillado dry sherries, and the pale cream, medium and cream sweet styles. The common denominator is that the wines that are used to make sherry must be matured in the Jerez region of Andalucía, and more specifically in the towns of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa Maria, and Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

Pedro Ximénez (PX for short) sherries are pure indulgence in a bottle. They are intensely sweet wines which are aged oxidatively and are deep brown, almost black, in colour. PX sherries typically have pronounced aromas of dried fruits with honey, coffee, chocolate, and caramel, perhaps liquorice. Treacly on the palate, with dried fruit and caramel flavours, there is sufficient acidity to balance the sweetness and create a velvety, long finish.

This Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Pedro Ximénez is a fine example of a PX sherry which ticks all the boxes. Honey, raisins, and toffee on the nose, almost like a mince pie, with coffee, caramel and toffee on the palate, this is a full-bodied wine that has been aged in a network of oak casks in a solera system.

Perfect as a dessert in its own right, it is also a match made in heaven for a chocolate mousse or a strong blue cheese. Or why not simply drizzle it over vanilla ice cream – delicious!

Available from Sainsbury’s . £8 (half bottle)

A is for Austria, Z is for Zweigelt

Although Austria is perhaps best known for its white wines, notably Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, it also produces some very good red wines from local grape varieties such as Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch, and a distinctive rosé (Schilcher) made from the indigenous Blauer Wildbacher grape in Western Styria.

Zweigelt is the most widely planted black grape variety in Austria but is a relatively new grape variety. It is a cross between Blaufränkisch and St Laurent, created in 1922 by Dr Friedrich “Fritz” Zweigelt, and typically produces deeply coloured reds with soft tannins and black fruit flavours. The St Laurent brings bright cherry aromas, and from Blaufränkisch, the wines take on a slightly spicy character and fresh acidity. If you like Pinot Noir, you should give Zweigelt a try.

Zweigelt, Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference (2018)

This Zweigelt from Sainsbury’s is a perfectly good example of Austria’s signature red wine variety. Produced by the Huber family, now into their tenth generation as wine producers in Niederösterreich (Lower Austria), the wine has aromas of tomato leaf, cherry, plum and blackberry on the nose, and flavours of plum and bramble on the palate, with a dash of spiciness and a hint of smokiness.

It is a well-balanced wine with medium (+) acidity, medium tannins and a medium (+) finish. A good match for lamb and poultry dishes. We have tried it with moussaka, and roast chicken, and it has worked very well.

Currently on offer at Sainsbury’s. £8

There’s so much more to Australian wines than Shiraz and Chardonnay – here are a couple of little gems to try.

The days of associating Australian wine with cheap plonk are long gone and while there are some excellent examples of Australian Shiraz and Chardonnay available today, the country has a lot more to offer the discerning wine drinker. And with Australian wine growers at the forefront of innovation and experimentation, this diversity will continue to grow as new regions, and different grape varieties and wine styles are explored and developed.

Son of a Bull Riesling 2019

Take Tasmanian Riesling for example. Although we rightly associate Riesling with Germany, Tasmania has ideal conditions for growing the grape. It has a cool maritime climate, aided by the westerly winds off the Southern Ocean, but at the same time it gets plenty of sunshine. This results in a long, reasonably cool growing season and enables the grapes to retain their acidity as they ripen.

This Son of a Bull Riesling (2019) from Pipers River is a dry wine and has aromas of blossom, apple, lime and grapefruit on the nose, and flavours of lime, apple, grapefruit and spice, with a hint of residual sugar, on the palate. A lively, fresh, well-balanced and medium-bodied wine with medium (+) acidity and a long finish with a pleasant minerality. A very good example of a Tasmanian Riesling, this is a delicate and refreshing wine, a perfect match for seafood or a Thai dish.

Available from Majestic £13.99 (£11.99 Mix Six)

Rutherglen Topaque

Although it’s fair to say the modern Australian wine scene is vibrant and exciting, wine production in the country has been going on for generations. The first vines arrived in 1788 but most of the early plantings proved unsuccessful. However, by the 1840s wine production had begun to rise in many parts of southern Australia and wine exports to the UK began in the 1850s. The country hasn’t looked back since and one successful wine producer, now in its fifth generation, has been producing rich sweet wines for over 150 years.

The Campbells have been producing wine in Rutherglen, N E Victoria since 1840 and if you have tried their Rutherglen Muscat, you will know how successful they have been. The Rutherglen Topaque is outstanding and won Gold in the Decanter World Wine Awards 2020.

This is a lusciously sweet wine made from Muscadelle grapes. With aromas of toffee, honey and tea leaf, and flavours of treacle, caramel, nuttiness and honey on the palate, this is pure bottled indulgence. A smooth, complex wine, well-balanced with a clean finish, the Topaque is a perfect match for treacle tart, fruit-based desserts and blue cheese; indeed, it is also perfect by itself as a chilled aperitif or after-dinner digestif.

Available from The Bottle Club (£12.90 half bottle)

Why not start March off with a glass of Argentinian sunshine?

Argentina’s wine regions are defined by altitude, with many of the best vineyards located at a height of over 1000 metres above sea level. In Salta, in the north of the country, some lie more than 3000 metres above sea level and it is altitude which enables Argentina to produce such good quality wine so close to the equator. The country’s two best known grape varieties are Malbec and Torrontés, though Bonarda and Chardonnay are also widely planted.

Torrontés grapes flourish in the high-altitude, cool, dry climate of the Salta region of northern Argentina, situated on the edge of the Andes Mountains, producing highly aromatic dry white wines with a crisp, refreshing flavour and a lingering finish. The wines are an excellent match for chicken and fish dishes and their light aromatic style and relatively high acidity also pair well with spicy Indian and Thai dishes.

Mendoza Province in the south of Argentina dominates wine production in the country and within Mendoza, the Uco Valley with its high-altitude vineyards is known for its high quality Malbec. There is plenty of sun to ripen the grapes, and the cool nights help retain acidity and fresh fruit flavours in the grapes, producing expressive, flavourful wines. A natural pairing for these Malbec wines is of course steak, but they will go well with most meat dishes.

Here are two wines to try to give a flavour of what Argentina has to offer:

Alamos Uco Valley Malbec 2019, Mendoza

This dry, medium (+) bodied wine with high acidity is bursting with fruit. Aromas of blackberry, red cherry, plum and raspberry on the nose, and intense flavours of blackberry, plum, cherry and chocolate, with a hint of spice, on the palate, it is a well-balanced wine with medium (+) tannins and a medium (+) finish. A natural pairing is steak but we enjoyed it with a grilled lamb dish. Available from Majestic £9.99 (£8.99 Mix Six)

If you enjoyed this Malbec and would like to compare it with a Malbec from its ancestral home in SW France, why not give this Cahors Malbec a try?

Zuccardi Valles Torrontés, Salta 2019

This is a very good example of a Salta Torrontés wine. With intense floral aromas of elderflower, orange blossom and honeysuckle, as well as peach and apricot on the nose, and flavours of lemon, apricot and peach with a hint of spice on the palate, this is a dry wine with medium (+) acidity. It is a medium (+) bodied wine with a medium (+) finish and high alcohol. A very good, well-balanced wine.

Available from Cambridge Wine Merchants £13.99

Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET) wine courses

Take your knowledge of wine to the next level

Whether you are new to wine, a wine enthusiast or working in hospitality, WSET has the course for you and Cambridge Wine Academy offers classes for WSET Levels 1-3. The courses are currently taught online and cover the same content as classroom-based courses in normal times.

I recently completed my WSET Level 3 wine course at Cambridge Wine Academy and passed with Distinction, as did several others in the group. Steve is a first-rate teacher and was highly supportive throughout the course.

If you are looking to develop your knowledge and enjoyment of wine, either as a hobby or for career reasons, see here for more details.

Wine Courses

A wine date for your diary – a virtual wine tasting: Wednesday 7 April 2021, 7pm

Into the Wild – the Wines of the High Languedoc:

Minervois, Faugères, Saint-Chinian

Transport yourselves to the beautiful, sun-baked and rugged landscape of the High Languedoc in the South of France for this fantastic virtual tasting with Cambridge Wine Academy as we taste along together six classic wines from these three premium regions.

Steve is a very knowledgeable and entertaining presenter and this promises to be an interesting, informative and very enjoyable evening.

Wine samples and tasting notes will be delivered to your home and a Zoom link to join will be provided.

For further details, see here

There’s a lot more to Spanish wine than Rioja. Think ‘polka dot’ – a scintillating Albariño for example …

Paco & Lola, Albariño, Rías Baixas, 2019

Albariño, from the Rías Baixas region of Galicia in the north-west of Spain, is one of my favourite wines. With its Atlantic climate, moderate year-round temperatures, ocean mists and above-average rainfall, this coastal region is more reminiscent of Ireland than the sun-drenched beaches of holiday-destination Spain. But despite the dampness, the area is also blessed with many hours of warm sunshine, enabling the Albariño grapes to ripen and produce wines that are naturally high in acidity, with floral aromas, and citrus and stone-fruit flavours, sometimes perhaps even a hint of salinity.

Given its maritime context, Albariño is a perfect partner for seafood. It goes hand in hand with grilled octopus and I recall enjoying it with razor clams in Santiago a few years ago, but it goes well with most seafood dishes, as well as chicken, and manchego cheese.

Albariño is an increasingly popular wine. Sales in the UK and the US have been growing in leaps and bounds in the last couple of years, and retail forecasts are suggesting another bumper year ahead for Albariño in 2021. And that is hardly surprising. Albariño wines are very versatile: light, fresh, lower alcohol wines that can be drunk by themselves or with food.

As far as this particular Albariño is concerned, I was intrigued when I read the report of the Decanter World Wine Awards 2020 (Decanter, March 2021 issue) which described it as ‘scintillating’. It went on to say ‘Stone-fresh, crunchy, vivid and pungent: everything you want on the palate, and more.’

But it was the ‘scintillating’ that caught my eye. I wasn’t really sure what it meant in this context and so I simply had to give it a try to find out. And I’m sure glad I did!

A fresh, lively wine, high in acidity, with aromas of lychees, apricot and peach on the nose, and flavours of lime, lemon, peach on the palate. There’s also a touch of salinity. This is a perfectly balanced wine with a lovely long finish. We had it with sea bass and it was just the ticket. If I were to describe it in one word: scintillating. Now I get it!

If you’re looking for something to brighten up your weekend, this will do nicely. It was a great start to ours!

Currently on offer at Sainsbury’s £11.99 (save £3)

Close encounter on the road to Jasper, Canada

Driving back towards Jasper, Canada, my wife and I were pretty buoyed up by the beauty of Lake Maligne’s clear blue water and the towering peaks surrounding it. But the icing on the cake was yet to come. Suddenly there was movement by the side of the road. I slowed down to get a better view and there it was. A black bear cub was minding its own business as it munched on shrubs. Then, as if on cue, Mother Bear came storming out of the trees and began to rub her back on a nearby tree. What a sight – scary yet elemental at the same time. We had seen elk, moose, chipmunks, birds of prey and even a lone coyote during our trip through the Rockies but this was the closest we would likely ever get to a bear and her cub, and it was magnificent.