I’ve sacked Mybloglog. What is the point when Facebook (you see, no need to provide a hyperlink) is taking over every social interaction on the web. I like to think that LinkedIn looks after business interaction, but Facebook’s success in the social space has undoubtedly been due to its open platform.
When you hear a wine described as “balanced” what does it mean to you?
I unscrewed this bottle of Torrontés and drank most of it before reading the back of the label. Before opening, I knew that it was made by Susana Balbo one of my favourite Argie producers. I knew that the wine came from Majestic and retails at £6.99. I knew that it had a pretty label and came in the usual gargantuan bottles that are trademarks of the land of diminutive Eva Perón. I am convinced that the bottles used by Dominio del Plata are almost as big as Evita and probably have clocked up more air miles per kilo.
After reading the label I now feel much wiser, because I know that “Crios” means “offspring”. I know that Torrontés is Argentina’s uniquely aromatic grape, and that it is similar to Viognier with the dry crisp taste of Sauvignon Blanc. The final interesting fact I took on board was that no oak was used in ageing the wine. Oh, and just to cram just one more sliver of semi-useful intelligence into my puddled brain, that the wine displays excellent “balance”.
My first experience of buying from the Virgin Wines auction site left me with a case of total tosh to distribute discretely amongst my sorry mates.
But I bravely (some would say foolishly) tried again and this time things look more promising. This one came from a case of All White Delights and I successfully bid less than £50 including delivery!
I am a fan of Argie wines – Malbec and Torrontés are my favourites. The Colibri was typical of other Torrontés I have tried with lime, kiwi and rich apricot flavours. Simple and unpretentious, I like it.
The insipid colour was paler than an albino’s bikini line, but it is a lively, zingy and decent (but cheaper) alternative to Sauvignon Blancs. It ticks all the boxes for me.
Well the English football season is back and what better way to celebrate Man City’s stunning victory over West Ham, than with an English wine review?Â
This wine was made from a grape variety about as well known as most of the Man City first team. For those not in England, Sven-Göran Eriksson has been on a buying spree across the globe bringing in players from Bulgaria, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Names like Elano, Bianchi, Geovanni, Garrido, Fernandes, and Schonburger. Oh no, hang on, that last one was the name of the grape used to make this Three Choirs Stone Brook 2005.
 
Where is the sense of individual responsibility in society these days? My parents and grand-parents all lived through at least one world war, enduring hardship and shortage. When something went wrong in their lives, their first reaction was to set about putting it right using their own endeavours. I am not saying that governments and corporations should be absolved of negligence, nor that they should not take sensible precautions to increase safety for us all, but the balance of responsibility has shifted too far. Matt Rudd writing in The Sunday Times agrees. In a simple day out with his wife and toddler he counted a whopping 289 warnings/instructions.
If parents can’t be trusted to educate their kids to the point that they understand that coffee “may be hot”, or that smooth floors “may be slippery when wet” then the world has lost something. In today’s litigious society (it starts in America, quickly migrates to Ireland, and lands in the UK shortly afterwards) the first thought when we have an accident is “who can I sue? How much money can I make?” So the inevitable result is a world full of nannying warning signs that guide us, cajole us, restrict us, instruct us but rarely inform us.
The warning on my bottle of Bacchus 2006, however, was clear and stark, “Made in England”.
I am always interested in fairness. So I buy wine from a variety of sources. OK I admit I am biased towards the Wine Society and the Sunday Times Wine Club but I also like Majestic and I have been formulating a growing respect for the various supermarkets.
You may remember (or you may have forgotten) my post on Torrontés where I lauded the second grape of Argentina (in my opinion, and second to Malbec), and you may remember my fondness (not) for the self styled Hand of God, Diego Maradona himself.
But this time I am afraid Argentina loses in the quarter final. Asda’s wine buyers have impressed me greatly at times but the Argentinian Torrontés (Asda forgot the accent on the e) Famantina Valley 2005 was a nice drinkable wine but really not memorable and no distinct flavours at all. I can tell you that Torrontés normally has the most distinct flavour of apricots -ahhh memories.
Memories? Actually I prefer mammaries……but’s that’s a story that would not meet the strict decency requirements of a serious wine blog.
I admire Malbec because it is classy, very tasty and compares well to many old world wines. But there is another Argentinean grape that makes wine so far from the norm it makes me shiver. It’s even better than a cup of tea (or did Boy George already do that line?)
The grape is Torrontés and as far as I know it may have originated from Spain. Now Spain as we know are football’s great under achievers, whereas Argentina cheat, for example the “Hand of God” incident in the 1986 World Cup. So I am going to assume that the grape came from Spain and that the Argies stole it.
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