Salads are on the menu of the day for JAMIE GOODE and he's not very happy about it. If pushed to compile a "difficult foods to match wines with" list, I think salads would be somewhere near the top.' The only answer, he says, is to go for fruity and flavourful. One example is 2004 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Kabinett Mosel Saar Ruwer (11.95; Lay & Wheeler).
Read more...RICHARD EHRLICH is raving about Jamie Goode's book, Wine Science: The Application of Science in Wine Making, this week - in a good way. It surveys authoritatively just about every important area of scientific study in the wine world.' Recommended wines include 2005 Anakena Chardonnay/Viognier (5.99; Co-op).
Read more...Madeira is the order of the day and PETER GROGAN reports on a new campaign for the Portuguese export. Historically, the wine has a rather fuddy-duddy image, which the Madeira Wine Company (now part of the Symington Port dynasty) is keen to change,' he says. The first step in this direction was the launch of Alvada, a smartly packaged blend of five-year-old wines with a shocking pink label', which, according to Grogan, has been a success'. Although, the best thing to come from the island is still the vintage Madeiras, which emerge with all those nutty, coffee and drid-fruit flavours deliciously intensified by the effects of evaporation'. General wines of the week, with a Portuguese theme, include 2002 Quinta de la Rosa (10.95 or 9.85 by the case; Berry Brothers & Rudd) and 2003 Quinta do Crasto (6.99; Adnams).
JANE MacQUITTY introduces the first instalment of her Top 100 Summer Wines, and France is flying, with half of today's field made up of French wines, and just a quarter coming from the New World, the reverse of what happened 12 months ago'.
Macquitty's top 25 wines for under a fiver include 2004 Tariquet, Vin de Pays des Ctes de Gascogne, Famille Grassa (4.99; Somerfield) and 2005 Vin de Pays de l'Ardche Gamay, Cave de Saint Dsirat (3.49; Marks and Spencer).
Pinot Noir is supposed to be the most romantic of grapes', says VICTORIA MOORE, yet she feels that people are often disappointed with the results from the Sideways favourite. For a Burgundy to remember, she suggests trying 2002 Savigny-les-Beaune, Bouchard Pre et Fils (12.99; Waitrose).
Pink is the colour of this week's Wow' from MATTHEW JUKES, and it's the most vibrant ros of the year so far': 2005 Cousio-Macul Cabernet Sauvignon Ros, Maipo (5.99; Selfridges, Taurus Wines of Guildford, Castang of Cornwall, Corks Out of Warrington).
Read more...TIM ATKIN MW has toppled over to the dark side and declared himself to be a believer. That is to say, he's beginning to think that wines, just like people, have good and bad days' and he is thus prepared to put faith in the biodynamic idea of root', fruit' and flower' days.
He's not the only one who feels so inclined, and a chat with Marks and Spencer's wine buyer, Jo Ahearne, reveals that the retailer is hugely guided by lunar cycles and never holds press tastings on root days any more'. Some of the best from M&S included 2004 Lone Range Pinot Noir, Martinborough (14.99).
Atkin is joined by REBECCA SEAL for an in-depth look at cool summer drinking, and ros continues its winning streak, with top examples including 2004 Tariquet Ros, Vin de Pays des Ctes de Gascogne (5.99; Somerfield). Seal turns her attention to spirts and introduces the results of a blind tasting, which aimed to discover if it's worth paying more for a designer brand. Tanqueray 10 came out well on the gin front, but Bombay Sapphire did not. Reshnoff was the winning vodka.
'For most hosts, the main criterion for wines for large numbers is price,' says JANCIS ROBINSON MW. With the Christmas season in full swing, she recommends the best buys for under 6. Good-value whites include 2005 Casablanca Sauvignon Blanc (4.99; Marks & Spencer), and a red counterpart is 2004 La Serrana Tempranillo, Castilla y Leon (2.99; Majestic).
Read more...JANCIS ROBINSON MW has chosen to concentrate on the human element of the wine trade this week, with a column dedicated almost entirely to Steven Spurrier. According to Robinson, Spurrier is not only an under-celebrated' member of the trade, but also a rather unprofitable one: He has had all manner of brilliant wine ideas that other people, never him, have managed to spin into gold.'
This hasn't dampened her admiration of him however. He has enriched the wine world considerably and played a key part in the wine education of such luminaries as Michel Bettane.' The particular reason for this focus on Spurrier is the recent trouncing of France by California at a blind tasting event he organised, but it's the general life decisions made by the wine writer that interest Robinson overall.
France is playing the New World at its own game, reports ANTHONY ROSE, and it's not doing such a bad job either. Animal labels are currently all the rage, and France is in the thick of it: At Morrisons' spring tasting, I came across four French bottles with, respectively, a cat, a hedgehog, a sandpiper and a butterfly on the label.'
Rose isn't convinced of the need for all this wildlife, but he's happy to see it come with the growing use of grape varieties on the label to help us through the maze of wine styles.' Rose's favourites among the new-style Frenchies include 2004 Blason de Bourgogne Chardonnay (5.99; Morrisons).
Over-rated and over-priced, or a great vintage and great value?' This is the question concerning JONATHAN RAY in his analysis of the mighty 2005 offering from Bordeaux. High prices are sure to exclude the modest buyers from the top end of the market, but this is by no means the end of the world.
Look beyond the properties that you usually buy, either to wines from the cheaper end or to the second wines of the big names, ensuring some fine, slightly-better-than-everyday drinking for years to come.' Recommended cheaper options include Chteau Patache d'Aux and Chteau Cissac.
MATTHEW JUKES cruises through G to L in his 'Modern A-Z of Wine' and I is for Italy with a suggestion to try the 'sensational, top-flight' 2000 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Ca'del Pipa, Veneto (15.99; Majestic). Wow of the Week falls in L's favour and Jukes goes for a liqueur: De Bortoli Show Liqueur Muscat South-Eastern Australia (9.99; Majestic).
Read more...Picnics are the meal of choice for JAMIE GOODE this week, and he's keen for his readers to chuck a few good bottles into the basket with the food.
After all, If you've taken time and trouble over the food, why skimp on the quality of your wine.'
Potential picnic-goers include 2005 Tesco Finest Beaujolais Villages, France (4.99; Tesco).
The new-look International Wine Challenge (IWC) gets the thumbs up from RICHARD EHRLICH, whose experience with competitions means he thinks he's moderately well qualified to state that when they're well run, they are a largely reliable guide to quality in the bottle'.
This year's changes within the top management and judging panel has resulted in some worthy medals, says Ehrlich, not least because he has already recommended a few of them in the past.
And even if he hasn't, there are many others I would have guessed at'. This week's wine recommendations include 2005 Anakena Chardonnay/Viognier (4.99; Co-op).
World Cup fever is already in the air for MATTHEW JUKES as he looks back to 1966 and reveals that England's year of glory on the football pitch was a pretty good vintage for wine as well.
Long before the New World's gems started appearing on our shores, Europe's finest wine regions had a wonderful harvest.'
For readers who would rather not fork out hundreds of pounds on the increasingly rare bottled proof of this declaration, Jukes recommends a few more recent examples of fine French wine.
These include 2001 Vosne-Romane, Domaine Mugneret-Gibourg, Burgundy (22.35; Haynes, Hanson & Clark).
Buying a wine in the best possible condition means buying it in a coloured bottle, says JOANNA SIMON.
This proves to be a problem if you're after ros, however, considering that most producers would prefer to show off the pretty pink colours rather than pay attention to a shield against light.
Marks and Spencer is the only retailer to throw caution to the wind with a green ros bottle, and Simon recommends 2005 Bourgogne Ros (8.99; Marks and Spencer).
JANCIS ROBINSON MW investigates the worthiness, or otherwise, of 1998 Bordeaux: 'A vintage that was famously much more successful in St- Emilion, Pomerol and Graves than in the Mdoc.' The most expensive bottle to be put to the test (blind), is Chteau Ptrus, at more than 1,000 a bottle, which Robinson 'liked' but 'no more than a wine that was being sold for 35.'
Read more...The 2001 vintage of Brunello di Montalcino escaped frost annihilation by the skin of its teeth, and JANCIS ROBINSON MW tasted the results.
She has been slightly disappointed by this classic Italian wine in recent years due to certain producers' tendencies towards a more global style, and this vintage is no different: I'd say a good third of the Brunello di Montalcino 2001 bottlings tasted closer to an archetype of modern red wine than to anything even particularly Tuscan, which seems a shame.'
Guilty producers included La Fornace and Podere Bellarina, while Carparzo and Fuligni were among the traditionalists.
Shiraz has hit Chile and ANTHONY ROSE can't get over the impact.
The progress of wine styles based on the Rhne Valley's Syrah grape has been nothing short of phenomenal.'
Chile's grape-friendly climate has presented the potential for plenty of different styles, ranging from the sumptuous, blackberryish' 2004 Alta Tierra Elqui Valley Syrah (7.49; Laithwaites) to the vivid, accessible' 2005 Torren de Paredes Syrah Reserve Rengo, Cachapoal Valley (7.99; Forth Wines).
A dodgy early experience with gin has led to JONATHAN RAY having an uneasy relationship with the stuff'.
On the other hand, his wife loves it and he keeps hearing that it's the new in' thing.
To bring himself up to date, he pays a visit to the Hendrick's distillery and finds himself developing a taste' for the quirky gin from William Grant & Sons.
This revelation soon leads to a proper home-made tasting session with 15 friends and 12 gins. Gin of the evening (and my favourite) is Martin Miller's Westbourne Strength (29.99; Harrods, Selfridges),' Ray concludes.
Prize for the most alcoholic option goes to Blackwood's 60 Superior Vintage Dry Gin, 60% abv (24.99; Harvey Nichols and independents).
