Dear Member
Once again we are living with various lockdown restrictions around the UK, unable to see friends and family, some home working, others unable to travel and many still trying to carry out the vital work in your own businesses.
We’ve had a number of members send in messages about looking forward to a glass of wine on the Terrace and many are missing that nice glass of something at your local pub.
But when it comes to wine, the question can often be what should I drink? For me personally, the choice is easy most of the time, as I have a slight passion (mmm maybe obsession) with wine.
I know for a fact that some of you share this passion with me and we often discuss it when you visit the Restaurant and Bar but I also know that some people find wine a bit difficult to navigate. So, whilst we are at home maybe buying in a bottle or two with our on-line delivery or when out for an essential trip to the supermarket, I’ve put together this newsletter in the hope of providing a helping hand for those who need it, in what to choose and also to share a wine that I recently tried, which I think is good value for money.
To start let’s pretend we don’t know what wine we like and don’t really know where to start.
In this instance the easiest and best thing to do is find a grape variety (Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc.) you like. Choose one grape variety to start and then buy that grape variety from a few different countries. This way you will see that although it is the same grape, the wine will taste completely different for each country. Then repeat the process for the next grape variety until you find one that you like. Once you have done this you will know what grape variety you enjoy and from which country.
You can then take the next step and start looking for the same grape, same country but from a different wine region within that country. Once again you will find out that the wine will taste different each time, based on climate, production method etc.
This will give you your grape variety, your country and maybe one of two regions within that country that suit you. Restaurants can’t possibly stock every wine from every region of every country but knowing this will give you a couple of options to choose when you are looking at a wine list or shopping for wine.
Personally over the last year I have very much focused on Italian wines and what I have learned is that I really like a grape called Sangiovese. Which is mainly grown in Tuscany. Within Tuscany probably the most famous sub-region is Chianti, which has hundreds of wine producers mainly producing Sangiovese.
One wine I wanted to share with you is the following; Corte Alle Mura, Chianti Riserva 2015 which I found at Lidl for £5.99. Normally decent Chianti’s start around the £8.50/£10 mark, so I was a bit sceptical but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the wine. I won’t go all technical about the wine but it has nice red/dark fruit (Cherry, Plum, and Strawberry) flavours and balanced tannins, which is what makes your mouth go dry. In my humble opinion it is definitely worth giving it a try.
https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/p/product-recommendation/chianti-riserva/p15358
** Other supermarket brands are available with fantastic selections of wine.
I hope some of you have found this interesting and do feel free to email me at fandbmanager@thefarmersclub.com if you have any questions or queries.
Cheers!
Jelle
Once again we are living with various lockdown restrictions around the UK, unable to see friends and family, some home working, others unable to travel and many still trying to carry out the vital work in your own businesses.
We’ve had a number of members send in messages about looking forward to a glass of wine on the Terrace and many are missing that nice glass of something at your local pub.
But when it comes to wine, the question can often be what should I drink? For me personally, the choice is easy most of the time, as I have a slight passion (mmm maybe obsession) with wine.
I know for a fact that some of you share this passion with me and we often discuss it when you visit the Restaurant and Bar but I also know that some people find wine a bit difficult to navigate. So, whilst we are at home maybe buying in a bottle or two with our on-line delivery or when out for an essential trip to the supermarket, I’ve put together this newsletter in the hope of providing a helping hand for those who need it, in what to choose and also to share a wine that I recently tried, which I think is good value for money.
To start let’s pretend we don’t know what wine we like and don’t really know where to start.
In this instance the easiest and best thing to do is find a grape variety (Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc.) you like. Choose one grape variety to start and then buy that grape variety from a few different countries. This way you will see that although it is the same grape, the wine will taste completely different for each country. Then repeat the process for the next grape variety until you find one that you like. Once you have done this you will know what grape variety you enjoy and from which country.
You can then take the next step and start looking for the same grape, same country but from a different wine region within that country. Once again you will find out that the wine will taste different each time, based on climate, production method etc.
This will give you your grape variety, your country and maybe one of two regions within that country that suit you. Restaurants can’t possibly stock every wine from every region of every country but knowing this will give you a couple of options to choose when you are looking at a wine list or shopping for wine.
Personally over the last year I have very much focused on Italian wines and what I have learned is that I really like a grape called Sangiovese. Which is mainly grown in Tuscany. Within Tuscany probably the most famous sub-region is Chianti, which has hundreds of wine producers mainly producing Sangiovese.
One wine I wanted to share with you is the following; Corte Alle Mura, Chianti Riserva 2015 which I found at Lidl for £5.99. Normally decent Chianti’s start around the £8.50/£10 mark, so I was a bit sceptical but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the wine. I won’t go all technical about the wine but it has nice red/dark fruit (Cherry, Plum, and Strawberry) flavours and balanced tannins, which is what makes your mouth go dry. In my humble opinion it is definitely worth giving it a try.
https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/p/product-recommendation/chianti-riserva/p15358
** Other supermarket brands are available with fantastic selections of wine.
I hope some of you have found this interesting and do feel free to email me at fandbmanager@thefarmersclub.com if you have any questions or queries.
Cheers!
Jelle
