We need a summer, not just because you are all hoping to give the barbecue more of an airing this year than last and enjoy some super al fresco eating and drinking, but also because our English and Welsh winemakers need periods of continuous, consistent sunshine over the next few months. They need to ensure that 2013 is a harvest to remember, unlike 2012 which was dominated by wet and cool weather as we all know, resulting in producers making a lot less wine, although the quality was good. Perhaps surprising for you is the fact that, if everything goes to plan, in England and Wales this year around 7.5 million bottles of wine will be produced, up from 3 million bottles from the 2011 vintage!

English and Welsh wines are rightly winning lots of accolades because we are making some of the best sparkling wines in the world here. Try these from producers like Nyetimber, Camel Valley, and Gusbourne Estate and, locally, Three Choirs in Newent. If you are looking for an easy drinking white then try Three Choirs Coleridge Hill or Willow Brook, both at around 11% abv. Alternatively, have a taste of the excellent Bacchus – the best white variety for quality still whites in England – from Brightwell Vineyard (pictured left) in Wallingford (to be featured at my Wine Talk & Tasting Evening at The Chipping Norton Theatre on Friday 17th May) or Bothy Vineyard.  Whilst the majority of production in England and Wales is of sparkling and white wines, there are good pink fizzes and still rosés too, with a few reds produced by specialists like Strawberry Hill Vineyards in Newent who make Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Other local producers  worth a mention are Poulton Hill Estate in Cirencester and  Bridewell wine available from in Wilcote near Chipping Norton.

So if you haven’t tasted an English wine yet or visited an English vineyard, then you definitely should, and your best opportunity is coming up during English Wine Week which runs from Saturday May 25^th until Sunday 2^nd June. There will be lots of activities and promotions taking place and you will get to taste some excellent wines. More details are available from English Wine Producers or UKvine.

Coopers Creek was founded by Andrew and Cynthia Hendry in 1980, which was certainly in the early days of New Zealand wine production and development – the first commercial vintage of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc was released by Brancott Estate in 1979. Of course Coopers Creek make very good Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, however what is of interest to The Wine Tipster is their production of quality wines from white varieties like Albariño, Arneis, Viognier, Gruner Veltliner (Yealands Estate also make a very good Gruner) and the red variety Montepulciano (look out for Framingham’s excellent Montepulciano too) because these varieties will continue to grow in popularity in New Zealand.

Albariño produced in north west Spain and can sometimes be an overpriced disappointment, however there is no doubt that “Bell Ringer” Gisborne Albariño 2012, abv 12%, Coopers Creek,  £13.99, is right on the money, with  floral, pear, quince and appley notes on the nose; this dry wine has lovely, creamy mouthfeel and texture on the palate.  Contact the UK agent Berkmann Wine Cellars @BerkmannWine  for stockists.

 

A big thank you to Jean Adams and Richard Cocks for their Taste of France 2009/10/11 tasting evening and dinner. Jean and Richard had generously invited 20 good people to taste 13 wines covering the 2009, 2010 and 2011 vintages, with some fine, relaxed dining to follow.
Francophile Richard was on top form as he guided us through some lovely Burgundian whites including a delicious, creamy and elegant Santenay Olivier Leflaive 2011, Haynes Hanson & Clark which will continue to improve and develop for some years ahead. In contrast, Domaine Borgeot’s Bourgogne Aligote 2010, (2011 FromVineyardsDirect) which kicked off proceedings, is impressive drinking now.
Before headings to the reds, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011, Mas de Cadenet (2012 FromVineyardsDirect) reminded us all of summer with elegant, soft, raspberry and strawberry fruits. The easy drinking theme continued with the chilled Chitry Pinot Noir 2010 from Domaine Michel Colbois, before moving on to the silky, high class Nuits – Saint- Georges Jaffelin 2010.
The Wine Tipster enjoyed the full flavoured Chiroubles Cuvee Nature 2010, Eric Morin, which has

spice, blackcurrants and brambley character with more development to come, whilst the Chiroubles La Precieuse 2009 Emile Cheysson shown at Richard’s last tasting was equally enjoyable once again. This really is a great time to drink Beaujolais.
Thank you Jean and Richard as Louise, my Mum Jo, my father-in-law Alan Hill and The Wine Tipster all had a wonderful time and we look forward to being there in 2014!

Thank you to all the lovely people from Chadlington, Charlbury, Finstock and Billericay who came to The Wine Tipster’s Charity Gig for Friends of Chadlington School and Greatwood Caring for Retired Racehorses. The punters at the packed Chadlington Village Hall consumed Gordal olives, Marcona salted almonds from Brindisa and fabulous mini-pizzas from Cafe de la Post in-between tasting eight wines on sparkling form.

First up was the elegant Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut NV, Champagne, France on offer in Waitrose at £29.99 until April 2nd, followed by Esk Valley’s Sauvignon Blanc 2012, Marlborough, £9.99, Cafe de la Post, The Oxford Wine Company, which really does express the quality of

this New Zealand vintage. We moved on to the well-priced, elegant Planalto Douro Reserva 2011, Portugal (pictured right), £7.99, Majestic, with citrus and peachy flavours, whilst the Mâcon Charnay, Réserve Personelle 2011, Burgundy, France, £9.99, Cafe de la Post, The Oxford Wine Company, with soft, buttery and vanilla flavours is quality, good value Burgundy under a tenner.

Then Zalze Cabernet /Shiraz Rosé 2012, Coastal Region, South Africa, £7.99, Waitrose, full flavoured with attractive red fruits and spice raised the flag for the pink corner, with the wine options round revealing the soft, elegant, rounded and abv friendly 12% Aurora Reserve Pinot Noir 2012, Serra Gaûcha, Brazil, £9.50, Stevens Garnier. Interestingly, many people guessed Pinot Noir and chose Chile instead of New Zealand.

The final part of our journey ended in Europe with the smooth, Beronia Rioja Reserva 2008, Rioja, Spain, £11.99, The Oxford Wine Company, Cafe de la Post and the stunning Ramos Pinto Collectors Port, Douro, Portugal, £13.99 The Oxford Wine Company, Cafe de la Post.

A big thank you to all the wine producers, S.Pellegrino, Cafe de la Post, The Oxford Wine Company and Alex James, Craig Ogden, Ed Fenton, Nicola Leyland, Cheltenham Food and Drink Festival, Chadlington Quality Foods and The Tite Inn for the raffle prizes.

Finally, a big thank you to Robina, Lois, Jo and Steve for organisation and pouring.

The Blue Riband race of The Cheltenham Festival is The Betfred Gold Cup at 3.20 on Friday. The 2013 build up appears to have been focussed on taking sides with Sir Des Champs, Bobs Worth, First Lieutenant and Silviniaco Conti v Long Run and Captain Chris. Only Silviniaco Conti from the first team makes real appeal because he is clearly an improving type, who beat Long Run and The Giant Bolster by 2½ lengths and 4½ lengths respectively at level weights in November, then with The Giant Bolster in receipt of 4 pounds, Silviniaco Conti put seven lengths between them at Newbury in February. His jumping is accurate and he definitely has the progressive appeal to win a Gold Cup .

The current favourite Bobs Worth beat Tidal Bay by 3¼ lengths in receipt of 6 pounds in the Hennessy Gold Cup, with First Lieutenant five lengths third in receipt of 1 pound from Bobs Worth. Tidal Bay then stole the Lexus Chase in one of the finishes of the season at level weights with Sir Des Champs and First Lieutenant, which leaves me with the view that Bobs Worth, Sir Des Champs and First Lieutenant are pretty closely matched but not winners of the Gold Cup.

For the second team, Long Run and Captain Chris are seen as having fought out a titanic finish in a sub-standard King George run on heavy ground.  This is all wrong, as Long Run has won a King George twice, a Gold Cup once and he has never finished out the first three in any of his races. Although Silviniaco Conti did beat Long Run in the Betfair Chase, Long Run’s trainer Nicky Henderson said that he would need the run on his seasonal appearance.  Supporting the King George form is Captain Chris, who is a very different horse this season, with Richard Johnson riding him brilliantly and whilst 2.5 miles was too short for him at Ascot last time against a nimble Cue Card he will be patiently ridden at Cheltenham, gradually working his way in to a place at the finish.

Silviniaco Conti makes the most appeal as a potential winner, however my preferred bets are Long Run each way at 6/1 (taken 7/1), which looks one of the safest bets of the week to The Wine Tipster, with  a small each way wager on Captain Chris at 16/1 too.

Join The Wine Tipster on 22nd March at the Chadlington Memorial Hall for his Wine Talk and Tasting in aid of Friends of Chadlington School and Greatwood Caring for Retired Racehorses. Apart

from eight great wines from around the world, there will be some excellent raffle prizes, with nibbles from Slatters, Brindisa and mini-pizzas from Cafe de la Post. Doors open 7.30pm-7.45pm start. Tickets are £10 from Chadlington Quality Foods: Tel: 01608 – 676675 & Evenlode Books Tel: 01608 – 819117. See you there!

I do hope you all enjoyed The Wine Tipster’s wine recommendations for Christmas and New Year. Now, here we are in January armed with a list of 2013 resolutions and many of us will be about book a holiday, stay clear of alcohol for a month and take up a temporary gym membership.

So, from my perspective, with all this gastronomic activity and oenophile devotion I have to have some aerobic and anaerobic each week and press the perspiration button, whether running on the relatively car free roads of Chadlington, attending my spinning class or attempting to look classy on my bike like Bradley Wiggins – and in 2013 I’ll definitely be keeping up my exercise regime.

The effort is worth it too, not only for the post workout feel-good factor but for the creativity whilst you pound the streets. Also, these days, there are lots of excellent choices of the non-alcoholic variety to rehydrate so I always have available some San Pellegrino Aranciata or Limonata which are £3.79 per pack of 6 x 330ml cans in Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Luscombe Sicilian Lemonade 320ml, £1.60, Chadlington Quality Foods and my favourite mineral water San Pellegrino.

After all this perspiration and rehydration you can reward yourself with a glass of vino. The Wine Tipster has always recommended to wine lovers that quality should win over quantity, whatever the time of the year, so don’t let January put you off! If you are checking the calorie counter note that, on average, one glass of 175ml wine has around 130 calories, although this will vary by producer and style of wine as to whether it is medium or sweet.

So here’s to a very happy 2013 in which I look forward to sharing with you my vino tips food and wine recommendations and my top racing tips. Cheers!

January Treats

Chat-en-Oeuf 2011, abv 12.5%, Languedoc, France, £5.99. Stockist: Waitrose (pictured left)

Really good value white, dry, easy drinking, creamy with citrus fruit flavours. Look out for the fun packaging and try their rosé and red too!

Château D’Anglès Classique White 2010, abv 14.0%, La Clape, France, £11.99. Stockist:  Wine Rack. (pictured below right)

La Clape is the only wine appellation based on the Bourboulenc variety, which is 60% of the blend with Grenache, Roussanne and Marsanne making up the rest. Made by renowned winemaker Eric Fabre, his impressive Classique white is dry, complex and elegant with peachy, floral, nutty and creamy notes, completed by a tangy and citrus finish. This wine can easily age for 5-10 years.

Terra d’Alter 2009, abv 13.5%, Alentejo, Portugal, £7.95 or £7.55 when purchasing any 12 mixed bottles. Stockist: The Oxford Wine Company

This red from Alentejo is made by the talented Australian Peter Bright and was the most popular wine at my recent Wine and Vinyl Evening! A smooth, warming red for a January night, packed with plum and damson fruit flavours. Decant a couple of hours beforehand.

McManis Family Vineyards Zinfandel 2011, abv 14%, California, USA. £10.99 down to £8.79 in Majestic, who are offering 20% off all Californian wines* until 4^th February -*excluding wines over £19.99 or sparkling wine.

This is not the full-bodied Zinfandel you often find, but smoother, silkier, intensely fruity, low on tannins and a perfect match with a winter casserole.

You may have just waved goodbye to the relatives and not had a chance to consider your New Year’s Eve vino so here are a few time saving selections from The Wine Tipster. If champagne is your fizz of a choice then Harvey Nichols have a few bottles left of the stunning Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut Millesime 1998 at a great price of £52.50. Of course you might be throwing a party and looking for ground pleasing bubbles for under a tenner then The Wine Tipster would rather go with the dry, applely, characterful Prestige Cava Brut NV, Penedes, Spain, £8.99, M&S, than a prosecco at the same price. For pink fans, the Moscato Rosé 2012, Bosman Family Vineyards, Wellington, South Africa, £8.99, M&S, is creamy, with ripe strawberry fruit, only 8% abv and a fun wine to kick off New Year’s Eve.

To keep your party rockin’ it is worth having a couple of crisp, fruity whites at home like Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Mâcon Villages 2011, Burgundy, France, £6.99 or Domaine Félines Jourdan Rousanne Chardonnay 2011, Côteaux de Bessilles, France, £7.99 or £7.59 when purchasing any 12 mixed bottles, The Oxford Wine Company.  Alternatively, if you want a more aromatic style then go for the peachy, lychee, spicy McManis Viognier Family Vineyards 2010/2011, California, USA, £10.99, Waitrose, Majestic £10.99 down to £8.79 if you buy 2 bottles of still Californian wines under £20.

Of course a still rosé must be on hand and the Zalze Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz Rosé 2012, Coastal Region, South Africa, £7.99, Waitrose, has just the right easy drinking, fruity, crowd pleasing style , whilst for the tinto fans, these have been some of the most consistently enjoyable reds of the year for The Wine Tipster starting with the Portal da Águia 2009, Tejo, Portugal, £8.00, Oddbins, from Rioja the medium bodied Campo Viejo Tempranillo 2010, Rioja, Spain, £8.29, – look out for offers – Tesco, Asda, Ocado, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and the excellent, well priced Negroamaro 2011, Puglia, Italy, £6.49, M&S

As the party organiser you need to think of some lower alcohol wines like the Dr. L Riesling 2010 Loosen Brothers, Mosel, Germany, abv 8.5%, £7,99, Majestic  or Tesco Finest Vinho Verde 2011, Portugal, abv 11.5%, down from £7.29 to £5.00 until 1/1/13.

Have a great time and here’s to a fruitful and fabulous 2013. Cheers!

 

The Prime Minister and The Wine Tipster took part in The Great Brook Run in the picturesque Cotswold village of Chadlington on December 27th. This annual cross-country race which is just-over-a-mile takes place half on land and half on water starting and finishing at The Tite Inn. As a resident of Chadlington, who lives very close to The Great Brook, it was hard for me to avoid participation.

Equipped with my worst pair of shoes and some ragged running kit I set off with The Great Brook Run website encouraging one liner in my mind: “Run, Get Wet, Have a Pint”.  It was muddy, slippery underneath, very cold when you first entered the brook, yet you soon acclimatised before experiencing claustrophobia when you crawled under the bridge through running water ahead of a triumphant finish back at The Tite Inn. Post-event refreshment was at hand, with an excellent pint of Black Sheep and between race stories, imbibing and refuelling with burgers there was a raffle with a first prize of a bottle of whisky signed by David Cameron. This was duly won by my father-in-law Alan Hill, who at 82 years of age had a very special day, which he will remember for seeing his son-in-law take part, winning the first prize in the raffle and having his photograph taken with Beth Storry, Olympic Bronze Medallist for Team GB Women’s Hockey.

Importantly, The Great Brook Run raised more than £600 for our village’s Memorial Hall, so a big thank you to the organisers and the sponsors Chadlington Quality Foods, Slatter’s Family Butchers, The Tite Inn, House & Carriage and Fête Game Hire

This was a terrific event and I hope, like myself, all the 110 finishers will look forward to getting wet again in 2013!

 

Thank you to all the lovely people who attended the Tickler Cheese and Wine Masterclasses at Taste of Christmas. Richard Newell, cheese maker from Tickler and The Wine Tipster had a great time over the three days presenting 21 Masterclasses with fabulous cheeses and wines. Richard Newell has over 20 years’ experience in the cheese industry and he is a man who knows his cheese. Each day, we presented two cheddar masterclasses including Tickler Cheddar, from their award winning Taw Valley creamery in Devon. Tickler is matured for up to 18 months, and is tangy, sweet, full of flavour and available from all major retailers.

For the other sessions, we were joined by an array of guests. On Saturday, The Wine Tipster presented with the lovely Alex James (pictured right), whose Goddess, Little Wallop and Farleigh Wallop are all rightly proving to be very popular cheeses. In other masterclasses, we were joined by Philip Stansfield, who presented his award winning Cornish Blue and moreish pate, whilst Cathal Murphy continued the blue theme with the delicious Cashel Blue and Crozier Blue. From Dorset, George Streatfeilds from Denhay Farm, waxed lyrically about their Dorset Drum. The Wine Tipster should also extend a big thank you to George for my daily breakfast, which consisted of a Denhay unsmoked streaky bacon sandwich. Yum!

With such an exciting range of cheeses we needed the ports and wines to match and a big thanks to Lorenzo Bakewell – Stone from Taylor’s Port, who included their First Estate Reserve, Late Bottled Vintage 2007, 10 Year Old Tawny (always great when you are getting people to taste Tawny Port for the first time) and the high class Quinta de Vargellas 2001.

Our wine travels took us to India, with the exciting Vallone Vineyards Anokhee Sauvignon Blanc 2011 from Namaste Wines, then we were on to Croatia and Franc Arman’s really meaty, full bodied Merlot 2008 and the creamy, classy white Kabola Malvazija Istarska 2011 Vrhunsko, which are both available from Croatian Fine Wines. From southern Italy, the Filadoro Fiano di Avellino 2010 is a creamy, peachy white from Campania and the red Taurasi 2008 made from Aglianico is full bodied and smooth, with both of these wines available from Ager Taurasinus. Staying in Europe, Château Vrai Gaillou 2009 Bordeaux Superieur from Bordeaux Undiscovered is another reason why punters should buy reds from this outstanding vintage at all levels. If you are looking for consistent good value at £6 a bottle then the Chat-en-Oeuf  (pictured left) selection from southern France, featuring a white, rosé and red will certainly impress your guests. Away from Europe. the southern hemisphere was on top form with the Two Rivers Convergence Sauvignon Blanc 2012 – a great Sauvignon Blanc vintage – and the Limited Edition Reserve Pinot Noir, Louis Vavasour 2008, Awatere, Marlborough, New Zealand, which is a wonderful example of how classy and refined quality Pinot Noir from Marlborough can be given the chance to have some bottle age. These two wines are available from the smart Antipodean Sommelier.

Look forward to seeing you at Taste of Christmas 2013. Cheers!

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