35 minute read
the vineyard
Stuart Rothwell, Ramsbottom, October 2021
In it for the long haul
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Stuart Rothwell was in the transport business before joining the wine trade. The Vineyard at Ramsbottom in Lancashire adapted well to lockdown and has emerged from the other side in good shape, despite all the familiar challenges. Nigel Huddleston says hello
Stuart Rothwell admits that The Vineyard has had a bit of a spruce-up especially for The Wine Merchant’s visit.
“My wife’s tidied up,” he says, while he was away over the weekend playing cricket, in Portugal of all places. “There are normally boxes everywhere. Customers will wonder if there’s something wrong. I’ve had two customers this morning comment on how tidy it is.”
The Vineyard opened its door in the Lancashire town of Ramsbottom, a dozen or so miles north of Manchester, on the seventh day of the seventh month in 2007.
Since 1999 Rothwell had been one half of R&R Fine Wines in Bury, but he got the wine bug before that, helping out wife Geraldine, who managed a deli called Ramsbottom Victuallers.
“My parents were both teetotal, so it wasn’t from them,” he says. “I’ve never been a big drinker, a beer drinker, or anything like that.
“I used to go into the deli on a Saturday afternoon and help out with the wine, giving people recommendations. I didn’t get paid for it, it was a hobby. One of the customers said, ‘Do you fancy doing this full time?’ They had a premises in Bury, so we started a wine shop.
“I had a haulage business, but was selling that, so it just seemed to fall into place.” He went to night school to do his WSET exams, which was “brilliant, not like doing maths or English”.
After eight years of R&R he decided to go it alone and moved five miles up the M66 to Ramsbottom, and the current site, a small retail space over two levels, and which now has a temporary marquee/gazebo providing an outdoor lockdown-plus space on the street. “When we set up there were Victoria Wine and Thresher in the town, but they did their thing and I did mine. I’m not saying we’re upmarket, we’re not, but we were at a completely different level to those two. They’ve gone, of course, and we’re still here.”
The business is a family affair, run by Stuart with Geraldine and daughter Becky.
How was lockdown in a business sense?
It’s been good. We became a delivery service within a few days of the first lockdown happening. We were open but people couldn’t get their heads round the fact that we were open when the whole town was shut down. We knew it wouldn’t last [after the end of lockdown]. We were probably doing 15-20 local deliveries a day, and we’ve seen that drop to 20-25 a week. But we found new customers through it who’ve stayed. I said if we could keep one in 10 we’d be happy, and we have done.
How did the outside come about?
We put up the marquee in the street. There are two restaurants either side, tapas and pintxos, both owned by the same guy. We get on well. When shutdown came he was gutted, obviously. We got wind through our MP, who we get on with, that the council had to do anything they could to keep people in business.
So Sergio came up with the idea of how we could move outside. We didn’t get much sense out of the council at first but all of a sudden they said we could close the street. We had to go through a few hoops with Covid rules, risk assessments and the licence. We had to get public liability for £10m rather than £5m. We are both insured by the same local company. It cost about £20 and the insurance broker [Monroe Greenhalgh] asked if they could sponsor the marquee, so it’s got their branding on it. It’s been fabulous.
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How does it work in practice?
Sergio does the food and we do the wine. It’s worked really well. Overnight we became a hospitality business. It’s totally different but we worked hard at it, and it’s been totally brilliant really.
The plan is that next spring the council will decide to close the road permanently and make it pedestrianised, which I think they will, and then we’ll put a proper weatherproof structure up.
But we’re still using it: we’ve got the Halloween tasting in there and we’ll do a Christmas market and one or two other
events.
It sounds like there’s quite a supportive business network in Ramsbottom.
There is. It’s all independents; the only chains are Lloyds the chemist and Ladbrokes. It’s an old mill town and there are few others dotted round us. You’ve got to work together. We organise the Wine-dering Tour. People go, “what the hell’s a wine-dering tour?” At Christmas, I get all my regular suppliers to come up – Enotria, Bibendum, a lot of smaller ones, Raymond Reynolds etc. We take over eight shops and I put a supplier in each: the underwear shop, the hairdresser, the solicitor. For the Love of Wine does the Italian wines in the art gallery.
How does it work?
Customers come to me, get a glass and there’s a tasting in each shop that they walk around. They all put food on; we do the brochure. It creates late night shopping for the retailers, and the suppliers can talk to people and get them to try things that they wouldn’t normally. We have a Spanish shop, a French shop … we never have anybody in here. We can’t be bothered with that. Just go and bother everybody else. We had the ports in the solicitor’s and he was taking 10% off if people want to do a will at any time. Just getting to know them.
Jonathan Cocker at Martinez in Ilkley wanted to do the same but he said the licensing people weren’t happy, but ours were OK. You can do it in a small town, but you couldn’t do it in Manchester. That’s the beauty of it.
for Portuguese wine from 2014. Would you regard yourself as a Portuguese specialist?
It’s from Wines of Portugal. We are the holders of that award still, because they pulled the funding and there hasn’t been another one. We had it on the van but we just took the date off.
It was just a little thing that other shops didn’t really get into. A lot of retailers do France, Spain or Italy, but Portugal’s always an afterthought. It really started through Raymond Reynolds, who are just lovely to work with, when we went on a trip to Portugal. The wines were lovely and I decided to try to bring them to people’s attention. So Portugal’s always been a bit of passion really … and great wines. If I tell
How would you describe what you do day-to-day?
How many independents are there in the country? 700 or so? We’re similar to 650 of them, which is that middle level with more quality. We’re about quality, not quantity. We’re a bit eclectic and
try to cover most bases with a bit of everything. We’re busy at Christmas with people who normally shop in the supermarkets who want to buy something a bit special.
You have an anonymous-looking award
people the grape varieties they’ll go over their heads, so we don’t go that deep into it. In the wine trade we think people should know about varieties, but why should they?
What are the people of Ramsbottom drinking at the moment?
Whispering Angel. “Have you got that rosé?” That’s all they have to say and you know what they mean. Our biggest seller is an Italian red, Sampietrana, from For the Love of Wine, and it has been for four or five years. It’s behind the counter; we don’t even put it on the shelves because it goes out that fast. It sells because we push it.
You get people coming in who want to know about wine but are a bit frightened, and ask for a recommendation. They go away and try it and then we sell cases. We take a full pallet for Christmas, which was
Sarah Dodd has hung on to some of the new customers acquired during lockdown
All set for Halloween … but suppliers have warned about Christmas shortages
a big decision the first time but it all went well.
As an ex-haulier, do you ship any wine yourself?
No, not now. With all the paperwork, who’d want to be an haulier? It’s a nightmare getting wines in at the moment, isn’t it? We’re bottom of the pile at Rotterdam. All our suppliers are just saying, “you can’t have this, you can’t have that”. New Zealand Sauvignon, especially – and trying to get things out of Italy is difficult because there aren’t enough companies going into Italy to bring it out.
Beaujolais Nouveau has been cancelled. We get it from Georges Duboeuf through Berkmann. We do a good promotion every year; we always have done and it does very well, even though it’s an old-fashioned thing. I’ve got two alternatives from other suppliers to investigate but, apparently, it won’t be the third Thursday in November, it will be into December.
Are relations with suppliers generally good?
It’s mainly specialists in particular countries. I don’t abuse my suppliers because I need them. I’m not one of those characters who try to knock them down on price. If it weren’t for the Italian specialist, the Spanish specialist … we use Moreno for Spain and a small importer in Manchester for Spain – and For the Love of Wine and Liberty for Italy.
With all the supply issues and everything else that’s been happening, has 2021 been worse than 2020 in some ways?
I suppose it has in some ways. They keep saying about Christmas shortages .... top-end Sauvignons, Greywacke being one we could mention. We had an allocation from August to Christmas of 14 cases but that’s no longer happening. There are alternatives but if you like New Zealand Sauvignon you like New Zealand Sauvignon. There’s not a lot like it. People are saying about South Africa and Chile but it’s not the same. Loire is not the same.
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It’s got to be damn good Chilean or South African to match New Zealand. But the situation might change people’s tastes as well. We’ve probably got 15 or 16 New Zealand Sauvignons. Why do we need so many?
Talking of down under, your Australia sign is upside down.
We had all the signs done by a young girl who said “I’ve made a mistake”, but we decided to keep it that way. There’s always some wag who will say: “Why isn’t your New Zealand sign upside down as well?” Kids love it when they come in with mum and dad, so we kept it as a talking point. Australia is a country that goes up and down. You sell a lot and then nobody asks for it.
The pricing has gone up of course. All our suppliers are telling us there are price increases coming across. There has to be because of the prices people are paying for containers, etc.
Where are you in terms of turnover? Back to 2019 levels?
We’re way ahead of 2019. Last year was a funny year but a brilliant one really when you look at it. Turnover has gone up 25% over 2019. The outside helped and wholesale has come back now. We do local restaurants … and cricket clubs. Our
Ramsbottom was named as one the best places to live in the UK by the Sunday Times
team plays social matches against local clubs, and I sponsor banners at a lot of the grounds. It’s good advertising and they give me business as well. We’ve just taken two new cricket clubs on. That’s all kicked in and the restaurants have opened up again. And retail is doing well, so we have that too.
A big part of the shop is devoted to spirits. How important is that?
It’s massive. We have a certain brand of customers who are knowledgeable about whisky. They know their stuff and I end up asking them questions. We do well in Cognac, and gin of course. It’s slowed down slightly but that’s only the quirky gin liqueurs, the cheeky flavours, like bubblegum. We’ve got a massive selection of proper gin and it’s still good. Rum’s
doing phenomenally as well. The cocktail culture came in with gin drinkers and all the bars in Manchester are selling a lot of rum cocktails.
Tequila and mezcal are quite good, and the specialist liqueurs for cocktail making. If a recipe says “a dash of Angostura” you have to add it. You can’t get away without it.
Your catchment area includes a lot of very notable independents.
You won’t get better than D Byrne and Tom [Jones] at Whalley Wines is very good. Phil at Wino’s in Oldham is a good friend. Reserve Wines [in Manchester] are brilliant. Kwoff in Bury have been there for about six or seven years. They’re big Boutinot customers and I never really have been, so we do slightly different things.
Our catchment area is probably a 15mile radius. People who come to us from outlying villages know Tom and they know Byrne and they’ll shop in each of us. We work well with Kwoff who’ll ring if they have customers in the shop asking for things they don’t have – and we do the same for them.
In the independent trade, that’s how it works. You’ve got to get on with each other.
. THE DRAYMAN .
Nothing bland about consistency
Winners of the Brewer of the Year crown are all explorers, but rarely hit-or-miss novelty acts. Their beers are balanced and drinkable
Members of the British Guild of Beer Writers have just been asked to cast their vote for their 2021 Brewer of the Year from a short list comprising Stacey Ayeh of Rock Leopard, Charlotte Cook of Coalition, John Hatch of Ram, Robin Head-Fourman of Beak, Andy Parker of Elusive and Jeremy Swainson of Utopian.
Making the selection is an interesting exercise, not just because it’s nice to champion a favourite, or to see whether your choice also grabs the attention of your voting peers, but because it gives pause to reflect on what makes a good beer and a good brewery.
With the victor not due to go public until December, rather than pick a winner, it might be more appropriate to name a few stand-out great modern brewers of recent years – and identify what they have in common.
Mark Tranter worked at the then-independent Dark Star in Sussex before setting up Burning Sky in the county in 2013. He won the Guild’s Brewer of the Year just a year later, gaining recognition for his speciality in saisons and a nice line in drinkable pale ales and, more recently, some very fine lower-abv table beers.
Evin O’Riordain at Kernel is another ex-winner who began with exploration of single varietal or hop blends on an IPA theme. Over time, Kernel’s range has spread tentacles into other styles, with each new iteration continuing to show the subtleties of different hops and what a skilful brewer can get from them.
Burning Sky beers come in colourful cans and Kernel’s in brown bottles with plain brown paper labels. Both, in their own way, express quiet confidence about the contents.
Buxton Brewery seems to be more under the influencer radar, perhaps because, ironically, it has a higher commercial profile, with supermarket listings alongside bottle shop patronage. Like Kernel, it favours microvariations on the hoppy pale/IPA theme, though it’s worth checking out its majestic dark beers as well.
What all three have in common is an appreciation of the importance of poise in their beers. Like the best wines, great beers seek balance: bitterness with malty sweetness, fruit notes with spices, silkiness with a pleasing tannic grip.
I’d suggest these are all explorative brewers, rather than experimental ones, searching for the best they can possibly get from the basic raw materials and techniques of beer making, not pushing the boundaries, as many do, in the name of novelty, with variable success.
The other thing they all achieve is consistency. That’s sometimes regarded as a dirty word in beer writing circles because it suggests uniformity, safety, even blandness. But for me, it’s a reassuring sign of a brewer’s competence. It doesn’t have to mean boring beer; you couldn’t accuse any of the above brewers of producing anything of the sort.
It just means you know what you get is going to be flavoursome, drinkable, balanced, true. Buxton, Burning Sky and Kernel are all prolific brewers, but I’ve never had a bad beer from any of them. It’s no coincidence, either, that these three have all been around for a while now, proof that genuine quality will rise to the top and stay there.
Oh OK, if you insist: Robin Head-Fourman at Beak.
87% of winners also wear caps
Bordeaux’s hidden treasures
Almost 60% of the Bordeaux vineyard is classified as Bordeaux or Bordeaux Supérieur. At an online tasting, and a London round table, merchants had the chance to discover and discuss whites and rosés from these AOCs
The reputation of Bordeaux’s famous red wines is unrivalled but the region is shining a light on its white and rosé wines, in a bid to broaden its appeal.
As with its reds, differences in growing conditions contribute to a diverse array of styles in Bordeaux whites and pinks, which was evident in a tasting led by Bordeaux wine tutor Laura Clay for readers of The Wine Merchant.
“There’s been increased quality in white wine in the last 10 to 15 years,” she says. “There’s a lot of skin contact, skin maceration and lees stirring. All those things are making the whites better quality.
“The diverse soil types and microterroirs bring a lot of complexity, interest and reliability when blending. It’s a very versatile category.” Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle are the principal varieties in white Bordeaux blends but Sauvignon Gris is increasingly being used, as in
Château de Bonhoste Cuvée Prestige
2020, a blend of 90% Sauvignon Gris and 10% Sauvignon Blanc.
“There’s a lot of Sauvignon Gris character here, a kind of peachy, apricot aroma, some dried fruit character. It’s much plumper, more generous,” says Clay.
“If I was tasting it blind I wouldn’t identify it as Bordeaux, but that’s not a bad thing. Let’s have diversity, let’s have difference, let’ shake it up a bit.”
Château de Lussac Le Blanc 2020
combines 65% Sauvignon Blanc with 35% Sauvignon Gris.
It’s fermented in oak for eight days and aged on the lees for six months.
“It has really smoky, creamy, toasty notes,” says Clay, “but also with some orange blossom citrus character.”
Le Loup de la Loubière, from Entredeux-Mers producer Vignobles Jade, has 32% Sauvignon Gris tucked into a more conventional blend.
“In the past if a wine was stated as 90% Sauvignon, it might have been partly Sauvignon Gris, but producers didn’t really differentiate,” says Clay. “Now they are doing so because Gris is looked on as being trendy.
“Le Loup is fresh, zesty and zingy without being over the top on the palate, compared to New Zealand Sauvignon, which would be more punchy.
“Generally, Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc is nothing like New Zealand Sauvignon. That’s not to put New Zealand down, but Bordeaux is more restrained, lighter, more elegant, more food-friendly.”
Château Roc Meynard, from Vignobles Hermouet in Fronsac on the right bank, is a straight 50-50 Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon split. “This is very limey and minerally with some quince flavour,” says Clay. “It has got a lot of fresh acidity but what is really noticeable is that the Sémillon makes it a slightly heavier wine – but still one that is beautifully balanced. There’s a hint of creaminess from the lees stirring.”
Two single varietal Sauvignon Blancs with similar production approaches highlighted how different sites produce nuances of style.
Château Labatut Cuvée Prestige 2020
is night-harvested to ensure freshness in the grapes, and made with skin maceration, cool fermentation and lees stirring for four months to produce “gentle floral aromas and a crisp, persistent acidity”.
The Sauvignon Blanc from Château La Verrière has a slightly warmer fermentation than normal for whites, at 18-20˚C, and, says Clay, has “more complex aromas, with hints of jasmine, lime and lime leaf”.
The relatively recent revolution in Bordeaux rosé was led by British winemakers, making pink wine for the UK market, says Clay. Their success has led to many more producers developing specific sites to grow grapes to make rosé wines.
“They’re picking the grapes earlier and taking the same approach as for white wine,” says Clay, “with cool fermentation, as opposed to just drawing off a little juice when they want to make a more concentrated red wine. As a consequence,
Merchant feedback
Angus Weir, Great Grog, Edinburgh
“Being a relative newbie in this industry, I haven’t really been exposed to the whites and rosés of Bordeaux but I thought they were all very good, in particular the Château de Lussac and Château Penin. In a world where Sauvignon Blanc is so popular, but a hole created with the limited stock of New Zealand plonk, I can certainly see Bordeaux whites filling that gap.”
they’re more elegant, more balanced and more marketable.”
The tasting featured several examples.
Château Caminade Haut Guerin
Rosé 2020 is a 90-10 Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon blend that, Clay thinks, has “almost saké aromas” and Hubba Bubba bubble-gum notes that resonated with some readers.
The 75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Château Gandoy-Perrinat Rosé 2020 was more “red fruit character, summer pudding, with a nice sharpness to it”. For Clay, the authentic Bordeaux rosé shade is the currently-fashionable pale pink. “The colour is definitely a way to encourage younger drinkers to try Bordeaux,” Clay adds. “But just because they’re paler it doesn’t mean they lack depth or body. Some rosés are pretty good matches with lamb – they can cope with it.”
An example of the more robust style was the Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant Château Penin 2020. “It’s really bold but not over the top,” says Clay. “It’s still a very approachable and friendly wine that ticks a lot of boxes.”
Belle Rosée de Fontenille 2020 is made from the fruit of 30-year-old vines and is similarly “really bracing, very long, very fresh, very bold and distinctive”.
The tasting also included Château Mousseyron Rosé 2020 – a mouthwatering, aperitif-style wine from the right bank with “upfront aniseed, grapefruit, and distinctive acidity” and a hint of amber in the colour – and Carrelet d’Estuaire Confidences 2020, a 100% Merlot with a “lovely raspberry character, a hint of strawberry – very easy drinking with a light freshness”. █
Aimee Davies
Merchant feedback
Jane Taylor Dronfield Wine World, Derbyshire
“We only stock one Bordeaux Blanc at the moment but will definitely look to extend the range in the light of this tasting.”
John Kernaghan, Liquorice, Shenfield
“Across the board the rosé colour was ‘on brief’. Against a Provence rosé they may have been a touch darker but none were what I would call dark. That is always the starting point. “Château Penin was the most balanced of the range: dry, subtle, and with a medium long finish. Superb on its own or with a chicken or grilled fish salad.
“Le Loup de la Loubière was a great start. If you wanted to win someone over to Bordeaux whites this was the winner. Thirst quenching yet still classed as dry; good length and quite gluggable. “The Bonhoste was my other favourite. Sauvignon Gris is obviously the winning element in this style of winemaking. It adds a texture which brings the wine together. This one was my dinner table wine.”
Aimee Davies Aimee’s Wine House, Bristol
“I was really taken aback by the quality of the wines and would love to explore selling more from Bordeaux.
“I was surprised by the oak use and lees techniques in the wines, along with the minerality. “The rosés were more than comparable to Provence styles. One that stood out was Château Caminade Haut Guerin with its great character of anise notes and Hubba Bubba gum flavour. “The labels on the rosés were all really presentable. And I was very surprised with all the food matches that were discussed for the rosés. They are very versatile wines.”
White heat
Indies agree that white and rosé Bordeaux deserves a wider audience. So what’s the best way to draw in consumers? For some, familiar grape varieties are key. For others, it’s the halo effect of a famous region
Cécile Frémont of Planète Bordeaux says: “Younger winegrowers want to develop another image of Bordeaux wines. Today there is a large diversity of Bordeaux wines, with the possibility of finding wines for all tastes and occasions. Bordeaux white and rosé wines are easy to drink, and delicate, with fresh and fruity notes.”
Bordeaux whites are made from a variety of grape varieties including Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle.
Josh Castle, of Noble Rot and Shrine to the Vine, is a fan of rounder, Sémillon-led styles of Bordeaux Blanc and suggests that “consumers are less aware of that fresher, zippier style of Bordeaux Blanc” that is typically the result of Sauvignon Blanc dominance.
Consumers are certainly familiar with that particular grape variety. So might that be a good way of hooking them into the white Bordeaux category?
Andrew Gray of Plume in Covent Garden thinks there’s a better approach.
“I think we’re a fairly icon-led market when it comes to wine,” he says. “People care about Bordeaux because it has the name. Anything you attach to that name will have some success linked to it.”
Rudy Hovath of Urban Cellar believes that consumers do relate to Sauvignon and this can only help with the process. But he also draws a parallel with Rioja: everyone knows the red wine, but the white version can come as a pleasant surprise, especially with the halo effect of the region’s name. “We have only one type of white Bordeaux, so I’m quite excited to taste more,” he adds. “It would be nice to have more on our shelves.”
Playing the Sauvignon Blanc card is probably not the best route into Bordeaux Blanc in every case. Gray refuses to sell the New Zealand iteration of the variety, due to its ubiquity. Andrea Viera at Last Drop Wines thinks consumers are beginning to share Gray’s antipathy.
“Our customers say they hate Sauvignon Blanc,” she says, adding that, while such claims may or may not be strictly true, it’s a position that people cling to. Perhaps it’s a classic case of familiarity breeding contempt.
“I don’t know anyone who tells me they love Sémillon,” she says. “But they buy it because I tell them it’s a great wine.”
She adds: “There isn’t any baggage to white Bordeaux, it’s just completely unknown. We just need to get it in front of people. Most of the white Bordeaux we’ve had in the shop we’ve purchased with our en primeur order. We really liked the white and thought, at this price we’ve got to be able to sell it – and if we can’t, we’re happy to drink it ourselves.”
Hovath thinks that Bordeaux Blanc’s prospects may be enhanced by increased British tourism to the region. Castle does not disagree but adds it’s important to help consumers appreciate just how varied and complex Bordeaux’s white blends can be.
He also points out that a price and quality ladder exists. “Bottle-aged Bordeaux Blanc at the higher end is competing with some of the great white wines of the world,” he says.
The whites in our tasting line-up were described as “great value and very clean” by Gray.
“I would say these are extremely dependable wines,” he says. “I would buy a large proportion of these wines, being confident I could sell them at those price points. It’s not a risky biscuit investing in them.” The rosé wines also went down well. “I was really impressed with the rosés on the whole,” says Castle. “I think that they were all really pleasantly dry, and they ticked the colour box – which is something consumers really do care about.” Indeed Castle argues that rosés, being closer in colour to Bordeaux’s famous reds, represent less of a leap of faith for consumers than the whites. █
Published in association with Planète
Bordeaux, the Bordeaux and Bordeaux Superieur wines union. For more information visit www.planete-bordeaux. fr, or call 05 57 97 19 27, com@planetebordeaux.pro
Wasn’t it nice, do you remember, when the norms were let out again and people were asking, How are you? – and listening?
I have this thing about people listening, just listening rather than this halfy-listen but mostly I-really-want-to-check-myphone/tell-you-my-thing listening. I would like to point out (especially to my beloved Ann) that listening is not the same thing as remembering. Just because I don’t remember something does not mean I wasn’t listening. I am in the present! Doesn’t anyone listen to my new-found mindful proselytization? Maybe they don’t remember. Maybe they are constipated.
Sometimes, everything apart from meat and cheese falls away from my Amazing Lunches. The result of this is sometimes I have the occasional backup. And it is very consuming. Concentration, good humour, attention, light-hearted frivolity all fall into the void of not-void. The realisation that anybody may be experiencing the same all-encompassing concern is very levelling. The customer that doesn’t return my cheery “hello!” – hey, maybe they’re constipated. The motorist who can’t see this giant, reflective cyclewoman with a golden cycle helmet – hey, maybe they’re constipated. Greed, hatred, ignorance, incompetence – hey, maybe everyone is constipated. So I added it to the Inspirational Quote blackboard at work, above “Lower your Expectations” and after “Running it LIKE a Business”, in nice clear capitals: “Maybe they’re Constipated”. Funny story: I showed this to a customer and it pleased her. A few days later an unlabelled envelope arrived at the shop are you?’”is back – not from the on-trade who all look fantastically well, rested, clear skin, lost some weight, knocked the Class As on the head for a while, actually had time to face themselves and think maybe that their current lifestyle is unsustainable – but from my fellow front-liners, haggard and fatter-from-crisps and older and certainly a bit more miserable (maybe we’re constipated?) my fellow essential workers, my peeps, the Wine Merchants. How are you? we ask nervously and thoughtfully, perhaps over an Amazing trade-tasting Lunch (squirt that celeriac puree directly into my mouth, thank you, and don’t bother with the biscuits with the cheese) and goodness, you don’t say, really really busy? bleat the ones who don’t ask or listen, who just foghorn out the same old trite shite, and blessed be the ones who say, Actually? Not great. Sometimes I just can’t be bothered anymore. I mean it’s busy and everything but I’m tired and I don’t know what’s going to happen next.
What happens next in real terms is beautiful pints of pishy, watery lager in unnecessary amounts, and then shouting at some reps and stumbling to some food, any food, but everything is shut because it’s Monday and no one works in restaurants any more and the Young Ones run to the 24-hour shop and get gigantic bags of crisps and somehow magically make it to the train because they’re young and blessed.
It’s nice to see other people who have gone through some of the madness that you’ve gone through in the last year and a half, because michty, what a trip that was.
Good to see youse. Eat your veg.
13. BACKED UP
Phoebe Weller of Valhalla’s Goat in Glasgow is experiencing the natural consequences of a vegetable deficit. The following article contains scenes that some readers may find upsetting
containing two sachets of a particularly effective laxative. Now either we have opened a packet of laxatives that no one in the shop wishes to claim as their own or, MY VERSION, the nice and funny lady just sent some laxatives to us because she was listening to my words of wisdom. Ha ha!
Now that we are back at tastings, “How
Wines of Chile Annual Tasting
Wines of Chile wants to showcase the diversity of the country’s wines with its annual trade tasting.
More than 250 wines from the length and breadth of Chile representing a plethora of grape varieties, blends and sparkling wines will be available to taste. There will also be themed focus tables and masterclasses.
For more information contact Anita Jackson: info@winesofchile.org.uk.
Thursday, January 13 RHS Lindley Hall 80 Vincent Square London SW1P 2PE
French Wine Discoveries
From boutique family producers to négociants and cooperatives, there will be broad representation of French wines on show, from the classics to emerging regions.
For more information and to register, contact Antoine Couillabin Loiselier: a.couillabin@gfa.fr.
Wednesday, January 19 Tower Bridge Hotel 45 Prescot Street London E1 8GP
Liberty Wines Portfolio Tasting
For more information email events@ libertywines.co.uk.
Tuesday, January 18 The Kia Oval London SE11 5SS
ABS French Portfolio Tasting
The importer is presenting a snapshot of its offer from France, showcasing three wines from each of its French
growers.
These include Domaine des Malandes, Domaine D’Ardhuy, Vins Auvigue, Domaine Richard Rottiers, Domaine des Marrans, Château Canon-Chaigneau, Château Fontesteau, Maison Montagnac, Mas de Cadenet, Domaine de Galuval, Vins Julien Schaal and Champagne René Jolly.
In a reminder of what life used to be like before Covid, ABS says that some growers will be present on the day to pour their wines.
For more information or to register email Lesley@abs.wine.
Wednesday, January 19 67 Pall Mall London SW1Y 5ES
Wine Australia Annual Tasting
Wine Australia is delighted to be back hosting this popular London tasting in real life.
The event will focus on “helping distributors to place premium Australian wines on the retail shelves”.
There will be wines on taste from producers who are seeking distribution and others that already have a UK presence of some kind.
For more information about the event or to register to attend, contact uk@ wineaustralia.com.
Tuesday, January 25 The Lindley Hall Elverton Street London SW1P 2PB
I won’t hear a word against Baileys. It works because it’s a lovely drink IMHO. And the huge marketing budgets of course, which would make it quite understandable to want to explore other cream liqueurs options for this Christmas treat. Welsh Whisky Co’s Merlyn, Ireland’s Coole Swan, and versions by the English whisky distiller Cotswolds and Scotch maker Edradour are all good candidates.
2.5cl cream liqueur of choice 2.5cl Black Cow milk vodka 2.5cl Patron XO Café coffee liqueur 2.5cl double cream
Add the liqueurs and cream to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well but not too much; just enough to blend the ingredients and until the shaker is cold to the touch. Strain into a martini or coupe glass. Garnish with chocolate shavings.
For a country with thousands of years of winemaking tradition, relatively little is known about Georgia and its wines in the UK. Though trading links between Britain and Georgia were strong up to the 19th century, those ties weakened in the 20th when Georgia fell under the influence of the Soviet Union. “When the Iron Curtain came down, Georgia’s role was to provide wine to the Soviet Union,” says Sarah Abbott MW, delivering a fascinating masterclass on Georgian wine for Wine Merchant readers.
Today’s wine industry is shaking off that role to celebrate a wine culture that dates back further than any other country. UK independents have been ahead of the game in rediscovering its delights. “We’ve seen a mini-boom,” says Abbott. “It’s still very tiny, but it exceeded US$1m in sales to the UK for the first time last year.”
Georgia doesn’t conform to the modern global conventions in wine. Apart from a small historic presence of Cabernet Sauvignon and some “crazies” experimenting with Sangiovese, Georgian wine producers almost universally embrace indigenous varieties. The white Rkatsiteli and red Saperavi account for 60% and 30% of total production respectively.
“The joy is that there are so many varieties that are new to us in the UK but are really ancient ones,” Abbott adds. “Producers are so relieved to have been able to save their native varieties that they have made that their focus, rather than international grapes.”
Georgia is only about the size of Scotland but its geographical position as a land bridge between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, with the Caucasus mountains acting as a barrier against the cold from
A window on Georgia
In her recent online masterclass, Sarah Abott MW explained why this cradle of winemaking is so exciting to modern consumers – especially in the UK, where sales have experienced a mini-boom thanks to the enthusiastic support of independents
Russia to the north, provides a wide variety of growing conditions, almost unparalleled in such a small area.
“In the west it’s a mild, almost subtropical climate, with high humidity,” says Abbott. “There are a lot of high-trained varieties that have evolved with quite thick skins because of the humidity. They sometimes get harvests going on into November. “In the east are the Kartli and Kakheti wine regions. Here, the warmer air comes over from the east – it’s sunnier, hotter and drier. This is where you’ll find Georgia’s fullest-bodied wines and trademark, rich amber wines made from extremely ripe, stemmed grapes that go through a full maceration.”
The country as a whole has 55,000ha under vine, down from around 150,000ha when it was focused on churning out lower quality, cheaper, sweet wines for the Soviet Union.
The number of wineries, however, has grown, from 402 just five years ago to over 1,500 today, with a focus on smaller estates making higher quality wines from smaller properties. Many of the 60 or so brands already shipping to the UK come from Kakheti, which accounts for 70% of all Georgian wine production, and Kartli’s wines are also among those more frequently exported to the UK.
Imereti, Racha and Guria are leading the chasing pack of regions with their sights on the UK.
It’s a country whose wine scene is full of surprises. Abbott says: “There are amber wines that look like sherry, but smell like white wines and feel like red wines when you drink them. Or there are reds that look like rosés, or reds that smell like reds, but whose balance and perfume on the palate feels more like a white wine.”
A big attraction for western wine geeks is Georgia’s continued use of qvevri, the earthenware fermentation and storage vessels sunken into the ground to provide a gentle, cool, protective environment for the wine. “Everything about qvevri has been designed to cope naturally with the challenges that come with making wine,” says Abbott.
Qvevri only accounts for about 10% of production in modern Georgia but Abbott adds: “They have far more weight in their impact on the market because they are a symbol of Georgia’s bloody-mindedness – and a link to its culture and heritage – in a country that has its own language, its own alphabet and its own traditions.”
After Vladimir Putin banned imports of Georgian wine into Russia in 2006, Georgia was forced to look to other markets to support a wine industry that is a strong contributor to GDP.
As a result, there’s plenty of government backing for the industry today, including funds to help those selling its wines in the UK and an online hub to put retailers into contact with export-ready producers “They love the UK,” says Abbott. “We are one of their fastest growing export markets and last year we grew by 248%. “They like the UK because it buys the wines they want to make.
“It’s not weird stuff you have to be afraid of. There are lots of niche and quirky wines but also a lot of accessible, really enjoyable wines.
“Georgia offers a sense of discovery. It adds colour and excitement for customers who come to indies looking for those things.”
Feature sponsored by Swirl Wine Group, which organises the promotional campaign for Georgian wine in the
UK. Visit www.georgianwine.uk for more information and a suite of resources for importers and retailers.
