The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. – Marcel Proust
Imagine we live on a planet. Not our cozy, taken-for-granted earth, but a planet, a real one, with darkpoles and belching volcanoes and a heaving, corrosive sea, raked by winds, strafed by storms, scorched by heat. An inhospitable place. It’s a different place. A different planet. It needs a new name. Eaarth."
Environmentalist, Bill McKibben
To be honest, it took me a while to sit down and write this post after lunch with Randall Grahm from Bonny Doon vineyards. Why?
Before I tell you about Bibendum's Rosé tasting last night, I have to admit: Rosé has a special place in my life. I won my first serious job after university by writing a sales letter on Rosé. Nobody wanted to touch it. The manager flicked it at me across his very large desk with a hopeless smirk, "see what you can do with this".
"What perhaps is needed is something approaching musical notation, for in many ways the problems are similar.
Ejafjallajokull may have told Europe to kiss it's ash during the week, but volcano or no volcano, the 2009 En Primeur show must go on.
Sit up straight. Now pay attention. I’m not going to say this twice.Savennières commands. The Chenin Blanc from the region in the Loire, doesn’t care about being popular or relaxing in front of the television at the end of the day. Turn the television off, says this wine, this is going to be a serious conversation about ideas.
There's nothing really wrong with most Chenin Blanc from South Africa, it's usually a perfectly nice breezy linen shift of a wine to throw in your bag for the day at the beach. This couldn't be said about South African wine five to ten years ago, and for that reason alone, it has to be politely acknowledged that most South African wines have improved immensely. Well done.
Then you taste Mullineux White from Swartland, South Africa.
From the elegant and svelte to the overextracted and black, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo comes in as many styles as towns in the Abruzzo region of central-eastern Italy. And as many degrees of quality.
Wines from southern Italy are absolutely huge right now. There are, of course, the Sicilian wines from Planeta, the incredible Barrua as well as anything from Campania. But unexpectedly one wine in particular, from Sardinia, has people spontaneously talking and coming back for more: it's Vermentino di Sardegna.
Just as Sardinia is a discrete, and somewhat rustic, place to take a luxury holiday, Vermentino di Sardegna has the same exotic yet quiet and relaxed feel.
The volcanic soils create a thrill of minerality (which gives it a sort of edgy wit that satisfies the intellect) while the Mediterranean warmth has given it a deeply sensual character (satisfying the body). Like a good holiday it seems to satisfy mind, body and soul.
And wallet. Like some other little known Italian grape varieties, Vermentino is very good value, too. Relaxing with a glass on a sunny afternoon is as comforting as finding a tax haven for the brain.
One glass and a slab of Pecorino Sardo cheese and it won't matter whether you are holed up on the North Pole, you are instantly on holidays in the Mediterranean.
Far from me to impose my tastes on you (!), this is a new series on what I observe people like to buy who seem to have taste at a premium in all aspects of their life. ie. they are pretty cool.
There's nothing scientific about it, other than intense everyday observation. It's more a Face Hunter snapshot on the street than a marketing document. If this was Grazia it'd be called: What's Hot in Wine! But the idea of hot wine makes me feel queasy. And winter is over.
Bring on summer already.
That's why first up is the very easy to drink, yet with an interesting savoury bite, an Italian white wine from Sardinia - Vermentino di Sardegna.
1. Leoville Poyferre, St-Julien £££
2. Pontet Canet, Pauillac ££ - £££
3. Domaine de Chevalier, Graves £ - £££
4. Grand Puy Lacoste, Pauillac £££
5. Clos du Marquis, St-Julien £££ - ££££
6. Smith Havt Lafite, Graves ££
7. Haut Bailly, Graves ££
8. Calon Segur, St Estephe £££ - ££££
9. La Fleur Gazin, Pomerol £ - ££
10. Chateau Poujeaux, Moulis £
"It is widely acknowledged within the scientific community that music affects behaviour, however this is the first time it has been scientifically proven that music can affect perception in other senses and change the way wine tastes.
The research showed that when a powerful, heavy piece of music is heard, a wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon is perceived as being 60 per cent more powerful, rich and robust than when no music is heard.
