“Putting the fun back into food and wine.”
Writing and broadcasting about food and wine
44, Oakland Avenue,
Droitwich Spa WR9 7BT UK
Telephone: +44 (0)1905 773707
My work in the wine and food world has involved me with many major brands and organisations,
for example...
Tasting Wines Like a Professional
We can all get so much more enjoyment from wines if we know just a little about how
to taste them. But don't worry, there is nothing the least bit difficult about tasting
– only the ability to spit and willingness to make a note!
All you have to do is use your eyes, your nose and finally your mouth. Look at the
wine in your glass: all wines should be star-bright. But what colour is it? The only
true white liquid that I know is milk and that's technically a solid. White wines
range from watery, through straw tones to burnished gold. Red wines change from purple
when young to tawny rimmed when fully mature. Make a note of the colour.
Stick your nose in the top of the glass; what do you smell? Give the glass a gentle
twirl to let some air in; sniff again – you'll find that the oxygen has enhanced
the aromas. But watch out: although we have two nostrils, only one will be working
while the other will be resting – check which one of yours is at currently at work.
Make a note of what you smell.
Next take a small sip, drawing a little air in through your lips. Use your tongue
to swill the wine around your mouth and chew at it. The idea is to get the wine to
room temperature and then to each of the nine thousand taste buds along your tongue.
The taste buds that detect glucose and sucrose sugar sweetness are at the front;
followed by those that respond to complex salt, bitterness and surprisingly fructose
sweetness; while those at the root of the tongue react to sour and acid tastes. Use
the roof of your mouth to echo the flavours in much the same way as a cathedral echoes
the sound of a choir. Now spit, but only if you want to! Make a note of the taste.
Finally consider your overall impression of the wine – and make a note.
A couple of recent articles published in “Warwickshire & Worcestershire Living”
Boiled
Beef and Carrots
“Don’t live like vegetarians,
On stuff they feed to rabbits,
Go out each night,
Blow
out your kite,
On boiled beef and carrots”
The Edwardians knew how to enjoy themselves. The black bombazine and deep mourning
jet of Queen Victoria’s reign had gone. Jolly king Teddy sat on the throne and few
dishes epitomised the Edwardian age as much as Boiled Beef and Carrots. For the middle
classes Mrs Beaton had suggested a recipe for boiled beef with oysters, while at
London’s Carlton Hotel the great Auguste Escoffier was offering the ’nobs’ Boeuf
Miroton – boiled beef with a gherkin and vinegar sauce. But for the masses it was
good old inexpensive boiled silverside and carrots and if the budget was a bit strained
then add some dumplings made from finely shredded suet and self-raising flour.
Beer or Wine
Our Edwardian great-great grandfathers would have either gone down to the Tap of
the local pub and brought back a jug of beer, or sent the ‘skivvy’ down with 2p to
get it for him. Skivvies’ were the young servant girls who lived the attics of quite
modest villas and did everything from blacking the grate, lighting the fires, carrying
huge jugs of hot water around for baths, and all the laundry and washing up. The
wife, of course, did the cooking with the skivvy washing up and adding a sense of
middle-class pretension by serving at table when there were guests..
Today we collect a bottle or two of wine with the shopping. But which wine goes best
with boiled beef and carrots? Surprisingly light, low tannin reds from Italy or even
Spanish rosé best fit the bill. My choice would be a Valpolicello Classico DOC from
the Veneto region of north east Italy, around Venice.
Valpolicellos are made from up to 70% of the Corvina grape, which gives the wine
a bright crimson colour with a light to medium body and fairly soft, sharp, bitter
almond character. Some of the best come from around the town of Negar which is where
Majestic sources its 2006/7 wine, from the cooperative winery (£7.49 or £6.49 for
two). Sainsbury’s own label NV is £3.49 a bottle, but their eminently superior Classico
2007 is £5.29.
If you want to try a Spanish rosé then drop into Aldi for a bottle of their delicious
award winning Viña Decana Rosada 2007 (£3.39) made from Bobal grapes grown high on
the plateau of Utiel Requena, inland from Valencia. Juicy and fruity it will wash
down your boiled beef and carrots far better than a quart pot of ale from the Tap,
and cost you a great deal less!
Are you interested in Champagne?
Find out about the wines, producers and visiting the region at my site, Destination
Champagne.
