Food & Drink,Wine for the weekend

Wine (and dine) for the weekend

Wine (and dine) for the weekend

Once again, we’re wedged in that sticky spot between autumn misery and Christmas cheer, when the only thing to put a smile on our face is a bottle of good red and a roast. It mightn’t yet be the season to be jolly, but it is prime venison season (not to mention prime drinking season) and in that fact, we find solace. [Read more...]

Drink,Wine for the weekend

Wine for the week – Chateau Civrac

Wine for the week – Chateau Civrac

Thanks to a rapidly warming climate and increasing levels of wine-making nous, English wine is getting better by the year. It seems a shame then that former IT man Mark Hellyar chose to see his vision of creating a “modern boutique wine” through, not in his native Cornwall, but instead on Bordeaux’s right bank. [Read more...]

Food & Drink,Wine for the weekend

Wine for the weekend — Jackson Estate “Vintage Widow” Pinot Noir 2008 Marlborough

Wine for the weekend — Jackson Estate “Vintage Widow” Pinot Noir 2008 Marlborough

“Pinot noir is the blind date of wine. You never quite know what you’re going to get. Sometimes this thin-skinned, capricious grape variety can pull out all the stops and provide a taste sensation you’ll remember for years after.” So wrote Antony Quinn in a column for Esquire. Perhaps it’s just that we’ve been on better blind dates than Quinn, but we tend to think of pinot noir as a grape variety that delivers pretty consistently. [Read more...]

Food & Drink,Wine for the weekend

Wine for the Weekend – Piedra Negra Malbec

Wine for the Weekend – Piedra Negra Malbec

There were a few sore heads in the Esquire office today after a – frankly epic – evening of karaoke. (The Editor’s rendition of Aqua’s Barbie Girl will take some beating.) So when we were wondering what to recommend for the weekend, it had to be something really enticing – not to mention suitable to accompany the large amount of carbohydrate-based food we will doubtless be eating this evening. [Read more...]

Style,Wine for the weekend

Wine for the weekend – Alessandro Gallici Prosecco Brut NV

Wine for the weekend – Alessandro Gallici Prosecco Brut NV

We spent an evening last week propping up the bar at Frank’s Cafe in Peckham (frankscafe.org.uk). Once you get past the fact that it’s on the top of a dodgy multi-storey carpark, and the stairs leading up to the sixth floor smell of piss, then you’ll find it’s a smashing bar. Good drinks, impressive views and tasty, self-consciously British snacks. [Read more...]

Food & Drink,Wine for the weekend

Wine for the weekend – Gewürztraminer Little Beauty 2009

Wine for the weekend – Gewürztraminer Little Beauty 2009

Everything about this boutique wine brand appeals, from the slick pewter label on the outside of the bottle to the strictly limited production of wine on the inside. Resolutely Kiwi (and proud) Little Beauty is made in Marlborough, New Zealand’s most famous viticulture area, in the Waihopai Valley. [Read more...]

Food & Drink,Wine for the weekend

Wine for the weekend – DOC Rioja Genoli Blanco 2009

Wine for the weekend – DOC Rioja Genoli Blanco 2009

White Rioja doesn’t all taste stale and dusty – take for example, this fresh and fruity little number from Viña Ijalba. Made from organic grapes (we are still researching whether this means a less-tedious hangover), this refreshing wine will cut through a muggy British summer evening to give a delicious, citrus-filled, grassy glass-full which matches perfectly with tapas-style food such as manchego cheese, prawns or calamari. For under a tenner, it’s a smart buy. £7.50, from www.vintageroots.co.uk

Wine for the weekend

Wine for the weekend – Penfolds Koonunga Hill Autumn Riesling 2008

Wine for the weekend – Penfolds Koonunga Hill Autumn Riesling 2008

Tempted though we were to try and connect this week’s recommendation to Sunday’s World Cup final (Riesling! It goes with Edam! Which comes from the Netherlands!), this wine really needs showcasing in its own gimmick-free right. [Read more...]