Carly Thornton, Press Officer, Gabbiano wines

As Press Officer for Gabbiano wines my main role is to meet with and speak to wine writers and journalists, send out samples and attend tastings. However, this Spring I had the best three days of my job so far when I got to escort eight journalists to the Castello Di Gabbiano in Italy for the ultimate Tuscan wine experience.

I woke up on Wednesday morning feeling very nervous – “what if one of the journalists forgets their passport?!” I thought. Despite the panic I got myself to Gatwick Airport and luckily enough all of the journalists arrived on time with passports in hand. After a short flight to Pisa and a hot mini-bus ride into the hills (plus numerous head counts) we finally arrived at the stunning Castello Di Gabbiano set at one of the highest points of the Chianti Classico region in Tuscany.

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We have for our readers an exclusive interview with Patrick Materman, Winemaker for Montana Wine.

Recorded at the Montana Brancott winery in Marlborough, New Zealand, Patrick talks about his role as a winemaker and his predictions for the future of the New Zealand wine industry.

Montana planted the first modern day vineyard in Marlborough and created the original vintage of New Zealand’s signature wine – Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Now, after 30 years, Montana wines are enjoyed all over the world.

Available in Quicktime or Windows Media formats:

Jean Bourjade is Managing Director of Inter Beaujolais the official trade association for the wines of Beaujolais. Inter Beaujolais represents the producers of Beaujolais wine both in France and all over the world.  

Inter Beaujolais recently attended the London International Wine Fair, the biggest trade event in the wine calendar where buyers and producers meet to talk business. Here Jean Bourjade gives his run down of the event:  

“The London International Wine Fair is a key date in the UK wine trade calendar. Three days of tasting and talking, business and networking, this is the event where the supermarket and off-licence buyers select the wines which will be on shop shelves in the coming months.

“This year 31 wine producers from the Beaujolais region of France were out in force to show that there is more to Beaujolais than just Beaujolais Nouveau. And it would seem, from the feedback we have had on the Inter Beaujolais stand, that after a period of absence on the UK market, Beaujolais, Beaujolais-Villages and the ten crus are back with a bang.

“Beaujolais wines are fruity, light and easy to drink, perfect for the warmer weather coming our way, especially as they can be drunk chilled. They are also excellent food matching wines – working with anything from salmon or tuna, to roast chicken or barbecued spare ribs.

“Each day our Beaujolais wine expert, Isabelle Legeron, selected her favourite wines for a special on-stand tasting at the Beaujolais bar. Here are a few of her suggestions for the best Beaujolais wines available this year:”

Brouilly, Château Thivin, 2006 (Great Western Wine) £9.85

Chénas, Quartz, Domaine Piron-Lameloise 2006 (Laithwaites) £12.25  

Chiroubles, Trenel SAS, 2006 (Wine Society) £7.95

Côte de Brouilly, Château Thivin, 2006 (Great Western Wine) £9.95

Fleurie, Domaine de la Madone, Jean-Marc Després, 2006 (Roger Harris Wines) £10.95  

Morgon, Les Charmes, Domaine Brisson, 2006 (Co-op) £6.99  

Beaujolais-Villages, Domaine des Nugues, Earl Gelin, 2006 (Majestic) £7.99  

Beaujolais, Vieilles Vignes, Cave Beaujolaise de Saint-Vérand, 2007, (Roger Harris Wines) £7.40

View the penfolds video blog by clicking the banner below including:

• PETER GAGO INTRODUCING VINTAGE 2008
• OLIVER CRAWFORD DISCUSSING THE WHITE WINE VINTAGE OF 2008
• STEVE LIENERT DISCUSSING THE RED WINE VINTAGE OF 2008
• PETER GAGO DISCUSSING THE CONCLUSION OF VINTAGE 2008  

Natasha Hughes is a freelance wine and food writer who writes for a number of publications including, Decanter, Wine & Spirit, Square Meal, Traveller, Sainsbury’s Magazine, www.wine-pages.com and www.matchingfoodandwine.com

Her own food and wine blog www.3littlewords.net has recently launched online. 

Food and wine matching is an incredibly arcane science – or it can be the simplest thing in the world, depending on who you want to believe. I spend a lot of my professional life thinking – and writing – about food and wine pairing, and I’ve come to a few conclusions that I don’t mind passing on…

The first is that in the same way as tomatoes and basil, roast beef and horseradish or apple and cinnamon belong together, some wine and food partnerships are made in heaven. I’d include among them dark chocolate and Maury or Banyuls wine (but the chocolate must be dark, verging on the bitter, or it doesn’t work), a pairing of aged Pinot Gris from Alsace with wild mushrooms, and the marriage of a hunk of rare steak with a glass of Argentine Malbec.

The second thing I’ve learned is that heavenly combinations are few and far between, and that it doesn’t serve to be too prescriptive about the whole process. I often interview sommeliers, who cite the pairing of a particular vintage of a producer’s wine as the perfect accompaniment for some dish on their restaurant’s menu. The thing is that, even if you’re working from the chef’s recipe, you’ll never cook the dish exactly the same way – and that wine evolves over time. So even if you cook the dish and track down the wine, the chances are you’re not experiencing the match the sommelier was talking about in the first place.

So are there any rules at all? I’d say that there are a few things you should bear in mind. One of these is that the weight of a wine and the weight of a dish should pretty much be equal to each other. In other words, don’t go pairing a delicate Pinot Noir with a bruiser of a beef stew, opt instead for a rich Syrah-Grenache blend or a boisterous Chianti.

And while the old saw about white wines only going with fish and red wines being the only viable match for meat is a load of hooey, you’re probably best not teaming a Sauvignon Blanc with a steak or a Madiran with a Dover sole. Wines that taste too acidic or tannic by themselves are often wonderful food matches – the components that make them angular and unattractive by themselves make them ideal weapons for cutting through rich, fatty food.

And my final piece of advice is to forget about the rules. Eating and drinking should be all about enjoying yourself, so if a match tastes good to you, it’s the right one – for you, at least.

It’s been a busy couple of months for me as Harvey-Miller Wine and Spirit Agencies (HMWSA) looks at embarking on a major push in the UK to launch Periquita - Portugal’s most exported red wine. Its producers, Jose Maria da Fonseca, have had sustained success with the brand globally and now has serious ambitions to see Periquita become the number one Portuguese red wine in the UK, competing strongly with wines from anywhere in the world.

Periquita already has a growing fan-base in the UK, where it is sold in hotels and restaurants, and also with many of the British holidaymakers who visit Portugal each year and enjoy the wines. However, if Portugal is to ever get beyond just Rosé and Port in the minds of mainstream British consumers, they need to shout loud – this is our current challenge! There’s no better brand to lead the challenge than Periquita, with its exceptional heritage and value. The consumer is essentially getting a bottle at £4.99 that has been aged for release when it has reached its ideal drinking window.

Harvey-Miller Wine and Spirit Agencies, has been working closely with Nick Room, Wines Buyer at Waitrose to launch the brand into supermarkets. Periquita Red 2005 and Periquita White 2007 will be on promotion in Waitrose stores reduced from £4.99 to £3.99 from 1 April to 22 April.

The Periquita Waitrose promotions will be supported with neck tags on all the bottles emphasising the brand’s heritage, the wines’ quality and balance, and their exceptional value. The neck tags will carry the strap-line “Such History, Such Character, Such Value”, with a bottle of the legendary 1880 Periquita featuring in the background.

The promotion is really breaking new ground for Portugal and a considerable investment on José Maria da Fonseca’s part to build Periquita’s position in the UK market. Although not a new marketing technique, the neck tags are a real innovation where Portugal is concerned and are a concerted effort to educate and enthuse consumers to the wines, which relative to many of their competitors, offer sensible alcohol levels allied to excellent structure, character and balance making them wonderfully drinkable wines.

Periquita is available in all Waitrose stores or from Waitrose Wine Direct – www.waitrose.com/wine or 0800 188 881. 
Click here to check out our Periquita competition for your chance to win!  

Jeff Clarke, Chief Winemaker at leading New Zealand producer Montana, was over in the UK this month to attend the Annual New Zealand Wine Tasting. One of the world’s most talented and respected winemaker, Jeff shared his thoughts on making wine in New Zealand.

As a New Zealand winemaker, I’m often told that I have one of the best jobs on the planet, and, for the most part, I would have to agree! I love my work and there’s certainly no denying that I am extremely lucky doing what I do, but there are also challenges and being a winemaker involves careful planning and fast decision-making. 

Every vintage is an exciting challenge in New Zealand. It’s a cool climate country and this has an impact on the quality and quantity of each harvest. In the vineyards we have to work hard to prevent diseases, combat frost and avoid poor fruit set due to adverse climatic conditions. We are constantly working towards ripeness of fruit.  New Zealand is about fruit expression so we must deliver. As a winemaking team, our main aim at Montana is to harvest the best fruit we possibly can. One of the most important aspects of winemaking for our wines is assuring consistency year on year. It is vital to manage production to try and maintain quality. Vintage variation requires fine tuning and the use of vineyard management techniques such as leaf plucking is essential.

We are passionate about the immense potential of New Zealand and our other challenge is to convince the world to think beyond Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and discover our other wines. We make great Sauvignon Blanc but we also produce a wonderful aromatic Pinot Grigio, a fantastic Riesling, and have a great range of sparkling wines. One of my favorite wines is our Montana South Island Pinot Noir. It’s packed full of ripe cherry and plum fruit with aromas of cinnamon and subtle oak, and is so soft and silky on the palate. I also love our Montana Reserve Pinot Noir, especially with a succulent rack of lamb!  

• Montana Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2007 is priced at £7.49 and is available from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose, Asda, Thresher, Oddbins and Majestic.
• Montana Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2007 is priced at £8.99 and is available from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Thresher and Oddbins.
• Montana Pinot Grigio is priced at £6.99 and is available from Tesco and Thresher.
• Montana’s South Island Pinot Noir is priced at £7.99 and is available from Waitrose, Thresher and Somerfield.
• Montana Reserve Pinot Noir is priced at £10.99 and is available from Tesco, Waitrose, Oddbins and Majestic.
• Montana Brut Cuvée is priced at £8.99 and is available from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda, Thresher and Majestic.

John Clevely is a Master of Wine and selects the wines for the Geronimo Inns Group. Geronimo Inns currently has 18 pubs in London and the South East with a further four planned for 2008. Here John talks about how he is selecting the wines for each new pub.

One small West Highland Terrier normally starts my day. He needs exercise and so do I if I am to take inspiration for the tasks ahead. 2008 is going to be an even busier year than usual for Geronimo Inns.

Our new pub the BETJEMAN ARMS at St. Pancras opens in April and I am responsible for compiling the wine list which must be compact yet comprehensive as storage space in the new bar will be at a premium. Cool zingy white and pale Rose by the glass is bound to be in demand on the large open terrace.

Before then the RED BARN near Goldstone opens its doors - and its large garden! An imaginative varied list is needed here and getting the staff familiar with the wines is paramount. The ‘no smoking’ rules means garden dining is more and more important to the pub industry now, so probably fruit driven reds, grassy Sauvignons and chilled Pol Roger Champagne will go down best.

To add to the fun, the 5 TUNS at Heathrow, Terminal 5 takes off at the end of March. Nearly all the wines must be offered by the glass and we must ensure they are always fresh and served at the right temperature. It is a marvelous site for Geronimo in this spectacular building and the wine service needs to be professional. We have the experiences of Terminal 1 and 3 but each pub always has its own peculiarities and challenges.

Meanwhile, in East London THE CROWN at Victoria Park is being built and opens this Spring; and it is time now – 1) to review the prices and the lists of all the pubs in Central London, 2) to taste dozens of samples submitted by our current suppliers hopeful for a listing, 3) to check the quality of the new vintages for style and typicity, 4) to introduce new grape varieties –maybe to give fresh appeal to old favorites like Pinot Grigio and Rioja, and to highlight the complex flavours now emerging from regions like Margaret River Western Australia and the foothills of the Andes for example, and above all to ensure a good balance of reliable well recognized producers’ names our clients feel comfortable with alongside new tastes from vineyards less familiar but which compliment the taste dishes that Ben Maschler and Peter Wright are creating. We must always challenge the norm!!

I must also start to plan promotions to match the seasons and great sporting events. To do this I am continually liaising with suppliers on price, quality, continuity, deliveries and making sure the individual managers have confidence in and enjoy what they are selling so that their enthusiasm will be passed on to staff. Product knowledge is so important.

Time for a refreshing glass of GAVI DI GAVI don’t you agree! Bon appetite!

The run up to Fairtrade Fortnight is always busy for a Fairtrade wine brand but the build up to this year’s event (25 February – 9 March) has been even more hectic as we’ve been busy launching a new range of Fairhills Fairtrade wines from Mendoza, Argentina.

Fairhills is a Fairtrade wine brand that was set up in 2005 by a company called Origin Wines. The first Fairhills Fairtrade wine project was set up in the Western Cape of South Africa and here Origin Wine worked together with local farmers and a local winery to set up the Fairhills Association - a Fairtrade project offering better living and working conditions for farmers and their families. Today, the Fairhills Association is still going strong and as well as ensuring that the farmers receive a fair wage for their grapes, the project helps to improve quality of life, creating life changing developments in education and health care for the entire community. Following the success of the South Africa project, Fairhills has extended its work to the Mendoza region of Argentina this year and we are now the biggest Fairtrade wine project in the entire world! See http://www.fairhills.co.za/ for more information about the work of the Fairhills Association.

As UK Sales Director for Fairhills, it’s my job to ensure Fairhills wines are available in as many supermarkets and independent stores as possible. The Fairhills South Africa range has been available in UK supermarkets for some months now and the favourites appear to be our Fairhills South Africa Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz and Fairhills South Africa Sauvignon Blanc – Colombard. These have gone down so well that we’ve recently launched wines from Fairhills Argentina and I’ve been busy talking to retailers about these new wines. These are Fairhills Mendoza Vineyards Chenin Torrontes and Fairhills Mendoza Vineyards Shiraz Tempranillo - recently awarded ‘Best Argentinean Red’ at the first ever Fairtrade Wine Awards. Customers can currently find these in Tesco stores priced £4.99 and you can also find all these wines on www.lovethatwine.co.uk. Why not sample a bottle of Fairhills during Fairtrade Fortnight and post a review – we’re really keen to hear what you think.

For those of you who don’t know, Fairtrade Fortnight is a really important date in the Fairtrade calendar. The event is run by the Fairtrade Foundation and aims to encourage more and more people to support millions of workers worldwide by buying Fairtrade. For further information on the work of the Fairtrade Foundation visit http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/

For your chance to win your very own case of Fairhills, make sure you visit the competition page on our Love That Wine Website

When you think about women and wine, the first image that may come to mind is of Bridget Jones and her Chardonnay-guzzling chums!  But for me and for a growing number of women in the industry wine is the basis of their careers, not just a Friday night knees-up.

I took charge of the winemaking at Bookers Vineyard in West Sussex back in the 1990’s when I swapped shampoo bottles for wine bottles! I gave up a career in hairdressing to take on the family business – I’m the daughter of the owners and founders, Janet and Rodney Pratt.

Since my arrival I’ve been proud to see Bookers Vineyard move from strength to strength. We’ve celebrated a raft of international and national awards and our vineyard plantings have expanded to 22 acres (from just 3 acres when the vineyard started in 1972). Also, in 2005 our brand new, state of the art winery was completed making Bookers the most advanced red and white wine producing winery in England!

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