Visit to Bourgueil, Loire Valley

Andy & I visited a number of vineyards during our recent trip to the Loire Valley. Two that really stood out are those of Sebastien Riffault in Sancerre, which I wrote about a few days back, and that of Catherine and Pierre Breton, in Bourgueil.

Visiting Pierre is a pretty cool experience. His vineyards are scattered around his very French country house. The tasting cellar, where a number of barrels are kept, is below his house, and this is where we commenced our experience.

The day's tasting would be dominated by his range of electrifying Cabernet Franc wines. The grape variety is often accused of being harsh or bitter. At Domaine Breton it is only bright red berry fruits, striking minerality and rounded plum tones to finish. We loved every wine and were particularly impressed by how elegantly some of the wines had aged.

After the tasting we took a short drive to what is probably the coolest natural underground cellar I've ever been in. A limestone cave to rival those of Aladin. It was all as fairy tale as the idea of an elegant Cabernet Franc!

We're stocking a few of my favourite of Pierre's wines at artisan & vine. Come by for a taste of fantasy!

Image: Pierre and I at the entrance to his most awesome natural limestone cave.

Visit to Sancerre

Last week Andy and I had the lovely privelege of some days in the Loire Valley.

We started in Tours, and went to a fabulous little wine bar to "orientate" ourselves with the local wine scene.

Day 2 was a trip out to Sancerre to visit the fabulous Sebastien Riffault. His Sancerre wines are out of this world - full of fruits and minerals - DESPITE being 100% Sauvignon Blanc.

Sebastien doesn't add an sulphites at all to his wines (since 2007), using the natural acidity and health of his grapes to preserve his wines. Horses rather than tractors are used in the vineyards, for the most part, and it was clear the soil was grateful for this.

In addition to rows of lovely weed-infested vineyards, Sebastien also grows his own biodynamic vegetables, which we took part in harvesting, before a wonderful sunshine BBQ.

We stock my favourite of Sebastien's wines, Sancerre Akmenine, at artisan & vine. Not your average Sancerre and a great example of how different natural wines can be from the norm.

Image: Andy (left) and Sebastien check out the beautiful vineyards on the rolling hills of Sancerre.

A visit to Davenport Vineyards, Kent

All of the wines at artisan & vine are either Local (English) or Natural. A natural wine is one that not only uses organic or biodynamic practices in the vineyard, but also uses minimal intervention in the winery. Most English vineyards are very low intervention but they are rarely organic and rarely ferment using wild yeasts indigenous to the grapes harvested. It’s a relatively minor point of distinction but it has factions of the wine world hot in debate. For me, the most important element is transparency: as consumers we should know what exactly is in our bottle of wine. Sadly, obtuse bottle labeling means that often we don’t.

Of the 100 wines on the artisan & vine wine list only one is both Local and Natural. This is the Limney Sparkling wine from Will Davenport. Ideally I would have two wines on the list but as usual, Mr Davenport is completely sold out of his outstanding still white wine… back in stock and on our lists in a few weeks (I hope!) His wines are in such hot demand that when the artisan & vine team and I went to visit his gorgeous vineyards in Kent last week, we had to help label bottles ourselves just to get them on the shelves!

Will makes two sparkling wines, a white and a red. He has two vineyard sites over Kent and Sussex. The wine is delicious – absolutely worth coming by for a try! The still white wine in particular is extremely exciting for the overtly local AND natural qualities it displays.

Image: courageous English wine maker Will Davenport risked organic farming in wet England and has succeeded. Here he shows our Karlee how to pack wines for us to take home and put on the shelf!

Randall Grahm quotes from his visit to artisan & vine

On Monday 7 June, we had a wine superstar at artisan & vine, Randall Grahm, owner and wine maker of Bonny Doon Vineyards in California.

I've been asked several times now for my write up of events... as it is nearly two weeks ago now. Here's the problem... I was so busy talking and tasting - as usual - that my notes are well... non-existent. My memories are great, but not necessarily great reading.

Time to rely on a more reliable source. Luckily for me, a more avid note taker, Jamie Goode, was on hand for the evening taking fantastic notes.

The following quotes from Randall are from Jamie's brilliant wine blog:

"On Cigare Volant, his flagship wine: ‘I started out trying to make Châteauneuf du Pape. I don’t even like Châteauneuf du Pape, but I do like Burgundy.’

On reduction: ‘One way I think of reduction in wine is like horniness in guys. It can be a little off-putting at times but it is a sign that they system is working the way it should.’

On cool climate viticulture: ‘A cool climate for me is also an appropriate climate. The grapes come in balanced. You don’t need to acidulate or dealcoholize the wine. If you have to manipulate the wine, this suggests that you are not growing the grape in the right places.’
‘Not all vineyard sites are created equal. Not all vineyard sites are good for grapes!’

On terroir: ‘The notion of terroir is the most beautiful idea in wine lore. A true vin de terroir needs a good rooting system. Terroir is a radio signal, and it is a question of the signal to noise ratio. We want to amplify the signal without distorting it. For example, if you restrict yields in a deeply rooted vineyard, you amplify the signal. Drip irrigation dilutes the signal. The ratio of roots to fruit is probably the single greatest determinant of wine quality.’

On the California wine industry: ‘The wine industry is a sort of disaster now – a victim of its success. When I got started, people did it because they loved it. It’s now a business, and too much money is invested in it. It has given the business a loss of self confidence. Everyone needs a consultant, and even the consultants need consultants. The era of cooperation and goodwill has largely gone.’"

Image: Randall Grahm at artisan & vine. I don't know why this image refuses to sit straight...

Visit to a'Becketts Vineyard, Wiltshire

What seems a stone age ago (I had to get some kind of pun in here some where), I went to visit a'Beckett's Vineyard by Stonehenge in Wiltshire. It was actually last week end, late at night on the way back from a week end with Andrew's parents in Devon.

I was delighted to see that Paul, the owner and winemaker at the vineyard, has decided to label his white wines with the grape variety. We're now stocking his Pinot Auxerrois - a grape variety often used in England but rarely labelled as such due to it's unfriendly pronunciation prospects. I think it's great.

It's an incredibly beautiful little vineyard of 6 acres of vines and 6 acres of orchards. A'Becketts produce apple juice & cider along with their range of white, rose, red and sparkling wine.

I picked up a case of their full throttle rose as well as the Pinot Auxerrois, for us all to enjoy over the Summer. Come by & have a taste of Wiltshire!

Image: wine maker and owner, Paul Langham, shows me his range of deliciously light and fruity wines. I seem pretty happy about it :)

Furleigh Estate and Tyrannosaurus Red

Andrew's parents live near Honiton in Devon. It's a stunning part of the world. Going to visit is always a treat. We normally like to tie a few vineyard visits in with each trip down. Yesterday we visited Furleigh Estate, just off the Jurassic Coast in Dorset.

What a fabulously romantic venue for a vineyard: growing above the soils where dinosaurs once roamed. For the fantasty novelist in me, the imagery was just far too compelling to drive by.

The image above is of the brand new vineyard and winery that they have created nestled within the ridiculously rolling hills of Bridport. The weather wasn't the greatest, but this was a bank holiday week end in England, what should one expect?

Furleigh Estate is surrounded by woodland and wildlife. We saw buzzards, a kite, pheasants and partridge. It was formerly a dairy farm. Vines were planted in 2005 to create a startingly modern vineyard and winery.

Over 22,000 vines grow on the south facing slopes of the Estate. The usual English sparkling suspects are all there: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meurnier; as well as English still wine darlings: Bacchus and Rondo.

I was in search of "Tyrannosaurus Red", a Rondo / Pinot Noir blend, with some Triomphe. It's full of red berry fruits and is an enjoyable bit of red English tipple. I'd tasted in at the English Wine trade tasting and was ready to put it on our shelves at artisan & vine. You may be shocked to hear that this is of course a particularly difficult mission to fail at.

Tyrannosaurus Red is now available at artisan & vine (well, will be from tomorrow onward when I'm back in London) for £23.50 in the bar and £13.80 to take home.

Image: Furleigh Estate, nestled within the rolling hills of Dorset, 5km inland from the Jurassic Coast, with characteristic Bank Holiday week end skies.

English Wine Country

Fantastic week end weather is exactly the thing for a day trip into what I’m beginning to think of as “English Wine Country”. This time of year, “Wine Country” - Sussex and Kent - we should still expect the vines to be as stark as Grapey (the incredibly creative name I’ve given to the single grapevine I have growing on the balcony of my London apartment), but I it's worth the trip all the same. Grapey is currently more Twiggy than Grapey.
A lot of you have been asking me about English vineyards worth visiting for the week end. The absolutely definitive place for finding English vineyards is the English Wine Producers website, which includes a fantastic map and regional vineyard listing. You’ll be surprised just how many vineyards there are all over England.
My recommendation for a short weekend or day trip from London is “Wine Country” – north Sussex and Southwest Kent – for the heaviest concentration of quality wine producing vineyards in England. Some of these vineyards are not open to the general public without prior arrangement.

My favourites of the ones that you can drop into without a booking are:
· Biddenden Vineyards, Kent (also for lovely cider)
· Ridgeview Wine Estate, East Sussex (incredible sparklies)
· Bolney Wine Estate, West Sussex (you need to book in advance for tour)

Brilliant vineyards that don’t have a visitor facility but are worth peeking at:
· Davenport Vineyards, East Sussex / Kent (excellent organic wines)
· Plumpton College, East Sussex (a school + working vineyard & winery)
· Nyetimber Vineyard, West Sussex (tragically closed doors!)

Further afield, my picks outside of “Wine Country” are:
· Camel Valley Vineyard, Cornwall (the multi award winners)
· Brightwell Vineyards, Oxfordshire (can be done in a London day trip)
· Three Choirs Vineyard, Gloucestershire (impossibly pretty setting)
· A’Becketts Vinetard, Wiltshire (a nice tie in with touristy Stonehenge visit)

Image: Sam Lindo, the Head Wine Maker at Camel Valley, & I brave the winds at his stunning vineyards in Cornwall. This was in Oct 2009 – can you believe it’s been that long since I was last at one of our English vineyards?!

Camel Valley Vineyard Visit

· FINALLY, a week end or so ago I got to visit my chatty friend, wine maker Sam Lindo, in Camel Valley Vineyards, Cornwall.
· Camel Valley Vineyards have been winning all sorts of awards of late – including Best UK Wine Maker for Sam!
· The scenery is stunning, well worth a visit if you’re ever out holidaying in Cornwall.
· Best of all, the wines are great! I walked away with 5 of their cuvees, which we now stock at the bar & online shop – Bacchus Dry, Rose, Cornwall Brut, Sparkling Rose and SPARKLING RED!
· Check out more pics and story here.
· Ps – yes… I’m well aware I’ve broken the rules… this IS NOT within 2hour drive of Battersea… taste it to see why I made an exception!

Image: Sam shows me his award winning vineyards - note the steep slope - great for drainage!

Provence and Southern Rhone trip

· Last week we went out to Provence and the Southern Rhone to catch up with some of my favourite wine makers and sample some of their latest release vintages.
· In Southern Rhone we visited Chateauneuf du Pape and Cote du Rhone – both home to some sumptuous and rich red wines.
· In Provence we tasted some surprisingly fresh white wines that contrasted some broody, deep red wines. In general, these were blended rather than single grape variety wines.
· Once again I came back with a shopping list that will make my accountant do an accountant’s version of scream (a little too subdued to really be called a scream but you get the idea).
· See photos and short notes from the trip by clicking here.

Image: no matter what I do, I can't get this picture of Henri Milan showing me his ultra-healthy vineyards in Provence to sit straight. I think it's somehow reflective of the fabulous alternative views Henri has of the world...

Bordeaux, Cahors and Gaillac

This July we did a rather ambitious road trip from Toulouse, up to Bordeaux, back down south to Cahors and then across to Gaillac. We were in pursuit of wine: exciting new wine.
· Bordeaux posed the largest challenge for me. Steeped in tradition, amongst all of my contacts we could think of only 3 producers using biodynamic methods. In a fascinating twist, one of them – Pascal Amoreau of Chateau Le Puy - is an extreme natural wine maker, and doesn’t use any added sulphites in his wines. The result is outstanding: full fruit flavours, incredible depth, a live personality. I hope to be stocking the wines come Autumn!
· We went to Cahors to visit the charismatic Catherine Maisonneuve of Domaine Cosse Maisonneuve. Cahors has stunning countryside: wild vegetation interspersed by picturesque towns and their churches. Like much of Cahors, the speciality here is Malbec and we were treated to an amazing tasting across vintages and parcels. We stock Catherine’s full, earthy Le Combal 2005 at artisan&vine – definitely worth drinking if you enjoy your reds heavy.
· Lastly, we visited Virginie Maignien and Patrice Lescarret of Domaine Causse Marines in Gaillac. This place is lively, floral, spicy and the wines are exactly the same. Virginie and Patrice are dedicated to using lesser known grape varieties that are indigenous to Gaillac – Ondenc, Braucol, Duras – it’s a wonderful taste exploration that necessitates(!) me carrying four of their fabulous wines at artisan&vine.
· Photos and notes from the full journey and tastings here -> http://artisanandvine.com/index.php?mact=Album,m3,default,1&m3albumid=14&m3returnid=56&page=56

Image: me with Dominic from Chateau le Queyroux, Bordeaux

Plumpton College visit and the week that was

I chose to begin December with a treat and so on Monday just gone I packed up my mini little car and drove down to Plumpton College Vineyard & Winery, near Brighton. I really underestimated just how much of a treat this would be! Matthew and Peter did a wonderful job showing me around their scenic vineyard and state of the art winery. (unfortunately I forgot my camera and Plumpton's website is tragically low on photos so the little snippet below is as best I can do for now).

The real pleasure of a College winery, I came to discover, is the opportunity for experimentation, thought and analysis. Peter Morgan, the winemaker at Plumpton, has a pedigree from France and Nyetimber (UK), and his passion for exploring elements of wine making is obvious. Plumpton has a variety of vats, temperature controlled rooms and laboratories within which students can investigate different cause and effecting wine making. If artisan&vine ever feels like giving me a full day off, I’ll be down at Plumpton signed up for study immediately!

Plumpton College runs a variety of long and short term courses – including one day classes – and is definitely worth checking out. Artisan&vine will be running a day trip down there when the sun comes out again next year.

Plumpton’s wines? If you’ve been to artisan&vine, there’s a very strong chance you’ve heard me rave about The Dean NV sparkling wines. We stock The Dean white and Blush. Fantastic complexity, good brioche flavours, always a hit with customers.

In artisan&vine recently: we usually have a number of party bookings on a Saturday night at artisan&vine. This Saturday gone we hosted Christa and Andrew’s engagement party, which we kicked off with a custom wine tasting; the guest’s loved Dominio del Bendito’s 2006 Silver, (£12.50/btl take home) I do too, it’s an extraordinarily velvety red wine, an alcoholic drinking chocolate; it needs to be tasted to be believed. We also hosted Crodelia’s birthday party. Cordelia and her friends converted the entire back of the bar to a dancefloor and before long pretty much the entire bar was back there dancing. Sometimes our 2am licence still just doesn’t seem late enough.

Press and reviews: we were stoked to learn that we had received View London’s highest rating – 5 stars – for our food, wine, ambience and service. Kelly and her editorial team really do a very thorough job in their reviews and as an occasional customer at other bars and restaurants, I was impressed to see the integrity and attention that View London invest for every review and recommendation list they put together. I’m really over the moon that we now feature on a few of their recommended lists, including best places for a first date!

Pictures: I heart Plumpton College and rue forgetting my camera!