Taste of London 2013 An Exhausted Round up

So the plan was to create live feeds, tweets and blogposts keeping you up to date on all the action in our collaboration with Casa Valduga at Taste of London 2013.  Whilst the good intentions remain, unfortunately time was not on my side, the crowds simply couldn't resist the opportunity to whet their palate with something truly new and unique in the wine industry. This made for a rather fast paced, never-off-my-feet, weekend.  Over the four days we tasted and sold our way through what must have amounted to three or four dozen cases of the best of Brazilian wines.  Feedback all round was incredibly positive with many new converts to this new niche in wine.  I was particularly impressed with the crowds braving the best of British summer weather (wind and rain) to come and join in the occasion at Regents Park.  Again you ask what happened to all the live stories and news? Well with the constant crowds interested to learn and try some new wines from Brazil there was not much opportunity to do so at the show.  The days were unbelievably long too, Thursday kicked off with a  5am departure for my flight, having arrived in London in good time to get settled and plan for the day ahead things seemed to be progressing rather smoothly...alas the gods of Gatwick airport had a surprise in store when they managed to take over an hour and a half to get our bags from the plane a mere 100 yards away to the baggage reclaim belt, I mean how hard can it be? From that moment onwards there was just no chance to catch up.  I arrived at the fair at 10am and was there until the last of the crowds ebbed away at 10pm, by which point there was nothing this wine enthusiast could manage but get back to my little apartment room and collapse for a few hours kip before doing it all over again the next day!  So what has changed now?  Well I write this sitting at Edinburgh Airport embarrassed as a boy could be, having left my keys at London City Airport Security and not realising until I got to my car.  I mean really, of all the times for my silliness to manifest itself, 10pm on a Sunday night at the end of the longest weekend in a long time before the start of yet another manic week in the life of Exel Wines.

Ah well for those of you that haven't had the tasting pleasure, here is a quicker than quick run down of those tantalising Brazilian wines.  Alisios White, a devine if unusual sounding blend of Pinot Grigio & Riesling.  Mmmmm sweet floral Riesling cutting through the acidity of the Pinot Grigio, this was the white highlight.  Amongst the reds the Marselan proved popular as always, this cross between Cabernet Sauvignon & Grenache is a perfect balance of body, oak and depth of flavour. Casa Valduga's range of sparkling wines always prove to be the show stopper though. Traditionally made and lightly oaked, Blush and White versions please even the most hardened of Champagne fans. We even found a hoard of new followers for the high-end Vintage bubbly of Casa Valduga Extra Brut.  A dusty dry, oak blend with a solid 60 months ageing on the lees makes this a wine that is simply not for everyone.  The Marmite effect is apparent for the select few that find themselves in love with this rather unique wine.

With that, there is nothing left to say but what are you waiting for?  Get yourself over to Exel Wines, in-store in Perth or online and be amongst the trend setting early adopters of Brazilian wines.

Taste of London - Thursday 20th – Sunday 23rd June (stand D12)

Exhibiting at this year’s Taste of London festival, Exel Wines are currently presenting a range of traditional and sparkling wines from our portfolio of Brazilian wines, Casa Valduga. From today, there will be an opportunity to taste these prestigious and delicious wines at our stand, D12 in the Brazil section – so come along and discover one of the best kept secrets in the world of wine.

In the late 19^th century the Valduga family arrived in Brazil from Italy and soon began planting their first vineyards in the Vale dos Vinhedos region. Now in 2013, steeped in three generations of rich winemaking history the award winning Casa Valduga has risen to the top as ‘The most prominent and respected winery in Brazil.’ Casa Valduga is predominantly renowned for its development of sparkling wines and was the first Brazilian winery to master the Champenoise winemaking method.

Taste of London was first launched 10 years ago by Taste Festivals who now operate festivals through the UK, Europe, The Middle East, Asia and Australia. On return to London where it all began, Taste is faced with the challenge to put on their biggest show of the year. The festival promises to be a vibrant mix of culture, cuisine and culinary master class, individuals such as Michelin star chef and MasterChef judge Michel Roux Jr and the world famous Jamie Oliver will be in attendance. Amid this foodie wonderland be sure to come and find us – you’ll find everything you need to know as well as ticket information at: 

http://london.tastefestivals.com/london/

 

Russell will be tweeting, blogging and facebooking direct from London to keep us up-to-date on all the comings and goings at the festival, so be sure to follow us for all the action.   

This week I ‘ave been mostly drinking...

Russell Wallace, General Manager – Bodegas Protos Verdejo.  I did a tasting the week before last for our good friends at Little’s Restaurant in Blairgowrie (what do you mean you haven’t been yet, well honestly you must!).  Part of the tasting reintroduced me to a dear old friend called Bodegas Protos in the form of their stunning Verdejo – 100% Verdejo from the Rueda region just outside Ribera.  Protos are well known as being the founding vineyard responsible for enabling Ribera del Duero to become a DO, indeed they used to be called Ribera del Duero! Don’t get me wrong we love the reds they grow at their main home, but for something truly stunning and indeed different it has to be the Verdejo. This wine offers great value for money too!  Lovely full tropical flavours, grapefruit and plenty of acidity to allow it to pair well with food. Which food? Shellfish is the best pairing, but as a fish-phobic I would go for nibbles and evening sunshine. Speaking of sunshine, we had our first barbeque of the year last week which meant bbq chicken, corn on the cob and some of the finest veggie food the freezer had to offer. We also happened upon a lonely bottle of Veuve Cliquot.  I have not in honesty knowingly tried Veuve before which amazed me as well!  What a delight, it is the best NV Champagne outside of my beloved Bollinger (sorry Veuve you don’t quite get Bollinger’s crown). Fresh, not overly yeasty like many Champagnes are and, generally just more quaffable. As it happens, I tend to enjoy non-Champagne more than the real deal, and I think a lot of us Brits have a similar palate, so if this sounds like you and you are looking for a cracking new bubbly which is very non-Champagne like, give it a whirl.

Dianne Barrie, Company Administrator – I haven’t done a great deal of drinking over the last few weeks. However, I did sample the Trapezio ++ Plus Chardonnay while I was working in our shop on Saturday! Well, how could I possibly tell our customer about it if I hadn’t tried it myself?! And, I must say this was the perfect wine for the barbeque weather we experienced here on Saturday. It’s crisp with hints of citrus yet with a creamy, mellow palate full of pear and peach flavours. It’s not a heavy going wine either – despite the American oak, this is a very smooth rounded wine – an ideal summer drinking wine, and a perfect accompaniment to enjoy with summer food such as tapas, grilled fish, or teriyaki style char-grilled salmon, pork or chicken. Quite simply, it’s a fantastic wine from a fantastic producer.

Kieran German, Shop Manager – A bit of an IPA kick this week, as I’ve been reading Pete Brown’s Hops and Glory of late – a calamitous history of an iconic beer. So, over to Founder’s Brewing Co., Odell Brewing Co., Brooklyn Brewery, and the always-amazing Thornbridge Brewery. For the love of hops, they’re all good. Founder’s All Day IPA is a grapefruit treat, really crisp and zesty all the way to the finish - like a Kiwi-sauvignon blanc. Speaking of Kiwi, the Thornbridge Kipling is brewed using 100% New Zealand Nelson Sauvin hops and it’s brimming with mango, lychee and passion fruit flavours. It’s delicious. Odell IPA, Brooklyn EIPA and Thornbridge Jaipur are all old favourites and never fail to satisfy. Happily, a beer-loving friend is a-visiting Chateau Kieran this weekend and (if this sunshine holds) we’ll have a great barbecue and beer session. Recipe here. So next week’s blog could be a CTRL-C/CTRL-V job.