I like mine medium rare

Occasionally someone in this world surpises me. Half-way through my perfectly prepared medium-rare rump steak the restaurant manager noticed that my glass of 2009 Cefiro Casablanca Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile was empty. He came over to ask if I'd like another wine and if he could recommend something different.

Back he came with two tasters... a little 2010 VdP Maurel Verdeau Pinot Noir from France and a little Pulenta La Flor Malbec 2010 from Argentina. I thought the Malbec was a little thin, but loved the cherry notes in the Pinot Noir so I chose the former.

Five minutes later, the manager was back... this time with a bottle of wine! I had barely taken a sip of my Pinot Noir, but "this wine" is his favourite off the wine list and I simply must try it - even though it wasn't available by the glass. So, onto the Italian wine we went... to the 2008 Allegrini La Grola from Veneto. It was bigger and bolder than I was expecting although I am not much good with my Italians. Was that a hint of coffee? My brother sighed and took a sip of his Bitburger Premium Pilsner Draught. All this wine talk was distracting us from our steaks and him from his beer!

But how nice it was to have an enthusiastic restaurant manager, who takes pleasure in the food and wine he serves and shares that with his guests... I was and am impressed.

http://www.thebutcherandgrill.com/wimbledon

To top it off our meals were faultless and we had a lovely evening, catching up and enjoying a good glass (or two) of wine on a cold winter's night. I will certainly recommend you try The Butcher & Grill in Wimbledon Village SW19, and form your own opinion.

Revisting Gruner Veltliner

Earlier this month I mentioned tasting the Gruner Veltliner 2008 Weingut Pfarre Weissenkirchen - the Austrian wine from the Wachau region.

I've tried this once very trendy white grape again, and again I really enjoyed it, so will have to go out and buy a bottle or three - you can buy the current vintage at Magestic for £9.99 a bottle.

It's acidity is racy - but this time I got green pear on the palate, with a lovely minerally backbone! I love the 'clean' feel I get from this wine. Almost but not fizzy, maybe like a pear-drop. It's a lovely change from a New Zealand style Sauvignon Blanc, which is not my favourite after all the Hermanuspietersfontein wines I so enjoyed in South Africa.

Gruner Veltliner is one of those varieties, like Riesling, and due to it's acidity, that will age well. It is also a versatile grape variety that is great with spicy foods and other complicated foods such as asparagus - I'll be sure to try it out.

Gruner Veltliner 2008 Weingut Pfarre Weissenkirchen

What is love?

Remember Dr. Alban? He asks the question we all want the answer to: "What is love?"

At school we had heated debates with our English teacher who said emphatically that you just cannot love anything other than another human. She said we can't possibly love our pet cat or dog. But you could love Shakespeare? Not so sure...

So as it is "V" day - what is love? I think I love relatively easily... I love my parents and family. I loved my cat Nelson (after Nelson "Madiba" Mandela!) - he was a great cat and I know he loved me back! I love my friends. Living away from family your friends become your family and are your pillars and support. Do I love my job? Sometimes. In retrospect, I love most of my ex-boyfriends. They are good people. I'd like to think I wouldn't have dated them otherwise.

But all that is different to being "in love".

We joke in the office saying "I love you, but I'm not in love with you". I love this line - it works and it puts relationships with people in perspective.

There's another great line that I love: "I may love you, but I don't have to like you at this moment." - a great line!

I love wine. I love food. I love them together. And even better when together with the people you love.

Could I be "in love"? Maybe. But maybe it's that cheeky word "infatuation" - which I think is such a dangerous word. It plays with you. Toys with you. It distorts perspective. It can be mean. And it can hurt. A lot. We've all witnessed the pain and confusion our friends have been through during those blind moments of infatuation. So maybe, just maybe.... we should just dive in - take a gigantic leap... and shout: "I am in love!"

But only if he's worth it!*

Happy Valentines Day!

* Note: Taking a gigantic leap or a dive into the unknown of course may hurt the most of all. But maybe it's the result and reward that will be oh so worth it? I'll keep you posted and I look forward to your point of view on love...

На здоровье! Na zdorovie! Cheers!

I haven't yet mentioned my visit to Moscow in December 2012. My colleague and I were there during the biggest protest march since the fall of communism in Russia. Security in the thousands monitoring even greater thousands wearing white ribbons on their lapels as they marched through Moscow protesting against Putin.

I have been working on Russian projects for a little over two years now and thoroughly love the people. They are intelligent, cultured, driven, and passionate. They are immensly proud - and rightly so - about their great city and country. Coming from a country that has also been troubled over recent decades I feel I can relate to the desire to prove to the world that we are from great countries, with wonderful traditions, fascinating histories, and beautiful landscapes.

Of course when you are in Moscow, being so well looked after, you are exposed to the joys and tradtions of drinking vodka. And with vodka, closely follows caviar - the wonderful pop of oily salmon roe and the release of its velvety juices and saltiness, followed by another toast to someone or something and enjoying the ice cold cleansing vodka. In this case it was the deiciously smooth and silky Beluga Vodka. No more Smirnoff for me! In London, Russian Standard is a good option to keep in your freezer.

Since my visit I have been making my version of a Russian influenced sharing platter. It is truly out of this world and has been greedily devoured as a summer Christmas starter, a beach-side sundowner platter, and a starter before a winter lamb stew with the candles flickering and a crackling fire - keeping us protected against the -6 degree winter freeze. It goes something like this:

Starter with Russian Salmon caviar

Caviar platter

Finely dice 3 or 4 cooked beetroots (out of a bottle is also fine) and a good handful of chives. Arrange lengthways in strips along a dinner size plate, but one with a dip like a shallow soup or casserole plate, the beetroot, a carton of plain cream cheese, the chives and a jar of black and/or red caviar (Ikea sell a seaweed version, and Waitrose sell a herring roe - all are fine - of course if you can get your hands on the Russian salmon roe caviar or the ultimate Beluga caviar, then you're in business!). For additional textures and colours you can also finely dice two hard-boiled eggs. Serve with a french loaf and/or blinis and unsalted butter. With that, serve with a shot of ice-cold vodka or Champagne. На здоровье!

Caviar platter

Three majestic wines

Our wonderful Chairman (on this particular day I think he's particularly wonderful!) has assigned the task of wine buying to myself and a colleague. What fun! And what a wonderful challenge to have. As a company, we have a considerable budget to accommodate the needs of my colleagues - enjoying a post-work drink around the kitchen on a Friday evening - and our clients - for meetings, lunches & dinners, and corporate events.

Majestic arrived with some great wines for us to taste. For me it's extra special to get valuable information and insight from people who are knowledgeable and educated in wine. There were some notable wines worth mentioning - all available at under £10 a bottle:

Gruner Veltliner 2008 Weingut Pfarre Weissenkirchen is an Austrian wine from the Wachau region. I rather liked the balance between the green acidity and the more oily, slightly mineral finish. This is not a wine for everyone, but is definintely worth trying with food, such as pork and oriental and spicy-type dishes.

If you are looking for a Burgundy wine, try for a change the Eikendal Chardonnay 2010/11 from Stellenbosch, South Africa. It is a classic Chardonnay that has been aged for 7 months in French oak. Wines like this encourage me not to rule out Chardonnays - I think this is an elegant wine and is lovely to enjoy around the fire with your book and slippers. Maybe even a pipe for the boys?

Continuing with Burgundy-style varietals, one wine definitely worth trying is the Wither Hills Pinot Noir 2009/10 from Marlborough in New Zealand. Not your French classic, but this medium-weight red has lovely black cherry flavours and a soft smoky finish - or perhaps a hint of cocoa? Fruity yet smooth - no sharp acids, resulting in an elegant wine, perfect to drink straight out the bottle or with a rack of lamb or seasonal game birds. I'm salivating at the very thought!

Majestic wine tasting - Friday 3 Febraury 2012

South African summer whites

Before I moved to London, back in 1998, I was predominantly a red wine drinker. To be honest I was probably an any wine drinker, specialising in whatever I could find in my father's cellar or free tastings in and around the Stellenbosch and Paarl wine routes.

Then came the parties, late nights and cheap red wines from the local pubs we frequented in London and along with that came the red teeth and lips syndrome. I quickly learnt that if I was to maintain any kind of visual composure, that I had to avoid red wine at all costs. Soon enough I was onto the over-oaked bottom-line Australian Chardonnays, followed soon after by the citrusy Pinot Grigio, etc - you get the picture!

Over the years I have graduated throught the ranks, refining and defining what I really enjoy in a white wine. To help matters along my budget allocation to buy wines has improved, enough to enjoy a flinty Chablis or a slightly, but not too floral Viognier. Even a Tasmanian bubbly...

One of and probably the only the good thing about being taxed to hell on wines in the UK is that when you go on holiday to places like South Africa you are happy to pay that little bit extra for a special bottle of wine. Together with hot and sunny weather the whites reigned supreme and over the days and weeks we tasted, drank and enjoyed countless bottles of truly delicious wines. Below, from what I can remember, are my (current) top 10 South African white wines I enjoyed this holiday:

1. Hermanuspietersfontein No.5 Sauvignon Blanc 2009
2. David Nieuwoudt Ghost Corner Semillon 2008
3. Beaumont Hope Marguerite Chenin Blanc 2010
4. Hermanuspietersfontein No.7 Sauvignon Blanc 2011
5. The Oak Valley Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2008
6. Hermanuspietersfontein No.3 Sauvignon Blanc 2011
7. Paul Cluver Sauvignon Blanc 2010
8. RAATS Original Chenin Blanc (unwooded) 2010
9. Hermanuspietersfontein Sommer Nommer 2011
10. Nabygelegen Sauvignon Blanc 2011

Hermanus, Walker Bay

Note: There is a bias towards the coastal wines of Walker Bay as the bulk of my time in the cape was in this area during my January 2012 holiday.

Hermanuspietersfontein Die Bartho, Bloos & Swartskaap tasting



Burning sunsation...

Why is it that two weeks ago, out in the plains of Phinda game reserve in South Africa looking for the thrill of an overnight kill by a lion, cheetah or leopard, did I have to cover up, like an exposed vampire, against the burning sun as it rose up over the distant ocean, when, two weeks later, that exact same sun that rose up over the River Thames did not have any effect against the cold that winter brings. No impact against my steamy breath or warmth against my skin as it ached against the icy breeze whilst I waited, not for the kill, but for the 22 bus that takes be to work...

Phinda sunrise, KZN South Africa