The Saint Emilion Row Over 2006 Classification

Many of you have probably read about the 2006 Classification which has been causing uproar in Saint Emilion. I haven't covered it in the blogs as it is still ongoing. The French are a passionate people and the disagreement over those château which are going to be upgraded and those which are due for demotion has been in and out of court – and doubtless will be again - like a yoyo. Basically Saint Emilion reclassifies its top château every 10 years and you can imagine the furore that ensues as a result. The entire 1855 Classification needs re-evaluating in my view and the Saint Emilion dispute is a storm in a tea cup – albeit a ferocious one.

The situation at present is that the Court ruled last week that the 2006 classification was invalid which meant that any wines from 2006 onwards could not be labelled as Grand Cru Classé or Premier Grand Cru Classé. Château Ausone and Cheval Blanc's ranking is now no different from any other estate! This has come at bad time as the chateaux are labelling their 2007 vintage as I write. Some will carry on regardless and pay the resultant fines no doubt.

The French wine regulator the INAO (Institut National de l'Orgine et de la Qualité) has asked the government to add an emergency amendment allowing châteaux that were awarded the titles of Grand Cru Classé or Premier Grand Cru Classé in the 1996 classification to use their former rankings. The ruling applies for the harvests from 2006 to 2009.

It is a shame that a minority of chateaux have spoilt it for the majority. I do feel sorry for the chateaux that have really come up through the ranks and pushed hard for their higher ranking – Chateau Troplong Mondot and Chateau Pavie Macquin for instance must be very disappointed as they have really pulled their boots up to attain the rank of Premier Cru Classé only to lose it.

The dispute could rumble on for months, some say even years to come. To me this is another example of where those who shout loudest get heard, spoiling it for the majority who simply get on with the job in hand – empty vessels make most noise comes to mind - but for those who have created this rumpus perhaps their time would have been better spent with good husbandry over their wines rather than in the courts! I will keep you posted!

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The Oldest Grape Vine in the World – and The Oldest Wine etc!

Grape vines have been around for a millennia so did Neolithic Man drink wine? Apparently so – though it was far from the wine that we recognise today. The oldest known wine in the world has been found in Jiahu in Central China’s Henan Province. It was found amongst Neolithic relics and is approximately 9000 years old. The Jiahu area is already famous for yielding some of the earliest musical instruments and domesticated rice, as well as possibly the earliest Chinese pictographic writing. So 9000 years ago the human race was not that much dissimilar to how we are today. However the wine was a mixed fermented beverage of rice, honey and fruit and not made from grapes.

Charles Darwin suggested all grapes were descended from grapes now growing wild in Western Asia. From Asia, these wild grapes were carried into Europe and North Africa by the ancient Phoenicians and Romans. But the Asian grapes had actually been originally brought there from Italy. And the Italian grapes had actually been originally brought to Italy from southern France, where the oldest grape fossils have been found. So French grapes have always been influential grapes!

The oldest grape wine discovered so far is thought to be the remains of 7,000-year-old wine in 6 vessels unearthed at the site of a Neolithic village in Iran. Each jar could hold about 9 litres. They were unearthed in 1976 in what the scientists believed to be the kitchen area of a mud-brick building in Hajji Firuz Tepe, a village of the new Stone Age era in the northern Zagros mountains. Grapes grow wild in these mountains and have done so for millennia. Scientists identified calcium salt from tartaric acid, which develops naturally in large amounts only in grapes, and resin from the Terebinth tree.

The oldest glass bottle of wine in the world was unearthed during the excavation for building a house in a vineyard near the town of Speyer, Germany. It was inside one of two Roman stone sarcophaguses that were dug up. The bottle dates from approximately 325 A.D. and was found in 1867. The greenish-yellow glass amphora has handles formed in the shape of dolphins. One of several bottles discovered, it is the only one with the contents still preserved. I can’t help but wonder what it would have tasted like!

The world's oldest wine in a barrel hails from France and is a white wine from Alsace. With its bright shades of golden amber and its aromas of vanilla, hazelnut or camphor, the 1472 vintage of white Alsace wine has been ageing for over 500 years now in the cellars of the Strasbourg Hospice in eastern France. The wine has an alcohol content of 9.4% and has apparently survived because of its acidity.

About 1% evaporates each year (known as the Angel's Share) so a bottle of dry white wine is added every three months. You may think this is a bit of a cheat but according to the townsfolk there is a particularly high percentage of dry matter (the solids in a wine) which is a guarantee of the persistence of the original wine. As there is dry matter from at least 300 litres of 1472 wine it remains a 1472 vintage. Hmm, I'm not sure about that one!

However I am sure about this one as it is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records . . . the world's oldest grape vine is in Slovenia in the town of Maribor. It is over 400 years old, still bears grapes which are harvested for wine and has many offspring dotted about the globe. The grape vine variety is called Žametovka which is one of the oldest domesticated varieties in Slovenia. The vine grows in Lent, the oldest part of the town down by the river Drava; on the frontage of the Old Vine House.

Vine genetics experts in Paris have confirmed the authenticity of the age of the old vine and ancient paintings of Maribor dating from 1657 and 1681, kept in the Štajerska Provincial Museum in Graz, depict the 16th century house with the vine – although in those days the frontage was lushly overgrown with its leaves!

Well, the only thing I don't seem to have covered in my “the oldest” blog is perhaps the oldest wine maker in the world . . . does anyone out there have any suggestions? In years from now I really do not think historians will be finding any full bottles of wine in or around my house the odd empty one may be it seems such a waste doesn’t it?

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Château Palmer, The Prince Regent and Palmer's Claret

What we now know as Château Palmer was once called Château de Gascq and was part of the ancient estate of Château d'Issan. The de Gascqs were a powerful dynasty who were active in local parliament and the wines of Château de Gascq were served at the court of Versailles under Louis XV. However the château was sold in 1814 to General Charles Palmer - a gentleman, officer, and friend of the Prince Regent (the future King George IV of England). General Palmer had fallen under the spell of Bordeaux as well as the charms of Marie de Gascq. The General was famous at the English court as a ladies man and also for his military victories and Marie was a beautiful widow. She convinced the General during a stagecoach ride delicately referred to as "turbulent" according to legend, to buy her estate.

General Palmer was a friend of the Marquis of Bath and Lord Cambden while studying at Eton and Oxford. In 1808, he succeeded his father as Mayor of the spa town of Bath and was elected a Member of Parliament. General Palmer purchased a commission in the prestigious 10th Regiment of Hussars, commanded by the Prince Regent and was appointed the Prince's aide-de-camp.

The Napoleonic period was drawing to a close in 1814 when General Palmer arrived in France with the future Duke of Wellington after the Peninsular War between Napoleon and England. Parliament decided to reward him with a large sum of money in gratitude and he used this to acquire Château de Gascq, renaming it Château Palmer.

A passionate man, General Palmer devoted a great deal of time, energy, and money to developing his property. From 1816 to 1831, Palmer bought land and buildings in the communes of Cantenac, Issan, and Margaux. The General lived mainly in England, and so the estate was managed by his authorised representative, Mr Grey, who helped to increase the wine's reputation among wealthy connoisseurs. Palmer's interests elsewhere in Bordeaux were looked after by the shipper Paul Estenave and the financial manager Jean Lagunegrand.

While these men took care of his affairs in France, General Palmer did his best to promote his wine in England thanks to his connections at court. He married Mary Elisabeth Atkins, the daughter of a wealthy family, on February 14th 1823. This strengthened his social position and was the beginning of a more regular and calm existence. Thanks to his influential relations and charm, "Palmer's Claret” was much sought after by London clubs, and was particularly appreciated by the Prince Regent, whom the General often accompanied during his night time excursions.

The Prince Regent is remembered nowadays for the extravagant lifestyle of drinking, womanising and gambling that scandalised the country and got him heavily into debt. It is reported that every time he had a love affair with a woman he would cut a lock of her hair and place it in an envelope with her name on it. Upon his death an astounding 7000 such envelopes were discovered.

Like the Prince, General Palmer remained a lover of fine food and wine, spending lavish sums on his gastronomic pleasures and living an increasingly ruinous lifestyle. He was obliged to sell his magnificent Médoc estate in 1843. Despite this setback, General Palmer could be proud of leaving an estate with a tremendous potential to his successors.

Today Château Palmer is owned by several families of Bordeaux, English, and Dutch extraction (the Sichel, Mähler-Besse, Ginestet, and Miailhe families), all involved in the wine trade, united to buy the château in 1938. The descendants of the Sichel and Mähler-Besse families are still major shareholders of the Château, furthering the work done by their grandparents. Château Palmer has a loyal following and is ranked as a Third Growth (3ème Cru) but it frequently out performs the Second Growths.

Château Palmer's vineyards span 128 acres and lie on gravely rises several metres thick in the communes of Margaux and Cantenac, overlooking the Gironde Estuary. The soil consists of brittle black lydite, white and yellow quartz, quartzite mottled with black, green or blue, and white chalcedony. There is a saying in the Médoc that the greatest terroirs are "within sight of the river". This saying stresses the importance of the layer of gravel essential for growing quality wine grapes. The grapes grown are 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot. This is an unusually high percentage of Merlot and makes a soft, well rounded wine.

Château Palmer's wines are famous for their finesse and elegance. The subtle balance between powerful, but understated tannins and aromatic richness makes Palmer an incomparably charming wine, even when very young. The dark inky red wines yield aromas of black currant, coffee and spices. The wines are very well structured, rich and sometimes exotic – somewhat like their long dead General who fell in love with the de Gascq widow all those years ago. Should you be interested in buying a case or two of this classic Bordeaux wine log onto www.interestinwine.co.uk where several vintages can be found.

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Bordeaux Rosé

The Telegraph has reported this weekend that Rosé has over taken sales of white wine in France and its now estimated that more than 1 in 5 bottles of wine sold there is a Rosé. A hot summer could push the amount of rosé drunk to more than half of all bottles consumed this year. A study conducted this year found that red wine is favoured by richer, older French men, while Rosé is drunk by both sexes, young and old from different social groups. Red is drunk mainly during meals, while Rosé is also popular as an aperitif or in soirées. Here in the UK sales of Rosé are also booming as the wine is becoming a popular summer drink at barbeques.

Jeremy Beadles, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association said that:

"We have seen the biggest ever rise in rosé sales over the last three years . . . People are drinking it because it is something different, it's accessible, light, fruity - and a bit lower on the alcohol side too.

"That makes for a more appealing lunchtime drink, a nice alternative to a glass of red. "More venues are stocking rosé wines too. It used to be hard to find them on menus but most pubs are stocking two or three now.

"Younger people, between 18 and 25 years, are the biggest customers. I think historically it has always been more of a female's drink, but there has been a growth across all types of customers.
"In the summer there are barbecues, outside parties and social events, when the sun is shining it is a very popular option."

Mr Beadles said companies such as Blossom Hill and Echo Falls had invested lots of money in establishing rosé wines as long-term brands. Burgundy is now producing 2 million bottles of Rosé per year and Bordeaux Clairet is becoming more popular as people are beginning to wake up to the fabulous flavours of the dark pink wines.

Bordeaux Rosés are more elegant and delicate then the Clairets - Château Roques Mauriac Rosé (£5.49) is flawlessly crisp, brilliant and light with fresh fruity aromas of strawberries and raspberries. It is mouth-wateringly refreshing, slightly dry and has a long after taste. Château Roques Mauriac Rosé won a Silver Medal at the 2006 Concours Général Agricole de Paris and is one of Jonathan Ray's Top 10 French Wines in the Telegraph (click here to read more on this super wine!).

Château Lamothe-Vincent Rosé (£5.05) is another superb Rosé - fabulous dry, deep, dark pomegranate pink and is bursting with fruit. It is made with two grapes - Cabernet Sauvignon which gives tannic backbone, or structure. This grape is very aromatic in young wines with heady aromas of blackcurrant. Cabernet Franc is the other grape used and this provides acidity, fragrance and strawberry-like fruit qualities. Once the fruit has hit your taste buds the dryness follows through and the wine is elegant and refreshing. (Click here to read more about Château Lamothe-Vincent Rosé )
If you are planning a summer barbeque or party then check out our summer cases of specially selected wines (starting at £64.99) which are bursting with fruit and flavour – you'll find the Bordeaux Rosés amongst them!

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Champagne War

Who would have thought that a bakery would have started off round two in the battle over the right to the name Champagne? The tiny village of Champagne in Vaud, western Switzerland (which borders France), shares its name with the famous French wine producing region. Since 2004 local wine-makers in the village have been banned from labelling their wine "Vin de Champagne" due to a deal struck between the European Union and Switzerland. In exchange for Swiss air rights in the EU, the Swiss government acquiesced to the French Champagne wine-makers' request that the Swiss village would no longer use the word Champagne on its wine labels.

There is now renewed hope for the producers as the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property granted the local bakery “Cornu” registration of the trademark "from Champagne Switzerland”. The Cornu bakery makes sweet and savoury biscuits in Switzerland and France under the slogan "Made in Champagne".On April 9th, a Paris court ruled that Cornu had to close its website www.champagne.ch and cease selling or producing its "Champagne" biscuits in France - a major market for the Swiss company. However this was over turned at an appeal earlier this week.

This bun fight (excuse the pun) is now set to over spill into the wine trade in the Swiss village which has suffered since dropping the name Champagne. Wine sales have dropped from 110,000 bottles per year to 32,000 in 2007 after the wine was sold with new labels that did not refer to its place of origin. In 2004, the last year the villagers could use “Champagne” on their wine labels, they sold 110,000 bottles. The vintners have tried using names like Libre Champ, Champagnoux and C-Ampagne but to no avail as sales have continued to plummet.

The issue is a complex one as Champagne in France is trying to stop the use of the word “champagne” becoming a generic one BUT they do allow use of the name Champagne as a semi-generic term for sparkling wine in Russia, Ukraine or the United States. Another problem lies in the fact that 2 incidents have occurred when unscrupulous wine makers have made sparkling wine in the Swiss village and sold it as Champagne. One upset took place after the Second World War and another more recently – however both incidents were caused by incomers to the village and the Swiss were just as outraged by this practice as the French

Although the village is currently unable to appeal against the wine case, the biscuit decision has reinvigorated the locals. Simon Bradley of swissinfo has reported on the situation:

"Now that we have the registration for the biscuit brand, we will contact our lawyers to look into reviewing the judgement on the wine," said Thomas Bindschedler, village action committee spokesman.

"We fully understand that [the French association] has a brand to defend which they've worked hard to create over a long time and it would be very unfair for someone to take advantage of something that they've built up. But they should understand that we want to use the name of our village on our products."

"All historians agree that our village has existed since 885 – well before the emergence of the name champagne in France," said Bindschedler.

According to Bindschedler, the French trade association is controlled by the holding company Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) and has the money and time on its hands to pursue a legal case "forever".

"They have lawyers working for them permanently and their job is to make sure that the use of the name is exclusive to them. But they should make a difference between when it is essential to protect the name and where, as in our case, it would be logical to do a deal," he said.

"In terms of international politics this might seem a small matter, but it has a certain importance linked to local identity and expertise," said the president of the Swiss action committee, Albert Banderet. "We will continue our battle to overturn this situation so people realise we also have the right to exist."

I can understand the villagers point but don't see an easy resolution – can you? If Champagne is your tipple look at our champagne range starting at £16.49 a bottle and is made by one of the top Champagne makers in France. You will be bowled over with the quality knowing how little you have paid!

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Armagnac Helps You Live Longer

We have all heard of red wine being hailed as the elixir of life but it’s not for nothing that Armagnac is called an Eau de Vie – a study at Bordeaux University has indicated that it helps prevent thrombosis and heart attacks and actually aids weight loss. The study says Armagnac has an effect similar to that of aspirin in reducing blood clotting, attributed to the abundance of antioxidant-rich tannins (polyphenols) found in Armagnac, which is aged in black oak barrels.

Armagnac is made in Gascony, just south east of Bordeaux, between the Adour and Garonne rivers in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Strangely enough the Gascons enjoy a lower level of heart disease than anyone else in France and live an average of 5 years longer! Despite the rich gastronomy of Foie Gras, Confit and Magret of Duck and Goose, Gascons have resilient constitutions. Is it because of their Armagnac consumption? The famous D’Artagnan from the Three Musketeers was a Gascon and their fighting spirit is prevalent today as Gascony is equally infamous for its bull fighting.

The research, carried out in 2005 and published in the scientific journal Thrombosis Research, showed that Armagnac helped prevent the accumulation of blood platelets which cause thrombosis in the arteries. Professor of pharmacology Nicholas Moore has also found that when he fed laboratory rats a high-fat diet and regular, moderate doses of Armagnac they showed significantly less weight gain than those rats who were deprived of the Armagnac.

This proves, the Bordeaux team says, that it is a specific quality of the Armagnac, believed to be in the extracts from the grapes or the Gascon wood used to age the spirit, that help reduce weight gain.

Armagnac is the oldest distilled spirit in France and dates back to the 12th century. It was officially demarcated when Armagnac was granted AOC status in 1936. The official production area is divided into three districts which are: Bas Armagnac (the most famous area of production), Tenarèze and Haut Armagnac.

The secret of making Armagnac is like that of a fine wine. Ugni Blanc, Colombard, Folle Blanche and Bacco grape varieties are used. The grapes are harvested, pressed, and fermented into a light wine. The important work then begins. While some producers have their own stills on premise, the typical small producer uses the roving "distillateur" who travels from vineyard to vineyard with his alambic still, performing the distillation on site. Some of these ambulatory stills are over 100 years old! The work of distillation is always finished by the end of March following the harvest.

The use of the "Alembic Armagnacias" is the most important difference between Armagnac and Cognac distillation. An alambic or pot still is a simple copper boiler with serpentine condensation coils. This allows only one distillation at low temperatures, thus retaining more of the character of the wine and vineyard soils. On the other hand, Cognac is always double distilled. For Armagnac, the result is a more full flavoured brandy with more aromatics and character. The pure "eau de vie" comes out of the still at 58 degrees alcohol and requires long aging in oak casks to become softer, richer and complex.

Armagnac is aged in black oak casks which are sourced in the local Monlezun Forest of Landes. This sappy, black oak imparts a special character and more colour to the Armagnac during aging. That is why old Armagnac never has caramel added for colour. After ageing 10 to 20 years in wood, the alcoholic strength drops from 58 degrees to 45 degrees or less. This loss of alcohol by evaporation is called part des anges or “angel’s tribute”. The result is that the Armagnac becomes richer, more aromatic and more concentrated over time.

Janneau is my favourite Armagnac and it is made by the oldest Armagnac house, founded in 1851. It’s located in a town with the rather insalubrious name of Condom which lies along the River Baise which was used to ship the Armagnac to Bordeaux. If you are interested in Armagnac check out www.armagnac.fr which is Armagnac's own website encompassing everything you need to know about visiting Armagnac, its Eau de Vie, regional recipes and producer profiles (the site is currently in French but being translated into English very soon!).

So if sales of Armagnac go ballistic due to its apparent longevity benefits (as they are bound to do in this health driven world) don’t forget to thank our humble friend the rat!

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Château Talbot and the English Earl

Château Talbot is one of the oldest of the classified growths in Saint Julien and its 260 acre vineyard sits in a large agricultural park, inland from the River Gironde and west of the hamlet of Saint Julien Beychevelle. All the other châteaux, from the great second growths down to the cru bourgeois properties, dance around the periphery of the Talbot estate, which stretches over a huge swathe of the commune. Château Talbot is ranked as a Fourth Growth and takes its name from John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, who was sent by King Henry VI to quell the rebellious French.

John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury was the only Lancastrian Constable of France and was an important English military commander during the Hundred Years' War (which lasted for 116 years from 1337 to 1453). The Hundred Years' War was a conflict between 2 royal dynasties fighting for the French throne which had been left vacant: the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet.

The Plantagenet Kings in England were also known as the House of Anjou and had their roots in the French regions of Anjou and Normandy. French soldiers fought on both sides, with Burgundy and Aquitaine (including Bordeaux) providing support for the English. Don't forget that at this time many of the English aristocrats considered France their ancestral homeland and that French was the official language of England until the late 14th century!

Talbot was a seasoned commander having already served in the Welsh War (or the Rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr). Owain Glyndŵr, by the way, was the last native Welshman to hold the title of Prince of Wales and was crowned King of the Welsh. His rebellion was unsuccessful but despite this Glyndŵr was never captured and his final years are shrouded in mystery and secrecy.

Talbot was a daring soldier and he was always ready to retake a town and to meet a French advance - much like his opponent Joan of Arc. He was taken hostage at Rouen in 1449 and promised never to wear armour against the French King again, and he was true to his word. He died at the Battle of Castillon which ended the Hundred Years' War. The 69 year old Talbot went to battle at Castillon unarmed and met his end in the final defeat at the fortress where Château d'Issan stands today. The victorious French generals raised a monument to Talbot on the field called Notre Dame de Talbot.

Today Château Talbot is owned by the Cordier Family who bought the Château in 1918 and many people who appreciate the wines think that the Château should be upgraded to a Third Growth (3ème Cru Classé). Château Talbot's vineyards extend out over the famous hilltops of old Garonne gravel overlooking the Estuary. There is a subsoil of iron-pan which gives the wine personality. About 12 acres are planted with white grapes and the remainder are 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc. Archives of the ancient vineyard management have been kept and are still followed today.

Château Talbot has a reputation for consistency and is a charming wine which is silky, fruity and elegant. Talbot embodies all the complexity of its terroir. Its firm, well rounded tannins offer a smoothness still present after years of ageing. The wine is richly aromatic with a bouquet of cedar wood and vanilla scented cassis fruits. Being highly concentrated, it ages very well indeed although it is approachable when young due to its fruit and smooth finish.

So if you ever see the name Château Talbot remember the history and the man behind it's name! If you are interested in tasting the famous wine you can find it at interestinwine.co.uk.

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Muscat – the Oldest Grape in the World

The Muscat grape is the world’s oldest known grape variety. It has been cultivated and harvested in the Mediterranean for more than 3000 years and some wine historians say it was the first grape to evolve. It was definitely the first grape to be used in wine making. Muscat was initially used in ancient times as raisins. Roman physicians prescribed raisins to cure anything from mushroom poisoning to old age! So valuable were raisins at this time that two jars of them were worth one slave.

Pliny the Elder called the grape “The Grape of the Bees”. The bees are uncontrollably attracted to the powerful odour of the grapes. They have a tendency to rot slightly on the vine, developing a very soft skin and are high in sugar content. It was a favourite of the Avignon Popes and Pope Clement V, a wine connoisseur, had a 70 hectare Muscat vineyard planted. There may be a link with the Sultanate of Muscat in the south east Arabian Peninsula and the grape was known to Egyptians, Arabs and Africans.

Muscat wines can either be sweet and fortified with a classic rich nose of dried fruits, raisins and oranges and a strong perfume, or dry and grape flavoured. In fact Muscat is one of the few grapes that actually tastes of grapes! There are 200 varieties of Muscat grape but the most used are:

Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains (White Muscat with Little Berries)
This is used to make Asti Spumanti in Italy and Beaume de Venise in the Rhone. It is also used to make White Port and the Greek Brandy Metaxa.

Muscat of Alexandria (Moscatel)
Used to make Sherry and is 1 of only 3 grapes permitted grape varieties to be used in a true sherry. This grape was brought to Europe by Egyptian traders.

Muscat Hamburg (Black Muscat)
This makes red wine in Eastern Europe and is a popular edible grape.

Orange Muscat
Mainly used in California, it was once grown in France and Italy. It is orange in colour and has the scent of orange blossom.

Syrian Muscat or Muscat Jesus
Grown in the Middle East and has aromas of orange blossoms and apricot.

The Muscat vines in France are situated in the Rhone and the Alsace. Beaume de Venise is one of my favourites. It has its own appellation and currently 16 producers have the right to put the name of the village on their labels.

Beaume de Venise was in danger of disappearing in the 1950s but a local co-operative was created and reversed its fortunes. Their first export was in 1970s. The word “beaume” means caves or grottos and Beaume de Venise is built against a line of cliffs along the south western edge of the Ventoux Mountains. The old houses and narrow streets of the medieval village rise up to the reddish sandstone cliffs which are riddled with caves. The Greeks used the town as a spa and brought with them the Muscat grape.

Beaume de Venise is a vin doux naturel (naturally sweet wine). It is fortified with a neutral brandy as its fermenting; the extra alcohol stops the fermentation whilst there is still sugar in the wine. It is normally about 15%.

However the Muscat that is grown in the Alsace is quite different. Alsace was historically part of the Holy Roman Empire but came under French rule in the 17th Century. Here the grape Muscat Ottanel makes a dry wine. Alsace has a few quirks. All wines by law must be bottled in long tapered bottles called Flutes d’Alsace. Another is that restaurants serving the famous white asparagus of Alsace will only pair it with a glass of dry Muscat and no other.

Our asparagus season is over so I can suggest an alternative dish with Muscat, using Beaume de Venise. It's a perfect summer dessert and a chilled glass of Tour Chapoux (£5.75) would accompany it very well. Tour Chapoux is a lovely pale yellow, crisp white wine is produced right in the heart of the Entre deux Mers area, located in Saint Antoine du Queyret. The label says it all. It is bright, light and very subtle. It is made from a blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Semillon, 10% Muscadelle and has the fragrance of grassy meadows , citrus, acacia flowers and gorse. The Muscadelle and Semillon give smooth, rounded flavours of pears, peaches and pineapple which will pair well with the Gooseberry Compote.

Gooseberry Compote with Muscat Syllabub

For the Compote
7 oz caster sugar
3 strips lemon zest without pith
10 fl oz water
1 lb 9 oz gooseberries, topped and tailed

For the Syllabub
9 ½ fl oz whipping cream
juice of ½ lemon
3 tbsp icing sugar
2 fl oz Muscat (Beaumes de Venise)

Put the sugar and lemon zest in a pan with the water. Bring to the boil and add the gooseberries. Reduce and poach until tender, but not stewed – for about 5 mins. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and set aside. Boil the syrup until it’s quite thick. Leave to cool and then strain over the fruit. Chill.

Beat the cream then gradually add the lemon juice and sugar. Before the cream is thick but when it is holding its shape, gradually add the Muscat. Serve the fruit in small bowls or glasses with generous swirls of Muscat cream on top.

Enjoy! Should you be getting low on your white wines in your cellar for everyday drinking have a look at our wonderful selection delivered to your door for around £6 a bottle.

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Summer Sparklers

An ice cold glass of sparkling wine is instant refreshment on a hot sunny day and we have been savouring the bubbles for over 300 years here in the UK. There is documentary evidence that sparkling wine was first intentionally produced by English scientist and physician Christopher Merrett in 1662 - at least 30 years before the work of the monk Dom Perignon. However the first commercial sparkling wine was produced in the south of France in Limoux area of Languedoc about 1535.

The 2000 year old village of Limoux lies close to the Spanish border in the foothills of the Pyrenees and claims to be the birthplace of sparkling wine. In the mid 16th century, monks of the Abbey of St. Hilaire developed a method of making sparkling wine almost 200 years before their rivals to the north in Champagne. Coincidentally the famed Dom Perignon passed through Limoux before moving to Champagne – maybe he gained his inspiration from his time spent there?

The sparkling wine from Limoux is known as Blanquette and although is not as widely known as Champagne, its taste has attracted buyers from around the world, including, Russian Czar Nicolas II and Japanese Emperor Akihito. Blanquette is made with a blend of three white grapes - Mauzac, Chenin and Chardonnay.

Sparkling wine from the north of France is known as Crémant d'Alsace – cremant is the French word for "creaming" - this means that they are made with slightly more than half the pressure of champagne. This doesn’t give them any less sparkle but makes a wine with a fizzy mousse of bubbles and a delicious refreshing tingle on the tongue. Crémant d’Alsace is the market leader in at-home sales of AOC sparkling wines in France. It’s an undiscovered gem. It’s a favourite of those vintners who make Champagne and you’ll find it gracing most celebrations and parties in France.

Crémant is a sparkling pinot and Crémant d’Alsace Joseph Pfister (£8.49) is made from Pinot Auxerrois, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir grapes. The grapes are a careful blend which results in a pale yellow wine with a dense, fine mousse of frothy bubbles that lasts right down to the bottom of your glass. Champagne can run out of fizz but Crémant just doesn’t seem to go flat! It is very fruity on the nose with definite hints of apricots and plums.

If you are tempted to make some summer punches or cocktails with sparkling wine then try these:

D'Artagnan

½ shot Armagnac
½ shot Grand Marnier
1 shot orange juice
½ tsp sugar syrup
Cremant d'Alsace

Chill the first 4 ingredients in a mixing glass and strain into a flute glass. Top with the Cremant d'Alsace and add long strips of orange peel.

La Vie en Rose

½ shot rose water
1 sugar cube (or 1 tsp sugar)
Cremant d'Alsace

Rose water is easy to make – gather some rose petals (the dark red ones are best), wash and add to boiling water and allow to cool.

Soak the sugar cube in the rose water (or mix the granulated sugar and rose water together). Put the ingredients into a flute glass. Garnish with a strawberry.

Enjoy!

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Can Red Wine Cancel Cancer Caused by Red Meat?

If you believe the hype the answer is Yes. However the red meat in the much quoted Israeli study was actually minced Turkey thighs. This is causing confusion with some of the press head lining “How drinking red wine with your steak cancels out cancer causing effects of red meat” (Daily Mail) Red meat in culinary terminology refers to meat which is red coloured when raw whereas red meat in nutritional terminology refers to meat from mammals. Birds aren't mammals so does Turkey qualify as red meat? Not in my book.

Traditionally red wine is drunk with red meat and the research from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem seems to prove a medical rationale for this (if you ignore the debate on the definition of red meat). The study by Joseph Kanner and colleagues was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Scientists attribute wine's health benefits in fighting cancer and heart disease to the high levels of polyphenols (antioxidants) found in red wine. Until now, however, Scientists have been perplexed as to how the substances work to do this.

The researchers discovered that rats fed on a diet of red meat and red wine concentrate had substantially reduced formation of two by products of fat digestion, malondialdehyde and hydroperoxide, which are toxic to cells. They have found that the stomach acts as a "bioreactor" that facilitates the beneficial effects of polyphenols. The polyphenols work not only to prevent generation of cytotoxic compounds, but also as compounds which prevent the absorption of cytotoxic compounds from the gastrointestinal tract into the blood stream.

Over the past few years we have been warned that a high content of red meat in our diets is bad for us – causing heart disease and cancer. It's hard to find a simple answer as to why this is the case. Red meat does contain a lot of saturated fat – although it's interesting to note that beef from cattle fed on grass contains a lot less when compared to cattle fed on corn. This poses a problem for me as I love red meat – the rarer the better – and a lean steak is pretty tasteless when compared to one marbled with fat. The fat gives the meat its flavour. It''s a good thing that I wash it down with a glass of wine!

Scientist, Serge Renaud, pioneered the concept of the French Paradox (low heart disease despite high fat intake) and in a famous broadcast in 1991 he demonstrated that wine could reduce the risk of coronary disease by at least 40%. According to Renaud, moderate and regular consumption of wine interrupts the growth of all micro-organisms, the cause of disease in man, and maintains good levels of cholesterol while increasing the flexibility and diameter of the arteries.

Renaud was inspired by his personal experience of growing up around Bordeaux:

"You know instinctively that wine is good for you. My parents, all their friends, lived to 80 or 90. I knew there was some special reason."

More recently Roger Corder, Professor of Experimental Therapeutics at the William Harvey Research Institute in London, published his book The Wine Diet (which was serialised in the Telegraph) on the health benefits of red wine based on his research into the French Paradox. See Sue's Blog: The Wine Diet and my Red Wine As A Cure For Cancer and Diabetes? for more details.

Judging from the rash of red wine pills now available on the market there is a growing belief in red wine containing the elixir of life . . . however I prefer to take my dose via the glass! If like me you enjoy your food and wine, my suggestion would be to eat and drink in moderation and be merry for tomorrow you never know what’s around the corner!

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