Drinks of the Month

Gundog Estate Wild Semillon 2015

Gundog Estate Wild Semillon 2015

As I pointed out in my Guardian column this week Australian wines are fetching some pretty steep prices but to drink a Hunter Valley semillon of this quality it’s absolutely worth it.

It’s a style of wine I love, with far more texture and richness than you’d guess from its modest ABV, in this case 9.5%. Unlike some Hunter Valley semillons which take time to develop their unique character the Gundog Estate Wild semillon is already richly flavoured.due to the fact that a proportion of the wine is fermented on the skins, as with orange and red wine. (Lush, fat, gorgeous were my tasting notes!)

What would I drink it with. I’m thinking rich seafood - like razor clams or grilled swordfish. It could also take south-east Asian spicing, especially Thai which is in fact what the website suggests

"Because the wine is so textural and carries some residual sweetness, the Wild Semillon is an interesting proposition with food matching" they say. "The wine should hold up well to spicy, Thai-style dishes where acidity, saltiness and chilli are often offset by barely noticeable sweetness. It also partners well to roast pork or lighter poultry dishes."

Retail it’s about £21-£22 at good independents including Uncorked, Butlers Wine Cellar and the Dorset Wine Company. Treat yourself!

Wine of the week: Casal de Ventozela Alvarinho 2015

Wine of the week: Casal de Ventozela Alvarinho 2015

If you’re a fan of Spain’s fashionable white wine albarino you’ll almost certainly like its Portuguese cousin alvarinho which is made just over the border.

It also tends to be slightly cheaper and more consistent in quality than the Spanish version

This one comes from Casal de Ventozela and is labelled Minho - a denomination that has the same boundaries as Vinho Verde but slightly different regulations - and is as fresh and crisp as a blast of sea air.

It costs a very fair £8.99 a bottle from Majestic on their Mix Six deal (by far the best way to shop at their stores) and would be perfect with any kind of fresh shellfish , especially clams and crab. Or a fish barbecue. (Think mackerel and sardines.)

Check out other good matches for alvarinho (and albarino)

Mon Vieux Hell’s Heights Sauvignon Blanc 2013

Mon Vieux Hell’s Heights Sauvignon Blanc 2013

It’s always a bit hairy doing a live food and wine pairing if you haven’t had a chance to have a run-through first - and even if you have some variable, usually the food, invariably changes.

So I was hugely relieved to find the both the wine and the cheese I showed at the Three Wine Women session with Kate Goodman and Jane Dowler at the Manchester Food and Drink Festival yesterday evening struck sparks off each other.

The wine, which was supplied by local Manchester wine merchant Hanging Ditch (thankyou, guys!) was a lush sauvignon blanc from Boutinot called Mon Vieux Hell’s Heights and comes from 535 metre high vineyards in South Africa’s Banghoek district which lies between Stellenbosch and Franschoek. It’s not as herbaceous as New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with more of a tropical fruit than a gooseberry character and is very rich and textured thanks to being aged in oak for 6 months and left unfined. At 14.5% it’s quite high in alcohol but doesn’t seem at all heavy or cloying. For the price (Hanging Ditch is currently offering it for £12.50 a bottle or 3 for £30) it’s a real bargain. Other stockists are already on to the 2014 vintage which I haven’t had the opportunity to taste but which has picked up several medals - check wine-searcher.com for prices.

I paired it with a rich crumbly Vernieu goats cheese log from Booths and that was perfect but it’s also recommended with spiced seafood, octopus with parika, pasta arrabiata with clams (sounds good!) and “rich oily mediterranean dishes”

Cider Find: Angry Orchard Crisp Apple Cider

Cider Find: Angry Orchard Crisp Apple Cider

A departure this week - a cider not a wine - and an American cider at that. I tasted it in Oddbins at the end of a wine tasting and was really blown away by it

It comes from Cincinnati Ohio, its called Angry Orchard and proudly trumpets that it’s gluten free (isn’t all cider?).

It’s not like a traditional English cider - I’m pretty sure it’s not made from cider apples but it has a really deep appley flavour. 'Crisp apple' describes it perfectly but don’t think Granny Smith.

Hard cider doesn't mean that it's solid - it's simply what they call cider in the US.

Angry Orchard also has a great website with some nice cocktail and cider pairing suggestions (they match it with cider-braised clams but I think it would be really great with Genevieve Taylor's overnight pulled pork recipe I’ve just posted).

Oddbins is selling it at £2.25 a bottle or 3 for £6. Perfect for this lovely summer weather.

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