Our red sparkling wine went down a storm at LBWF last weekend. One Marylebone, a converted church, looked amazing. Our glass bar was amazing and showed off our wines to perfection. Simon, Ben and I, with the help of Wendy, served over 500 glasses. Fortunately, Rhubarb, the wedding and party caterers, supplied and washed the very elegant glasses. Many thanks to them.

Lots of visitors to our bar liked the medium dry red,  cuvee “Chateau de Chaintres” 2007, a Saumur Champigny AOC wine from Chateau de Chaintres, a natural accompaniment to red meats and game.  Also our lovely dry rosé from Domaine de Rocheville ”Le Troubadour” 2009 a Cabernet de SaumurAOC wine, perfect with pork, poultry and cheeses. K

www.gfwine.co.uk

Have had a busy week preparing for our three wine tasting events. A 2 day event starting tomorrow at One Marylebone, London with Luella’s Boudoir Wedding Fair. I’ve lost count of the number of bottles Ben and Simon are taking. Between 400-500 guests are expected and we’ll be popping a lot of corks.  We are serving a red sparkling “le Cerisier” from Chateau de Brossay, Anjou, Loire Valley. There is no refrigeration, nor any ice-making facilities at the venue and so my fridge is bursting with bubbly this evening –  mmm!? K

Mary Portas is impressed with Waitrose in general but not with “the abysmal quality of the wine on offer.” We couldn’t agree more. We found just one Saumur Blanc AOC and one Saumur Rouge AOC at our local Waitrose branch and that was from a large wine Co-operative.  Mary says she doesn’t “want to see racks of Hardys, Banrock Station and Oxford Landing.” Rather she would like to see wines from ”out of the ordinary, keenly priced vineyards.”

She has hit the nail on the head. We need to consider what is in the wine we are drinking and how it is made. There are great family run small independent winemakers in the loire valley who make natural wines, with no harmful chemicals. Lighter wines that taste naturally of fruit and the soil that don’t give you a headache. It is these wine that we should be drinking. I’m happy to say that we do and you could too. K     www.gfwine.co.uk

Have you heard this one? Playing waltzes and polkas to your wines makes them fruitier- or so certain Austrian wine producers say! Playing music to fermenting grape juice results in better tasting wine, they contend.

According to the Daily Mail, Markus Bachman, a former French horn player, has created a tiny speaker that can be inserted directly into liquid and plays a mixture of classical, jazz and electronic tunes. Apparently, the soundwaves make yeast cells move around so they absorb more sugar during the maturing process. An eminent Austrian physicist has dismissed the claims as "rubbish" and added that fungi don't have opinions and wouldn't care what type of music is played to them.

Maybe they should try playing some hard rock or heavy metal music, that would really stir things up wouldn't it? K

Luella’s Boudoir has teamed up with Cosmopolitan Bride for the second time, to host The Luella’s Boudoir Wedding Fair, at the beautiful, One Marylebone, in London. Afternoon tea on Sunday 20 March 12 – 5.30pm OR cocktails on 21 March 4 – 9.00pm. This year the event is being held in support of the Eve Appeal and features fashion shows and entertainment. Grainger Fine Wines will be hosting a tasting of sparkling red and rosé wines: the perfect celebratory drinks for your wedding. http://luellasboudoir.co.uk/blog/our_wedding_fair_2011/ Simon, Karin and Ben will be available to discuss your wedding wine requirements and will have a selection of still wines for tasting in addition to the sparkling wines. We can arrange a private wine tasting at your home within the M25 area.

Our full selection of wines is available to view on our website www.gfwine.co.uk . Please contact us if you would like to book an appointment. K

Wow, Domaine de Rocheville are receiving well deserved accolades for their fine wines. They were awarded 2 more Gold Medals at the Paris Concours Général last week: one for Saumur Blanc ‘La Dame’ 2010 (they already had a gold medal with La Dame 2009 last year)  and the second gold for Saumur Champigny ‘Le Roi’ 2010.

They have submitted three of their wines,  La Dame 2009, Le Prince 2009 and Le Roi 2006 to the International Wine Challenge, whose results should be published in May.  Of course we hope they will be successful there too…
Many congratulations to Phillipe, Jerome and Agnes - long may their successes continue.

You can read a profile of them,  their vineyard and their wines at Grainger Fine Wines http://www.gfwine.co.uk/domains/view.php?id=6

This is an extract from le Guide Hatchete for their La Dame 2009

Deux étoiles pour la DAME 2009:

” La Dame de Rocheville a été récoltée manuellement en plusieurs passages, puis élevée 10 mois en barriques avec bâtonnage pour lui conférer gras et puissance. Et en effet, voici un vin blanc de caractère au nez intense, vanillé et fumé, riche, doux et corpulent en bouche. Cette dernière prolonge avec persistance les notes boisées de l’olfaction, agrémentées de nuances briochées et minérales. Un “sec tendre” comme on les aime, à déguster dès aujourd’hui ou dans 2 ans sur un fromage à pâte molle ou un poissonj en sauce. Superbe.”