L'Art du Vin, Edinburgh

This is the first of a series of reviews of independent wine merchants, with an emphasis on those based in Edinburgh. Firstly, I must come clean; I have what could be deemed a vested interest in L'Art du Vin: my niece, Mary Rose Sidgwick, has been working there on and off since last year. She has also helped with the website and started a blog on her travels (she was a cellarhand for the 2010 vintage at Lowe Winery in Mudgee). However, she - and, of course, you my esteemed readers - would want me to be objective, so I shall be.

L'Art du Vin is appropriately based in Leith, where, in times gone by, wine for Edinburgh's elite would arrive by sea, usually in bulk. (The excellent Vintners Rooms restaurant is in a former Leith wine merchant's wine vaults and auction room). L'Art du Vin offers - unsurprisingly - a good range of French wines, some from unusual appellations such as the Cote Roannaise (in the Upper Loire) and the Cotes du Frontonnais (in the South-West) and a very good selection of organic and bio-dynamic wines, such as those from Domaines Schlumberger and Josmeyer in Alsace, although the section dedicated to these could do with more cross-referencing, as origins/appellations are often omitted in the wine descriptions. The company obviously cares about provenance and even has an 'Environmental Policy' - not something one sees very often, even in these eco-conscious times.

Of the three offerings from Roussillon, two are Vins Doux Naturels (from Chateau de Jau and Mas Amiel) - it would be good to see more non-fortified offerings. Those from Spain are good, however, but there is only one such wine from Portugal, Ramos Pinto, Duas Quintas, 2006 (£11) - a good choice, nonetheless. In the New World listings, I was pleased to spot the wines of Vina Leyda (from Chile), Mud House and - coming soon - Clos Henri (from New Zealand), Ken Forrester (from South Africa) and Newton (from Napa).

As a general comment, it would be good to see more recent vintages on some of the whites and roses but, otherwise, the list is eclectic and interesting. On the whole, the website is clear and fairly easy to navigate and it is broken up with plenty of photos and good links. However, despite the presence of my lovely niece, the home page could do with fewer words to make it more instantly eye-catching.

L'Art du Vin, 25 Arthur Street, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 5DA, tel: 0131 555 6009, email: sales@aduv.co.uk, website: www.aduv.co.uk

Hail hits vineyards in Roussillon's Fenouilledes

Last Wednesday, 16th June, violent hailstorms hit the areas of Saint-Paul de Fenouillet, Sournia, Caudiès et Lesquerde in Roussillon's Fenouilledes region, not once but several times, between 1.30 and 4.00pm. The hailstones were as large as eggs and have done extensive damage in the vineyards. In Lesquerde, vignerons are estimating that 80% of this year's grape harvest has been lost. The extent of the hail was such that snow plows had to be used to clear the roads. The locales affected are part of the area that is producing some of the region's most exciting wines and this cruel act of nature will have a enormous repercussions.

Roussillon Dessert Trophy 2010

Calling all budding UK-based pastry chefs and sommeliers - as well as those who know of them. Entries are now being invited for the fourth UK Wines of Roussillon Dessert Trophy. Last year the theme was was chocolate, this year it is citrus fruit and the idea is to come up with the perfect pairing of a Roussillon Vin Doux Naturel (VDN) with a citrus dessert creation. Sommeliers must select a Roussillon VDN - ie from Banyuls, Banyuls Grand Cru, Maury, Muscat de Rivesaltes and Rivesaltes – to match with their pastry chef’s chosen citrus dessert.

Devised by the generic body for Wines of Roussillon (CIVR), this competition is one that I have supported since its inception. I have been a judge in the last two UK competitions and was lucky to be present at the 2009 European Final in Perpignan which was won by the UK team of sommelier Thibaut Panas and chef Anne Coquelin from Le Manoir aux Quat' Saison near Oxford. They chose to pair Rivesaltes, Domaine Gérard Gauby, Caricia 2005 with Manjari Chocolate ‘Sable Breton’ with Black Provençal Fig, which was a wonderful and inventive combination.

If you would like to enter or know of a possible team and can encourage them to do so, competition entry forms are available from Georgie Hope at Focus PR on tel: 020 7845 6624 or email: civr-focuspr@focuspr.co.uk. The deadline for entries is 12th midday on Wednesday 1st September 2010.

The Wines of Roussillon Dessert Trophy 2010 will be presented to the winning team at an exclusive reception, to be held at l'Atelier des Chefs, Wigmore Street, London on Monday 25th October 2010. The European Final will be held in Perpignan on 24th January 2011.

The winning chef will win a 4-day course with world champion pastry chef, Olivier Bajard, at the renowned École Internationale de Pâtisserie in Perpignan, whilst the winning sommelier will spend the four days in a guided tour to visit producers of Roussillon’s finest wines.

THE FOOD ROOM & LIBRARY, LONDON SW1

UPDATE: The new term at the FOOD ROOM & LIBRARY starts tomorrow, 28th September 2010. Cooking Basics courses will run every Tuesday, Intermediate classes on Wednesdays and Advanced and Ambitious courses every Thursday - between 11.00 and 12.00 or 14.00 and 15.00. Courses cost from £25 per person (up to a maximum of 10) - for 45 minutes of quick-step tips and tricks, a glass of wine/cup of coffee and tasting samples of the food prepared - up to £120 - for demonstrations (on Thursday afternoons between 1.00 p.m. and 3.45 p.m), which are extensive, detailed sessions for up to 6 students, including lunch with wine, coffee/tea and take-home tasting samples, plus use of The Food Library afterwards.

The Food Room & Library is the brainchild of Jane Lunzer Gifford. Trained at Leith’s, Jane has spent the past 30 years cooking and teaching about food. She has also written cookery books, done food photography and created dishes for all sorts of events. 'Maximum impact with minimum effort’ is Jane’s principle – and is the basis for the demonstrations she gives in The Food Room, a beautiful, calm, comfortable and spacious kitchen in Jane's Eccleston Square home. She gives demonstrations either on a one-to-one basis or to groups of up to ten (ranging from £25 to £120 per person) and tailors her lessons to suit her clients’ needs. She teaches how to taste, assess and 'tweak' recipes and stresses the importance of presenting food beautifully. She does not believe in sticking rigidly to a recipe, when it can be just as successful - and much more fun - to go off-piste. Jane believes that with a little coaxing and one or two guidelines, anyone can cook with confidence and panache.

Adjoining The Food Room is a wonderful library of 700 food-related books, a resource which she is happy to share. Guests at the demonstrations or Library subscribers (see below) can drop by, have a cup of coffee and enjoy the thoughts of writers such as MFK Fisher, Jane Grigson, Fergus Henderson and Nigel Slater, explore the esoteric simplicity of Japanese cookery through Shizuo Tsuji or dip into the learned scientific explanations of Harold McGee. Some of the titles in Jane’s collection date as far back as the 1700s and give a fascinating insight into how approaches to food have changed - or not - over time. The Library continues to grow – selectively – and many contemporary publications are for sale at 10% less than cover price. Orders can be placed in advance for books about to be published, and the Library offers a search service on behalf of clients for titles no longer available from the usual sources.

There is also a small selection of some of the best cookery equipment for sale – pieces that Jane considers highly useful. Cards and gift-wrapping are available too.

The Food Library annual membership fee of £200 is inclusive of drop-in use, menu planning and cookery advice, magazines to browse and refreshments. It is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 8.45 am to 11.30am. After hours access is available by appointment, and questions can be emailed at any time – with a response guaranteed within 24 hours. Membership of the library gives individuals a 10% discount on demonstrations.

The Food Room & Library
80 Eccleston Square
London SW1V 1PP
020 7630 6036 / 07920 755 998
www.thefoodroomandlibrary.co.uk

Lay & Wheeler's Bordeaux 2009 Offers

Wine merchants, Lay & Wheeler, have been assiduous in sending their customers emails to let them know about the release of prices for the 2009 vintage in Bordeaux. I did not taste the wines en primeur and prices are looking on the high side, but, if you want to take a punt, below is maybe one of the wines to opt for, as indeed are many of the 'second wines' of the Grands Vins. L&W say it is "easily the best second wine of Ducru-Beaucaillou that we have ever tasted".

Visit the Lay & Wheeler website at www.laywheeler.com/Bordeaux2009 to see all their Bordeaux 2009 releases to date, or contact one of their wine consultants on 0845 330 1855 to discuss the wines and the vintage.


2009 La Croix de Beaucaillou, St-Julien £297 per 12 bottle case in bond
Very attractive and pure, perfumed, blueberry and blackcurrant nose, with creamy notes and a touch of graphite. On palate the fruit is pure and focused. The tannins are fine and accessible and the finish is fresh and of good fruit length. Gently expressed, very well balanced and likely to represent a fabulous quality to price ratio.
Drink: 2015-2023

CARBON DATING OF WINE

This is an extract from an article that appeared in Drinks Business....it looks as if the skills of MWs will soon be redundant!

"Scientists searching for a way to spot cheap wines being passed off as fine vintages have developed a method of carbon-dating wine to prevent forgery. The method involves measuring the trace amounts of carbon released into the atmosphere during atomic bomb testing in the 1960s that have been absorbed by vines and into the wine. The technique allows scientists to pinpoint exactly which year the wine was made, with the levels of carbon in the atmosphere having gradually reduced year-on-year since testing ended.

Speaking at the American Chemical Society meeting in San Francisco, Dr Graham Jones from the University of Adelaide, Australia, said that misrepresenting the vintage is a never-ending problem for collectors, with up to 5% of wines sold globally thought to be fake. He said: “The problem goes beyond ordinary consumers being overcharged for a bottle of expensive wine of a famous winery with a great year listed on the label.

The age of a wine can be accurately measured by comparing the amount of carbon-14, which was released by bomb testing in the 1940s to 1960s, to the amount of carbon-12".

WHISKY TASTING IN PERPIGNAN

We are sadly not going down to Roussillon for Easter, but for those of you who might be, Perpignan drinks retailer, La Part des Anges, is holding a whisky tasting on Friday, 2nd April from 7-9pm, at 2bis rue des Coquelicots, near the Palais des Congres, at which Julian Hutchings will be present. It costs 5 euros. For more information and to subscribe to the Cave La Part des Anges newsletter, write to: cavepartdesanges@gmail.com.