Readers’ vines
From Rioja to Gavi via St Emilion, Christine Austin reveals your favourite tipples after trawling through the all entries to her recent Festive Wine Quiz.
IT is the question I am asked the most. “What is your favourite wine”, and I am never quite sure what kind of answer is expected. Should I talk about a magical, rare wine that I tasted at someone else’s expense, or mention a £5 supermarket special that is perfectly fine when poured at a table with good food and friends.
Generally, I get around that difficult question by saying that it depends on the occasion, the food, and who is footing the bill.
I actually have lots of favourites, and it really does depend on the day, but in my recent wine quiz I asked readers to name and describe their favourite wine and the results were fascinating. From simple supermarket staples to oncein-a lifetime bottles whose flavours still echo in the minds of a reader, this was a glimpse at the wines that are poured into many Yorkshire glasses.
It is often a visit to a wine region that fixes a favourite wine in the memory, and it isn’t necessary to visit endless wineries and taste lots of wine. One reader admits that he is currently drinking Rioja wines because they remind him of sitting in a shady bar in the square in Haro, enjoying the varied tastes of fruit, oak and vanilla. I too, remember visiting Haro, sometimes in sunshine and sometimes in torrential rain, but the scent of those cellars and the taste of the wine still echo around my taste buds. I love the wines of La Rioja Alta, which was the very first winery I visited on my own when I started in this fascinating industry. Try Viña Ardanza Reserva 2016 (Bon Coeur, £29.70) for a taste of how good Rioja can be with delicate, sweet raspberry and red cherry notes, wrapped in gentle, old oak, and showing spice, earthy notes and supple tannins.
For another reader, a chance discovery of a small, family-run champagne house while on holiday in France many years ago means that she returns regularly to visit and buy the same wine. Apparently, the car is heavily laden with bottles on the return journey.
Champagne is clearly a favourite region for visits. Memories of deep cellars and rows of bottles, ready for remuage in sloping pupitres, sparked mentions by several readers of their favourite fizz from Taittinger, Ruinart and Gosset. My first visit in Champagne was to Bollinger and I took a coachful of wine enthusiasts with me. The vineyards, the cellars and the tasting were all excellent, but nothing could beat standing at the top of the steps in front of the grand maison, looking as if I owned the place. Bollinger will always have special memories for me.
St Emilion is another favourite style of wine for one reader, with Ch Laniote selected for its history, terroir and memorable visit. “Wine is not just about taste. It evokes memories and emotions”. Here in Yorkshire, we are fortunate to have a branch of the Jurade de Saint Emilion. This is an association of wine lovers who are particularly interested in the wines of St Emilion and during the year, various tastings, dinners and trips to the region are organised. These events give special access to châteaux, owners and wines and are not at all stuffy or elitist. For more information, check the website www.jurade.org.uk or email york@jurade. org.uk
“Wine needs a story,” said a reader from Hal
ifax who described visiting the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon in search of the wine estate Massaya. This is a joint venture between brothers Sami and Ramzi Ghosn and a group of top-notch French winemakers, including Daniel Brunier, of Château Le Vieux Télégraphe, in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Despite political problems and occasional conflicts, they have been making world-class wines for over 25 years.
Our Halifax reader managed to find the Massaya winery and was treated to a tasting of its Rhône blend, Le Colombier which is named after a dovecote on the property where doves return to each year. And it seems that he is still enjoying the taste. “Smooth, sun baked and festively bottled, Le Colombier makes Christmas special.” Ch Massaya wines are available at Field & Fawcett, Roberts & Speight and Harrogate Fine Wines.
The real challenge of falling in love with a particular wine on a holiday is finding the same wine when you get home. Often, small family estates do not export their wines. When they can sell their total production direct from the property, there is very little incentive to invest in an export manager and shipping costs. There is also the danger that the fabulous pale rosé wine you enjoyed with lunch in the heat of a southern French summer just doesn’t taste the same when you get it back to a chilly Yorkshire. That is when you go to your independent wine merchant and ask for something similar, perhaps from the same region, with flavours that might have been selected to fit around an uncertain UK summer.
And not all favourite wines are a result of a visit. One reader is exploring the fresh tangy greengage taste of Gavi after seeing a good review of that wine, while another is tasting Pinot Noir wines, from various regions, and matching them against a slow-roasted shoulder of lamb. Another reader loves the taste of Viognier but thinks it is well worth saving up to taste the floral notes, apricots and peaches that come from the home of Viognier in Condrieu.
Wine doesn’t always have to be linked to past memories. It can create its own. One reader praised a mid-priced Sauvignon Blanc because everyone enjoys its bright fresh flavours and the way it can be enjoyed on its own or with simple nibbles of food. I enjoyed this comment because wine can sometimes be the pivot around which we build friendships.
Sauvignon Blanc can come from many different regions and at many different prices, but if it connects people with a shared love of conversation and making new friends, then it is doing a great job. Wine doesn’t always have to be the star of the show. It works well as a supporting act too.