StephenT

Yeah it says some really random things. And it's written by someone called QUACKENBUSH.

Well wine already has changed hasn't it? It's changed into White Zinfandel. It's changed into Chardonnay so buttery that you could put it on toast. It's changed into reds that taste like Vanilla Coke and Cherry Coke mixed together. So the article's a bit behind the times in that respect. As for bitterness, maybe he's referring to tannin? There are some wines that have a bitter finish though - with a taste of bitter almonds or olives. Some Italian whites have that quality. It makes them go well with food, which is what they're for. Unlike the types of wines I mentioned above which go really badly with food - a disappointing trend.

It's the way that the sweetness of this particular wine is measured. From what I remember the "puttonyo" is actually an archaic liquid capacity measure. When this wine is produced, plain wine is blended with botrytis-affected sweet wine to get the final product. The number of puttonyos reported on the label is the number of these measures (can't remember the actual capacity) of the sweet wine that is added to each barrel (can't remember the capacity of this either) of the plain wine. I've seen puttonyos ranging from 3 to 6, with 3 being the less sweet since less of the sweet wine was added to the blend.

Well if there are two of you then share the quart - just under a pint each (if my calculations are right). Should take you under 3.9 seconds if you want to be a record holder

Summer Lightning from Hopback Brewery. Deceptively easy to drink when you get going though... watch out! Judging by comments on web sites it's available outside the UK in bottles.

I'm not sure what the point of the blindfold was, because it looked like it tasted. It tasted like a berry-related fruit pastille and looked like one too. If it had looked like a slice of cucumber or a live mouse or something while tasting like a fruit pastille then there would have been a point to the blindfold.

Keep it until you've already had a few and you know that if you open a good bottle then it'll be wasted. Of course, that requires the presence of mind not to get into the "I've got shome good shtuff *hic* we should have becaush *hic* you're my besht friendsh" mindset.

Nothing. Because if I did have anything in there then it would be eaten instantly and I'd again have nothing. Actually, I've just had a look and have found: tit tax (amusingly shaped sweets), a can of salmon, 8 varieties of tea and a small (50ml) bottle of vodka. I'm trying to remember how it all got there.

Interesting article, thanks. I recently tasted a Sauternes that smelt heavily of plastic and it could have been this effect. I found the smell so off-putting that I didn't finish the tasting sample, which is something that happens very rarely!

Had a blind tasting this evening and was reminded of this thread. We tasted what turned out to be a Burgundy (Santenay 1er cru "Santenay Maladiere" from Prieur Brunet 1996) but I guessed it was a cru level Beaujolais. I blame the raw onion I'd accidentally eaten in a salad a couple of hours beforehand... never again!

What about "wet wool" when describing some white Burgundies? I've never gone up to a sheep in the rain and smelt it, but I do have some idea of what is meant by the term.

And their fork as well... Apparently same holds true for chopsticks. My sister lived in China for six months and said that the people she knew there were always telling her to hold the chopsticks quite near the ends because only common people hold them halfway down.

English don't do the "circus" thing.

Hehe, that sounds rather like my attempts at ordering plain coffee in American coffee shops

I've always taken "jammy" to mean "lots of fruit and not much else". Fine if that's what you're looking for, but not for me

In the UK, wines by the glass are usually sold in 175ml or 250ml sizes. Due to the law I assume. Having more than one large glass at lunch can sometimes impede work in the afternoon.

I remember having them in a Thai dish called Drunken Duck. I didn't realise what they were until I'd put one of the little bunches in my mouth and chewed for a few seconds. My mouth was on fire. I don't remember any other flavours they imparted though - I'll have to try them out myself if I ever see them for sale.

I did the introductory course from the Wine Education Service. It was good fun with a wide variety of wines but I didn't learn a huge amount - it was basically a whistle-stop tour of the world of wine. To be expected in an introductory course though. I attended it half in Holborn and half in Notting Hill - they're quite flexible. Wasn't a one-day course though; it was 10 evenings over 10 weeks. And there wasn't any decanting. Edit: My comments above might make it sound like there wasn't much content in the course but there was. Apart from tasting, there was also quite a bit about the regions and their legislation, how wine is made and the grapes are grown, etc... just that I'd read about most of it before.

I've got the cookbook. Haven't read it yet though. My sister gave it to me as a present. Probably for Christmas. Which means I've been really lazy. Thanks for reminding me to read it.

Ah, you should follow the "never order more than one of the same side dish" rule for just this reason

Thanks for the tips Carema and Florida Jim; I look forward to trying some of them out!

Just in case anyone gets the wrong idea of the state of the world from this, Georgia and Ukraine are in fact separate independent countries... map

Perhaps the common or garden wine drinker doesn't realise this. I certainly didn't. The few Burgundies I've had recently have not impressed me particularly. Does anyone have recommendations of particular wines that are good value for money?

Pedro Ximinez (PX for short) is made from the Pedro Ximinez grape is not characteristic of Sherry in general. Sherry is made from the Palomino grape and starts off its life being bone dry. There is a discussion of specifics for various types of Sherry on another thread about how well Sherry keeps. What happens after that is that some sherries are sweetened to varying degrees by blending with PX which is made separately. On its own, PX is very sweet indeed but does go well with some desserts or poured onto ice cream... mmmmmm....... Really enjoyed the post btw!

Bah. Call me undiscerning, but I liked Simon's review and I'm going to go to MVH because of it. Mostly so that I can meet the Ukranian Twins, but I'm sure I'll enjoy the food as well.