slacker

Tim Atkin has so much good to say about wine that he has disappointed me with this little funny.

emullet: the plaice, sauce and sole of razor wit and cod humour.

You need a trip to Cornwall, John. Think of it as more of a pick-your-own expedition.

Also, I am a fan of Graham.

I think, y'all, it's part of my cynicism as a wine buyer that makes me doubt percieved wisdom of any wine. I am not slamming Graham or anybody else, but rather view the blanket 'sun-shines-out-of' worship of any producer as being wrong.

Single Quinta (which Cavadinha is) offers excellent value. Essentially it is vintage port from a vintage that hasn't quite made the grade to "Vintage Port". Look for Fonseca Guimaraens, Taylors Vargelhas, Calem Quinta da Foz, etc. They are usually released at the beginning of their drinking window - after about 7 years or so, but I have seen younger immature wines around. They also keep well, too, especially since they have often been stored well by the producer until release. Pay £20+ UK/bottle, and remember to decant them.

....which is not the same as excellent.I've not had a bad bottle of Graham (other than all too many corked LBV bottles, but in my pedantic opinion, that's not the same as all Graham's ports being excellent. Vintage Port can be great. But that does not mean that it is great. I am sorry to be so pedantic, but I think we need pedantic people here. And I am often delighted to be 'out-pedanted'.

?????Modest surprise at this????? Perhaps you are just winding us up. I think that the acceptance of port as an A1 wine in general presents problems. Okay, you've chosen a good name.

We could stock the Zanna, it seems for £13, but I know that doesn't help. Looks good, and will try. Tried the Riparosso 2002 last month, and was impressed with its structure and bold fruit, given that 2002 has not pleased me so far. Am also having a bit of a Ripasso phase at the moment. Excellent value everyday drinking. £7+

It is true, Italy's image has slipped, or probably never risen from the depths of price pointing. Still, as a source of affordable, true wines, it is not that bad either - just be selective. The problem as I see it does not only affect Italy: it is one of the uniformity of wine styles from around the world. As merchants we cannot have the goal of transforming a nation's view of wine, as the huge growth in wine drinking over the past few years has not been fuelled by regional typicity, but by bulk wine from everywhere in the world. Andrew Catchpole helps wine merchants with his views in this case, rather than fmcg players. So that's good.

Is not Clicquot pricing largely academic?

Eben Sadie Palladius 2002 with Quicke's cheddar. Boxing Day 2003. Nice thread.

Thanks, futronic. Available in the UK, £6.49. Well above the bog standard £3.99 Montepulciano.

A shout for Bob Lindo at Camel Valley Vineyard, just up the road from us. His Pinot Noir Brut Rosé 2001 is really powerful, and easy on the dosage. An excellent wine - for Champagne money, however. See his site HERE I was picking grapes there last month, and it was freezing. Still, payment in this year's vintage!

1. That's good. 2. Eh? 3. Ah, irony. 4. Er..... 5. That's it. Plagiarised Private Eye, but not plagiarised 'cos I've attributed it, right?

....only so I can describe new wines I taste.

......and what's more, I'll have my worked picked to bits by scavenging ravens, and then it'll be deleted.

In Caterer and Hotelkeeper earlier this year, restaurants were being encouraged to use local hands-on supplier....

OR TOCK THONN USS (as in puss, not pus)

Things are different in sunny but freezing Cornwall. I'm about to print the list of a much celebrated local Restaurant. With Vintages. Third update. No out of stocks. Ever. AND I'm a local distributor. I Think something might be lost in translation.

Hang on, 'prawn'? Or autochthshtonous

I'm not sure you can apply the adjective here. The shit isn't (or should not be) living, so the 'auto' part cannot apply. Word abuse.

Wrong. A bad list makes my skin creep. I'd rather drink wee. 'A rather drab selection of samey, branded wines from the global wine lake.' What could be worse?? I quote myself.

I think so. You see, auto is the easy bit, but I remember vaguely from my Greek that Chthonos means place. Best use the word for a particularly tricky wine description!

'Self-placing' I think - i.e. Naturally occurring in their habitat. Kind of non-farmed. But I may be wrong. Might be another word for prawn.