The Upside of the Downturn!

Great wine dinner at Russells of Broadway last night!

Well we are told that we are officially in a recession, but judging by the turnout last night you would never have guessed. Nearly seventy, very happy guests enjoying some of the best value wines in these parts matched to a delicious menu. My opening speech said it all - 'drink smarter'. With the chancellor now taking £1.57 in duty on every bottle (before VAT) we owe it to ourselves to drink wines over the £7-8 mark and get a wine with greater complexity and depth. Sip not sup and spend a bit more. Look for good producers in lesser vintages, Bordeaux's second wines and those level entry wines produced by the great and good (such as Javillier's and Avignonesi's).
The wines tasted last night included;

Prosecco dei Colli Treveigiani IGT Frizzante Ca Morlin, Veneto, Italy
Great easy drinking aperitif
***
2006 Bourgogne Blanc, Cuvée des Forgets, Patrick Javillier, Burgundy, France
Elegant, refined and with delicious underlying minerality. Oak superbly integrated.
***
2005 Rosso Avignonesi, Tuscany, Italy
After a while opened up in the glass, perfumed, elegant, refined and very classy for under a tenner.
***
2005 Château Fayau, Cadillac, Bordeaux, France
Amazing value Sauternes 'look-a-like'. Sweet, balanced and with a good streak of acidity.

The next dinner is an Italian event on Thursday 26th February, if you are interested do book early!

Happy New Year!

Gosh, it has been a while since I posted some news, time has flown by and I cannot believe that the Mitolo dinner in November was the last event I covered.

Since then we have had the Christmas Tasting at Chipping Campden School and the very successful London Tasting at the St. Stephens Club. Christmas flew past and much drinking of special bottles took place....... and now we have our great Bin End Sale.

Well if you are looking for a bargain look no further as there are some marvellous wines at amazing discounts. Move fast as stocks are limited - download the full list here

Don't miss possibly the best value wine dinner ever taking place at Russell's of Broadway on Thursday 22nd January. The title is 'the upside of the downturn' and it features wines (and food) that offer great value for money. At £30 per head which includes an aperitif and three courses each matched to a wine it's just what we need to cheer is up in these uncertain times!
View the full details here