Love Wine Guildford

After such an enjoyable time at Love Wine Birmingham last November I was very excited to have tickets for their first event in Guildford, a first for us too as we had not visited this Surrey town before - but more about that in a later blog, this is all about the wine !

The one day event Love Wine Guildford was held in the stunning Guildhall, such an amazing building on two floors with wooden panels, plaques and banners.

The exhibitors were on both floors and although a small building there was ample room to move around and plenty of opportunity to chat with the many wine experts including Heather Dougherty and Laura Clay (both UK Champagne Ambassadors) and Master of Wine Richard Bampfield.

Before I begin reminiscing about the superb wines I must just say a huge thank you to Heather and the Love Wine Team, not only for a great day but for allowing me to use some of their photos from the day.

Love Wine's photo collage 

There were so many exhibitors, all so knowledgeable, I could have stayed for the evening session too as everything not only tasted superb but there were so many great background stories and histories of the wines. I've really enjoyed re-reading the leaflets and remembering the great wines we tasted.

So much information 

Mid-way through the afternoon Hubby and I joined a few others on Richard Bampfield's Winewalk where he guided us through four specific wines - two whites and two reds. I'll highlight these within the relevant exhibitor paragraph to give full credit to both Richard and the exhibitor ...

photo from
Simply Wines Direct

.... our first being Barwell & Jones where Richard's featured wine was Esporao Branco, a Portugeuse white wine full of apricots and grapefruit.

This wine is barrel fermented giving it great depth and a long finish. It also has a hint of minerality which comes from the volcanic rocky soil, the main feature of it's striking label.

Barwell & Jones also had a lovely Cava, Perelada Reserva full of rosy apples with a yeasty kick, made in the traditional method this Cava was dry but well balanced, lively bubbles and a lasting finish, very enjoyable.

Although the next stand Walkabout Wines are geographically miles away -Australia but not the coast, the high altitude Southern Highlands producing cool climate wine.

Walkabout Wine leaflet

Another sparkling wine caught my eye, Centennial Blanc de Blanc made of course from 100% Chardonnay.

These grapes are hand pruned and cropped; again produced using the traditional method this glass of bubbles is very elegant with lovely grapefruit/citrus notes.

Walkabout Wines' Centennial Reserve Pinot Gris was very refreshing and Hubby enjoyed their Reserve Tempranillo. The other brand they were exhibiting was Southern Highland Wines (SHW) Oldbury Reserve with a lovely Riesling and Pinot Noir.


Our next visit was to Italy with Arthouse Wine - again so many gorgeous wines, one of which had a Love Wine Heart donating a favourite choice. Etna Bianco is from, as it suggests, Mount Etna. A super straw yellow in colour with floral aromas and peachy flavours this wine has a subtle minerality from its volcanic location. It was certainly a favourite for me too.

photo from The Gin Kitchen

Pausing slightly from wine it was time for a G&T - Summer Gin by Dancing Dragontail and Winter Gin by Gutsy Monkey both from The Gin Kitchen.

It was quite a surprise at how different and perfect each was for the stated time of year, light and floral in the summer, spicier and warming in the winter, two great G&Ts.


Back on the wine trail with Les Caves de Pyrene and an orange wine, no that isn't a typo there really was an orange wine. La Stoppa, Emilia 'Ageno' from Italy was amber in colour with an abundance of peaches and apricots. It had quite a heady aroma and was unlike any wine I had tasted before with a intense spiciness on the finish.

Les Caves de Pyrene also exhibited Richard's first red wine choice from a producer who had been highlighted on The Wine Show - Pheasant's Tears. The red focused here was their Saperavi, a Georgian grape full of dark berries, licorice and smokey notes. It was a superb red from a country I discovered at Love Wine Birmingham and will be featuring here too, keep reading!

The second white on Richard's Winewalk was from Joie de Vin who had a wonderful collection of French wine - I'm always drawn and again did not want to leave.

Dom de la Grange Touraine Chenonceaux was not only a hearted favourite in the brochure and Richard's other white wine, it was my 'best in show', absolutely superb.

Joie de Vin also had a very good Ch Montfin Cuvee Margot and back to bubbles Dom des Pampres D'Or Cremant de Bourgogne - I really could have chatted and tasted at this stand all afternoon.


Our final wine on the Winewalk was Kanonkop Kadette from Raisin Social. A blend of Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc from South Africa this deep red was full of dark berries, coffee and chocolate - I just needed a sofa to sink into.

Thank you Richard for a very informative Winewalk - it was so interesting to learn more about the specific wines.

Winewalk with Richard Bampfield

The Wine Society

And so to the upper floor where I discovered our known wine chaps at The Wine Society. We've been members for a few years now.

They had some great wines including:

La Clape Arpége Chateau Rouquette sur Mer from France,
Concho Y Toro Corte Ignacio Rapel Coastal Sauvignon Blanc from Chile
Kipu Mendoza Malbec from Argentina.

Georgian Wine Club

Far too many good wines to mention; it was impossible to taste them all.

Another known exhibitor was Georgian Wine - I was amazed at the new flavours in their wines at Birmingham and I was surprised again.

It is so interesting to hear about how they make their wine using amphoras, clay vessels submerged in the ground. This form of wine making dates back to Neolithic times making this method over 8,000 years old.

All the Georgian wine was lovely but I especially liked their white Badagoni Mitsvane and red Badagoni Mukuzani.

Bolney Wine Estate

There is no better way to finish a wine tasting event than with a glass of bubbles; well ok to start, to have midway too but Bolney Wine Estate English sparkling wine was a super finale to our afternoon.

Jeremy Blood 

Bolney Wine Estate had a very good Bacchus white wine full of gooseberry, green apple and elderflower but for me their bubbly was best and it was hard to choose which one I preferred.

Blanc de Noir 2015, Cuvee Rose 2014 and Bolney Bubbly were all superb, great bubbles, plenty of flavour, not too dry or too sweet, all three were as I said superb.

As well as wine there was cheese, charcuterie ,wine gifts and Surrey Wine School. We had met Jeremy, and his blind tastings, the night before - more about this in my next blog.

It's a shame we don't live nearby as he holds many tasting events, I've quite envious of Surrey folk.

Love Wine Guildford was a great event - thank you to all the exhibitors 

   

High Clandon Estate     Les Caves de Pyrene     VIN Wine Merchant     Go Brazil 

 Walkabout Wines    Arthouse Wine    GK Wine House     The Gin Kitchen

     Albury Vineyard     Surrey Wine School    Cotswold Distillery

Barwell & Jones       Raisin Social          Palmers Gin 

The Wine Society    Joie de Vin  

Barefoot Wines

Flavour Tastings

Wine Gift Centre

  Greyfriars Vineyard

Georgian Wine Club    Bolney Estates

Somerset Charcuterie     Denbies Wine Estate    Santa Rita Estates 

It was a superb afternoon with an added bonus of meeting one of my forum members. Cuvée Reserve is a wine forum for discussing wine from anywhere - I started it in April 2014 and the members have built up quite a Library of wine reviews.

Ian, Nick and I - Cuvée Reserve Members

As I said it was lovely to finally meet Ian, especially at such a great event in such a great setting - all three of us agreed it was a superb day,

 A huge thank you to Heather, Laura, Richard and the Love Wine Team.

Chateau Hearnden

Rhubarb Wine

Dandelion Wine

Wine is my hobby .... and not just drinking it but making it too. Before our children were born I made wine every year but this lapsed over time. 

In 2014 I started my hobby again, very successful but I didn't make any more ... I still have three bottles of my 2014 vintage !!

I made Rhubarb with some fruit a friend gave me from their allotment; Dandelion for which I picked a gallon of dandelion heads and boiled them (the things I do for my art) and Elderflower which also involved picking a gallon of flowers. 

Elderflower Wine

Final trio

My final three bottles have been sitting in a hessian bag for the last year - not my usual way of storing wine but they were ready to be tasted at the Cuvée Reserve Wine Weekend last April in Stratford-upon-avon. 

Unfortunately the weekend did not go to plan and although plenty of wine was enjoyed by others I was the one plastered and my wine came back home. 

So it is ready .... and I hope not over ready... for this year's Cuvée Reserve Wine Weekend which is at the end of April in Somerset. 

So it seemed an appropriate time to start making some more, it's not dandelion, rhubarb or elderflower season just yet so I made a wine from TEA !! When I made this years ago our neighbour underestimated it's strength.... hopefully this will be as good :)

A month to stew - looks so inviting !!

Time to transfer -
no better way to spend a snow day 

It's bubble time :) 

The book I use for my recipes is very special to me - it belonged to my Grandad who made lots of wine.....but didn't always leave it to finish before drinking it - he lived to 91 so it couldn't have been so bad.

My Grandad's book - it's in three pieces !!

Over the last year I have become very reliant on a particular bag of frozen peas - they have been in the freezer, on my ankle, back in the freezer, on my ankle many many times. Obviously uneatable but being as it still isn't rhubarb, dandelion or elderflower time I am experimenting - so this month's stew is PEA wine hee hee

I am sure my wine will not be anywhere near the standard of wine we will be enjoying this Saturday at Love Wine Festival in Guildford but it's great fun and who knows maybe Chateau Hearnden will be famous one day !

A Variety at Home

Can you every have too many bottles of wine .... not drink too many but own too many? Hubby and I seem to be collecting, and it's not such a bad hobby to have until it's time to decide which one to enjoy.

We've been out and about this last week and our current purchases have been from both small wine stores and large supermarkets, as well as too additions being gifts. Our first purchases were from Slurp in Leamington Spa. I've been popping into this wine shop for many years when visiting the South Warwickshire town; previously S H Jones. 

It was at one of their Wine Tasting Events we first met Matthew Jukes in 2013. A very good evening it was too, a tasting of his top 100 Australian Wines. 

It's name may have changed but the shop is still full of wines you rarely find in the supermarkets but are still at reasonable prices. Laid out by country I try to avoid the pull of the French shelves: it doesn't work, I love looking at which wines and producers are available. 

This visit however I was firmly drawn to the Australia reds and in particular Little Yering Shiraz. This is a wine we have only seen in All Bar One where it is a real treat as it's quite pricey.

I was almost jumping up and down in delight to find it retail; I cannot actually find it online any more. It isn't in All Bar One's wine library and isn't in Slurp's online shop, in fact it doesn't seem to exist anywhere but my wine rack!

If my memory serves me well it is a deep dark red wine, with a nose full of dark fruits, a hint of spice and an abundant mouth of sour cherries - tastings notes will be made when the cork is popped! 

A great red at great price - £9.95

Our other purchase from Slurp was a Spanish red Hubby had seen in Penarth but thought the price a little high. With Cien Y Pico being on offer at £10.50 it seemed a shame to leave it behind and certainly worth a tasting. 

This is Hubby's review posted on Cuvée Reserve Wine Forum - 

Cien Y Pico, Doble Pasta 2012 Tintorera

From hundred and something year old Garnacha Tintorera vines, grown in hot South Eastern La Mancha region of  Spain, this is a beauty. Deep red violet colour, huge dollops of fruit and intense grenache spicey nose. Taste is intense and multilayered too, lovely oakiness, smooth and silky, lots of blackberries damsons, concentrated flavours that seem to go on giving for ages. Might not be too all tastes but very nice in my opinion, worth every penny. 

Not my style of wine but I did enjoy the small glass I had, it wasn't too oaky or tannic. I'm sure if we see it again Hubby will be tempted, especially if around £10.

It's always nice to receive wine as a gift and it doesn't have to be an expensive bottle. I know friends have said they shy away from buying us wine in case 'it isn't right' but whatever the gift it is a chance to enjoy and discover more. 

The two wines we received this week were old favourites - firstly our son gave me a bottle of Picpoul de Pinet as part of my Mothers Day gift.

Picpoul de Pinet is one of my favourite wines from South France, last year we were actually staying in the area of Pinet and enjoyed discovering more about this superb wine. 

We have been drinking it for many years, especially if having mussels for dinner but previously we had to bring it home from our holidays in France. Over recent years it has been discovered by the UK wine buyers and is now available in most supermarkets. 

A great value white from Asda at under £7.00

Les Dauphins is one of our favourite red wines from the Cotes du Rhone region, again we have visited the region and in 2016 enjoyed a private tasting with  the producers, Cellier des Dauphins.

So imagine our delight when the other gift received this week was a Les Dauphins Cotes du Rhone Reserve. 

This Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre wine is a delight on it's own, superb with a rich meat dish and fabulous with cheese - in other words anytime !!

It's full of fruit with peppery highlights, a smooth medium/full bodied wine that always delivers a 'mmmmm' moment.

Over the last few years Les Dauphins wine has become easier to find with their white,red and rose being available in most supermarkets. Waitrose also stock Les Dauphins Blanc de Blanc a superb sparkling wine for the summer. 

The final two wines to be added to our rack are both previously unknown to us. The first was spotted in Lidl on offer at under £6 - always draws the eye. 

I have not tried many Greek wines and certainly not a Moschofilero so I am looking forward to trying this. 

The other 'new' wine is this month's tasting recommendation on Cuvée Reserve - Terre di Faiano Organic Primivito. A Waitrose wine currently on offer at £7.49 that I am also looking forward to as Primivito is one of my favourite Italian grapes.

Each month one of our members nominates a wine that is under £10 and available from a main supermarket. It is great fun each month to try something new and read other's opinions on the same wine; reviews are posted after the 20th of each month. 

I'm not sure which of the above wines will be opened over the weekend but whichever it is will bring enjoyment; either an old favourite or a new discovery. 

The following weekend we will be discovering more about wine as we are staying in Guildford for a mini break and we have tickets for Love Wine Festival on Saturday 24th March. 

I am very much looking forward to this event, especially after such a good time at their event in Birmingham last year.

I'm sure with our recent additons and a great weekend to enjoy we are quite safe from this awful condition - I sincerely hope you are too, cheers !

At a location near us ....

Hurrah we now have a Miller and Carter Steakhouse nearby. We discovered this great restaurant chain in Cardiff with our daughter; The Hayes is one of their top restaurants and a must for us each time we are in Wales' capital city. The food is excellent, as is the service and restaurant atmosphere.

We've had many superb meals there; special occassions, lunch times and most importantly before the rugby.

There is a Miller and Carter Steakhouse in Leicester and Coventry but both are a little distance for us so we were delighted when a previous Harvester Restaurant just a few miles away was refurbished as a steakhouse ...

... introducing Miller and Carter Hinckley 

They opened on Tuesday so Hubby and I decided to book for Wednesday lunchtime - what a treat. The decor is beautiful, very relaxing ambiance giving the feel of being amongst others but not disturbed by their conversations. Very comfortable seating and great lighting with plenty of fittings without any glaring right at you.

All the staff were great from the greeting, our waitress, the barman bringing our drinks - a few nerves but hey it was only the second day. We certainly felt looked after throughout our meal which wasn't rushed and without long waits between courses.

We decided to have Mediterranean Mezze sharing starter - the chorizo sausage was delicious but my favourite was the camembert and pinot grigio fondue. It was a great sharing dish although it would have been superb with a little bread too.

We both love the steak experience; Hubby's choice was a T-bone, whilst I opted for the Bistro Rump which was quite a thick piece of beef. Both cooked to our order and served with onion loaf, chips or salad, a lettuce wedge (we both opted for blue cheese dressing) and a steak sauce of our choice - mine was Rich Bordelaise, superb.

Lobster Mac and Cheese is my must have side order when visiting Miller and Carter, I do wish it was a main meal option as it is absolutely delicious.

No meal is complete without a pud although we were quite full already, however as mentioned before we were neither rushed nor left waiting and the pud arrived at a perfect 'make a little room' time.

The Creme Brulee was so yummy I almost forgot to take a photo, hence the strategically placed spoon hee hee

Usually for me it's wine with a meal but being lunch time and having such a variety of food to match to one glass I opted for a softail - Citrus Beets. It's a refreshing drink of beetroot juice with cloudy apple and lemon, it was citrusy enough to compliment the Mezze and the kick of beetroot complimented without overpowering the rich sauce on my steak.

A superb Wednesday lunch - thank you Miller and Carter - we'll certainly be back soon. 

A little bit of warmth

Like many this week we've had the white stuff cover our world - slowly adding a little each day to make quite a covering.

At times like this our resilience and human goodness is shown at its best, so many have helped so many with transport, errands and cups of tea - what a Great Britain we are!

Thursday was St David's Day and although I have no Welsh blood as far as I know I have always had connections to Wales -

- holidaying in the north when young 

- enjoying a mobile home on the west coast for over 10 years

- our daughter going to Uni in the south and now living in Cardiff

- and of course supporting Welsh rugby. 

Every year I make the house Welsh for the day and cook a Welsh themed dinner; lamb steak this year followed by home made Bara Brith and a glass of Merlyn.

Wales is a land of mystery, legend, nature and belonging, exactly my feelings towards this fabulous cream liqueur from Penderyn Distillery.

Merlyn is a blend of Welsh spirit and rich cream giving a beautiful smoothness full of vanilla and toffee. This liqueur holds your attention, encourages another sip and wraps you in comfort, perfect on a snowy St David's Day.

This kind of weather certainly sways me towards red wine: we did take a stroll to our local pub earlier in the week as the first flurries began to arrive. A pub lunch with a bottle of house Merlot whilst on snow watch is highly recommended.

And safely back home it's been a couple of favourites that have kept me cosy.

Majestic's Puglia is one of my favourite Italian wines. Natale Verga Primivito has a light nose, it's quite dry in the mouth with a touch of sourness and a burst of berry fruits.

Cellier de Dauphins' Prestige Cotes du Rhone is a favourite from holiday. With the weather so cold this wine is not only a favourite to drink but also brings memories of sunnier times in the South of France.

This coming week leads up to Mother's Day and this year I'm doing Afternoon Tea at home for both our Mum's so my next post with be full of bubbles and cake!!