I was sent an update to my Diploma study schedule in the week before Christmas. The only change is that the date of my final exam is now confirmed for January 7th 2009 so it looks as though next Christmas morning I'll be sitting by the tree studying when everyone else is having fun opening their gifts.
The first past of 2008 sees me studying spirits. According to the WSET I should spend 60 hours on this. Given the exam is in the second week of March, and I didn't really do my unit on sparkling wines of the world justice, then I have around 80 to 90 hours of study to do between now and the exam. I make that around an intimidating 10 hours per week.
It's as well that I enjoy the program. I'm enjoying my wine even more as my knowledge has improved. Simply reading up about champagnes today has helped me understand the differences between the champagnes I had over the holidays from Pascal Doquet and Jacquart, one more complex and yeasty and the other light and refreshing.
Sunday, 30 December 2007
Tuesday, 18 December 2007
15 minutes of fame
Or 5 seconds of limited publicity, in reality.
I emailed Chris Scott of the UK Wine Show after having heard his interview with Robert Joseph who was talking about China and wine amongst other topics. In one of the subsequent podcasts it turns out that Chris gave my email a mention. I heard him say “thanks to Colin Smith” and he then went on to say what I had written about and how much he appreciated hearing from listeners.
I also had a personal response from Jancis Robinson the other day. I emailed her my thoughts on her Grape Radio interview and she wrote back thanking me for my comments. I had written about how I thought her views on there being no rights and wrongs when it comes to describing what people find in a wine to be heartening. I know I have a lot to learn when it comes to tasting wine but just because someone else gets ripe plums it doesn’t automatically mean that I or anyone else will.
Still, my few minutes of interaction with a wine celebrity via email is nothing compared to my son who spent many hours last Friday in Oz Clarke’s company at a small corporate lunch. He tells me Oz in a one on one situation is just the same as we see him on the TV – energetic, ebullient and entertaining. And on Sunday as a result of the lunch I have my own personal copy of Oz's latest Pocket Wine Guide personally signed for me by Oz.
I emailed Chris Scott of the UK Wine Show after having heard his interview with Robert Joseph who was talking about China and wine amongst other topics. In one of the subsequent podcasts it turns out that Chris gave my email a mention. I heard him say “thanks to Colin Smith” and he then went on to say what I had written about and how much he appreciated hearing from listeners.
I also had a personal response from Jancis Robinson the other day. I emailed her my thoughts on her Grape Radio interview and she wrote back thanking me for my comments. I had written about how I thought her views on there being no rights and wrongs when it comes to describing what people find in a wine to be heartening. I know I have a lot to learn when it comes to tasting wine but just because someone else gets ripe plums it doesn’t automatically mean that I or anyone else will.
Still, my few minutes of interaction with a wine celebrity via email is nothing compared to my son who spent many hours last Friday in Oz Clarke’s company at a small corporate lunch. He tells me Oz in a one on one situation is just the same as we see him on the TV – energetic, ebullient and entertaining. And on Sunday as a result of the lunch I have my own personal copy of Oz's latest Pocket Wine Guide personally signed for me by Oz.
Wednesday, 12 December 2007
Jancis Robinson on Grape Radio
Jancis Robinson was interviewed by the US internet station Grape Radio the other week. I find the Grape Radio interviews either entertaining or informative and this one succeeded in being both. Two things struck me from the interview.
The first was Jancis' assertion that there are no rights and wrongs when describing a wine in words. When I hear someone else who has been around wine a bit longer than me describe the aromas as being of “sweet plums” or the tannins “grippy” and I don’t, then I immediately blame my inexperience for not noticing the same things. It is useful however to hear someone else’s views as sometimes they can point out something that I strain to notice and tasting in groups is a benefit.
The second was her comments about the explosion in growth we will see in China in the coming years. Having just got back from there, and having heard similar comments from Robert Joseph on the UK Wine Show there is no doubt in my mind we will be drinking much Chinese wine in the next 5 to 10 years. They may not export much yet but they will do. The Chinese like to earn money and they will earn a whole lot more by exporting to the wealthy West than selling it within China.
The first was Jancis' assertion that there are no rights and wrongs when describing a wine in words. When I hear someone else who has been around wine a bit longer than me describe the aromas as being of “sweet plums” or the tannins “grippy” and I don’t, then I immediately blame my inexperience for not noticing the same things. It is useful however to hear someone else’s views as sometimes they can point out something that I strain to notice and tasting in groups is a benefit.
The second was her comments about the explosion in growth we will see in China in the coming years. Having just got back from there, and having heard similar comments from Robert Joseph on the UK Wine Show there is no doubt in my mind we will be drinking much Chinese wine in the next 5 to 10 years. They may not export much yet but they will do. The Chinese like to earn money and they will earn a whole lot more by exporting to the wealthy West than selling it within China.
Sunday, 9 December 2007
Fritz Haag spatlese Riesling and Zamora Zinfandel
This week’s tasting (and drinking) has included 2 very different wines.
The Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling spatlese 2000 promised so much but I ended up disappointed. There were multiple layers on the nose but what really let it down was its lack of acidity. I couldn’t call it like simply drinking fruit juice but it lacked on the palate what the nose had so excitingly promised to deliver. On the nose there were layers of white fruit, petrol and a bit of coconut. Maybe I’m lucky to have drunk it now. With such little acidity I guess it won’t have kept for much longer.
But I really enjoyed the Zamora Zinfandel from 40 year old vines in Lodi, California. Listed in Tim Atkin’s Wines of 2007 in last week’s Observer magazine, it was not only the right wine for a cold evening but was such a good value “zin”. Luscious and intense red and black fruit flavours in the mouth, my only problem with it was the description on the label which described it as purple. I couldn’t see anything but a darkish red but the light where I was drinking it wasn’t that great.
The Riesling came from The Wine Society and the Zamora from Marks & Spencer.
The Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling spatlese 2000 promised so much but I ended up disappointed. There were multiple layers on the nose but what really let it down was its lack of acidity. I couldn’t call it like simply drinking fruit juice but it lacked on the palate what the nose had so excitingly promised to deliver. On the nose there were layers of white fruit, petrol and a bit of coconut. Maybe I’m lucky to have drunk it now. With such little acidity I guess it won’t have kept for much longer.
But I really enjoyed the Zamora Zinfandel from 40 year old vines in Lodi, California. Listed in Tim Atkin’s Wines of 2007 in last week’s Observer magazine, it was not only the right wine for a cold evening but was such a good value “zin”. Luscious and intense red and black fruit flavours in the mouth, my only problem with it was the description on the label which described it as purple. I couldn’t see anything but a darkish red but the light where I was drinking it wasn’t that great.
The Riesling came from The Wine Society and the Zamora from Marks & Spencer.
Saturday, 1 December 2007
Wines from China - part 3
I’ve finally managed to gather all my notes and photos of the wines I tasted while on my recent trip to China. As this was a group holiday, opportunities were limited to whatever was available in the restaurant we were in that evening.
I would hazard a guess that in at least 75% of the restaurants we visited, we were given a quizzical look when asking for the wine list. This is simply a reflection of a number of things - the limited English vocabulary many Chinese waiting staff have plus asking for the wine list is still slightly unusual. When asked for a bottle of red wine, few staff had any problems with this and we were then offered whatever was available, whatever the price or grape variety. BTW, these restaurants were usually local ones rather than expensive tourist frequented places. In the one upmarket and excellent restaurant we did go to on the 86th floor of the Grand Hyatt in the Jin Mao tower, the wine list was extensive and expensive and this is where we had the 2003 merlot from Grace Vineyard, the one producer that is always singled out.
I tasted from the following producers during my trip- Great Wall, Grace, Yahua Manor and Changyu. Great Wall wine has been chosen as the exclusive supplier of wine for the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
As I said in a previous post, China has huge potential to influence the wine world. 90% of what it produces may be for internal consumption but as its skill and knowledge increases – and the Chinese are quick and hungry learners – so the quality will and we will start seeing an increasing availability of wines here in the UK
I would hazard a guess that in at least 75% of the restaurants we visited, we were given a quizzical look when asking for the wine list. This is simply a reflection of a number of things - the limited English vocabulary many Chinese waiting staff have plus asking for the wine list is still slightly unusual. When asked for a bottle of red wine, few staff had any problems with this and we were then offered whatever was available, whatever the price or grape variety. BTW, these restaurants were usually local ones rather than expensive tourist frequented places. In the one upmarket and excellent restaurant we did go to on the 86th floor of the Grand Hyatt in the Jin Mao tower, the wine list was extensive and expensive and this is where we had the 2003 merlot from Grace Vineyard, the one producer that is always singled out.
I tasted from the following producers during my trip- Great Wall, Grace, Yahua Manor and Changyu. Great Wall wine has been chosen as the exclusive supplier of wine for the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
As I said in a previous post, China has huge potential to influence the wine world. 90% of what it produces may be for internal consumption but as its skill and knowledge increases – and the Chinese are quick and hungry learners – so the quality will and we will start seeing an increasing availability of wines here in the UK
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