So far this week, I’ve tasted at least 100 wines a day. But I couldn’t tell you what they are. Seriously. Each one is covered in a bag, you see. Then, together with a team of professional winos, I taste and score the wines based on quality. The best ones will emerge with an International Wine Challenge medal and we’ll come back to those when the results come out. But in the meantime, here’s what I’ve learnt so far this week.
1. Brangelina aside, rose wine is getting way more interesting. And paler. Hooray for pale & interesting.
2. Like Clooney, Semillon from Australia’s Hunter Valley region definitely gets better with age.
3. The Nebbiolo grape, the one that’s behind Italy’s Barolo wines, is popping up everywhere.
4. Really good dry Riesling makes me want to do a little dance.
5. Really bad French red doesn’t.
6. There are lots more wines from Brasil heading our way. Something to do with a World Cup.
7. Hungary, Romania, Slovenia and Bulgaria’s wines are getting better every year.
8. Peru’s got a way to go, though.
9. If I could, I’d drink a small glass of slightly chilled aged tawny port every single day.
10. After a full day’s tasting, I’d rather have a cup of tea and an early night than paint the town red, white or rose nowadays.
I’ll be back with wine recommendations next week but in the meantime, here’s a little film made by the kind people behind The Alan Titchmarsh Show. A little show(off) reel, as it were, of me talking about wine. Or sometimes just talking.
Peace out, winos x
Certified Wino. Tee hee! Gorgeous as ever. See you soon, hopefully. xxx
Ah, thank you xx
Completely brill video – as I ve never sadly been able to watch "the Alan show" it was really cool to hear your voice as opposed to me thinking your voice every time I dip into your book…
Thank you – is so much fun to do..
I should bring you an apron from the Niagara wine region. It has a lady falling in a wine glass under which is written W.I.N.O.S – Women In Need Of Sanity. Then six pockets across the bottom for keys, glasses, happy pills, cork screw, cell phone and lipstick. Mine is very well used!
I'll have two!
Eeeh, look at you girl! Dead proud of you. (Not that I'm your mother or anything.) Which reminds me, I must tell my mother that the delicious chocolate-y wine I won last year was from the wine lady on the Alan T show! That'll give her something to tell her friends!
Ah, thank you lovely. Hope she enjoyed the wine!
Check out those eyelashes….
Deeply jealous by the way that you met Bernard and Salty. My children will be clamouring for your autograph now (I won't tell them I have it already).
and…, CAshew or caSHEW? Alan I note went with the former, but I'm a stress on the first syllable kind of a girl….
Well, do you know, so am I. CAshew. But they all said caSHEW so I went along with it…and Bernard & Salty a highlight!
I'm with you on CAshew. Also, completely off topic but I love how they always do your hair slightly differently. Lovely x
Oh, how I love that you noticed the hair. As someone who's spent my life with my hair mostly in a ponytail, I love the hair bit the most about the whole telly thing. Thank you x
What fun. And yes, your hair looks fab.
Was that Ian McShane (or is my eyesight just bad)?