It's not the wine talking...

Last week, I spoke at a wine industry seminar about how to make wine more engaging for people buying it. Ahead of the talk, I turned to you lot to save my little-larger-than-I'd-like backside. I emailed some of you and asked via the BritMums forum if anyone had any views they could share. The response was overwhelming; so much thoughtful, honest feedback. The common threads were:


So, thank you all for your time and thoughts. I'm pretty sure it is going to make a positive difference and I'll report back how in due course. 

Current white in the fridge: Tiki Ridge Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Waitrose, £5.99 on offer
You see, every time I think I've had enough Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, along comes another one with a groovy label and I have to KNOW. Is it really going to be any good at that price? Isn't it going to taste just like the other one I had the other week whose name I can't even remember now? Turns out it is rather good. Yes, it is fairly similar to that last one but it is fresh & bright & crisp & lime-juice-like and feels like great value. Made from grapes grown in the slightly cooler Awatere Valley, in the Marlborough region, at the top of the South Island. Perfect glass-whilst-cooking-dinner material.  

Current red on the side: The Waxed Bat Shiraz / Petit Verdot 2010, Laithwaites, £7.99
OK, so I didn't buy this one. And no, I've not been stealing. It was a leaving present from a dinner that I went to last week (same day as the talk - what a day that was), a fundraiser for ActionAid. I was one of two 'wine experts' asked to play a 'Call My Wine Bluff' game, identifying wines by taste and story alone. It gets better. The panel consisted of Jo Brand, Charles Dance, Clive Anderson, James Purefwoar and Nicholas Owen. Yes, I humiliated myself in front of 200 people & 5 celebs. More on that next week. The wine? Gorgeous. Enormous. Ripe black fruits. A beast with a soft side. Needs food: leftover Shepherd's Pie, preferably. Made from a blend of Shiraz and the hard-to-find Petit Verdot grape in Mendoza, Argentina.  

IOU x 

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