My husband noticed that I've been a bit stressed this past week with everything I've got going on at the moment. He's such a nice guy that while he was out at Portobello Market yesterday, he stopped and bought me cupcakes, flowers, and a bottle of Egly-Ouriet grand cru VP champagne from Lea & Sandeman. On top of that, he made dinner to go with it - sourdough-crust calzones, stuffed with all of my favourite things. He is absolutely the best!!
Dinner was wonderful, as was the champagne. It's a pinot noir blend that's been left on the yeast for an extra long time, giving it a perfectly balanced flavour - not too sweet, not too acidic, not too yeasty, not too dry - and a slightly petrol-y nose. It's very much the style of a 'wine with bubbles', and an exceptionally good wine at that.
That said, it didn't have quite as many bubbles as the last time we drank it, so disappointed slightly in that arena. But really, how can I complain when the rest of it was so lovely?
Sunday, 10 October 2010
Saturday, 9 October 2010
Champagne Budget, Beer Taste
Friday came so quickly! I've been head-down most of the week between the scholarship programme I work with and getting my gardening coursework done. I spent all day yesterday drawing (and most of the night, too) so I was very happy to say 'yes' when my husband asked if I wanted some bubbles with dinner.
There was both a bottle of prosecco from the Champagne Warehouse on the champagne shelf as well as a bottle of champagne in the fridge. We had ordered in some Japanese food and thought the prosecco might be a better match with the sushi and rice, so we opened the La Farra Extra Dry made from 100% glera grapes, the traditional prosecco grape. It smelled like an orchard on opening, with a very strong pear scent. It was so yeasty, though, that it tasted like beer, something that didn't go away until the middle of my second glass when the fruit flavours started to come through. I would recommend drinking this prosecco slightly warmer than I like so that you can appreciate the flavours in the wine. It was very good with our food and went down quickly, but I haven't been able to get rid of the (probably unfair) impression that it tasted like something from a pub.
There was both a bottle of prosecco from the Champagne Warehouse on the champagne shelf as well as a bottle of champagne in the fridge. We had ordered in some Japanese food and thought the prosecco might be a better match with the sushi and rice, so we opened the La Farra Extra Dry made from 100% glera grapes, the traditional prosecco grape. It smelled like an orchard on opening, with a very strong pear scent. It was so yeasty, though, that it tasted like beer, something that didn't go away until the middle of my second glass when the fruit flavours started to come through. I would recommend drinking this prosecco slightly warmer than I like so that you can appreciate the flavours in the wine. It was very good with our food and went down quickly, but I haven't been able to get rid of the (probably unfair) impression that it tasted like something from a pub.
Monday, 4 October 2010
Mixed Feelings
Sunday was a busy day for me as I had to prepare for some meetings that I have today. And knowing the Tube strike would be going forward, I cooked not only a big pot of chilli to eat yesterday, but also a pork, apricot, and prune stew for this evening since I have no idea how long it will take me to get home tonight. But partway through the flurry of the day, I remembered that a while ago we had put another bottle of prosecco from the Champagne Warehouse on the champagne shelf. This one was La Jara's Pinot Grigio Rose Brut, something I was very keen to try because I often like pinot grigio wines, but had never had a sparkling one before. My husband and I opened the bottle, and sipped as we got on with our respective Sunday activities.
For those of you who are American and reading this, you'll understand when I say that it smelled like raspberry ginger-ale (which is one of my favourite non-alcoholic drinks, in diet form). Like the smell, it had a lot of berry flavours, but with a crisp acidity that cut through the sweetness. On first opening, the prosecco had loads of bubbles, too - but they didn't last through subsequent glasses. My first impression was very favourable, I thought this would be an incredibly refreshing thing to serve on a hot summer day. I was having mixed feelings by my second glass, though, as the bubbles disappeared and the acidity in the wine became sharp in my stomach. As we've commented about other champagnes in the past, this might be a 'one glass only' drink.
For those of you who are American and reading this, you'll understand when I say that it smelled like raspberry ginger-ale (which is one of my favourite non-alcoholic drinks, in diet form). Like the smell, it had a lot of berry flavours, but with a crisp acidity that cut through the sweetness. On first opening, the prosecco had loads of bubbles, too - but they didn't last through subsequent glasses. My first impression was very favourable, I thought this would be an incredibly refreshing thing to serve on a hot summer day. I was having mixed feelings by my second glass, though, as the bubbles disappeared and the acidity in the wine became sharp in my stomach. As we've commented about other champagnes in the past, this might be a 'one glass only' drink.
End of Week Rewards
As I mentioned in an earlier post, last week was an incredibly busy week and my husband was due to be out late most evenings. On Thursday, I had a lot of paperwork to do, and since he was supposed to be out in the evening, I popped a bottle of Maison Lenique 2005 in the fridge so that I could have a glass as a reward both for finishing my work and for being on my own. It was lovely, especially with the homemade halloumi, mint, and sundried tomato pastry I had to nibble with it. It was an even nicer surprise that my husband came home early enough to help me finish the bottle!!
It was the same story on Friday, so I put another bottle of the Maison Lenique in the fridge for when my work was done. Since the bottle was still half-full on Saturday, I finished off the last chunk of writing that I needed to do, and had one last celebratory glass with my husband (who was finally home and relaxing!). I'm finding it's a great way to motivate me to sit at the computer and just focus on writing what I need to - so much easier to do when there are bubbles to look forward to at the end!
It was the same story on Friday, so I put another bottle of the Maison Lenique in the fridge for when my work was done. Since the bottle was still half-full on Saturday, I finished off the last chunk of writing that I needed to do, and had one last celebratory glass with my husband (who was finally home and relaxing!). I'm finding it's a great way to motivate me to sit at the computer and just focus on writing what I need to - so much easier to do when there are bubbles to look forward to at the end!
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Wednesday Came Early
It's another busy week - one in which I won't be seeing much of my husband because of our different committments and schedules. But we were both home for dinner on Tuesday, so we decided to turn Tuesday into the new Wednesday and open a bottle a bubbly. On top of that, he cooked, something that always makes the evening special!
Another prosecco was on the champagne shelf from the Champagne Warehouse - this time it was Zero assoluto from La Jara made from 100% glera grapes. To be honest, I almost didn't order this prosecco because the description said that it was 'floral' and that's not something that I love. The Zero assoluto is zero dosage, though, and I've never tried a low dosage prosecco before...so it went into the case.
On its own, the floral-ness of the prosecco is very strong, smelling and tasting heavily of honeysuckle, but with an appealing, clean, grapefruit finish. For my palate, the prosecco went down much better with food - a blackened chicken and garlic-broccoli pasta - that squelched the flowery taste and left only the lighter citrus notes of the prosecco. While not completely to my taste, it was worth trying, though, an interesting comparison both to other low dosage bubbles we've had and to the other bottles of prosecco that we ordered.
Another prosecco was on the champagne shelf from the Champagne Warehouse - this time it was Zero assoluto from La Jara made from 100% glera grapes. To be honest, I almost didn't order this prosecco because the description said that it was 'floral' and that's not something that I love. The Zero assoluto is zero dosage, though, and I've never tried a low dosage prosecco before...so it went into the case.
On its own, the floral-ness of the prosecco is very strong, smelling and tasting heavily of honeysuckle, but with an appealing, clean, grapefruit finish. For my palate, the prosecco went down much better with food - a blackened chicken and garlic-broccoli pasta - that squelched the flowery taste and left only the lighter citrus notes of the prosecco. While not completely to my taste, it was worth trying, though, an interesting comparison both to other low dosage bubbles we've had and to the other bottles of prosecco that we ordered.
Thursday, 23 September 2010
Another Wednesday
It seems like we're starting a new tradition of 'champagne Wednesday'!! It's been another long-ish week to get through, so we opened a bottle of Maison Lenique 2005 with our dinner of herbed lamb and rice. The rich apple flavour of the champagne was delicious with the lamb, a meat I wouldn't ordinarily think to serve champagne with...but I'll be doing it again.
Monday, 20 September 2010
Power Pink
People who know me know that I'm not into girly, powder pink colours (or 'puff pink' as I call it). If I'm going to wear something pink or paint something pink, it's going to be bright, bold, in-your-face, power pink. I'm the same with rose wines. Don't give me something light and blush-coloured with an insipid taste. Give me something that's a beautiful, rich colour and that packs a wallop.
And that's exactly what the Champagne Warehouse did. We opened the Vignarosa Amorino Brut Rosato yesterday and were absolutely impressed with it. This prosecco is a blend of raboso, cabernet, and merlot grapes, which give it a deep pink colour and even more depth in the flavour - it's a wine with bubbles rather than a sparkling wine, and plenty of them. It's surprisingly dry, with loads of tart, wild strawberry flavour. It was wonderful to sip on its own, but went equally well with our homemade mac and cheese with bacon. At just shy of £11 per bottle, it feels like a real bargain, too!!
I'm loathe to recommend this too highly, as I both don't want to drive prices up and don't want the Champagne Warehouse to run out before I get around to ordering more. But it really is too good to keep it a secret...
And that's exactly what the Champagne Warehouse did. We opened the Vignarosa Amorino Brut Rosato yesterday and were absolutely impressed with it. This prosecco is a blend of raboso, cabernet, and merlot grapes, which give it a deep pink colour and even more depth in the flavour - it's a wine with bubbles rather than a sparkling wine, and plenty of them. It's surprisingly dry, with loads of tart, wild strawberry flavour. It was wonderful to sip on its own, but went equally well with our homemade mac and cheese with bacon. At just shy of £11 per bottle, it feels like a real bargain, too!!
I'm loathe to recommend this too highly, as I both don't want to drive prices up and don't want the Champagne Warehouse to run out before I get around to ordering more. But it really is too good to keep it a secret...
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