Sour Grapes - Essential Wine Geek Viewing!

So last week I enjoyed the ultimate luxury: a week off work! Much wine was consumed (unsurprisingly) but I also used the time, in between numerous relatives visiting and Christmas parties, to indulge in some serious Netflix time.

One of the things I watched was Sour Grapes. It's a brilliant and fascinating documentary about a huge fraudulent wine scheme that was discovered in the US, it's true crime but with wine, and a hint of Gatsby! The interviews are fascinating and the tone is wonderfully witty. If you've got a little spare time this weekend and want a little break from festive viewing definitely give this a try.

A visit to the English Wine Centre

This weekend I was travelling down south to visit my parents and ventured to The English Wine Centre at Cuckmere Barns with my mum. It's a great place, with a brilliant selection of wines and super friendly staff. There were so many wines I wanted to try (hoping mum picks up some of the fizz for Christmas!) but I ended up picking out the Chapel Down Pinot Blanc. I'd never tried a Pinot Blanc before and it didn't disappoint! It was lovely, clean and crisp with a very light sweetness. As advised it was perfect with pork. I'd definitely recommend a visit!

Autumn Red

So it's October now and it's definitely feeling like a red wine time of year. It's starting to get cold and crisp, the perfect weather to curl up inside with a lovely glass of wine. A trip to my beloved Reserve, allowed me to stumble across the gorgeous Reserva Nativa Terra, which is currently on offer at £8.99.

It's a gorgeous full bodied red, with light tannins and a wonderful berry flavour. We enjoyed it just on its own but it'd go brilliantly with a steak or some roast beef. Just the thing for a bright cold weekend!

My Go To Wine Guide

Looking for some straight forward wine tips? Some facts to wow your friends? Or just a way to cheerfully pick a decent bottle in a restaurant? I have to recommend The 24 hour Wine Expert by Jancis Robinson. It's a fantastic little book that gives you a great overview of wine, it's really accessible and up to date which is great. I particularly enjoyed the sections on the clever alternatives to your usual wine, wine and food matching, and how to match your wines to a celebration. I also loved the section at the end which is broken down by region.

It's a great little book, and you can buy it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0141981814/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471279879&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=the+24+hour+wine+expert&dpPl=1&dpID=615RfFeifmL&ref=plSrch

Happy reading!!!

Dream Wine Travel

With the return of the rain, I've been daydreaming a lot about holidays recently. And in particular wine based holidays, including vineyard tours and lots of lovely glasses of vino accompanied by deliciously paired foods! Here are a few of my dream wine related holiday locations:

- New Zealand - LOTR related geekery and the most delicious Sauvignons!

- Oregon - the most gorgeous scenery and some yummy wines

- The Greek Islands - I love Greek wine, and food, and scenery...

Hmm, think I need to go and book some flights!

Beer! (sorry it's not wine!)

Just wanted to quickly share my top four summer beers:

1. Augustiner Helles, a total classic!

2. Bloody 'Ell by Beavertown, blood orange IPA need I say more...

3. Big Swell IPA by Maui Brewing Co, perfect for a hot summers day

4. Diablo by Summer Wine, if you're noticing a theme, yes, I am rather partial to an IPA

And the winner in the can stakes is clearly the lovely Mikeller one below!

Perfect Summer Wine

Thirst Gamay Noir, Radford Dale £12.99 Reserve Wines

I think this may be my ideal summer wine! It's a gorgeous light and fruity red which is wonderful chilled. The main grape is Gamay noir which is a new one for me, and certainly one I'd look out for. This is a delicious wine, and it's lighter alcohol content makes it perfect for sunny afternoon drinks.

Lovely tasty Sauvignon Blanc!

Wairau Cove Sauvignon Blanc - Tesco - £6.50

I can never resist a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, I just can't get enough of how fantastically elderflowery they are! So when I saw this in Tesco, I just had to give it a try!

It's a lovely bargain bottle of wine, wonderfully crisp and acidic, with strong notes of green apple and, my favourite, elderflower. It's a fantastic wine on its own or with a light chicken salad.

Happy quaffing!

Passed my wine exam!

Yep, you read that right, I now have a full on qualification in wine. WSET level 1 in wines to be specific, it's going straight on the cv... Possibly in bold.

I did my course through the amazing Manchester Wine School, it was a full days course at Urbis with a multiple choice exam at the end. A proper exam, had major GCSE flashbacks! 

I have to say, I am really glad I took the course, managed to learn lots of interesting and useful things, especially the section on wine and food matching, which I am very much looking forward to putting into practice!

Now all I need to do is frame my certificate!

Hey!

So, who am I and what is this blog about?

I'm Charlotte, I'm in my mid-twenties, live in sunny Manchester and amongst other things I'm a massive wine geek! I've started this blog to have somewhere to share wines I love, bars I love, wonderful wine and food pairings I've found, and various other things along the way. I cannot wait to start wine tasting with notes!!!