Loire this weekend: diary reminders – Vitiloire and Piste du Saumur-Champigny

This Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th the annual Vitiloire has some 130 vignerons in the centre of Tours right by the main railway station. It is a friendly event with lots of opportunities to taste as well as sample a considerable variety of food. Well worth going if you are in the area. 

Vitiloire 2012: food stalls and tables close to La Gare

2012: Jean-Max Manceau: Domaine de Noire (Chinon)

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vous donnent rendez-vous le

Dimanche 26 mai à Montsoreau

à partir de 10h à pied, à cheval ou à vélo

pour partir avec les vignerons,

« Sur la piste du Saumur-Champigny »

6 étapes à retrouver dans le vignoble, des jeux et des énigmes sur la biodiversité.

Challenges adultes et enfants.

Toutes les équipes seront récompensées de nombreux cadeaux !

Dr José 'special one' Vouillamoz: Unusual varieties – the wines

2011 Grk – Branimir Cebalo, Korcula, Croatia (Grk) (above and below)

Here are photos of the labels of most of the wines presented by Dr José Vouillamoz at Monday's CWW seminar. There were some very attractive wines shown, particularly amongst the whites.  

Whites (includes Grk above)

2010 Kolorko, Pasaeli, Hosköy, Turkey (Kolorko)

2012 Vigna del Lume, Antonio Mazzella, Ischia, Italy (Biancolella)

This rich, full bodied, complex wine was one of my favourites with multiple flavours of citrus fruits, pineapple, passion fruit and apricot.  

Reds

2010 Negre de San Colonia, Vins Toni Gelabert, Mallorca, Spain (Callet)

Powerful butch number with floral black fruits – a bit 2D and needs time in bottle 

Zorik Gharibian maker of 2011 Karasi, Zorah Wines, Rind, Armenia (Areni) 

This was my favourite red with its nicely balanced spicy and peppery fruit. Reminded me of the 2011 Poulsard, Côtes de Jura from Domaine Ganevat we drank on Sunday night. 

Zorik with Angela Reddin (CWW) and Dr José Vouillamoz

The Cecchetto family makers of this Gelsaia

2009 Gelsaia DOCG Piave Malanotte, Az.Agr. Cecchetto, Veneto, Italy (Raboso Piave)

Rich, ripe black fruits, quite tannic with matching acidity – good match I imagine with substantial dishes 

Amphora orange wines 

We finished with two wines that had been fermented and matured in amphora. Both fascinating, although the last wine certainly provoked divided opinions.

2011 Gringet Amphore, Domaine Belluard, Haute-Savoie, France (Gringet)

2011 Kisi, Pheasant's Tears, Georgia (Kisi)

Someone tweeted that this was disgusting but I liked Pheasant's Tail with its strong tannins – unusual for a white – attractive texture and length. José noted herbs and dried figs. He was also impressed by its length. 


The other wines shown were:
2009 Versoain, Castel Katzenzungen, Südtirol, Italy (variety Versoain)
2011 Rüdesheimer Berg Schlosberg Orleans, Georg Breuer, Germany (Orleans Gelb) Fine balance of fruit and high acidity
2011 Lafnetscha, Chanton Kellerei, Visp, Switzerland (Lafnetscha)


See also Tom Lewis' write up here on the wines.

Dr José – wine's 'special one'!

Dr José Vouillamoz  

Unusual varieties from Wine Grapes

Football's 'special one' may be returning to West London after time at Inter Milan and Real Madrid but the wine world already has its special one in place – Dr José Vouillamoz – after a brilliant and hugely impressive presentation to the Circle of Wine Writers yesterday. José's presentation at the CWW's traditional seminar at the opening morning of the London International Wine Trade Fair was on unusual and rare grape varieties and featured 11 wines – all single varietals and all different varieties. The production of some of the wines is so tiny that it is unlikely that it will be possible to taste some of these wines again. (The wines will be listed with their labels in the next post.) 

Dr José Vouillamoz is a co-author with Julia Harding MW and Jancis Robinson MW of Wine Grapes, the weight lifters' delight and almost complete guide to grape varieties. 'Almost complete' because since the book's publication last autumn a few more varieties that were not included have come to light and will be in the next edition. Wine Grapes has already scooped six awards: Best Drink Book 2012, Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards; Best Beverage Book 2012, James Beard Awards; Best Drink Book 2012, André Simon Awards; Hall of Fame for Best Wine Book 2012, Gourmand World Cookbook Awards; Best Drinks Book 2012, Wine &amp Spirits magazine; and Most Uplifting Book 2012, Iron Person Magazine. Doubtless there will be more to follow.

The 'special one'!! 

The tasting – limited to some 58 people because of 

the very limited supply of a few of the wines 

 Oz Clarke deep in concentration 

Nigel Greening pondering whether any of these varieties would suit 

Felton Road, Central Otago (NZ) 

Richard Bampfield MW 

Dr Jamie Goode

 Rapt attention from Peter May and Lisa Shara Hall

 Anne Krebiehl

Lindsay Oram

Wine Grapes@3.074 kilos

stocked in all the best gyms!

#LIWF: a shrunken London International Wine Trade Fair

 The importance of white space (above and below)

Anyone wishing to see how much the London International Wine Fair has shrunk over the past few years only had to head from the fair area to the Waterside area, so passing through a huge empty space to reach the stairs down to the lower level. A few years ago all of this space and more was filled by the fair. Once it was impossible to see the length of the fair, this year you can easily see from one end of the fair to the other.

Officially bookings are down by 25% for the 2013 edition and the space booked by 20% but that is only part of the story as the fair has been shrinking for at least the past two years. 

Next year 'International' is dropped from the Fair's title and it moves back to Olympia. It will be held in the first week in June and will be more focused on the domestic market. Will this signal a revival or is the London Fair in terminal decline?  

Will going back to Olympia in early June 2014 revive the London Fair? 

Last Exit from Excel?