The fashion of what we drink is continually shifting with the advent of social media. Once, it was unthinkable that anything other than champagne or wine would be the most fashionable choice for the discerning drinker. These days, the craft beer renaissance across the US, UK and parts of Europe then out into the wider world has become fairly well known and has brought some excellent beers to the fore. Also recently, Gin and Rum have had something of a spike in interest and an explosion of smaller distilleries in the UK and US has coincided with the growth of cocktail bars and the demand for ever more inventive cocktails. In the midst of this, wine producers and merchants have kept going about their business and maintaining a loyal clientele of wine enthusiasts with those dipping into the market for a bottle to pair with a meal on a special occasion. Whilst wine may never become the social drink of choice in UK pub and bar culture, it will remain in the collective consciousness due to the link of luxury and how well it can pair with food. This brings us to a Friday evening in Vinea on Liverpool’s Albert Dock where Dan Harwood is doing battle with various pieces of technology to provide some extra context to his presentation, which is far more formally structured than any other previous wine tasting I have attended. We were presented with 6 different Bordeaux styles; ranging from white through to robust Cabernet Sauvignon and into the sticky Sauternes through the course of the evening, which was well paced for most of the attendees.
At this point Dan moved to explaining about communes such as Pauillac, Graves and Margaux, the politics surrounding them, the usage of different grape blends and the prominence of using Cabernet Sauvignon on the left bank of the rivers that dominate the region thanks to the gravelly soils rather than the more clay based to the right or north of the rivers. This affords greater heat in the soils, along with better aeration and drainage, where clay (being a much smaller particle – where a gravel grain is anything between 2mm and 60mm in soil engineer terms and a clay is far smaller around 0.002mm in grain size and much more cohesive than a silt) is much cooler and has poorer drainage characteristics. Enlightening stuff and quite interesting to an Environmental Scientist!
Although Dan did have a fight with some technical problems (such as an unhelpful battery life!), the event attendees were largely responsive and inquisitive. The structure was good and well paced, not giving too much out to confuse matters, but keeping enough content so as not to condescend. It is well worth catching one of Dan’s events if you want to learn more about Bordeaux or even just the subtleties of wine in general. Dan has more dates for his tasting although maybe in different formats, including those proposed in Constellations (Baltic Triangle) and at The Academy Restaurant, so it is best to check with his website where these are up to and probably strike quickly when tickets do come online! Two confirmed dates are; 11th February 2015 at Constellations, Baltic Triangle and on the 29th April 2015 at the Academy restaurant for a Wine Dinner.
Dan Harwood’s event was supported by the Bordeaux Wine Council (CIVB) and the Twitter, should you wish to follow is below. Vinea also have tastings on the following dates: 5th December for Christmas Wines and 30th January for Chocolate and Wines. Cheers! Pedro. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Dan Harwood Wine Website: http://www.danharwoodwine.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/danharwoodwine Vinea Unit B7 Britannia Pavilion, Albert Dock, Liverpool. L3 4AD Website: http://www.vinealiverpool.co.uk/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/vinealiverpool Bordeaux Wines Website: http://www.bordeaux.com/uk Twitter: https://twitter.com/BordeauxWines and UK: https://twitter.com/BordeauxWinesUK
2 Comments
2/8/2015 04:07:35 pm
Also recently, Gin and Rum have had something of a spike in interest and an explosion of smaller distilleries in the UK and US has coincided with the growth of cocktail bars and the demand for ever more inventive cocktails.
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2/11/2015 02:03:32 pm
Also recently, Gin and Rum have had something of a spike in interest and an explosion of smaller distilleries in the UK and US has coincided with the growth of cocktail bars and the demand for ever more inventive cocktails.
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