Wine Appreciation / Oenophiles

Won't let me in! whatever I press it says I am not of legal age...

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Ah works if I don't use auto translate in Chrome

great stuff @Vince can we organise a bike weekend around Rheims as well as a day quaffing Lasseaux, next spring or hopefully once Covid 19 vaccines are available..

Yes and no.

Yes if your order flies through customs.
No if it gets stopped.

So best dropping me a line if you need some in the UK as I have stocks with all taxes paid!

I've offered it before and it is still on offer - we have a dormitory type of building we use to house the grape pickers during the harvest with a fully equipped kitchen.

Sleeps 20-25 (Pre-COVID regulations).

We have bike tools / pump so ideal to welcome cyclists.

Tie it in with Paris-Roubaix!

are most of the back roads strada bianche ?
will we need gravel tyres ?
boys/girls digs segregated ?
would you join us?

looks like first train out on Eurostar to Paris then regional train to Rheims

i'll touch base with our pro belgian crew, see if they fancy a messy weekend on gargle in 2021

@Bernie @OneLessCardigan @youramericanlover @braker @esstee @branwen @hats @bothwell

a flavour of our tours

https://youtu.be/2bMh4PfId0g

https://youtu.be/fRHBuYkZhY8

sounds like a great idea, but if there are thousands of fans about the roads are chocker.. trains are fully booked..

we have always avoided the monument race weekends to get clear roads and access or entered local sportive.. the prosecco route we did in 2012 hit alot of back roads we rolled past 175 vineyards and stunning countryside.. i can imagine it'll be similar around Rheims and surrounding region

There are 5 bedrooms / showers / toilets so you don't have to share rooms.

Roads are standard french roads but you can choose rougher ones through the vineyards.

This is not far from us and uses mostly segrated (flat) ways:
https://www.af3v.org/les-voies-vertes/voies/471-v52-voie-verte-de-la-marne-de-dormans-a-conde-sur-marne/

thanks Vince, let's see what the take up is like.. we've been to belgium a few times the routine is straight forward. if we get a fair size squad we could even create a Lasseaux '21 jersey for the occasion

Great, will PM you when I'm back in London.

I'm finding a decent bottle of consumed of an evening is helping me to sleep with my injuries! ;-)

I know little of wine, but this is a favourite. First discovered on holiday and became a staple of trips to Turkey. Discovered it in the (excellent) Turkish supermarket in Leytonstone for only about eight quid. Very light and citrusy but has a subtle buttery finish.

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Ok I’ll give that a hit - a pint costs that near enough these days so worth a go!

Hi @Vince, do you hold much stock in the UK?
I'm after half a dozen bottles for my wife's 40th. Mix of regular and Rosé perhaps.
Or would I be better ordering from your website?

Cheers 👍

I want to drink more red wine. But Know nothing about red wine. What’s a good place to start when choosing?

Had to google. oenophile

I've got a £50 voucher from work that I was thinking of spending on some nice bottles of wine and matching it myself to take it up to £100. Was thinking of going for a mix of all reds. Does anyone have any recommendations? Stick with 12 bottles, or is it worth paying that extra for 6 bottles of something much more special?

I can redeem it at Laithwaites, but also Waitrose or M&S. Tiny bit suspicious about Laithwaites but I've never had anything from them so that could be completely unfounded.

Vina albali red from Waitrose is cheap and decent around £7

sour grapes on netflix is incredible (even if you're not a wine fan)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPUYuwSRwB8

https://www.waitrosecellar.com/red-wine/blason-du-rhone-gigondas-621117
https://www.marksandspencer.com/moueix-saint-emilion-case-of-6/p/wnp60033165

I bought 3 of the Gigondas at the weekend. It's a good price and should age nicely. You don't get a discount for buying 6. Personally I would go for something nicer and 6 than quantity. I've never bought from laithwaites so cant comment on them. Mostly I order wine through the Wine Society or my wine merchant.

Loving miniature wines at the moment

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For those interested, the 2020 Champagne harvest was exceptional.
We had limited yield this year at 7,000kg+1,000kg instead of the circa 10,000kg we had in the recent past.

First time ever that we started and finished the harvest in August.

Based on our observations, the harvest has started on day earlier every year over the last past 30 years (in case you doubted that Global Warming was real).

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7,000kg+1,000kg

Two different varieties?

Why the lower yield? Nature or human intervention?

Been getting into Chateau Musar this summer. The little brother wine, Hochar, is also a peach. Supporting the Lebanese economy at a troubled time.

Yes, Lebanese wines are one of my favs since I discovered them while working in Egypt in late 80s. Try Chateau Ksara if you can or anything from Bekaa Valley like Domaine des Tourelles if big reds are your fancy.