FORGIVE me if I’m sniffy about covering supermarket wines, preferring to favour independents and their more adventurous ranges. It’s partly down to my loathing for those discount deals which account for over 60 per cent of big store wine sales, condemning punters to dreary safe choices that aren’t even the good value they seem.
It’s a far cry from such a big public event to the intimate neighbourhood wine bar, two of which have opened recently in Prestwich and Sale. I love both.
Still, UK wine drinking has moved on – at least according to new research by the Co-op. Their poll claims we are a nation of self-proclaimed wine buffs – with 88 per cent now claiming to be a true aficionado and 38 declaring themselves “extremely knowledgeable” about wine.
The same study says the average Brit now spends £19 on wine every week (£988 a year) and is prepared to pay up to £11 on a decent bottle. They even spend more than of yore on a bottle to take to a friend’s house in a bid to impress them with their wine knowledge.
Londoners are most likely to consider themselves wine buffs (32 per cent), while Liverpool are least likely (18 per cent). Mancunian figures aren’t quoted. Perhaps they were too busy sniffing and swirling to answer the questionnaire.
The Co-op, whose wine list errs on the solid and safe side, has been prospering from this wine buff upsurge with sales of their own label Champagne and fine wines such as Château Sénéjac Cru Bourgeois soaring. A current bargain Claret, down from £9.99 to £6.99 until August 23, is the quietly complex Chateau Brassac 2013 with its appealing dark fruit and spice concentration.
Lidl have looked to SpainAll of which brings me to the surprising case of Morrisons, which is on a roll. Named 'Supermarket of the Year' at the International Wine Challenge for the second year running (it had never won before in 29 years of the competition), it has responded brilliantly to the hot breath of Lidl and Aldi below it in the store survival of the fittest race. 103 separate IWC awards for its wines is proof.
Problem is if – like mine – your nearest Morrisons is one of the smaller stores, just carrying the basic range. Even here, though, there are gems to be found. Take Root 1 Carmenere 2014, a bargain at its full price of £8 (Morrisons are phasing out all that £7.99 guff). This ripe Chilean red, with 15 per cent Syrah in the blend, is spicy, slightly smoky with sweet vanilla from 10 months’ oak ageing, a perfect BBQ or hard cheese partner.
Better still go for the Trivento Malbec Reserve, down from £9 to £6, now back up to £8, and offering abundant plummy fruit in a velvet glove of smooth tannins. Act quickly, though, at last glance our local shelves had been cleared. Word has got around that the 2015 scooped Platinum Best Argentinian Malbec under £15 in the 2016 Decanter World Wine Awards. Bizarrely go to Morrisons online and there’s a special offer until the end of the year, selling two bottles for £3. I’ve heard of loss leaders but…
Reverting to type for a moment, the IWC small retailer of the year was D Byrne & Co, in Clitheroe, well worth the 30 mile drive from Manchester – it is an Aladdin’s Cave of fairly priced quality wine. Check out their £89.99 Summer Dozen, whose reds include two contrasting Spanish faves, Sila Mencia, Monterrei and Borsao Seleccion Garnacha, Campo de Borja.
Enterprising Lidl have looked to Spain for their latest package of wines. “When they’re gone, they’re gone” as they say and, trust me the, shelves will be back to their usual thin pickings.
From the Lidl summer batch – 23 of the 40 are Spanish or Portuguese – I’d recommend from the whites, fresh, fennel-scented Azinhaga D’Ouro 2014, a great summer garden tipple at just £4,99 (the red stablemate’s great too) and from the reds, Soligamar Rioja Reserva 2011 (£8.99), all vigorous dark fruit, lovely now with grilled meats but with ageing capacity, too.
Cork of the NorthAmong all the supermarket wars Tesco seem to have suffered most and last year dramatically reduced its wine range, but their well-informed Wine Fairs are still hugely popular. This year’s Manchester weekend event is sold out on the Saturday (Sept 10), but tickets are still available for the Sunday afternoon session at Manchester Central, price £15 with 300 wines to taste.
It’s a far cry from such a big public event to the intimate neighbourhood wine bar, two of which have opened recently in Prestwich and Sale. I love both.
Grape to Grain has opened on Prestwich’s hottest strip, at 1 Church Lane on the corner opposite Solita and close to Cuckoo and All The Shapes. This tiny but airy bar/bottle shop has been created by Joannes Hubertus van Goethem, the Dutch cocktail whizz everybody calls Barry, and Tom Sneesby, one half of the Liquorists, whose Manchester drinks tours are the stuff of woozy legend. Cocktails are on there way here, but wine is the focus, with £12 cheese platters as a tasty support act.
On the top shelf you’ll find aged Burgundies but there is affordable stock, too. New Zealand is strong with personal favourites from Greywacke and Tinpot Hut. Or try the iconoclastic Aussie Fine Young Punks. To drink in add a standard £7 corkage fee – or by the glass dip into the eight bottle Enomatic machine.
Grape to Grain, PrestwichMarc Hough is not a fan of Enomatics. He prefers the old-fashioned generous pour at his Cork of the North at 13 Northenden Road, Sale (across from the Metrolink station). The wines of the moment are chalked up on a board behind the bar manned by the likes of his manager James Hands (ex-Reserve) and Anna Tutton, who co-owns the Vin Van Voom mobile wine bar. So plenty of tasting nous to match the shelves of wines opposite, all available there at a standard £8 mark-up.
The cheese and charcuterie plates deserve to be famous. Just like the Sale man, whose blue plaque graces the exterior of No.13. Playwright Robert Bolt (Man For All Seasons, Lawrence of Arabia, Dr Zhivago) was born here in 1924.
Inside the quirky bar has a touch of moviedom about it – boasting cinema seats salvaged and given glam covering. It sprang out of Marc’s wine merchant sideline. For twenty years he has been warm-up DJ for New Order (yes, it’s always Chardonnay for Bernard). He obviously found time touring the world to hone his palate. He’s a former journalist, so I let him do tasting notes on six of his current wines, three of which I have tasted and I endorse his judgements:
Value white – Peter Lehmann ‘Art and Soul Riesling (£9.99)
At only 11.5 % ABV perfect for al-fresco easy drinking – slightly off-dry and gently fruity with a delicious lime cordial taste. This Aussie isn’t too heavy on the typical petrol aromas you can get with many Rieslings.
Friday night white – Valenciso Rioja Blanco (£16.99)
A real customer favourite and a regular on our ‘by the glass’ list. A blend of Viura and Garnacha Blanco from one of Rioja’s best producers, it boasts complex flavours of stone fruits, nuts and citrus. This full-bodied, yet fresh wine was the house white at the three-Michelin starred El Bulli in Spain, which says it all, really.
Showstopper white – Montagny ‘Les Jardins’ Premier Cru (£18.50)
A white Burgundy to die for. It has got the lot – minerality, plenty of citrus notes and a delicious creaminess.
Marc Hough of Cork of the NorthValue red – Silver Myn Argentum (£7.99)
This big and beefy red from South Africa is a brilliant Bordeaux blend (Merlot, Cab Sauv, Cab Franc and Petit Verdot) at a fraction of the price you would pay for the French equivalent. Insane value.
Treat red – Rasteau ‘Les Banquettes’ £13.99)
When it comes to Rhone reds, everyone harps on about Chateauneuf-du-Pape and the like, but my favourite Rhone red has to be Rasteau. This is smooth, rich and supple, brimming with ripe red and black fruit flavours. This wine is as elegant as Cinderella’s ballgown.
Showstopper red – Colome Estate Malbec (£18.99)
This magnificent Argentine Malbec comes from one of the highest vineyards in the world at 3,111 metres above sea-level. It is silky smooth, with powerful blackcurrant flavours and a delicious lick of bitter dark chocolate on the finish.
Thanks, Marc, and finally my Wine of the Month.
Ever heard of Sylvaner? Thought not. It is the least known of Alsace’s seven main grape varieties and when that French region’s Rieslings and Gewurztraminers don’t sell in the numbers they deserve what chance this workaday, less aromatic stablemate? Still here’s heaping praise on Léon Beyer’s AOC Alsace Sylvaner 2014, savoury dry and food friendly with a dash of pepper, and a twist of honey and pear. Perfect summer drinking this small revelation at £8.50 from The Wine Society.
Maison Léon Beyer has been making distinctively austere wines wines since 1580 in the ridiculously picturesque town of Eguisheim. I remember visiting their cellars cut deep into the very terroir. Beats Tesco on a Friday night any time.
Follow Neil Sowerby @AntonEgoManc for more wine musings
Powered by Wakelet
