WinesWithAttitude, Author at Wines With Attitude

Independent review of Wines With Attitude

REVIEW OF WINES WITH ATTITUDE It is always nice to receive good feedback about Wines With Attitude whether for its service, its products or for both. In fact any feedback is useful so that I can improve things for my customers, newsletter subscribers and followers. I was very flattered that this unsolicited review of Wines With Attitude is the first review of independent wine merchants written by Paul Howard of Wine Alchemy. Paul Howard writes on wine and related subjects and has received various wine awards over the years like the Food & Drinks Awards’ “Wine Education Expert Award 2017” and Best Wine Education Expert 2017 at the Global Excellence Awards. In his independent review of Wines With Attitude Paul writes “…the $64,000 question. Would I buy again from Wines With Attitude? The wines were excellent, and Lindsay’s earnt my trust, so absolutely. Do check it out.” Although I have taken the liberty of adding a few photos and updates in square brackets[…], the words below are Paul Howard’s: “INDIE WINE MERCHANTS – #1, WINES WITH ATTITUDE I’ve meant to start reviewing Independent Wine Merchants for some time. These specialist wine businesses may be bricks, they may be clicks, or they might be both. The first to feature here is a young company, Wines With Attitude. But first, a preamble. Why Independents are worth your time and money It has long been my belief that the independent wine retail sector is best for high-quality, interesting wines. Usually, these are also accompanied by excellent customer service. I say this in the knowledge of once being Contributing Editor for the ASDW magazine and buying from many. It’s how I prefer to buy wine in the UK. Obviously, some are better than others. All independents must have a talent for uncovering exciting wines and be friendly and approachable. Otherwise, they won’t survive, never mind thrive. Additionally, many of their wines come directly from the winegrower. It often means such wines would otherwise never be available. Hence I think independents are sources of far better and far more interesting wines. These are the places to discover quality, flavours and memories. Supermarkets democratised wine and helped turn us into a wine drinking nation in the past. Now they have too many mass-produced bland brands, and their ranges have shrunk considerably. At an indie, you’ll taste the difference (if you’ll pardon the pun). I don’t intend to cover every indie merchant as there are now, according to Wine Intelligence [now part of the IWSR], some 750 independents in the UK, many of which are listed here. Indeed, the number of independents has grown in the last ten years by 50%, mainly thanks to the internet. No longer a dying breed, this is once again a vibrant sector worth your trust and hard-earned. Some are traditional with a long history; some are young mavericks. All seek to offer a better alternative to the Big Four supermarkets and their ilk. My Motivation Time to be clear about my motivation for these reviews. These reviews are without financial rewards from those independent merchants. Rest assured that I’m writing because I’ve bought wine from them with my own money and enjoyed the customer experience. So any review is on merit, not because they paid me or wanted some specious advertorial. With that in mind, please read on. Wines With Attitude I first met Lindsay Cornelissen, who set up Wines With Attitude Ltd., while judging at the IWSC [International Wine & Spirits Competition]. While still working in financial services in the City, Lindsay became WSET Diploma qualified. That parallels my wine career, so I found a kindred spirit. Lindsay created Wines With Attitude in March 2014. It was born out of her disappointment when buying wines in supermarkets and via mail-order wine clubs. She finds the frequency of poor quality one-dimensional wines shocking. I do too. She has eighty or so wines online, mostly in the £12-£45 price range, mainly from artisanal wine producers. The idea is to help wine-lovers drink better, though not necessarily more expensively. Hence I thought I’d try Wines With Attitude out with my own money and without asking for any favours. It wasn’t mystery shopping, but the proof of the pudding, as they say, is in the eating. Firstly, the Wines With Attitude website is easy to navigate. The wines easy to search for by country, region, grape, and style. Most importantly, there’s plenty of great wines too; from classic styles to curious grapes. Importantly, all are ready to drink, though many will continue to improve. Each has good descriptions, customer reviews and hints on food matching. The minimum order is six bottles, but you can mix and match them. There’s even a single-bottle gift service for that special someone. The road test Buying is easy and secure thanks to SagePay and Trustwave [now sperceded by WooPayments and Stripe]. I particularly like their privacy policy and that the bottle prices include Duty and VAT. Unlike some! Delivery is free to most mainland UK on orders over £200.00. Otherwise, it’s £15.00. If you live in their vicinity (Potters Bar in Hertfordshire) then delivery is free. My advice is not to be put off by delivery costs. London City Bond keep all the wines in storage. Not only does that guarantee that wine storage conditions are top-notch, but it also means a high-quality delivery service too. Beware online merchants that keep stocks in their spare bedroom and cut delivery charges by skimping on quality. It won’t seem like a bargain if you need to deal with breakages or rubbish delivery times. I received my tracked wine order the next day. That exceeded my expectations, and I didn’t get any special treatment. My bottles were also reassuringly well wrapped. I’ve had crummy experiences with damaged orders from others in the past, but not here. Wines With Attitude also have a weekly Newsletter, (a good way to keep up with new wines coming in and regular offers), a Blog, and even an App coming soon; Android on the Google Play Store

Wines With Attitude In The Press, Woman & Home magazine

A day in the life of a reluctant model

Misc.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A RELUCTANT…MODEL! In my personal life I have always been the first to shy away from publicity, keeping a low profile on social media and hiding behind others when the cameras are out. How things have changed since setting up Wines With Attitude. After an audio podcast with e-commerce guru Chloe Thomas late last year, I have now even braved the cameras and feature in the March issue of Woman & Home. What an experience! The focus of the article was women who have moved out of careers in the large corporate world to set up their own small businesses, the aim to provide inspiration to others. Although I have told the story of my journey – from heading up a corporate client relationship management team in the City to selling wine online – many times before I was quite nervous about my interview. I needn’t have been as journalist, Samantha Downes, soon put me at ease. I can still recall clearly the moment of my epiphany mentioned in the article – my “Plan B moment” which set me off on the track of gaining the WSET Diploma in Wine & Spirits and sowing the seeds for the business. The thought of the next step – the photo shoot for the article or glam shoot as W&H called it in November – was the most painful for me because of my uncomfortable relationship with the camera. For the W&H team however – picture editor, photographer, stylists and hair & make-up ladies – it was all in a day’s work. It was more relaxing than I had anticipated – all decisions re outfit, hair, make-up, the general “look” and even the poses were all made for me. Fortunately the three of us featured were all available on the same day – a greater degree of flexibility is one advantage of working for yourself – so we had the chance to meet face-to-face and have our photo taken together. We had not met before the shoot but immediately clicked, having so much in common; we have met up since that day, laughed at the thought that we no longer have any stress in our working lives and continue to share our connections and our experiences of developing our businesses. We are already looking forward to our next catch-up. Through her company, Mosami, Sarah Greenaway, works with talented British designers to create contemporary and unique jewellery with timeless style and elegant design. Each beautifully crafted piece is mindfully sourced from small and artisanal businesses that genuinely care about their people and environment so you can wear it in the knowledge it is doing good for the people who made it. It was inspiring listening to Sarah’s story and her passion for ethically produced jewellery – Mosami is proud to be one of only ten jewellers in the world to pioneer Fairtrade silver. She really gave me food for thought. Jennifer is making a huge splash in the petite fashion world with her brand, Jennifer Anne. Having struggled when she was a City lawyer to find stylish clothing designed exclusively for petite women, Jennifer decided to create her own range despite having no experience in the fashion business. Each piece is meticulously and creatively designed with everything in proportion specifically for the smaller figure; and everything is made in the UK using high quality fabrics. Any petite-sized working ladies looking for smart, tailored outfits will find inspiration in her collection. I hope we do provide some inspiration. A big thank you to Woman & Home for bringing us together! P.S. Several people have asked me about the boots – they are from L K Bennett! Cheers! I am passionate about good quality wine and set up Wines With Attitude to share that passion with other wine lovers. If you’re feeling sociable why not follow me on social media or share my blog with others? Facebook Linkedin Instagram Pinterest independent producers personally chosen especially for you

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The Best Wines to Drink with Asparagus

Wine & Food

THE BEST WINES TO DRINK WITH ASPARAGUS Asparagus is one of those foods that are notoriously difficult to pair with wines; others include artichokes, vinaigrette, lemons and chilli. So difficult is it to find wines that will complement asparagus and not be overcome by its unique and slightly bitter taste, that some wine writers will advise not to drink wine at all with it. But there are wines that will create a good pairing with this much aligned vegetable – it’s just a matter of looking at the characteristics of asparagus, what it is being cooked with and how the taste might change with different wines in order to find the best wines to drink with asparagus and asparagus-based dishes. WHY ASPARAGUS IS SO DIFFICULT TO MATCH WITH WINE As I am sure you are aware, green asparagus which is more commonly eaten than white asparagus in the UK, has a strong and quite distinctive flavour. This is the first problem when trying to find wines to pair with it as that strong flavour should not overpower the taste of the wine. We should therefore aim for wine with a fairly powerful taste. The strong asparagus flavours are vegetal, some might even describe them as grassy, which is not surprising as they come from chlorophyll which develops as the asparagus pokes out of the soil until it reaches around 20cm in height when it is harvested to meet the increasing appetite for it. These green flavours can make wine taste bitter and acids in the chlorophyll can give the wine a metallic edge; wine with low acidity and with predominantly fruity rather than vegetal flavours could clash. And then there is a slight bitterness on the finish of the asparagus itself which will emphasise any bitterness, tannins and oak flavours in wine. A fairly strong-flavoured wine with high levels of acidity and vegetal flavours, no bitterness, low tannins and subtle or no oak flavours sounds like it will be the best option. This is why Sauvignon Blanc is usually the first suggestion and sometimes the only suggestion to drink with asparagus – and if you like your asparagus steamed or gently boiled with no other accompaniments, then Sauvignon Blanc is ideal. If you are not a Sauvignon fan, then opt for a crisp Austrian Gruner Veltliner as its profile is more vegetal than fruity. Often however asparagus is just part of a dish rather than the main attraction and so let’s consider various asparagus-based dishes and tackle them individually because the other ingredients need to be given consideration when choosing your wine; a top tip is to consider the most dominant component of a dish and use that to match with wine. WINE WITH ASPARAGUS AND BUTTER There is nothing nicer, in my view than the first asparagus of the season steamed or boiled just until ‘al dente’ and served warm with butter melting on top of it. You might be tempted to reach for that Sauvignon Blanc which meets all the criteria above but the richness of the butter adds another dimension and needs a wine that is also fairly rich and less acidic than a Sauvignon Blanc. Consider a Chardonnay with good acidity as the fat in the butter could dilute any crisp acidity in the wine and make sure it is an unoaked Chardonnay as a strong oak influence could clash with the bitterness of the asparagus. WINE WITH ASPARAGUS AND HOLLANDAISE SAUCE Hollandaise is a classic sauce to accompany asparagus; made from egg yolks, butter and lemon juice, it’s rich and so needs a wine with refreshing acidity to cut through that richness. In this instance I find champagne is the best option or a Chardonnay – even a full-bodied Chardonnay that has seen oak but only as long as it has the necessary crisp acidity. WINE WITH ASPARAGUS SOUP Usually made with cream and some sort of stock, asparagus soups can potentially be very rich so again a richer wine makes more sense than a Sauvignon Blanc as long as it’s not so overpowering that you will lose the delicate flavour of the asparagus. I would suggest an Austrian Gruner Veltliner which has a sharp acidity and is generally pretty food-friendly but especially for dishes with a lot of herbs and green vegetables. WINE WITH ASPARAGUS RISOTTO A creamy asparagus risotto or a creamy vegetable risotto where the distinctive flavour of asparagus dominates needs a wine which combines a bit of body and good acidity so a Sauvignon Blanc could work as long as it has body or consider this white Rioja which, unusually is composed of 50% crisp Sauvignon and 50% Tempranillo Blanco for the body. A cool-climate Pinot Grigio or Pinot Bianco would also work well. Top tip – if your plant-based risotto also contains mushrooms, you could choose a light unoaked red wine. As they are a more savoury vegetable, mushrooms can make some wines seem more acidic and less fruity so a savoury red wine with lower acidity like a Pinot Noir or a Nebbiolo would be ideal. WINE WITH CHAR-GRILLED ASPARAGUS Similarly adding the savoury bite of char-grilled or barbecued asparagus would be well-suited to a light red wine. A fruity red with quite intense flavours would be ideal but a wine with high tannins should be avoided as they could emphasise the char-grilled nature of the asparagus. Again a light Pinot Noir would work or a fruity Bardolino. WINE WITH ASPARAGUS WRAPPED IN HAM If serrano or a similar dried cured ham is wrapped around asparagus, another key element comes into play and that is salt. Highly tannic wines would clash with the saltiness and make the ham and the wine taste metallic so it is best to stick to white wine like a crisp white Rioja. WINE WITH ASPARAGUS VINAIGRETTE A double-whammy here with the vinegar in the dressing also a major consideration and probably the most dominant taste of the dish – but you also need a wine to make the asparagus shine through. Sauvignon

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Vintage Champagne: Is it worth the price?

Wine Prices, Wine Styles

VINTAGE CHAMPAGNE; IS IT WORTH THE PRICE? Vintage champagne is often talked about in much revered terms and the prices it can sell for suggest a far superior product to non-vintage champagne but is vintage champagne so much better than non-vintage? This blogpost looks into what exactly vintage champagne is, how vintage champagne differs from non-vintage champagne and what vintage champagne tends to taste like in comparison to non-vintage. In addition we look into the best vintage champagne years, how long vintage champagne can keep, how best to appreciate vintage champagne and whether it is worth the premium. First let’s look at non-vintage and vintage champagnes and the differences between the two. NON-VINTAGE CHAMPAGNE Non-vintage champagne is produced year on year in a consistent house style and, to achieve that consistent style, champagne houses have to use a blend of wines produced from grapes from different vineyards picked in different years, often many different years, and usually, though not always from all three of the authorised champagne grapes – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Reserve wine is kept back each year to use in the non-vintage blend (or cuvée) and accounts for about 20% of the total blend. It is a real skill producing that consistency of style that non-vintage champagne tends to have given the differences each year in grape quality and weather and taking into account the effects of ageing on the reserve wines. So, if you find a non-vintage champagne that you really like, I always recommend that you stick to that brand because you can be pretty sure that the taste and quality will stay the same. In my case de Castellane non-vintage Brut Champagne (above) has been my favourite for many years and remains so which is why it was the first wine that I wanted in the Wines With Attitude portfolio. VINTAGE CHAMPAGNE Vintage champagne is not produced every year but only when the producer deems the vintage to be worthy – it is usually about three or four times each decade. Some champagne houses only produce vintage champagne, Dom Perignon for example, which means that they don’t produce champagne every year, adding to the rarity value – and to the price. All the grapes used to produce a vintage champagne must be from the year’s harvest specified on the front label of the bottle. No reserve wines from other years can be added. They are generally still blends however as the winemaker mixes the juice from different grapes and from grapes from different plots with different terroirs but instead of looking for a consistent style, they are trying to achieve the best tasting champagne from the best grapes grown in the specific conditions of that vintage. Each vintage champagne will therefore taste different; even a specific champagne house’s vintage champagne will taste different each year it is produced. There are some who think that, even in vintage years, the priority for most champagne houses has to be the non-vintage champagne as that is what they sell most of; it has to be hoped that using the better grapes for the vintage champagne does not compromise the known style of the non-vintage champagne but there are some who believe that it does. HOW & WHY VINTAGE CHAMPAGNE TASTES DIFFERENT Non-vintage champagnes must mature in bottle for a minimum of 15 months of which 12 months must be on the lees (mainly a deposit of yeasts which forms after the second fermentation in the bottle has finished, as seen in the photo). Vintage champagne spends longer ageing, at least three years. In practice it is often much longer before any wines are released – two to three years for non-vintage and four to ten years for vintage. The additional ageing time means that vintage champagne develops more body, more complex flavours and a smoother texture. In younger non-vintage champagne the primary flavours will be fruit – citrus fruits like lemon and grapefruit and stone fruits like peach and apricot. In non-vintage champagne that has aged a while a buttery or creamy texture and secondary flavours like brioche/ toast and nuts may start to develop. These secondary flavours will be more intense in vintage champagne because of the longer ageing; in addition the body will be fuller, the wine richer and further earthy flavours and aromas like leather and mushrooms may be present. HOW LONG VINTAGE CHAMPAGNE CAN KEEP Vintage champagne is likely to age better and for longer. Non-vintage champagne should generally be drunk within 36-48 months of bottling (remember it has already aged at least 12 months in bottle before release) whereas non-vintage champagne can be kept for five to ten years or longer (after its minimum three years ageing in bottle). THE BEST VINTAGE CHAMPAGNE YEARS Of course it is all a matter of taste but generally the following years are considered to be the very best vintages of the 2000s – 2018, 2012, 2008 and 2002. HOW TO ENJOY VINTAGE CHAMPAGNE I would recommend serving vintage a little less chilled than non-vintage champagne say at 12-14°C so that the complex flavours of the wine are not masked. Also allow the champagne to breathe for 15-30 minutes so that the layers of unique aromas and flavours have time to unfold. Sit back and enjoy! IS VINTAGE CHAMPAGNE WORTH THE PREMIUM? Vintage champagne is generally currently priced at around £40-£60 but can be hundreds of pounds per bottle; the fact that vintage champagne represents only 5% of total champagne production and the longer ageing time account to some extent for the difference in price. But at the end of the day, you are taking a bit of a chance; although the winemaker is trying to impress with a wine made from the best fruits from the best years, it really is all a matter of taste. Whether you think a wine is worth the premium, depends on the particular vintage and the particular wine and your own preferences. I recall one blind tasting of

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Lower Carbon Footprint with Lighter Wine Bottles

Misc., Serving & Storing Wine

LOWER CARBON FOOTPRINT WITH LIGHTER WINE BOTTLES Reducing the weight of wine bottles is a small but relatively easy way to reduce wine’s carbon footprint. This blogpost looks at why some wine bottles are so heavy, how light they could safely become and the obstacles on the path to lightweight wine bottles for the wine industry. In the face of climate change, the wine industry like others has been undergoing a slow but steady transformation for several years in order to reduce its carbon footprint. Great strides have been made in the vineyards and in wineries especially in the mid-range and premium areas of the market but attention is now turning to the bigger problems of packaging and transportation which together are responsible for about 50% of the carbon footprint of wine. The focus for many within the industry – mainly because it is considered a quick win – is reducing the weight of wine bottles. HOW HEAVY ARE WINE BOTTLES? As regular readers of my newsletters will know, heavy wine bottles are a real bugbear of mine; I just don’t see the need and feel it is such a waste especially as many of the heaviest seem to come from New World countries and therefore have to travel long distances to reach the UK market. It is believed that the average weight of empty still wine bottles is about 550g; in my very unscientific experiment over the last few weeks, I reached a very similar conclusion with the heaviest bottle weighing in at a phenomenal 985g, yes, almost 1kg before wine is added, which would make a case of 12 full bottles weigh almost 21kg. You have to have sympathy for warehouse operatives and couriers that have to lift such heavy loads on a regular basis. WHY ARE WINE BOTTLES SO HEAVY? Champagne and sparkling wine bottles need to be strong enough to contain the pressure from the bubbles but the focus in this blogpost is on still wine bottles and they don’t have the same excuse for heavy bottles. It used to be widely believed that heavier bottles contained wine of a better quality and without doubt many brands helped to spread that belief but it is quite simply a myth. Some wine producers, brand managers and sommeliers use the related excuse that consumers expect a heavy bottle but there is of course very little if any data to support that and, as consumers are becoming much more aware of climate change and sustainability, that argument doesn’t hold much weight – if you excuse the pun. In fact, whilst one of the main drivers for reducing the weight of wine bottles is the environment and a second is reducing costs, a third driver is the number of consumers becoming more interested in more sustainable and lower carbon products generally. Glass is still the best container for wine as it is inert but current thinking is that for wines that are meant for quick consumption (within 1 to 2 years) or in small formats, alternative packaging may be the answer (and that’s the subject of a future blogpost). In an ideal world glass would therefore just be used for wines that are meant to age in bottle for several years. Nevertheless, those glass bottles need not be so heavy. Bottles only need to be strong enough to prevent breakages which mainly occur on the filling line and in transportation. WHAT IS THE OPTIMUM WEIGHT FOR WINE BOTTLES? What the optimum weight for wine bottles should be is a difficult question to answer as there are other considerations like bottle shape and secondary packaging to consider. Apparently Burgundy bottles are much easier to make lightweight than Bordeaux bottles which have more defined shoulders and could be as light as 350g without the need for additional packaging to prevent breakages in transit. It is clear though that the whole supply chain needs to be taken into account in order to find the optimum weight. The lowest weight that is believed to be achievable for glass wine bottles is believed to be about 350g, down from an average of about 550g currently. The good news is that experimentation with these lighter bottles has not required any changes to production lines and nor have producers who use lighter bottles had negative customer feedback. In a debate on the subject at London Wine Fair 2023 Nigel Greening, proprietor of Felton Road wines, said that since using 417g bottles for five years, they have had no pushback at all from customers and no decline in sales which suggest that customers have accepted the new format without question. There is already an example in the drinks industry in the UK because, as long ago as 2007, many spirits producers agreed to reduce the weight of their bottles from 525g to 320g and that has been accepted by the market. Several large retailers in the UK are in the process of signing an accord to move to wine bottles weighing 420g or less by the 2027 vintage. 420g is also the weight that state-controlled wine importing organisations in Canada are using as the maximum they will buy. That figure seems to be a good starting point. One simple solution to reduce the weight of bottles would be to shorten the neck of wine bottles. This is already something that is being done with screwcap-topped bottles but it is more difficult with bottles sealed with a cork. Other suggestions are to reduce or do away with the punt and simply to reduce the thickness of the glass. THE CHALLENGES TO REDUCING WINE BOTTLE WEIGHTS The biggest challenge, as with most things, is encouraging people to change their mindsets and some of the traditional practices within the industry and this would need to come from the wine producers, wine associations or appellations to brand managers, logistics companies, retailers and consumers. For example, some wine regulators or appellations are very prescriptive about the size, weight and shape of wine

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