Wine marathons
Wednesday 11 August
The thought of running a marathon makes my knees sore. The lunacy of running that far doesn’t stop plenty of unfit people from giving the 26 miles/42 km a crack. If I ever were to take on the distance, it would probably be in the Medoc, running past the chateaux along the Left Bank with a swarm of runners in fancy dress. However, the thought of getting passed by a runner in a rhino suit or Superman outfit would be too humiliating to bear.
The Medoc marathon already has two rival events in the region - in Blaye and Gujan-Mestras. But three marathons isn’t enough for the Bordelais, so next year the sweet wine appellations of Sauternes and Barsac are launching their own marathon. Put the 4 June 2011 in your diary and get training. The appellation’s wine body, the ODG, have been the driving force behind the marathon and producers will open up their cellar doors for tastings while the marathon winds through the area’s vineyards. There’s even talk of putting on swish dinners at the chateaux for the runners. I’m not sure if foie gras and running are much of a match, however.
It’s hoped there will be 800 participants. Will you be one of them?
Cheap Kiwi Pinot Noir lines Oddbins’ shelves
Monday 9 August
£6.99 for a Kiwi Pinot Noir? Surely it can’t be done? Or, at least it can’t be done if anyone’s trying to make a living?
Yet, if you head down to your local Oddbins this week, you’ll find the 2009 Stratum Pinot Noir from Sherborne Estate in Waipara down from £10.99 to less than seven English pounds.
Back in January at New Zealand conference Pinot Noir 2010, producers argued that their Pinot Noir could not be made and sold for under a crisp tenner - unless you wanted to go out of business. You might see some of the bigger Kiwi companies like Villa Maria selling their entry level Pinot Noir at a relative snip but that’s because they’ve secured a deal from their UK distributor to take a specified amount of their higher priced wines.
John Ferris, director of sales and marketing at Villa Maria Estate, said, ‘It is a very low margin for us but if you can strike a deal on selling quantities of your upper ranges in return for cheap prices there’s huge opportunities in the sub £10 category. But it’s essential to keep your cost-of-goods down”
Many other premium producers have said sub £10 Pinot Noir is not viable for most New Zealand wineries, and they should be concentrating on the on-trade and independent sector. Yet the average price for a bottle of New Zealand Pinot Noir in the UK is just under the £9-mark. Or, you can go down to Oddbins and buy a bottle for £6.99. However, things are still comparatively buoyant for New Zealand - the average price for a bottle of Chilean Pinot is around the £6-marker.
Sauvignon producer joins Specialists
Friday 6 August
Cast your minds back to the start of the year. Yes, I know it’s difficult and some of us can’t remember what happened yesterday but you may recall a premium winemaking group lauching: The Specialist Winegrowers of New Zealand.
Sauvignon Blanc accounts for 80% of the wine that leaves Kiwi ports yet the Specialists didn’t have a Savvy in their portfolio, claiming there were few producers who specialised solely in the variety.
It’s also a price-sensitive variety, as Chris Canning of The Hay Paddock, told me in an article for decanter.com ‘Sauvignon Blanc is such a cut-throat market.’
‘There was a little prejudice toward the variety. We want to decouple ourselves from the New Zealand wine brand image that is slanted toward Sauvignon Blanc,’ he said back in January.
However, the group’s tune has changed - they have just announced Marlborough’s Fairbourne Estate will be the sixth member of the Specialists, dedicated to Sauvignon Blanc.
According to the press release, Fairbourne has been on the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc scene since the early 1990’s. Embarrassingly, I have never visited them, tried their wines and heard very little about them, so I can’t tell you whether they are any good! I will endeavour to change that.
Fairbourne joins Waiheke-based The Hay Paddock and Destiny Bay; fizz producers No.1 Family Estate; Gewurztraminer specialists Vinoptima and, Wooing Tree from Central Otago.
Sauternes: Beware of the dogs
Wednesday 4 August
I’ve never been a dog person. I was once attacked on Skinningrove beach on a school trip by an Alsatian and have not been a fan of the canine family since.
So, I can’t say I was too happy in the sweet wine appellations of Bordeaux this week when every resident appeared to have an aggressive dog on their property. The first dog I met at Chateau Biac, Charlie, was no worries although it took a liking to my left shin and insisted on licking it at any opportunity. I tried to tell it I had recently showered but it didn’t seem to care.
My next run in with a chien was just 12 hours later with my nemesis - an Alsatian - at Ch. Rabaud Promis in Sauternes. Thank God, it was elderly and didn’t seem that interested in any of my body parts. However, it turned out the dog liked Sauternes and every time we went to spit on the gravel drive (no spittoons here) its party trick was catching whatever we spat out.
Cycling around Sauternes is a great way to see the area although if you’re on the road between Chateau d’Yquem and Ch. Raymond Lafon, watch out for a ferocious Jack Russell. Once again, the French dog was going for my legs, trying to bite my ankles. I don’t think I’ve cycled so fast in a long while trying to get away from it. Unfortunately the tourist office’s bikes are not exactly racing bikes so while my legs were going like billy-o, the Jack Russell was managing to keep up. I finally shook it off after a couple of hundred metres.
Bear in mind, this was all within a 24-hour period. I was yapped at by many dogs throughout the cycle ride but luckily they were fenced in.
My dog problems were not over, however. My last visit in Loupiac involved a rottweiler. it burst through some bushes and went for us. I froze, thinking Lady Luck had deserted me. Baring its teeth and barking, my blood pressure was on the up. Suddenly it jerks backwards and the metal chain around its neck has extended as far as it can. Suddenly, it’s funny. Nevertheless, I might invoke a no-dogs policy on my next trip to a wine region.