Muscat

A couple of years ago The One and I drove from Calais to Antibes to stay with some generous friends who had invited us to stay in their lovely rented holiday home. It is a long journey, so we took our time and had two overnight stops en route (as they say in France).

The first stop was in the heart of Burgundy in the wonderful medieval town of Beaune. The accommodation was straight out of 'Allo, 'Allo. I think we slept 'in the bedroom of my Mother' and definitely in the least comfortable bed imaginable. The local food and wine certainly justified the following day's backache.

The second stop was intended to be at Avignon, but there was a festival in full swing and no room at the inn. So we pushed on and drove up into the hills looking for a suitable resting place. We ended up in another lovely village, famous for it's sweet, fortified wine; Beaumes de Venise.

Week M (2014) is Muscat de Beaumes de Venise. NV. Costco £6.25 37.5cl.

Made from 100% Muscat, specifically the Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains version, it has been made sweet by having its fermentation arrested before all the sugar has been converted to alcohol, through the addition of grape spirit. This is the same technique used in the production of Port, only in the Rhone valley it gives rise to the term 'Vin Doux Naturelle', or naturally sweet wine.

It is 15% abv, and beautifully sweet and golden and has grapey, fruity, floral aromas and flavours with a lemon-honey finish.

This is a very typical example of the type of wine which has been made in this part of the Rhone valley from as long ago as the 14th Century, but recognised as an appellation controllee in 1945.

Not much more to say about this other than it makes a great partner to sweet desserts such as trifles and fruit custard type tarts, or as a chilled evening treat.

The Village of Beaumes de Venise is in a truly beautiful part of the world, in the shadow of a range of hills known as the Dentelles de Montmirail, from where our journey took us up into the Alps and through some beautifully scented lavender fields and up some impressive mountain passes. These passes are irresistible to mamils (the snuggly attired racing cyclists) who, not content with the effects of gravity, will pedal at full tilt down roads that I had to think twice about driving up.

A great trip and a great memory of drinking this wine in the village where it was made. Cheers.

Lambrusco

Ok, so this was a panic buy and not what I really wanted.

I had read and heard about how Lambrusco had made a justified return to our wine shop and supermarket shelves, having disappeared years ago for good reason. Most of us, of a certain age, remember Lambrusco as a light, pink, fizzy teenage party drink, barely qualified to be called a wine.

The 'new' Lambruscos are dry, semi sparkling wines with flavours of violets, strawberries, black cherries and fresh plums. They are higher in alcohol, fuller bodied and even tannic, like grown-up wines.

So I set about finding some to be my red L. There aren't many red L's, and it felt like a good opportunity to try something experimental which is, after all, why I started this game in the first place. It wasn't as easy as I had hoped. M&S have been reliable in their support for my exploration and they had a Lambrusco Rosato.

Week L (2014) is Marks and Spencer Lambrusco Rosato.

It is a light, pink, fizzy teenage party drink, barely qualified to be called wine.

I have since tasted a Lambrusco Grasparossa from Emilia-Romagna. It was dry, semi sparkling with flavours of violets, strawberries, black cherries and fresh plums. It was higher in alcohol, fuller bodied and slightly tannic.

The moral of this story? Never buy wine in a panic. There is good stuff out there waiting to reward the patient.

Koshu

Asked to suggest a list of wine producing countries most people would be unlikely to include Japan. Given the production volume is around 1% of that from France, this is not surprising, but Japan is still more productive than 15 of the top 40 producers (by volume).

There are many varieties, but only one is really considered the signature Japanese grape. That is Koshu, a pink skinned variety that developed its individuality over hundreds of years, having first arrived from the Caucasus along the Silk Road.

Week K (2014) Soryu Koshu, 2010. Amathus £21.35

Most of Japan's prefecture have grape growing regions, but 95% of Koshu is grown in the prefecture of Yamanashi, to the West of Tokyo, itself once known as Koshu and from where the grape takes its name.

The climate in Yamanashi is dominated by the monsoon, which brings both heavy rainfall (no, really) and high humidity, neither of which are particularly conducive to wine production. To address this, vines tend to be grown on high trellises using a technique known here as tanazukuri but in other parts of the world as tendone, to avoid fungal diseases by lifting the grapes that grow beneath the vine canopy into the more freely circulating air.

The excess water together with the tendency of growers to maximise yields can leave the grapes without the character and qualities that are necessary to produce a quality wine. However, careful producers are capable of producing good wines, and this week we have one of those.

It is a pale, almost colourless, with hints of green but bright and inviting. The aroma is more intense than I had expected with attractive floral notes.
These aromas appear again on the palate, but are backed with more stone-fruit, peachy flavours and some lemon-lime citrus touches.

It is 11% abv, light, fresh, dry and clean tasting with well-balanced acidity. I am tasting it as an aperitif and it works well, however, if there was any Sashimi to hand I would be ready to tuck in.

Jaen

In Portugal they grow many grapes. There are 82 varieties permitted in the production of Port, 30 of which are 'recommended' in the Duoro region decree 413/2011.

This week we have chosen a wine that features three of them and one that doesn't even make the long list.

Week J (2014) Quinta do Correio Tinto. Dao DOC 2011. Vinoteca, Farringdon. £9.25.

Made by Quinta dos Roques and marketed under a brand that translates to 'Postman's Estate', this one comes from the Dao valley a little further south than its arguably more famous neighbour. The valley is based on sandy granite soils, around 500m above sea level.

The grapes concerned are: Jaen 60%, Touriga Nacional 25%, Alfrocheiro 10%, Tinta Roriz 5%, and it is the third of these that shouldn't find its way into the fortified wine for which this country is so rightly renowned.

It tips the scales at 13.5% abv and so is relatively light, compared to what can be produced in this part of the world. It is brightly acidic, demonstrating the benefit of blending as Jaen can be light in both acid and tannin, but it does have a lively red fruit aroma.

It has not seen any oak and does not have great complexity. I can imagine some friends, who favour new world fruit-bomb reds, thinking it a little tart and not just for the colour of her shoes.

Synonyms abound as Jaen is known as Mencia, in Spain where Tinta Roriz is also better known as Tempranillo. Touriga Nacional is staunchly Portuguese and needs no other name and Alfrocheiro can also be found signing in as either Alfrocheiro Preto or Pe de Rato.

The elbow? Thank you for asking. Not too bad, but it makes typing difficult. Apparently I do usually use both hands.