A couple of wines bars worth a look

So I have been spending a bit of time in Davy's wine bars of late, when I haven't been revising for my WSET level 2 wine exam (tomorrow - ARGH!!!)

I have already written a post on The Boot and Flogger but recently went wine tasting at the enomatic machines at Davy's Wine House on High Holborn, approx 5 mins walk from the tube.

More expensive per taste than the Sampler, and less choice, it's still a great way to try different wines before you buy them, and it actually influenced some of the wines I ended up getting on my last Davy's order.Pop in and stay upstairs to try the 40 odd different wines. Downstairs is a large lovely bar, that gets very busy on a Friday night! I have eaten here once and the food was pretty darn good.

I also went to their Greenwich bar 'Davy's Wine Vaults' over the past week - 1 minute walk turning right out of Greenwich station. A large traditional higher end style pub, (with the shop a couple of doors down) with dining and plenty of booths to tuck yourself into on a wintry afternoon! We stayed for a lovely bottle of Shiraz, and the staff were happy to let us try a couple of French reds before plumping for the bottle from Oz. The only disappointment was that they didn't have any in the shop when we went to get some more to take home.

So the Boot and Flogger is still my favourite Davy's to date, but you can guarantee a warm welcome and knowledgeable staff at Davy's wine bars.

I might see if I can try and get to all of them. I do have a loyalty card after all...

New Wine Tasting - Kaiken Malbec Reserve 2013

Friday night at the British Museum meant a 3 course meal and a bottle of Argentinian Malbec (a particular favourite of my dinner date and I am rather partial to it myself!)

Obviously being in a restaurant it wasn't particularly cheap, but the RRP is around £6.99.

For this price I would say it's a real bargain. With a touch of Black Forest Gateaux about it, chocolate, vanilla and plum came together with some black fruits and high tannins. ABV was 14% and of course it came from Mendoza.

I really enjoyed it, and don't eat red meat, but imagine it would be sumptuous with steak/a stew.

Have a look here for more details of the winery: http://www.kaikenwines.com/ingles/reserva.html

Cheeky Dessert Wines in Winchester

Away for the weekend with a friend of mine, we decided to stay in our hotel on the Friday night and eat and drink there.

We enjoyed our meal, but the most interesting part of it for me was the flight of dessert wines after the meal for a very reasonable £5 for three.

We were too full for dessert so ended up having them with cheese and crackers, but they were all a very pleasant way to end the evening, sweet with high acidity and lots of flavour. Also they were very generous pours for a flight!

From left to right:

• Late Harvest Sauvignon (La Playa) Chile
• Red Muscadel (Rietvallei) South Africa
• Orange Muscat and Flora (Brown Brothers) Australia

3 minute wine school

Whilst doing some Level 2 revision today, I came across the 3 minute wine videos from WSET.

Covering some of the major wine growing regions and countries of the world, they are 21 interesting bite size tutorials (all around 3 minutes) on some of the best wines, which wines go with which foods, and they may help change your mind on some potential prejudices you may have had (e.g. against German wines or Chardonnay...)

Have a look - it's 60 minutes of your life which will be well spent:

http://www.wsetglobal.com/3_minute_wine_school/default.asp

Davy's Wine Tasting at Vintners' Hall

So as my friend was over from Thailand, where wine is ridiculously expensive due to tax, I thought it would be a nice idea to go wine tasting.

Davy's wine bars/wine shop ran a tasting event at The Vintners' Hall in the City. With over 50 wines for a ticket entry of £20 it seemed like the perfect event for us.

Arriving a little earlier than my friend, I went through the list and marked a number of wines I was interested in trying.

The venue itself was beautiful. We got a 20 minute tour and found out more about the place, their Van Dyck painting, and some of the history. Alas I was so interested in what I was being told I didn't take any photos, but really should have done. It was very grand, with lots of dark wood, and beautiful paintings, rugs and tapestries.

The Livery Hall where the tastings took place was gorgeous. High ceilings and chandeliers aplenty!

We slowly made our way round the various tables, starting with white wines, then moving onto reds and finishing with a port. 

Over 2 hours we tried around 20 odd different wines, and I ended up putting in an order for 24 bottles! I tried a couple of wines that were over £100 per bottle, but the white wasn't to my my taste at all.The red was much more my thing, but not for £100!

They were doing a special mixed case for their 145th birthday. Wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux. So I purchased one of those. I also got a selection of some of the wines I enjoyed from Italy, New Zealand, Chile and a beautiful 20 year old Tawny Port.

They arrived yesterday, so I will let you know how I get on with them. 

I'd definitely go back to Vintners' Hall for a tasting. Very grand!

Here they are!

Loving a full wine rack...

WSET level 2

So I'm mid way through my Wine Spirits and Education Trust Level 2 Wine Course and really enjoying it.

The course is 9 weeks long, 2 hours per week and is at the same Bermondsey office I was at for my level 1 course back in the summer. The course is a mixture of learning by looking at an interactive white board and workbook with a tutor, and 6 tastings each week. We work through a structured tasting process to decide what standard the wine is.

We are working our way around the world focusing on different varieties each week and seeing how wines taste depending on whereabouts they come from, and the methods used in making them.

Note my beautifully modern spittoon! 

It's genuinely fascinating, and only half way through my learning, I now know so much more about wine and what I can probably expect from wines just by looking at the label.

This weekend will be spent cementing everything I have learnt to date, potentially with some tasting of my own...

Reminders of the past are everywhere in this wicked place

The majesty of the WSET classroom!