The Rhone Touch - an interactive wine exhibition by students from London College of Communication, UAL

So I read in 'Good Things' Magazine, that Rhone Wines had partnered up with students from London College of Communication to create an interactive wine exhibition at the Platform Theatre at Central Saint Martins.

I immediately thought that was something I had to visit, so I went a couple of times last week with fellow wine lovers and it was an enjoyable time, with some really interesting exhibits created by the students.

My favourite was the grape stomping installation, where we got to stomp silicon grapes. The feel of them was amazing on the balls of your feet, like mini massage balls. The colour of the 'grapes' got darker as you stomped on them, then as the 'juice' was pressed, they went back to being clear:

An exhibit called 'Degorgement' was a wine bottle sound installation that played the sound of a cork opening when you covered the bottles with your hand. This wasn't working on my first visit, but I was really pleased it was working on my return. Have a look here:

There was another exhibit in the bar area called 'The Author's Friend' where you could hit a key on the keyboard of a traditional typewriter (where the letters had been replaced by symbols) and a word would appear on the screen. If you were patient you would then get a quote, lyric, or poem about that part of the wine sensation.

It was really clever, but the delay from initial word to quote meant we hit about 16 keys before we realised we were missing the quotes! Patience is needed in wine making, (and visiting an exhibition about wine it would seem...)

E-Bouquet - an electronic sommelier

Red - an abstract decanting experience

The pop up bar also had some lovely reds from the AC's of Cote Rotie and Crozes Hermitage. A fabulous red on the Tuesday was alas missing on the Saturday, but reaffirmed my love of the Northern Rhone.

Syrah you absolutely rock as a grape and I salute you!!!

You can read more about the exhibition here: Wined and Designed - Press Release from UAL

New wine tastings - Caixas Albarino and Gavi

I picked up 6 new whites at Majestic last week, because let's be honest there is nothing nicer than drinking a crisp white wine in the warmth of the summer sun (and there has been at least a little over the past week!)

The Caixas Albarino (2014) from Martin Codax, Rias Baixas was a very pleasant Spanish white for a summer evening. Light and young, with refreshingly high acidity for the price of £7.99, good value.

Some of the reviews on the Majestic website have suggested it is potentially too astringent, which I personally didn't find, and thought the lemon married well with stone fruit and some pear flavours.

It would be great with fish or a chicken salad on the hot days we have been enjoying in the south over the past couple of weeks.

https://www.majestic.co.uk/Caixas-Albarino-zid14008

I actually preferred the Gavi (2014) from La Toledana. Mimicking the steely minerality of the white Burgundians of Chablis, with crisp acidity and more peach and pear aromas and tastes, than the citrus and crisp green apple of Chablis.

I have had better Gavi, but again for the price - £10.49 I found it an enjoyable wine to drink with roast chicken, new potatoes and salad.

https://www.majestic.co.uk/Gavi-zid13033

WSET Level 3 Exam

So I had my WSET Level 3 exam this week - Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!

I had done a fair amount of prep for the exam, but am so out of practice for exams, (having left university 20 years ago now) that I found it quite hard going.

As I've mentioned before the Level 3 course is quite a step up from the Level 2 in terms of intensity and how much you have to remember. With only one set of mock essay questions and mock multiple choice questions in our study material, it was hard to get into the zone. I really would have appreciated more mock questions, and probably a mock essay exam in the classroom under examination conditions to help me prep. There were a few videos in the online classroom, but again it would have been useful to have a video to watch at least for every week of the course.

How anyone does this course and passes in 5 days I don't know. I would definitely recommend the 16 week, one night a week option as the best way to go (particularly if you aren't in the industry and you have a full time job as there is a lot to remember).

I genuinely don't know if I passed, although of course I hope I did. I think the tasting went ok, as did the multiple choice paper, but I found some of the essay questions difficult. Some of them because I couldn't remember facts (bloody Italy is my nemesis), but mainly I struggled to articulate all the salient facts into very small answer boxes.

I guess I'm just out of practice of writing exams...Anyway only 8 weeks till I find out the result, which I will share on here whether it's good news, or if I have to retake...

Keep your fingers crossed for me. In  the mean time, it frees me up to try more wines and go to different wine bars in the city now summer has arrived.

https://www.wsetglobal.com/qualifications/wset-level-3-award-in-wines-and-spirits/

New wine tasting - Rickshaw Chardonnay 2014

I picked up this cheeky little Chardonnay after a wine tasting at my local Majestic. There is so little Californian wine available around this price point in this country, that I snap it up whenever I see something I think I may fancy.

The grapes for this come from Santa Barbara (where I've stayed a few times), Mendocino County and Sonoma (both up the coast and north of San Francisco).

This was an enjoyable enough drop, buttery (presumably from Lees), toasty and vanilla from oak (but importantly not too much), married with lemon, apple and a hint of tropical reminding me of the warmth of the state.

Alcohol was high for a white at 14%, which meant for a full body which as the tasting notes point out meant for a 'balance of richness and freshness'.

I would probably get this again on a mixed six offer where it is £11.99 a bottle, as it was enjoyable and quoffable, though not a huge amount going on in terms of depth or length of finish.

https://www.majestic.co.uk/Rickshaw-Chardonnay-zid18078