The Friday 5 #115

7 great buys under £10 from the Wine Society, another well-loved cookbook you should have on your shelf, one new restaurant I'd go back to and one I wouldn't!

Goodness it’s been a busy week! Two live events - my first event as Wine Writer in Residence at The Pilgrm, interviewing the great Pierre Koffmann, a big supermarket tasting, helping out with an English wine harvest and checking out new restaurants in London and Bristol.

What were they like? How did it all go? Any new wines you should be buying? Read on …

First of all the tasting which was enormous fun.

If you remember it was entitled How to Taste Wine (and describe what you find in the glass) the object being to dispel the anxiety so many people have about talking about wine because they don’t feel they have the right vocabulary.

We concentrated instead on what it’s really useful to know about a wine - whether it’s dry or sweet, sharp or smooth, light or full-bodied, young or mature. You honestly don’t need to know much more than that to work out whether or not you’re going to like it. 

Thanks to Champagne Drappier, Dunleavy Vineyards, Sustainable Wine Solutions and Wines of Germany for their support. All the wines were great but the favourite seemed to be the Grolleau (above) a delicious light Loire red you can buy from Borough Wines in Borough Market for £15.

The harvest was at a small pinot noir vineyard in Canterbury. Amazingly it didn’t rain and it was actually a hugely satisfying activity going up and down the rows snipping off bunches. If you haven’t ever taken part in a grape harvest you should this weekend if they’re still harvesting. Local wineries will almost certainly welcome your help.

What else to drink?

7 great buys under £10 from The Wine Society