The Olympic Flame
POSTED ON 21/07/2012I haven’t entirely given up on my new year’s prediction that Boris will ignite the Cauldron on Friday with Olympic Flame, a sparkling rosé made by RidgeView in Sussex. Even if it doesn’t come to pass, one English rosé fizz flying the flag for the ‘Isles of Wonder’ will be the deliciously tangy 2008 Hush Heath Balfour Brut Rosé, £36 - 39, Waitrose, Wine Pantry (02074033003). It’s one of dozens of quality wines selected from the Primrose Hill wine merchant Bibendum’s range to wash down the fancy hospitality fare at London’s six Olympic venues over the coming weeks.
Aux Vins, Les Citoyens
POSTED ON 14/07/2012Bastille Day: an opportunity to arm yourself with a bottle in celebration of the revolutionary fraternity of that horny-handed son of the terroir, the French vigneron. The Gironde was once the breeding ground of the counter-revolution and the Bordeaux château remains today a symbol of capitalist enterprise. The French co-operative movement in contrast bands together groups of like-minded individuals with small vineyard parcels. On their own, they are powerless; together, they’ve manned the barricades of winemaking and stormed new frontiers of marketing.
Tickled Pink
POSTED ON 07/07/2012"A little bit of this, a little bit of that, but just your plain old summer”, forecasted netweather.tv. Perhaps a little more of that than we bargained for. Scarcely into July and I’ve already I’ve dusted the barbie down three times this year, once in March, once during the sunny pre-Jubilee week and once before flaming June flickered and died. I have the empty rosé bottles to prove it. Since this weekend marks the end of Wimbledon fortnight, the chances are that we may yet be in for a fourth if short-lived summer and that can only mean time to chill down and bring out the rosé again.
