OLD TREASURES

It was bitterly cold yesterday so I had the fire blazing away nicely and thought that a wee dram wouldn't go amiss. I pulled out some old bottles from the back of the cupboard and came across one that I had forgotten about. It is Glen Mist Whiskey Liqueur made by Savermo in Ireland. This was bottled in the 1940's I think. The brand later became Irish Mist which is still going. It is an Irish equivalent of Drambuie or Glayva. I have had the bottle for a long time, acquiring it with some other old bottles of whisky and liqueurs about 25 years ago. The liqueur inside is still drinking well, a rich mix of whiskey, honey and herbs. It is 70 proof. The back label says that it is made from the finest reserve whiskeys and I assume that these are Irish Malt Whiskies. There is certainly a pronounced woody character which supports this as simple grain whiskey would not have had the barrel ageing that good malts have. I checked on the internet and discovered that rare bottles of this sell for 250 pounds sterling and upwards. Unfortunately mine is open and there is only half a bottle left.

POOR MAN'S GRANGE

.... or also known as Baby Grange is Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz.
I was lucky enough to have been brand manager in New Zealand for Penfolds wines in the mid 1980's. I had been retailing the brand for quite a few years previous to this and knew and respected it well. I remember drinking a lot of Grange Hermitage (Penfolds top label) in the late 70's and early 80's when it was about  $10 to $15 a bottle. Today a new vintage costs over $600 and older vintages can cost more. I stopped buying and drinking Grange in quantity in the late 80's and early 90's because it had become too expensive ($80 to $100) apart from the odd top vintage and looked more to St Henri and Bin 389 which were way cheaper and had many of the same characteristics. Bin 389 which used to be about $10 to $20 has now crept up in price a lot and can be seen to be selling in the high '60's but, as the brand is now owned by Fosters is subject to crazy discounts and can be judiciously bought for much less.
On the weekend when I was fossicking in the cellar I dragged out a couple of bottles of 1998 Bin 389.
I opened one tonight to see how it was developing and was pleasantly surprised. It has heaps of life in it yet. It is rich and plummy with a lovely silky, edgy taste, a complex fruit and spice (with some menthol) nose and still has a deep dark colour. Not bad for a 13 y.o. wine that cost about $18 when I bought it.

Her Indoors is in Auckland this week so I cooked for one. I had some red cod fillets in the freezer so thought that a teriyaki fish and rice dish would do. I dusted the bite-size fish pieces in flour, lemon pepper and lemon grass and quickly pan-fried them. Once cooked (they cook quickly) I added teriyaki sauce, ginger and garlic to the pan and gave it a stir around. This was put on top of fluffy rice with a bit of mayonnaise. Delicious. I know that some purists may be shocked - red wine with fish, red wine with a spicy asian dish etc. but believe me the aged, plummy, spicy and fruity flavours of the wine went perfectly with the teriyaki fish dish.

Don't worry, be happy.

LENTIL SOUP AND COONAWARRA CABERNET

"Lentil soup for dinner tonight my love" called Her Indoors. I mumbled something inaudible thinking that of all the things we might have on a Saturday night, lentils was not on the list. Whenever I hear of lentils I think of Neil from The Young Ones



As it turned out the lentil soup was delicious. It was so delicious that I asked Her Indoors to give it another name so that next time she makes it I might be a bit more enthusiastic. Her lentil soup consists of a base of lentils obviously, soaked overnight with canned tomato, home-made chicken stock, fresh ginger, garlic and red chillies. It was served with crusty oven baked bread rolls and lashings of butter (well, Logicol).

We opened a wine from the cellar. Looking for a good red I found a bottle of Rosemount Show Reserve Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 1994 that I thought had been long gone. I was not expecting a lot from the wine given that it was 17 years old and Coonawarra wines are not renowned for long ageing but I was pleasantly surprised. On opening the nose was all chocolate and coffee but with a bit of breathing the fruit developed into a nice cassis nose and the initial greenness while not totally disappearing ( a Coonawarra trait) the palate rounded out to reveal rich sweet fruit. This wine was good when I first bought it but I never expected it to last so long. What a treat.

MONKEYING AROUND

Constellation has changed the label of Monkey Bay.
The original label took the market by storm with its clean background with a striking green image and the curve-cut with strong black background. This was all done to dramatically stand out on shelf and table and proved to be a phenomenal success. Ok, I am close to it and it is a favourite but ... it worked.

The brand team at Constellation changed the label because (I quote from an e-mail I received):

" Essentially because we were getting  lots of comments that the old label made the wine look a bit cheap and gimmicky"

I wonder what aspect of 'critter-branding', 'commercial propositions' and 'cheap and cheerful' they don't understand.
They changed the label to this:

Now I understand branding and the need to refresh labels, logos and images  but they should all be positive and forward steps not regressive. The new label while clean and tidy has lost the strong image and replaced it with a weak sketch. The loss of curve in the label and dumping of the strong black background has weakened impact. 


But I could be wrong.

A WARM GLOW

Winter in the North is not at all like the Christchurch and Wellington winters that I have known but can occasionally get cold. We have had a cold snap (down to 13 degree days and 5 degree nights) which while not exactly requiring snow shoes and wooly jackets has driven us to putting the fire on.
Yesterday, after doing some gardening chores I chopped some wood and prepared the fire for later. Later, towards dinner-time I lit the fire and we discussed what wine we would drink. Chardonnay just wasn't going to cut it so Pinot Noir was on the agenda. Then, looking at the fire with the cosy glow I changed my mind, went down to the cellar and brought back a bottle of E&E Black Pepper Shiraz 2000.

This is one of Australia's greats, a fine Barossa Valley shiraz sourced from very old vines, carefully selected and given the full 'bells and whistles' winemaking treatment. The winemakers recommendation for drinking is 'up to 10 years'. At 11 years this wine has just started to hit its straps. The rich sweet fruit is beautifully balanced by the big vanillan oak and the 'black pepper' character is evident but not too pronounced. The wine has softened without losing its power and has not yet become sappy. This was a beautiful accompaniment to a rich soup and hot bread rolls before the fire.

IN TRAINING

We've all heard of the French paradox - the fact that despite a seemingly unhealthy and sedentary lifestyle the French manage to have lower cardio-vascular events than the norm and that this has been put down to the high red wine consumption. Well now medical science has identified a compound that is described as "exercise in a bottle". The June 2011 study, published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal claims that resveratol found in wine, could slow the negative consequences of a sedentary lifestyle like insulin resistance and loss of bone mineral density. It also hinders the storage of fat and clogged coronary arteries. The study discovered this when looking at the effects on the body of astronauts in sedentary situations. They experimented with rats and mice and those given doses of resveratol did not demonstrate the negative aspects of lying around and doing nothing all day. One glass of red wine contains 1 mg of resveratol, which while less than dietary supplements is considered to be beneficial.

In other studies, red wine has been seen to assist the body in weight loss by:

• The regulation of ingested fats and ensuring that the fats in the body are polyunsaturated and have lesser effect of accumulation of lipids and ensuring that lipids are of low density;
• Red wine helps the body's cardio-vascular system by placing the body in a condition of higher metabolism where the muscles and organs demand more energy;
• Red wine also provides the body with nutrients like manganese, potassium and calcium which are useful in the functioning and forming of body tissues, cells and bones.

In short, moderate consumption of red wine apes physical exercise which does the above.

I'll have a large glass please.

BIG OF THEM

The manufacturers and importers of that crap cannabis substitute under its many guises have agreed to 'voluntarily' test their product before putting it on sale to the public.
What a crock of shit. Responsible food producers and importers in New Zealand have had to comply with the Food Act for years and, before putting anything on sale including wine have had to comply with the regulations set out by NZFSA. If these were not followed then your product would not be stocked by licensed retailers. This posturing by Matt Bowden, the spokesperson for the 'Synthetic Cannabis Industry"! just shows to me how bloody weak this country is in enforcing laws and regulations that already exist. Hard-working winemakers have complied and, in face of severe government censure and lack of support (have you seen how much the excise tax has been raised by?) have duly done the right thing. Meanwhile these fly-by-night bastards merrily peddle their crap to our kids and the intellectually challenged and when they do get pulled up say "Oh, sorry, we will govern ourselves OK?" Well its not OK. OK?