Joan and Dan in Paris

Dan had a couple of day trip tickets to Paris with Eurostar so he and Joan went on 28 December for lunch and a walk around the sights.

Joan in Eurostar business class on return trip. Cold meal choice of quiche or salmon. Wine in airline sized bottles, a VdP Merlot, but lounge in Paris has self-pour Champagne

Xmas Wines

Picture of some of the planned wines, full list actually opened is

27 Dec 2016   
    2014 Kanonkop Pinotage Estate
    2004 Kanonkop Pinotage Estate

Boxing Day lunch with Dan, Toby & Emma
    N.V. Zonin Prosecco Brut
    N.V. Zonin Prosecco Brut

Boxing Day dinner with Dan, Toby & Emma, Brionnie & Mick and James, Jess, Josie Mae
    N.V. Andre Carpentier Champagne Brut
    N.V. Andre Carpentier Champagne Brut
    2015 Les Producteurs Réunis Vin de France Baron de Baussac Vieilles Vignes
    2015 Les Producteurs Réunis Vin de France Baron de Baussac Vieilles Vignes
    2013 Beyerskloof Pinotage Reserve Selection
    2013 Beyerskloof Pinotage Reserve Selection
    2015 Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora

Christmas Day 
    N.V. Lanson Champagne Brut Black Label
    2007 Napier Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Peter F May
    2015 Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora

Christmas Eve
    N.V. Francis Boulard Champagne Grand Cru Extra Brut Grande Montagne 
    2014 Kanonkop Pinotage Estate 
    2014 Kanonkop Pinotage Estate
    N.V. Blind Spot Muscat Rutherglen Muscat  

Pantomime with Brionie & family, Toby Emma & Dan

Boxing Day, Monday 26 December 2016

Thanks to M25 incident Brionnie, Mick, James, Jess and Josie-Mae missed lunch but just managed to get to Alban Arena for start of pantomime,

Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs, starring RITA SIMONS (EastEnders),  Dame, BOB GOLDING, Alban Arena favourite, IAN KIRKBY and a top-quality cast.

Toby and Emma on way to show

Toby, Josie-Mae, Jess and Brionnie

Josie-May and Jess

James

Mick

Tuscan Tasting at The Wine Society

15 December 2016.


To The Wine Society in Stevenage with St Albans U3A Wine Tasting Group 1 to learn about Tuscan wines. The Tuscany Workshop was presented by Sebastian Payne MW.

(L to R) Gill, Anthony, Peter, Richard, Mary

 

Sebastian Payne MW

This was the most expensive of the ten wines, the cult 'Super Tuscan' Sassicaia. The 2005 vintage currently retails at £210 a bottle.

We finished with this sweet dessert wine, served from half bottles (£32 half) accompanied by mince pies. 

From 18:30 they were very generously pouring an aperitif Prosecco. No price info was given but checking TWS website afterwards it’s listed at £17 a bottle.

Upstairs each setting had 8 wine glasses with a good measure, I estimate an eighth of a bottle pour. A 9^th glass would be filled with the final wine, a dessert served with mince pies.

4 of the 9 tasting wines were marked as ‘for tasting only’ and no price was shown. Afterwards I checked winesearcher.com and show the prices below.

The 9 wines tasted were

1) Meriggio Fontodi 2014 £17

This was a Sauvignon blanc shown as ‘for tasting only’ but its on the TWS website at £17

OK savvie, Sebastian said little about it except that he felt it was too expensive to compete in a crowded SB market

2) Chianti Rufina, Frascole 2013 £10.95

80/20  Sangiovese/Canaiaolo

Soft, light but theres a good tannin grip on the finish

3) Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Tre Rose, Santa Caterina 2013 £13.30

70% Sangiovese. Beautifully perfumed, soft fruits dry tannins on finish. My second favourite of the night. I will buy this one and try it with food.

4) Cepparello Isole e Olena 2010 Magnums (£99.50 magnum

100% Sangiovese, aged in wood. Could be labelled as Chianti Classico but they don’t as they’ve been making it since before Classico rules changed in 2000 to allow 100% Sangiovese.

My favourite, beautiful balanced wine, lovely fruit/tannin.

5) Colledila Chianti Classico Gran Selzione, Brolia)  2011 £34

Another 100% Sangiovese, but not for me. Had a dusty smoky nose and a sour finish, but others on the table really liked it.

6) Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, Gianni Brunelli 2010 £55

Ripe sweet fruit, delicious. Equal 2^nd favourite

7) Sassicaia Tenuta San Guido Bolghere 2005 ‘for tasting only’

Well, what a surprise! Introduced without a fuss, no indication given of its cult status or price. The Super-Tuscan!

Good vintage, picked early before grapes raisined, Cabernet Sauvignon 90% Cabernet Franc 10% 13.5% abv.

It was a lot less expressive than the previous Sangiovese, it was dry, taut with sweet fruit and finesse. Winesearcher lists this at £210

8) Flaccianello della Pieve,  Fontodi 2004 Magnums ‘for tasting only’

Enjoyable with good fruit structure.

Winesearcher lists this by the bottle at £82.50

9)   Vin Santo del Chianti Classico, Fontodi 2005 half bottle ‘for tasting only’

Dark colour, treacle sweet, gorgeous, mmm, another mince pie please.

Winesearcher lists this at £32 a half

So some expensive wines, presented by a MW. It was a good evening, and good value. Total cost of flight (Halving magnum/doubling half) is around about £554

 

Probus Christmas Lunch

8 December 2016 - Probus Christmas lunch at Verulam Golf Club

Road Restored

On 1 December our road re-opened, 14 months to the day since 1 October 2015 when the huge sinkhole blocked entrance to our road.

However two houses are still inaccessible and a third unocuppied, their families living in rented accommodation for the past 14 months

Vuelio Blog Awards 2016

Peter F May with Jane Parker of www.JanesLondon.com

The Vuelio Blog Awards 2016

Bringing together the most influential UK bloggers and vloggers for an evening of immense celebration

On 25th November 2016 we held our second annual Vuelio Blog Awards and boy did we celebrate and party well into the early hours.

More than 500 bloggers and PR professionals joined us to raise a glass (or a few) at The Brewery in London, to recognise and reward the achievements of the very bloggers we pride ourselves in working with.

http://www.vuelio.com/uk/blog-award

Cite du Vin, Bordeaux

To Bordeaux for a long weekend  to visit La Cite di Vin and surprise Beyers Truter who'd come to present a Pinotage master class.

La Cité du Vin, Bordeaux

 

Beyers Truter at La Cite du Vin

Pear Tarte Tatin and a glass of Sauternes at Les Noailles

International Wine and Spirit Competition 2016

On the evening of 16th November 2016, London’s Guildhall played host to the 47th annual International Wine and Spirit Competition’s (IWSC) Awards Banquet. The evening marks the culmination of a 365 day campaign establishing the world’s finest wines and spirits and reward true excellence in the industry. Last night’s winners included the likes of Aldi UK, McGuigan Wines and Marks and Spencer, to name a few.

Celebrating the excellence of its entrants and winners, the IWSC’s annual banquet is an evening to be reckoned with, comprised of a five-course banquet where the winning wines taking centre stage at each course, speeches from key IWSC personalities and the official presentation of its 2016 winners. It was also the conclusion of Matteo Lunelli’s year as President and marked the appointment of 2017’s President Christopher Blandy, CEO of Madeira Wine Company.

De Wet Viljoen won the Abraham Perold Pinotage Trophy for his Neethlingshof ‘Owl Post’ Pinotage  2014, and Neethlingshof was also a finalist for the South African Wine Producer of the Year.

I was there representing The Pinotage Association,sponsors of the Trophy, to awrd the  Trophy to De Wet. 

De Wet Viljoen (right) accepts Pinotage Trophy from Peter May  representing The Pinotage Association in the presence of IWSC President Matteo Lunelli (left)

 

We banqueted in The Guildhall

We're sitting in the front row two aisle seats

AWS National Conference, California

California 2016

I came to talk at the American Wine Society National Conference in Costa Mesa at the beginning of November. First we took the opportunity to spend 4 nights in Las Vegas, Nevada, 2 nights at Grand Canyon and then visited Jerome, Arizona and the Temecula Valley Wine region on the way back to San Francisco and the Conference.

Peter at Callaway Vineyards, Temecula Valley California in 2016. I was looking for the sign I stood in front of in 2002 but that was no more . Below is my 2002 picture at Callaway

Peter May at Callaway in 2002

\presenting South African Red Blends at AWS Conference

Prsenting South African White Blends at AWS National Conference 2016

Pouring

View from Cosmopolitan Hotel Balcony - Daytime

View from hotel balcony, over Bellagio's  Dancing Fountains at night

Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon

Jerome Arizona, State's oldest restaurant

Crystal Cove Beach, we came here before the start of the conference for a walk in the sun, and I paddled in the sea.

Oslo Court - Caroline's Birthday

To Oslo Court in St John's Wood tocelebrate Caroline's Birthday.

Peter, Caroline, Brionnie, Joan

Budapest to Amsterdam on Viking River Tours

Two weeks river cruising with Viking from Budapest to Amsterdam

Viking Skadi moored at Budapest at start of cruise

Constantly updating counter in Vienna railway station showing number of Wiener Schnitzels consumed

 

On battlements of Burg Wurtheim

German night on board with special dinner and local band. Three of us wore our German jackets. Peter Fegan (right) and I bought them during the trip,.Gentleman on left, whose name escapes me, hademigrated from Germany to Ontario where he grows onions.

Lunch at The Chesterfield with Brionnie and Caroline

Toby, Brionnie, Peter, Joan

Brionnie & Peter

Brionnie & Caroline

Toby in the bar

1 June 2016 - Lunch at The Chesterfield Hotel, Mayfair, with Brionnie, Caroline and Toby

Criccieth and Pale Hall

Caroline Peter & Joan in the bluebell wood behind Caroline & Stuarts rented house

Peter & Joan with Estate Manager Stuart (right) and gardner James in front of Pale Hall 

Elliot, Stuart, Peter & Amy, Dan and Joan on Porthmadog platform

Joan & Dan in front of Criccieth Castle

Pale Hall http://www.palehall.co.uk