ABC

It’s a phrase from the early 90s that is not often heard now, but may people remain firmly in the camp that is “Anything But Chardonnay”. I have no issue with people who don’t like Chardonnay, but I feel it’s only fair to balance the argument in favour of this iconic grape.

The public’s distaste for Chardonnay can be traced back to the influx of heavily oaked wines from Australia. This happened a long time ago now, but many people have still not recovered from the experience. These wines did no favours for Oz winemakers but Australian wine has moved on considerably since then, and it was never Chardonnay’s fault in the first place.
Excessive use of oak is simply poor winemaking. Blaming the grape is like blaming the bricks for a shoddy job by a cowboy builder. It’s also worth noting that if you put poor quality wine into barrels, you will only get poor quality wine out – it will just taste more oaky. So it’s not the barrels’ fault either.
Some of the most exquisite white wines in the world are made from Chardonnay grapes. Many people will enjoy a Chablis or an aged Meursault without knowing they are drinking Chardonnay. Good quality whites from places such as Burdgundy in France are fresh, lively wines with excellent structure – completely different in style to the cloying amber Australian Chardonnays of the 1990s.
In general most white wine is made without the use of barrels (fermented in steel vats and then bottled). But winemakers continue to use oak barrels to impart a delicate structure and flavour to their white wines. When this is done judiciously it will enhance the complexity of the wine while preserving the fresh orchard fruit flavours of the grape. Indeed, many winemakers will only use barrels for their best quality grapes as the process is more expensive than steel vats.
My advice to ABCs would be – don’t be afraid of Chardonnay, and don’t be afraid of some light oak. It’s time to forgive and forget because you’re missing out on some lovely wines.

Save me from laminated lists

Please excuse the nature of this blog post, because it is essentially a rant - but I have finally lost all patience with pub wine lists. My frustration is intensified by the vast improvement that has been steadily occurring on the food menus of 'gastro-pubs' in recent years.
In short - why do these pubs put so much effort into their food offering, yet show virtually no imagination or passion for quality with their wine lists? Surely I am not alone in loving both good food and good wine.
The lists I come across time and again are stuck in a massive rut. My heart sinks when I drift down the list of bland, mass produced nonsense that has been thrown together by a big commercial supplier. Clearly the only criteria is to include a stock number of reds, whites and a couple of token rosé and sparkling wines - all at prices that magically increase by a couple of quid at a time.
Why do pub owners think this is what we want? If we embrace shorter food menus with a limited number of dishes that are cooked to order with seasonal local ingredients why would we want laminated wine lists with over 30 rubbish wines that never change?
I frequently offer to supply my wines to pubs and restaurants, and some accept. But more often I hear the same two excuses:
1) We want to buy all our wines from one supplier because it's easier (that's just lazy)
2) Your trade prices are just too expensive (not if you want to serve decent wine to your customers)
It might be easy to order a complete list from one big trade supplier, and it might save a few quid, but that is simply not in keeping with attracting customers who are interested in the dining experience. I understand the concept of wine as a beverage. Sometimes you just want a glass of wine in the same way you might want a beer or a gin and tonic, and it's fine to have house wines that serve this purpose. But when customers are paying £20 a head for lunch or dinner they don't expect to wash it down with a bottle of plonk that in reality costs about £4.
The public's expectation for good food is now firmly established, so pub owners should realise that we also want to drink good quality wines at sensible prices with our meals. I personally think they are missing a commercial trick. If more gastro-pubs offered high quality wines at a fair mark-up this would simply give customers another good reason to eat there.
In the meantime, I'll have a pint of ale with my sausage and mash.