January Wine of the Month

I wasn’t sure if I would do a Wine of the Month for January as typically I don’t drink in January. However, this year in January, there have been five occasions during which I haven’t managed to resist a tipple and I have tasted about 20 wines! A couple stood out as really stunning, including the Canadian Icewine I was telling you about yesterday.

A wine that brightened up my January!

However, my vote goes to a Spanish Rioja red wine which we tried whilst Jane was practising her recipes for the Tongham Tapas Fiesta which is being held on February 12th. This good value wine at just a tad under £10 from Marks and Spencer really wowed me with its powerful balance of berry fruits, vanilla and an underlying earthiness.  My score for this wine was 17 out of 20. Which Rioja? I hear you ask. The answer is Marques del Romeral Reserva 2005. As you will discover if coming to our Tongham Tapas Fiesta, a reserva Rioja is one that has been kept for two years in oak barrels and a further year in the bottle prior to release. If you like Spanish wines pop along to M&S and buy some of this, or pick up a one of the few remaining tickets for our Tapas Fiesta where we’ll be tasting another 7 Spanish wines, along with 12 Tapas dishes. Great value for £22.50 a head. If you want a ticket ring me on 07717 876743.

Top wine tasting tips – Maximising the nose

One should use all your senses to taste and enjoy wine.    For instance, just hearing the cork pop out of the bottle begins to excite me.   The next stage is to look at the wine and I have sometimes known I am going to reject  a wine back just by looking at it and conversely have really appreciated the beautiful colour of say a Chateauneuf du Pape.  However, probably the most important stage in understanding wine is smelling or sniffing the wine and getting the nose, aroma or bouquet.  Important in this stage of tasting is to ensure that you use a proper tasting  glass where the top of the glass has a smaller circumference than lower down eg the traditional tulip shape.  Also don’t overfill the glass – one twentieth of a bottle is  enough.  For white wines over chilling can hide the nose so you might want to warm the glass a little in your hands; the same might be appropriate for red wines that have not yet come up to room temperature.  Most connoisseurs start by just by sticking their nose in the glass as this will tell you the strength of the aroma and then agitate the wine by swirling it around the glass to maximise the aroma.  However, here is my “Top Tip”; at this stage you might still not have got a really good aroma out of the wine.  This may be due to a poor glass, a tired or unsensitive nose or just a wine that has little bouquet.  In cases like this put your hand tightly over the top of the glass for 10 seconds and swirl a little. After the 10 seconds bring the wine up to your nose but keep your hand tightly over the glass.  Then remove your hand, stick your nose into the glass and inhale through your nose.   Try this at home, it is amazing how it really maximises the nose!

WINE PHOTOGRAPHY

Isn't wine photography difficult?!   For us wine bloggers it is rather a necessity but you need to take care or, as I have proved, the photos can be detracting.  Having looked at both my published and unpublished attempts I think I am beginning to learn through my own mistakes.  So what have I learned so far - 
Avoid Flash, except in very poor lighting, natural sunlight is best. Lighting can give problems with colour and unwanted reflections, so take care. A light box can help diffuse the light and also help with the next tip.
Be careful with the background as it can be distracting, use a plain background where possible.
Composition is important otherwise the picture will be boring. Consider an unusual angle or some foreground interest. Make sure there is a focal point of interest.
Dirty or damaged bottles or glasses are to be avoided, as the photo will emphasize these faults.
Elevate your picture to something special by trying to tell a story rather than just documenting a bottle, human interest is important.
Focus carefully. Use a Macro setting for close-ups. Use the focus to remove the distracting background.

Champagne at restaurant La Garenne, old Reims circuit France


Get to the right level when taking the photograph, otherwise the image may be distorted or look wrong.

Hurrying is a mistake. Take your time if you want a great picture and plan it in advance.

In-close shots often work well as they fill the whole frame with the subject.

Judder can cause a blur in low lighting conditions, so consider using a tripod.

Keep on trying. With digital cameras there is no extra expense from taking more shots, so try a few different angles, exposures, focuses etc.

Learn how to fix your shots after you have taken them by cropping them etc.

Hopefully you willl notice some improved photos over the next month and also you find these tips useful.   All photos taken on this blog have been taken with a compact Panasonic Lumix.  If any other Tongham Tasters want to have a go and send me in their wine photos - feel free and we wil publish them and give you credit.