It's wine time

Last week at work somebody asked me "what does oaky mean?".

This was a new bartender at the pub I work in, just 18, and knows very little about wine. To sell or suggest wines to customers is an important part of bar service as well as pulling pints. I tend to get the enjoyable but occasionally frustrating job of 'wine training' as I can talk like I can type...I conducted an impromptu wine tasting there and then. I find it's much better to "taste the difference" (thanks Tesco) between wines rather than explain them. Think of it as trying to explain the difference in taste between a lemon and a lime, it's tricky. 'Oaked' loosely means ageing wines after fermentation in various forms of oak barrels which imparts a taste in the wine. Even simpler, If you left some water in a wooden box for a month, then drank it, it would taste 'woody'.

We serve lots of wines by the glass so I poured a small measure of an un-oaked, peachy Burgundy and a feisty, spicy oaked Australian Chardonnay. Both are really different, and at the same time really tasty. The fruity and buttery complexities of the burgundy, with a refreshing finish that lingers impressed my young barman with it's initial simplicity too. On to the oaky Chardonnay, a totally different affair, a shorter taste experience, like a slap in the face, with big fruit, acidity and that oak, powerful and warm. Nothing like the burgundy, and a question answered. We spent two minutes tasting and he could taste the oak, and begin to get a grip of a complicated subject that wine geeks like me can spend all day discussing. Someone once told me I'd be a good teacher, but you can't drink wine all day as a teacher, right?

Whether you prefer your wine oaked or un-oaked, opinions about wines are totally personal and that’s a good thing. It's your call. There's so many to choose from!! Lots of people tell me that they either "don't like" wine or they're "not too keen" on it. In my opinion, which is exactly what this blog is about, 50% of those people just haven't tasted the right one. I think I shouldn't tell you that, you should figure it out for yourself, it’s more fun that way. Spend some money, share a bottle with friends and choose something new... Take the hit on a wine you don't like and be impressed when you find a beauty. That being said, I work in a wine shop I've got pretty much unlimited access to trying wines, but on the tasting bar at good wine shops, so have you, don't be afraid to ask.

So, on reflection here are a couple of unusual recommendations for this week. Grapes from places you might not expect and countries you may have never known produced wine.

Tim Gramp, Grenache, Australia 2008, from Adnams wines. Grenache being popular and probably more well known for Spanish wines, and also a popular grape for rosé wines. This Australian red is different, big and bold but an almost floral taste with a kick of parma-violets, a hint of spice and some excellent cherry and plum fruit flavours. Unusual but really very nice. This Grenache would have gone brilliantly with V.G's lamb goulash from Sunday 3rd October. Goulash and Grenache, not just convenient word play...

Next, Hungary? No not food, the country (it's spelt differently...), they make fantastic wines you know. I've been hearing lots and lots of good things about them on the grapevine (I'm good, huh?). Apparently tricky to get hold of, and don't bother with the supermarket stuff. I've taken the stress out of research for you, get yourself on the internet and grab a bottle or two from www.mephistowines.co.uk. They are UK's main importer of Hungarian fine wine, but all still around a tenner a bottle, brilliant. I've been a little cheeky and emailed them asking for some free samples to give you a proper review of some specific wines. I'll keep you posted.

That’s it for now, you can follow me on twitter @danprobert and you can come and see me in-store at the Adnams Cellar & Kitchen Store in Woodbridge, Suffolk. Should you wish.