Big wine retailers following biodynamic principles as cosmos demands to be taken seriously

As soon as I saw the sub-head (Supermarket chains check lunar calendar before inviting critics to drink) I just knew I was going to love this story. The idea is by no means a new one: the taste of wine is affected by the moon. How so? Well, just as the moon affects large bodies of water like oceans, some believe they affect small ones as well, right down to a 750ml bottle of vino. Cosmic.

What is more surprising (at least for this cynic), is that the UK's major wine retailers have now bought into the belief that the day, and even the hour, on which wine is drunk, alters its taste. Believe it or not, Tesco and Marks & Spencer, which sell about a third of all wine drunk in the UK, now invite critics to taste their ranges only at times when the biodynamic calendar suggests they will show at their best.

It gets better: the lunar wine calendar has been published for the last 47 years by a gardening great-grandmother called Maria Thun, who lives in rural Germany. She categorises days as "fruit", "flower", "leaf" or "root", according to the moon and stars. Fruit and flower are normally best for tasting, and leaf and root worst. The theory was put to the test at a tasting hosted by David Motion, a London Wine Merchant. Jo Ahearne, winemaker for Marks & Spencer, is now absolutely convinced of the moon's impact after sampling more than 140 wines over two days. "Before the tasting, I was really unconvinced, but the difference between the days was so obvious I was completely blown away." The Guardian conducted its own tests and reported five out of seven bottles showing a marked improvement on 'fruit days' over 'leaf days'.

Others are far from convinced, as the Scotsman pointed out, "including Waitrose [and] most scientists, who point out that the ultimate inspiration for Thun's calendar is Rudolf Steiner, who came up with the notion after reportedly consulting with spirits, although not of the liquid variety. Steiner, a well known educational reformer, also believed that the moods of humans could cause earthquakes". 

On reading all of this one person was foremost in my mind: 'Randall Grahm', one of the original 'Rhone Rangers', proprieter of Bonny Doon vineyard and widely respected as one of the finest winemakers in California. Here is a man who can happily spend hours explaining each and every natural and scientific facet of the winemaking process, only to finish-up telling you that it all comes down to where you put the magic crystals (straight-up, we've discussed this with him at length). And if his wines are anything to go by, maybe there is something to all this cosmic stuff after all?

An adventure in Burgundy

The deal...

Four wine professionals from London are off to Burgundy for 3 days of tasting (drinking?). Four winery visits leading up to the annual tasting of Burgundy wines at the Abbey in Tournus.

Burgundy has always been a but of a tricky deal in wine buying terms. Though the region is legendary in wine circles and features two of my favourite grapes - Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, I have far to often had to drink my way through gallons of mediocracy to find something that makes sense in terms of price/value. The really good stuff is impossible to get and expensive whilst anything near entry level always seems to disappoint. 

Well, the aim for the next few days is to find that gem, that little winner that you would proudly take to any dinner party and secretly drink way to much of at home. That special wine that isn't the most expensive, the most concentrated or even the best. I'm looking for a wine that is perfect everytime, a wine that hits never ceases to amaze when you drink it and never leaves you thinking about what you paid for it.

How it went...

The first winery - Meix-Foulot, in Mercurey was where we stopped that night - the wines were well made but were Pinots I can take or leave. To my taste they felt watery and light and though they were representative of wines from this southern part of Bourgogne, I was unimpressed. Nevertheless, the proprietor of the estate was lovely and after a long trip spent talking, dreaming and gagging about wine - they did the job they needed to.

The next day started with much coffee and a heavy head - the evening before spent eating the best steak tartar I've ever had and an amazing snail ravioli - check out Port des Anges in Beaune. Its a little expensive but decent with a good, smallish wine list.

The next 10 hours were a blur of vineyard walks, winery visits and tastings from Domaine Edmund Cornu in Ladoix to Jean Chauvenet in Nuits St Georges and onto Jean-Claude Belland in the Cote de Beaune. Many of the wines were truly excellent and 2007 will be a fine vintage for Burgundy with the wines well worth buying.

Bugundy is a complex region - with huge variation from vineyard to vineyard and quality difficult to pin point. As a general rule to regularly get good Burgundy you need to choose your producer first, the vintage next and finally the village where the wine was made. So, a good producer may produce a good wine in a bad year but a wine from a well known village could be quite average. You need to know your producers - this is true anywhere in the wine world but especially so in Burgundy.

Best producers (and their style):

Domaine Jean-Claude Belland - his wines are soft, fruity and very approachable. From the modest village of Ladoix the soft red fruits in his reds are truly gourgeous (his Maranges, Bourgogne rouge were easily the best sub £15 wines on show). Good Aloxe-Cortons, lovely Grand Cru Corton Cloas de la Vigne au Saint and the Chambertin Grand Cru a strong 8/10 among all the Chambertin's tasted. The Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru stole the show, it is full of de-comissioned Chambertin fruit and a top buy.

Domaine Bitouzet-Prieur - simmply some of the best Meursaults I have ever tasted - not so much the entry level village Meursault but rather the sublime 1er Cru Santenots and Perrieres. We had an '02 Santenots for the Gala dinner after the tasting and it was balanced, complex and truly world class.

Domaine Lignier - Top Chambolle-Musigny, soft, wild strawberry character and great value. The best wines were the Grand Cru Bonne Mares and Clos de la Roche - both 9-9.5/10 wines and drinking so nicely now.

Domaine Sordet - really lovely Pommard especially the 1 er Cru Clos de la Boucherottes - magnificent!

Did I find any gems? The truth is I found a few and reignited my love with Burgundy that had run a little dry recently. Cornu's Maranges would be the winner, a gem from this trip - unfussy, high quality, effortlessly drinkable, affordable (c. £15) and giving a real taste and insight into what is possible from this region. At the higher end it was a revelation - stunning wines of such variety and poise and passion. If you can get the good stuff, few things compare.

A tale of two tastings - Italian style

Gambero Rosso 2009 ... more like 'gamble on a rosso'!

On 16 February 2009 a number of us attended the Gambero Rosso tasting of Italian wines at the Landmark Hotel in London. 57 top wineries, over 200 wines, it promised to be good overview of Italian wines and after last years decent effort I was looking forward to it immensely.

My aim was to taste widely and benchmark the Tuscan wines in particular to the Chianti and Brunello wines my company imports. First we attended the seminar taking a look at a wide range of wines from Italy's top regions - it was a 6 out of 10 at most. Though the wines were generally well made, too many didn't quite hit the spot on the palate or in your heart. Also, I was confounded that Steven Spurrier presented, no disrespect to him but his knowledge of Italian wines seemed limited and I couldn't help feeling that an Italian wine tasting expert would have been better.

So it wasn't a great start, onto the main tasting room. The first thing I noticed was that the tasting included a lot of the big boys of Italian wine and their respective importers - for my liking there were too many large commercial producers here and some of the wines reflected that. I liked the wines from Donnafugata, Masi and in particular Mastroberardino (the last two being imported by Berkmann - well done!) Mastroberardino's whites were lovely with the Greco di Tufo (a fantastic white grape) 2007 showing a pronounced floral nose, stoney minerality and drinking perfectly - this is a wine you could fall in love with immediately. Their Sannio Falanghina 2007 was diferent, more fruity but equally mineral and slightly heavier. The red Taurasi was superb.

Illuminati and Sella & Mosca also tasted well, as did Tenuta San Guido whose 3 reds showed great character, depth and power. I must say I was baffled by some of the so called superstars. Biondi-Santi's '04 Brunello was limpid and acidic and showed close to nothing (2004 was an excellent vintage as well!), I poured it out. Il Molina di Grace from Chianti was average as was Ruffino and Fontanafredda in Piedmont didn't work for me at all. Now these are some big names, and names that regularly get good ratings. Overall my experience of the tasting was quite hit and miss - too many wines were acidic and unapproachable and many had little character. Overall, I preferred the whites over the reds (wierd for Italy). I would also warn anyone who buys Italian wine based on ratings to be ready for disappointment. Far better to taste widely, put your trust in a good quality merchant or two and make your own mind up. Italy hides real treasures in the wine world and overall is my favourite country to buy wine from at the moment. Unfortunately for them I'm don't think this tasting did them too much justice.

As an aside - this was the second UK based tasting this year that seemed to heavily feature large commercial wineries. Is this a credit crunch thing - only the big boys can afford to exhibit in London? I hope not - I'd hate to see the disappearance of small boutique producers at these tastings. Maybe it's just the direction of Gambero Rosso? Who knows?

Faith restored in Italian vino

Thank god! Last week's taste of Tuscany tasting restored everything that Gambero Rosso succceeded so well in destroying. Hosted in the Dorchester's Crystal room the tasting featured small independent producers, interesting native grape varietals, styles ranging from the steadfastly traditional to modern and avant garde and even wine made from a new and unknown grape variety (it tasted like something between a cabernet and a merlot - the perfect Bordeaux singel varietal?)

Stars of the show:

- Petra - superb range and brand proposition, all the wines were superb (classic french and italian grapes and lots of blending) and had impressive levels of balance, supreme drinkability and stunning low-yield fruit. Damn Alivini for already representing these guys! Really switched on wineries with such a comprehensive package and such a good product are few and far between in the wine world. I would recommend these wines to anyone.

- Fattoria di Gratena - great range featuring 'Siro' that wine made from an unknown (and unamed) grape varietal, interesting and very different. Lousy packaging though - shame.

I also tasted some very intersting Brunello and Chianti though luckily nothing better than our own Tenuta di Riseccoli and Castello di Romitorio.