Blog 1

Hello all. My blog is due to be about wine. The other things, as mentioned in the title will be daft musings, poems occasionally and my thoughts on Literature and football (that is Football English that involves a foot, or both if you are better than me).

I have recently left my job in the wine industry siting irreconcilable differences with my company. In that their wages were too low. Despite this they were a decent company to work for for a while and the education in wine that I received was very very good. So I feel comfortable and qualified to seriously write about wine and have recently been published in magazine doing just this.

So where should one start with a wine blog, having not seen any before? I will start with what I am having with turkey on Christmas day. Keep it seasonal!

The Turkey will be prepared by my girlfriend's brother, who I have to say roasts a damn good turkey.

Firstly white. This is what I will be drinking as I think a well made French Chardonnay is the best bet with roast turkey. As the meat will be roasted and of full flavour the wine will need to be robust enough to match it, so I would recommend a chardonnay that has seen some degree of oak integration. In my opinion a Sauvignon Blanc, Reisling or similar wine would not have the weight, or richness of flavour to match the food and would be over powered. Whereas a good quality Burgundian white can fight its corner with flavour. I am having a Puilly Fuisse by Christophe Cordier. The Vers Cras 2009 to be precise. Pouilly Fuisse is from the Macconais part of Burgundy, an AOC which doesn't follow the same Cru system as the Cote d'Or, but whose wine, especially those from the Pouilly Fuisse region can rival some of its more famous neighbours. Vers Cras is close to the village of Pouilly and is on one of the lower lying slopes in the Macconais. Though the 2009 vintage is pretty young (and would benefit from 3-5 years more aging), it is the only vintage I have and what I have chosen to drink! The Wine itself is beautiful, full of rich, ripe fruit that almost boarders on tropical, with delicate citrus flavours. It also has a clear acidity that balances the rich flavour and sensible oak integration (30% in new barriques) making it rich and round. It brings a creaminess to turkey and meets well typical Christmas spices.

The 2009 Domaine Cordier costs about £25 so it isn't the cheapest of wines, but if you were looking for an alternative that doesn't cost as much I would recommend the Marquis de Pennautiers Chardonnay 'Terroir d'Altitude' 2009. This is a great wine, not quite as refined as the Pouilly Fuisse, but then no where near as pricey.

I would recommend people who don't like chardonnay, due to the over oaked cheapies that they had in the mid 90s from Australia, to try these. The oak usage is sensible and adds structure without overpowering the rich fruit flavour. Give them a go, chardonnay is a wonderful grape.


Ok. Hope that this is a decent first blog. I have no frame of reference really. I will blog again soon with my Christmas Day reds, and some of the other things in life which may need examination.

Please feel free to comment, as Im sure people will.

Also the wines I have mentioned are available from my old Employer (Majestic Wine), they may not pay particularly well, but they do stock some fantastic wine!


Andrew D. Clark