Joshua Friend

It’s Friday night. You’re on a date. You’ve washed your hair, ironed your shirt and you’re feeling optimistic. You’ve managed to get a table at the hottest restaurant in town. Everything is going well. You walk into the restaurant, booming with the sound of chatter, cutlery and crockery clattering together. The atmosphere is perfect. After being greeted by a charming waiter and shown to your table, you’re presented with what can only be described as an encyclopaedia – oh wait, it’s the wine list. This is where you truly earn your credibility as a keeper to a potential suitor. Your heart starts to quicken, regions, grapes, countries and wine jargon start to blur your eyes, beads of sweat are dripping down your brow and the panic kicks in. What do you do? What does “Trocken” even mean? “I’ll have the second cheapest please!”

Dining out has become a staple for much of the nation, a hobby and pastime for those who enjoy food and drink – whether that’s wine, beer or spirits. And it should be a wonderful, fun experience. I certainly enjoy good food, and what else to pair it with than a glass of something delicious? That’s exactly where the sommelier comes into play.

“Sommelier” sounds like a fancy word, for a fancy place, in a fancy part of town, maybe even scary; but a sommelier is just a wine waiter – and they’re there to help. Sommeliers: the wine buffs of the restaurant world should be your go-to for knowledge and inspiration. They’re there to provide that little nudge towards trying something new, rather that sticking with something familiar and “safe”.

The trouble is that some sommeliers can seem intimidating. You’re sitting staring up at this fantastically spoken Frenchman spout on about wines that will go with the food you’re about to order in his charming-but-completely-misunderstandable garble, feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the recommended bottles already way above your price point. It leaves even me itching to order the second cheapest, again.

But, as we see the demise of the white-tablecloth and the rise of “casual dining”, sommeliers aren’t necessarily bow-tied and flawlessly French – they are becoming, dare I say it, approachable. As indeed they should: I’d like all sommeliers to make me feel comfortable enough to ask lots of questions – enhancing my experience by tipping me off to a hidden gem on the wine list, a new discovery or a forgotten classic.

And, for the most part, that is just what they are desperate to do. They are there to share their immense knowledge with us, the customers, in an interesting and clear way – helping us choose a bottle that we’ll ultimately enjoy. So speak to the sommelier – they are rarely as intimidating as you might think. Tell them what you want – from price to style and colour – and let them take it from there. All you need to do is ask, they will almost certainly be able to find you a bottle you’ll love – after all, it’s their job!

If you’re on the outside looking in, the term biodynamic can seem a tad confusing. If you’re sat in a restaurant and start checking out the wine list and it’s throwing out all sorts of wine jargon that you’ve seen many times before but still don’t have any clue, and you think to yourself, “what does this all mean?”. Biodynamic has been in the headlines for a number of years now and the awareness of it is growing and growing, and yet the majority of people still aren’t sure of what it is, I’m here to help!

You may be thinking that it’s all voodoo rituals, magic, harvests timed with lunar movements and burying cow horns. If you’re thinking this, you’re not half wrong! Yes, there is some form of spiritualism within biodynamic farming but it’s also much simpler to understand than that.

Essentially, biodynamic farming is organic but one step further. Farmers don’t use any pesticides, no GM, no chemicals, but they view the whole agricultural ecosystem as a whole. And again you’re thinking, ‘but isn’t that the same as organic?’ With organic farming you can still fertilise your vines using products brought in from outside of your vineyard, however, with biodynamic you would use animal fertiliser, compost, natural products such as stinging nettles and spreading them to deter insects and pests. At Chateau Pontet Canet (the only biodynamic winery in the whole of the Medoc) you will notice that there are a little stone huts throughout the vineyard, this is where they used to keep all of their chickens, they used chickens to fertilise the soil and t

he egg whites to remove all of the sediment within the wines rather than using modernised techniques. It’s all about increasing and maintaining a self-sufficient ecosystem! Machinery isn’t used to harvest, plough, maintain or look after the vines. Everything must be done by hand, machines tend to compact and make the soil very hard for the roots to grow and reach new minerals and vitamins, as well as polluting the air. This is why biodynamic wines can often be slightly more expensive than normal wines, as they are very labour intensive and require a lot of work!

However, with biodynamic and organic wines, you are allowed to add some preservatives and additives in the wine itself, therefore biodynamic and organic techniques are the practices of farming, not so much the actual making of the wine.

In case you’re still wondering and don’t have a clue what I’ve been going on about…It’s pretty much like the good ol’ days of how we used to farm before machinery and meddling!

What is Natural wine?

So, how does a natural wine differ from organic or biodynamic I hear you ask? According to Alexandre Bain, Pouilly- Fumé’s only natural wine producer, ‘organic and biodynamic are the tools, natural is the philosophy’.

Nowadays, these tools are essentially practices of the vineyard. So by contrast, natural wines extend this philosophy not only in the vineyard but in the winery and cellar, and are far stricter in terms of what you can and can’t do! They are all about low-intervention; there isn’t any modification of acidity, sugar level, no addition of yeasts.

The wines are made as nature intended…arguably the right way!

Deep Punts,

Ever wandered into a wine shop and had to decide on which bottle to choose to go with your dinner but you can’t make up your mind? If you’re like me, you end up standing there for a good 98 years wondering about which one to get. I pick up bottles, read the back label, put it back on the shelf, pick up another read the back label and repeat this process another 98 times. All the while I am subconsciously judging the wines depending on how deep the punt of it is or the shape of the bottle, the weight, the fancy or cool label, but does this all really matter.? I have this weird idea in my head that the depth of the punt establishes the quality of a wine. Funny how Riesling is my favourite white wine, yet has no punt at all though.? Considering this, I decided to do a little research and find out if there is any correlation between punt depth and quality of wine. By the way, for those of you who don’t know, the punt is the indentation on the base of the bottle, just before I start blabbering on about bottles and shapes and you still didn’t have a clue what I was on about!

The shape of bottles depends a lot upon the history of the region it was first developed, there are 3 major shapes within the world of wine

The Burgundy Bottle

Invented sometime in the 19^th century, the burgundy bottle has it’s curved sides simply due to the fact that it was easier for glassmakers to produce. Burgundy soon became responsible for making the 1^st and finest wines out of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and they used this shape for the red and white Burgundies. After time the bottle could be found everywhere around the world and soon became recognised as the bottle for good quality Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs, as these grapes spread so did the bottle. Nowadays, grapes with similar characteristics often use this shape such as Nebbiolo, Gamay and Etna Rosso. White wines with this bottle shape often indicate good quality wines that are oaked, However, unoaked Chardonnay is becoming a bit of a thing so this is not always the case.

The Bordeaux Bottle

Created shortly after the Burgundy bottle, came the famous Bordeaux bottle. Bordeaux creates two of the world’s most famous grape varieties, on the left bank of the Gironde in the Medoc is primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, whereas on the right bank is mainly Merlot, this is where I was based in Cote de Blaye. The Bordeaux bottle very quickly became the most recognised and used bottle with its distinctive shoulders, these were apparently designed to stop sediment created by these wines from coming out of the bottle whilst decanting. The shape of the bottle may be just to set it apart from it’s Burgundian cousin.

The Alsatian/ Mosul Bottle

This bottle shape was designed for different reasons compared to Burgundy and Bordeaux. Created mainly for Riesling wines, also known for housing similar style grapes such as Gewürztraminer.  These wines are a lot more delicate than the robust Bordeaux wines. Regions from which this wine was produced often required the wines being transported across the River Rhine, which meant smaller ships were used, which therefore meant bottles needed to be slender in order to fit as many as possible inside the hull. As it was transported over the river, the bottles could be more delicate as it was a much gentler voyage than by sea. Bordeaux and Burgundy wines often found themselves being exported to Great Britain.

Since then, these different regions have simply stuck to their old roots. There isn’t a simple correlation between regions and bottle style anymore as new world wines have changed the dynamics of bottling and labelling.

Punts were originally created by glassblowers so that the bottle could stand up and not have any sharp edges underneath. These days’ bottles are machine made and much stronger so the punt is just a tradition that has carried on. Punts do have structural reasons especially for sparkling wines, it helps to distribute the pressure within the bottle evenly throughout, and can also aid the cooling of white wines as it increases the surface area. There is also the fact that some producers may not have a massive budget to spend on their bottles and yet still produce fantastic wines, if you’re producing on a large scale, these little extra intricate details on bottles can really add up and decrease margins for the winemakers.

ANYWAY…… Who’d of thought that a punt would have so many different functions? After researching and sussing out the reasons behind bottles and their shapes, I’ve realised that it doesn’t really matter. In future, say if there were two very similar bottles that I was unsure of what to go for, I won’t be judging them by the shape, design or punt, instead I shall be doing what we should all be doing anyway, and buying the wine depending on its location, it’s vintage, the winemaker and the price!

Chateau L’Esperance is a small Chateau spread across an area of 10km2 located in the hills of Blaye, the hills in Blaye are only about 40 meters above sea level but offer enough to create some brilliant wines, some of these brilliant wines come from Chateau L’Esperance and are created and sold by Thomas Marchant.

The first time I tried one of Thomas Marchant’s wines was when I initially arrived in Blaye, Thomas invited me to his home for a blind wine tasting. The first wine we tried was of course his wine Cuvee Trois Freres, I loved it so much that when I came back to the UK for Christmas I decided to bring a few bottles back to give away as presents and keep a few for my greedy self!

Cuvee Trois Freres 2010 is a typical Bordeaux Blend consisting of 90% Merlot, 5% Malbec & 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, the vintage 2010 is one of the best vintages from the past decade, everything was perfect for the vines, very few corrections were needed to obtain the perfect maturity of the grapes, the terrior produced a brilliant well balanced wine, it’s full bodied and very fruity. This is expressed through the flavours and characteristics of the wine. Cuvee Trois Freres has been aged in new oak barrels for 12 months before blending.

I tend to get on very well with Bordeaux reds as I love Merlots, however, this wine has small hints of Malbec which adds complexity and spice, whilst the Cabernet Sauvignon brings acidity, tannin and an aromatic aroma of rich black fruit. When tasting a wine I always think a lot about the aroma, if you had a nose like mine you’d understand. If the wine smells good, it’s hard not to love it!

Appearance: Deep ruby red

Nose:  Very complex aromas of black fruits, medium intensity and a mild oakyness.

Palate:  Velvety, smooth texture in the mouth, medium tannin with high acidity. Flavours of blackberry and cherries with a very slight spice.

Conclusion: Very well balanced wine, with great depth of flavours, well worth a buy!

I drank this wine with a nice juicy steak, I’d recommend you do the same!

Here is the link for the website of the wine:  http://www.vignobles-jonck.com/home/#estate-wines

I’ll give it a rating of 4/5, Job well done!

Reviewing wine can often sound a little too serious, there’s nothing serious about wine.  It should be a fun, shared experience with friends and family, although if you’re like me and do enjoy indulging in the odd bottle on your own, there is also nothing wrong with that either! In fact, I’m writing this right now whilst enjoying a glass of Malbec from Cahors, if you’re considering reading on, I’d suggest you grab a glass too!

My interest in wine didn’t start too long ago, I remember the days when I was a child thinking wine was the worst drink on the planet, who would want an acidic, sharp fruit juice when there was a perfectly chilled Capri Sun in the fridge? Eventually, my taste buds developed and I started to enjoy the adult things in life, such as mushrooms, tomatoes, mayonnaise, and finally…. wine!

During my A Levels I lost complete interest in school and focused on “more interesting” aspects in my life such as earning money, girls and passing my driving test. I started working in a local hotel as a waiter and worked my way up to Restaurant Manager by the age of 18, my boss at the time was a big role model for me and encouraged me to stick out hospitality, as I was bloody awesome at it (not a lot to brag about I know, but you’ll see a pattern developing throughout this blog)! Everything came naturally to me, I thought it was a brilliant job, I was getting paid to just chat with people all day and bring them food every now and then. When I was registered to complete my WSET Level 1 in 2012, I was a little bit excited, I love being tested with exams and I also love doing better than everyone, on this occasion I obtained a score of 100%! At the time I was contemplating leaving hospitality and get into car sales, but achieving 100% spurred me on to get into wine.

After a few years of working within both hospitality and sales, I was offered the opportunity to work in Blaye, a small town on the right bank of the Gironde in Bordeaux. The opportunity arose on my 21st birthday when my girlfriend decided to surprise me with a trip to Bordeaux, when we arrived I was welcomed by a lovely South African bloke who owned the Villa we stayed in. After a while we got chatting and as it turns out Les was looking for someone to work for him in his glorious wine cellar! Obviously, I couldn’t say no to the opportunity and decided to move out in a heart beat, since then I have been living and breathing wine!

Hope you have enjoyed getting to know me a little, I shall try and post as often as possible.