After a false start due to my technical shortcomings our blog is now operational and will become a regular source of event reports, product information, wine tips and other pearls of wisdom. Watch this space!
The blog rises again!
May 12th, 2010Some Key Principles of Food and Wine Matching
December 29th, 2009I was hoping to launch a series of food and wine blog entries with one on wines for Christmas Dinner. I seem to have missed the boat on that, so instead we begin with a few key non-technical principles that I find useful when trying to pick the right wine for food.
- Treat the wine as a sauce or condiment
This can be very useful. Take a very citrussy wine like a dry Riesling or Picpoul de Pinet from the Languedoc region. These have a good chance of matching foods that would take a squeeze of lemon – such as seafood. A sweeter (to cope with the heat) Riesling makes a great match for tandoori dishes, as several visits to Tayab’s in Whitechapel have confirmed. Similarly a peach laden Viognier can be really good with pate, pork dishes and chicken.
- Go local
In other words buy a wine from the revelant region. So if you’re cooking a gutsy Tuscan classic, buy a Chianti; it will probably work.
- Sauvignon Blanc is a good allrounder
If you’re going to dinner and have no idea what’s being cooked, consider taking a Kiwi sauvignon Blanc. A bit heavy for some fish dishes but gebnerally fine. Great with dishes with a touch of chili eg Thai crab cakes, due to its fruitiness and the fact it has the same chemical compounds as capsicums – this also makes it great with goat’s cheese. Fine also with green leaf salad (due to its herbaceousness)
…and finally a bit of a cop-out….
- Google it
If you can’t get to bottle apostle to endure a 20 minute lecture, try googling “moussaka wine pairing” or “osso bucco wine match” and so on. You’ll probably find more than enough suggestions.
Christmas / New Year — Opening Times
December 21st, 2009| Monday | 21 Dec. 2009 | 10:00—21:00 |
| Tuesday | 22 Dec. 2009 | 10:00—21:00 |
| Wednesday | 23 Dec. 2009 | 10:00—21:00 |
| Thursday | 24 Dec. 2009 | 10:00—19:00 |
| Friday | 25 Dec. 2009 | closed |
| Saturday | 26 Dec. 2009 | closed |
| Sunday | 27 Dec. 2009 | closed |
| Monday | 28 Dec. 2009 | closed |
| Tuesday | 29 Dec. 2009 | 12:00—21:00 |
| Wednesday | 30 Dec. 2009 | 12:00—21:00 |
| Thursday | 31 Dec. 2009 | 12:00—21:00 |
| Friday | 1 Jan. 2010 | closed |
| Saturday | 2 Jan. 2010 | 10:00—20:00 |
| Sunday | 3 Jan. 2010 | 10:00—18:00 |
Wine Tasting Events for 2010
December 16th, 2009
We’ve had loads of requests for more dates for tutored wine tasting events so that people can book places as gifts. Your wish is my command!
We already have the following with tickets still available:
- Thurs Jan 7th 8pm £15 – New Year Beer: An Introductory Tasting
- Thurs Jan 28th 8pm £30 – Cellar Workshop: Collecting and Ageing Wine
The new wine tasting events are as follows:
- Wed Feb 3rd 8pm £25 – A Proper Cheese and Wine Evening
- Thurs Feb 11th 8pm £25 – An Introduction to Port
- Wed Feb 17th 8pm £25 – How to Taste Wine (our introductory tasting)
- Thurs Feb 25th 8pm £40 – An Introduction to Champagne
- Wed March 10th 8pm £35 – Chateauneuf and Beyond: Wines of the Rhone Valley
- Thurs March 18th £35 – Cognac and Armagnac
- Wed March 24th £40 – Fine red wines of Tuscany
To book places, please ring us on 020 8985 1549, or email info@bottleapostle.com
We will also be adding a series of supper club evenings once dates are confirmed with caterers.
Bottle Apostle wine tasting event at Bistrotheque
December 8th, 2009
Tuesday 8th December at 6pm
Bottle Apostle will be hosting a free wine tasting event in the Napoleon Bar on Tuesday 8th December from 6pm.
Open to both Bistrotheque customers and members of staff it will a be chance to learn more about specific grapes and regions, and to try some delicious wines.
Bistrotheque
23-27 Wadeson Street,
London,
E2 9DR
Please email info@bistrotheque.com to let them know if you’ll be coming along.
Preview of This Wednesday’s Big One
November 30th, 2009Busy, busy, busy. Anyone would think it was nearly Christmas. Have been a little tardy with establishing the line up for this Wednesday’s Big One tasting at the shop (8pm £75pp, a few tickets left), so here’s a bit more information to get those last few spaces filled.
The line up will give us a nice range of styles, as well as being the best kit I can lay my hands on. The list is necessarily provisional as there may be a couple of cheeky “upgrades” if we fill the last few places.
We’ll probably kick off with Champagne: Gosset 1999 vintage (£59.50) is drinking beautifully. I have one white “in the bag” which is the 2006 Chablis Grand Cru Vaudesir from Christian Moreau (£32). This is just about as good as Chablis gets.
The reds will be equally epic. We have the 1995 Gran Reserva Rioja #890 from la Rioja Alta (£95). This is one of the top two or three Gran Reservas and it’s an excellent vintage. Customers have been swooning over its kid sibling the #904 (£34) so I think we should all have high expectations. We’ll also chuck in a Supertuscan but you will probably have to wait untill the night to find out which one – right now I can’t decide between the 2005 Solengo from Argiano in Montalcino, or the Ilatraia from Brancaia from the Tuscan coast. Something from Bordeaux or the Rhone will also make an appearance. From my own cellar (well, pantry) I’ll bring a mature bottle of D’Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz from McLaren Vale as a “bonus wine”. Maybe a 2001 or 2002; maybe a ninetysomething.
We finish on a high (in several senses) with one of the great dessert wines; a 2007 Von Buhl Forster Pechstein Riesling Eiswein from Pfalz – a mere £135 per half bottle and 299g of sugar per litre.
Simple food (cheeses, cold meat, bread etc) will be served. if you’re not already signed up we hope you can join us!
Nebbiolo event report
November 24th, 2009In mid November we held a very succesful cellar tasting which largely confirmed this as one of the very noblest of the noble varieties. Having said that we started with the “idiosyncratic” Coriole Nebbiolo Rose 2008 (£12.50) which has lots of rhubarb and prune character and provokes a “Marmite” (love or hate) reaction from our customers. Back to the mainstream with the wonderful 2005 Nebbiolo d’Alba “Bricco Barone”, Marziano Abbona (£16.25) which shows riper more generous fruit than the “senior” wines and certainly blows away any “supermarket” Barolo at the price.
Welcome!
November 5th, 2009Welcome to Bottle Apostle and a bit of preliminary waffle as I get used to this blogging lark. We opened our lovely shop in Lauriston Road, Victoria Park in July of this year, to lots of rejoicing amongst locals as well as compliments on the shopfit, designed by Sant Design with lots of lovely visuals by our graphic designer Andrew Fairhurst. Nearly 4 months on we still get students taking photos of our feature logo window for projects.
We stock around 350 wines plus a compact selection of beers and spirits. We don’t like to cram the shop full as we need space for buggies and prams! This means a wine really has to earn its position on the shelves. We shy away from the big brands and focus on the less familiar and hard to find.
We also have 4 shiny Enomatic sampling machines allowing us to have 32 wines available for sampling; just top up an “oyster card” with credit and away you go – samples cost from 35p to £15 for wines from £6 to £300. Weekly tutored wine events are held in our cellar, which are proving very popular. This week, for example, we are having a Fireworks Night-themed supper club (sold out); next week a Nebbiolo tasting. You can also hire our cellar / tasting room for private events.
