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By mthomas
Just back from lovely trip to Dordogne. Managed lots of research and writing but also found time for some R and R including ‘glamping’ and canoeing between villages for tastings.
It was really interesting to see how 2009 is viewed by the French, especially the Bordeaux en primeur offer. I didn’t buy because they are overpriced and earlier vintages from good makers, that are better value and drinking well now, are readily available. Long-term they may be a good investment and will be enjoyable wines but I have a feeling there may be a few price dips over coming years and the usual re-evaluation of initial impressions. I will back-fill once picture is clearer and dust has settled.
Vintages of the century are unsustainable if they occur every 5 years and the opportunism of the recent prices stinks. Bordeaux is becoming increasingly irrelevant to younger wine consumers and even old friends are feeling exploited. The first growths can rest on their laurels and name any price but lower down the pecking order producers will suffer because of a strategy based on short-termism. This attitude is characteristic of many businesses and not peculiar to the wine world but it does seem likely that as wine becomes more of an investment vehicle that corruption will increase. Dodgy wine funds (with no wine), ‘insider dealing’ (how can critics justify expensive jollies on companies that they are giving scores to?) and forgeries (just check out the price of empty bottles on ebay!). Consumers are being misled and ripped off in such a multitude of ways
Anyway, 2010 is unlikely to scale the heights of 2009 judging by the current wet weather and relatively poor quality grapes (anonymous example pictured left). I most enjoyed visiting St Emilion, Monbazillac and Bergerac and drank good wines at all price points. France is still awash with honest and affordable wines made by dedicated people. I hope to blog in more detail when I get the time.
By mthomas
When we visit family in the New Forest we usually zip past Setley Ridge Vineyard but this time we pulled in and really enjoyed the brief diversion. It was also interesting in retrospect to reflect on the state of the English wine industry and how it is likely to develop over the coming decades.
Five wines are produced at Setley Ridge but I guess more money is made from the excellent food on sale in the farm shop (pictured right). This is the economic reality of producing low volumes of wine in an area not traditionally associated with viniculture. It takes time to develop a portfolio and makers here are invariably unsung heroes battling against the odds. Land and labour are expensive, and production costs mean these wines are competing with high quality imports. You need to diversify and have a good business plan if you are going to survive.
The red, made from a blend of Regent, Rondo and Triomphe, is clearly a work in progress. Drinkable but at £9.95 probably reliant on inquisitive tourists. The Seyval also unlikely to compete at £7.99 unless the buyer is keen to support English producers. The blend of Seyval and Muscat, also £7.99, is more successful and could make an impact at the right tasting. It is one for a forward-thinking restaurant to add to its list. The rosé (Schonberg and Rondo) could ride the increasing popularity of this style and might find a good home at some of the summer sporting or arts events in the UK. At £8.95 it needs an affluent audience willing to reject Californian blushes which retail at half the price. The local pubs have Ringwood bitter and it would be nice to see more of them stocking these local wines.
Perhaps the most interesting wine in the Setley portfolio is their ‘Special Release Red’, a Pinot Noir. This is the grape that is most likely to reveal terroir and I was intrigued, and relatively impressed, by their effort. It is nowhere near the sophistication of many Burgundys or new world pinots at this price point (£12.95) but is a noble attempt at exploring the potential of the grape in the UK. I would love to see how it performs in a blind tasting and it is only through the endeavours of the vanguard in the South of England that progress will be made. I have no doubt that really good Pinot Noir, that can compete with the rest of the world, will be produced in the UK over the next few decades. Many scoffed at the idea of English fizz reaching the level it is at today but are now eating humble pie.
The New Forest offers lots of other good reasons to visit but the opportunity to taste wines can only add to its attractiveness. I caught up with youngest brother Oliver (still only 22 and helping to manage one of the best pubs in the area) and beat him at tennis despite my age. We followed the game with a swim in the seawater pool and 9 holes of golf (which he won by 2 shots but my eagle on a par 4 hole made my day) - a kind of relatively sedate triathlon. We also went for lots of walks and did a bit of foraging. Best were some lobsters from a local supplier (3 weighing a total of nearly 2 kilos for £22) because we picked out ones that had lost claws or legs and thus had become unattractive to restaurant buyers. The spaghetti with lobster for 6 we knocked up was superb and incredibly cheap for such a treat. I also remembered to borrow a fishing rod to take to France next week. The great thing about catching a fish is that you can splash out on the wine, maybe even an English one.
Setley Ridge is situated right in the middle of the New Forest National Park. Lymington Road, Brockenhurst, SO42 7UF. Tel 01590 622246
http://www.setleyridgevineyard.co.uk/
By mthomas
The following is from the BPS research digest. This view of personality is quite limited but probably contains some ‘truths’ about bloggers and their choice of words. It would be interesting to analyse by topic too; perhaps wine bloggers tend towards a specific personality type. I always think that wine language is peculiarly idiosyncratic, elaborated (in terms of being a code) and often alienates people.
See if you can identify the Psychologist (pictured left) given the post below.
You can tell a person’s personality from the words they use. Neurotics have a penchant for negative words; agreeable types for words pertaining to socialising; and so on. We know this from recordings of people’s speech and from brief writing tasks. Now Tal Yarkoni has extended this line of research to the blogosphere by analysing the content of 694 blogs - containing an average of 115,000 words written over an average period of about two years - and matching this with the bloggers’ (predominantly female; average age 36) answers to online personality questionnaires.
Some commentators have suggested that the internet allows people to present idealised versions of themselves to the world. Contrary to that idea, Yarkoni found that bloggers’ choice of words consistently related to their personality type just as has been found in past offline research.
More neurotic bloggers used more words associated with negative emotions; extravert bloggers used more words pertaining to positive emotions; high scorers on agreeableness avoided swear words and used more words related to communality; and conscientious bloggers mentioned more words with achievement connotations. These were all as expected. More of a surprise was the lack of a link between the Big Five personality factor of ‘openness to experience’ and word categories related to intellectual or sensory experience. Instead openness was associated with more use of prepositions, more formal language and longer words.
The sheer size of the data set at Yarkoni’s disposal allowed him to look not only at links between personality factors and broad word categories (as past research has done) but to also zoom in on the usage of specific words. Among the most strong and intriguing correlations were: Neuroticism correlated with use of ‘irony’ and negatively correlated with ‘invited’; Extraversion correlated with ‘drinks’ and negatively correlated with ‘computer’; Openness correlated with ‘ink’; Agreeableness with ‘wonderful’ and negatively correlated with ‘porn’; and Conscientiousness correlated with ‘completed’ and negatively correlated with ‘boring’.
‘The results underscore the importance of studying the influence of personality on word use at multiple levels of analysis,’ Yarkoni concluded, ‘and provide a novel approach for refining existing categorical word taxonomies and identifying new and unexpected associations with personality.’
Yarkoni, T. (2010). Personality in 100,000 Words: A large-scale analysis of personality and word use among bloggers. Journal of Research in Personality, 44 (3), 363-373
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2010.04.001
By mthomas
Pictured left is the cork from a bottle of 2005 grand cru Riesling made by a good producer in Alsace. I am not naming and, potentially shaming, because this can happen to anyone using corks. I am assuming that it is not a systemic issue for the maker and that the whole production was not tainted. The upside is that it was from the Wine Society and, following a brief phone call, a replacement is on its way. I can also rest easy that they are unlikely to put the boot in to the supplier the way some of the supermarkets are reported to.
The cork has an obvious flaw in it and the musty smell was a particularly good example! I let my sons smell it (without priming them) and both described it in unpleasant terms. I also got them to smell another white (admittedly not a Reisling) which elicited much more flattering descriptors. The youngest had a particularly strong response to the taint and is generally sensitive to odours. Our threshold for detecting TCA is usually a few parts per trillion but this can vary by several orders of magnitude depending on each individual’s sensitivity. I have a friend who is particularly sensitive and bemoans it as a curse. If there is one glass on a table with it, he says that it taints all the others he tastes. Detection is complicated by quick habituation to TCA, making the smell less obvious on each subsequent sniff. It can therefore pay to go with first impressions.
I wish I could taste a bottle of the same wine that had been screw topped. Riesling can age well under a screw cap and cork taint is not an issue but there is an aesthetic pleasure in pulling a cork that I would greatly miss if it disappeared completely. Cork producers do need to diversify and improve product reliability though. The costs to makers and consumers is significant. Corks are unlikely to disappear at the top end of the market though. They are associated with notions of quality and authenticity and there should be a demand for good quality corks for a long time.
By mthomas
I have made a few changes to the site but am planning a few more when I return from a research/sailing trip to Greece in a few weeks. I have deleted the Forum page because it wasn’t really working. People leave comments on each blog and there is also the contact page which I can respond to. These seem to work but I might yet end up tweeting!
I have also changed the front page. I know the picture of me in front of the painting looks a bit smug but it was taken by a friend and I like it! People often ask about the painting and for the record it is by an artist called Emma Bennett and I bought it at an end of year show at Central St Martins in the early 90s. The other panel hangs in my office (pictured) because it is hard to find an 80 square ft wall to hang them together. I have quite a few images to search through/upload to make pages more visually engaging and am conscious that pages can be less dynamic than posts in the blog.
I also need to focus on writing another chapter for the book rather than blogging but will try to update the site at least weekly. I will be adding lots more references and also plan to update the education links (so if you know of any good courses or structured tastings let me know the details). I might also add some ’social tastings’ if people send details of these.
By mthomas
Well done to the Wine Society for a commitment to lower alcohol wines (see their Website for their ‘Lighter dozen’ and other offers of red and whites all under 12.5%) including the Vin de Pays d’Oc pictured. These have an important place in the market and are sought after by drinkers for a number of reasons (not only health but also cognitive function, driving safety etc.).
A sommelier told me that he has noticed increasing numbers of customers asking about alcohol levels in wines on his list and that the next edition will give levels for all wines. He was less secure about the accuracy of the alcohol levels on some labels though.
A few years ago I went to a well known restaurant in California and ordered a bottle of Lodi ‘Earthquake’ Zinfandel (California should make more Zin and less Cab based wines) thinking that the earthquake was a play on the belief that they influence wine quality or that the vineyard had some strange fissure as the result of tectonic activity (it is actually a reference to the 1906 quake). I asked the waitress the story behind the name but she had no idea and by the time the wine waiter appeared I had already had half a glass and worked out that the ‘ground moving’ potential of the wine was due to 15% alcohol (it felt like more). It overpowered the food and is not one of my favourite Zins. My headache later was about force 5 on the Richter scale.
I always keep a few bottles of relatively low alcohol Riesling or Vinho Verde handy for times when I want a glass of white with a light lunch but really don’t want to feel at all intoxicated. I find lower alcohol reds harder to find and was impressed that the Wine Society selection includes decent Cotes de Bourg and Chinon.
I am also trying to keep up my interest in Chilean wines and am mindful that, like Haiti, they are still recovering from a real earthquake. The amazing photographs of twisted stainless steel fermentation tanks perfectly illustrated the destructive power of earthquakes but I guess I am right in saying that alcohol (directly and indirectly) kills many more people than earthquakes and that campaigns such as drink aware are important (website). Have a look at some of the useful tools available on the site and reward makers and responsible retailers by trying their lower alcohol offerings.
Here is link to UNICEF if you want read about how you can help children in Haiti, Chile and other countries experiencing difficulties such as those mentioned above.
By mthomas
My favourite tipple this week has been G and T made with Sacred Gin which is produced by a micro-distillery in London (Highgate). I like to have breaks from wine and am a bit disillusioned with the wine world at the moment. Badly organised tastings, boring wines and blatant vested interests making a nonsense of ratings, reviews and awards. It all seems a bit overblown, biased and pointless. I hope the break will reinvigorate me and my writing on the topic will not be overly negative.
On a more positive tone I was awarded a Fellowship last week, in part for developing Problem Based Learning approaches to support training on a Psychology Doctorate programme. This approach was developed to give medical students a ‘real world’ context for their learning. I always think of ‘House’ and the (outlandish) cases he and his team face. Anyway it was nice to receive this recognition and was much appreciated.
Back to the Gin. I really like G and T and usually drink Bombay Sapphire. I have no commercial interests in BS or in Sacred so if this reads like an ‘advertorial’ it is simply because I like the product - which is local and high quality.
The ‘Sacred’ name comes from Boswellia Sacra (aka Hougary Frankincense) used in the distillation. The makers also refer to information from the botanical Encyclopedia, Hortus Indicus Malabaricus. It is creamier than most gins and is heavily perfumed with 12 different botanicals. These include Juniper, Cardamom and Nutmeg. I really like the Cardamom notes, and the distinct citrus flavours mean you do not really need a slice of lemon. Wine drinkers interested in smell and taste might be interested in trying Sacred.
The cold vacuum approach to distillation is explained on the website (Website here) and a synopsis follows;
“Reduced temperature distillation is achieved by distilling each botanical separately under a vacuum ranging from 1/12th atmosphere to 1/6th atmosphere. There is also a “negative activated carbon effect” from distilling the botanicals separately which can best be explained by considering the distillation of all botanicals together, in which the presence of just one single aroma absorbing element will affect the entire gin. If this hypothetical mix of botanicals were distilled separately, the single aroma absorbing element would be unable to absorb flavors from its neighboring botanicals, and hence the overall flavor of the resultant gin is enhanced. This reduced pressure/reduced temperature also means that the complex 3 dimensional terpenes such as limonene, geraniol, pinene, eucalyptol and terpenoids such as citral, menthol etc. do not get the opportunity to stereoisomerise into their more “stewed” versions, which would be recognised as “marmalady” and bitter flavours so prevalent in gins distilled at higher temperatures.”
Sacred Vodka is produced using the same technique but with a different range of botanicals including Indonesian Cubeb and Nutmeg. I haven’t tried it yet but hope it is as good as the gin.
By mthomas
An article on Collioure in the Observer Magazine by Tim Atkin this week reminded me of how good wines from this town are. It also made me reflect (no pun intended) on the quality of light on the Côte Vermeille and how this increases enjoyment by enhancing the colour of wine. The Fauvists (literally ‘wild beasts’) set up shop here because of the quality of the light and made works, such as Les Toits de Collioure by Matisse (pictured below right), that captured this.
This part of Languedoc Roussillon is quite literally the vermillion coast and, as the locals point out, is neither French nor Spanish but resolutely Catalan. It is also one of my favourite places because it is so beautiful and culture rich. More specifically because of the happy memories I have of holidays there and of great affordable wine.
In this region the wines pick up the light and become radiant when sipped by the beach with the wonderful local food. Rosés are really respected and often made in a sophisticated food friendly style. However, the light does not travel with the wines and they can lose their sparkle outside the region. We know that colour is a learned quality indicator and that a rosé drunk on a relaxed holiday with the salty sea air on your lips is likely to taste good because of contextual ‘value added’.
Makers such as Coume del Mas, Domaine de la Rectorie and Préceptoire de Centernach turn out consistently good red, whites and rosés from a range of permitted grapes including Mourvèdre, Syrah and Grenache noir (often at very low yields) for the reds and rosés . Les Caves du Roussillon are a brilliant independent outfit that represent the (politicized and passionate) makers of the region and they have outlets in Collioure and nearby Port Vendres with its working harbour providing a healthy and authentic contrast to its more touristy neighbour. If you are in this region make sure you visit both and try some of the wines at the Caves. One of my fondest wine memories was an improvised afternoon flight of old Banyuls put on for me by one of the owners, Olivier, who used to set up visits for me to local makers.
In the UK the Wine Society have a good selection from the Languedoc Roussillon and their 2008 opening offer includes Collioure Blanc l’Argile, Domaine de la Rectorie, a grenache gris which will increase in complexity as it ages over the next 5 years (a bargain for this kind depth and complexity at £95 per case in bond). It should develop wonderful petrolly characteristics as it matures but will be excellent in the interim with the grilled fish and seafood of the area. Try some of the local clams (pallourdes) and oysters (bouziges) in a cafe in Collioure, or even better make the trek to the harbour at Port Vendres and sniff out the fantastic fishmonger and small oyster bar run by fishermen and wash down six bouziges with a glass of Picpoul de Pinet for a few euros.
By mthomas
The New Scientist magazine recently published an interesting article by Peter Aldhous on pharmacological approaches to the treatment of alcoholism. It also introduced me to a new demographic ‘Cyber-Millenials’ and I am slightly concerned that I may be one. They (we?) are often ‘binge-drinkers’ with expendable income living in trendy urban fringe areas. I am probably a bit old to be a proper one and having a demanding job plus 2 kids (dad’s taxi duty ferrying them to and from various activities) really limits opportunities for binge drinking.
On a more serious note, in the past medication such as disulfiram was not designed to reduce cravings for alcohol but to induce nausea as an aversive if the person did drink. The new wave of SSRIs (Prozac was an earlier one) such as Naltrexone are ‘designed’ to reduce cravings and the compulsive urge to drink. This type of drug will be familiar to many because of branded versions being used in a variety of domains; Champix (to stop smoking) and Cipramil (to reduce panic attacks and in some cases compulsive shopping!) They are also subject to concerns regarding negative side effects and debates over cost-benefits.
There are other wider social issues related to how we may be pathologising and medicating groups as well as accusations of aggressive marketing by the pharmaceutical industry or ‘Big Pharma’ as it is sometimes known. Excessive drinking is linked to a range of social and medical issues but is the answer to replace it with a ‘magic pill’?
The full article can be read (here).
By mthomas
A quick trip to Broadcasting House on Tuesday to participate in All in the Mind (a well known and regarded programme on psychology) on Radio 4 (Website here). It is a great prog and I enjoyed the recent Martin Seligman episode where he invited Claudia Hammond to ask him a hard question and she did! It was scheduled to be the last of this series and had a really interesting debate on psychiatry as well as a section on Hans Asperger and Gilles de Tourette and the syndromes they gave their name to. As the last in the series, close to the festive period, psychology and wine was also on the menu.
The other guest was Malcolm Gluck, famous for ‘Superplonk’ and now infamous for his new book ‘The Great Wine Swindle’, who was clearly galvanised to plug the latter. I had read the book and so expected bombastic polemic. I am not an experienced broadcaster and tended to defer to Malcolm who was more than happy to express his views. Being a psychologist, I tend not to interrupt people when they are speaking so my contribution tended to be a quick question or brief refutation of his position based on research. I also had a bad throat and sounded a bit like a sealion. It was a useful reminder that our subjective experience of ourselves; image, sound etc. is very different from a media representation which, in a strange way, can be more accurate and objective. I once watched an old friend (an award winning broadsheet journalist) ‘die’ during a tv programme when he found himself unable to string two words together (he also had a good face for radio and looked very grumpy).
I hope the programme wasn’t ‘train crash’ radio and the Producer Fiona Hill gave me some lovely feedback. Friends and family have also been generous and I am aware I have a tendency to be self-critical. However, I would like to develop my ability to communicate research in a more accessible but meaningful way. I love lecturing and am unfazed by large live audiences but something about the BBC studio was deeply intimidating for me. The relatively short interview did not really allow me to warm-up and I would have loved to have been able to make a few more cogent points about the topic. Claudia Hammond was a consumate professional and I hope I picked up a few good tips from her performance though.
Malcolm makes many valid points in his book but the tabloid style and vitriol towards people in the wine trade, who seem to be pretty amiable and ethical individuals, undermines his arguments. He also has a tendency to blame others for being subjective and fallible but then ‘puts his hands up’ to the same (as he did on the programme). I also pointed out to him that it was in my opinion the worst proof-reading of a book I have seen in some time… In person he was polite and amiable, perhaps as many people do, he adopts a media persona that is suited to its function.
Anyway, Merry Christmas to one and all and here’s to a positive new decade.
Just back from lovely trip to Dordogne. Managed lots of research and writing but also found time for some R and R including ‘glamping’ and canoeing between villages for tastings.
Anyway, 2010 is unlikely to scale the heights of 2009 judging by the current wet weather and relatively poor quality grapes (anonymous example pictured left). I most enjoyed visiting St Emilion, Monbazillac and Bergerac and drank good wines at all price points. France is still awash with honest and affordable wines made by dedicated people. I hope to blog in more detail when I get the time.
