By mthomas
Going down to my family’s house in East Sussex for the Bank Holiday weekend gave me the opportunity to meet with their friend and neighbour Peter Hall. Peter has been making wine at Breaky Bottom for over 30 years and produces excellent English Sparkling wine. A recent trophy sat in his kitchen as testament to his success with the classic trio of fizz grapes as well as Seyval Blanc which he is committed to due to its compatability with the Terroir. He spoke passionately about the long process leading to a realisation that this was the wine he should be making at BB.
Breaky bottom sits in an idyllic valley in the South Downs. Like many vineyards, the huge effort involved in maintaining this is often invisible to the casual visitor. Peter gets up at 3am and does most of the work himself. He has overcome flooding and other challenges that many would not. He deserves the success he is now enjoying.
We sat with Peter and his lovely wife Christine around their kitchen table drinking 2005 Cuvee’ Brian Jordan and Kir Royale (buy here). The Sparkling Brut showed what can be done in the South of England and is testament to his belief in Seyval Blanc.
The Kir Royal was a perfect balance of his fizz and homemade Creme de Cassis, decidely fun and not at all ‘naff’. Kir Royale is often out of balance when mixed casually in bars and restaurants and by taking it seriously Peter has produced something to be celebrated. It is unsurprising that it is hugely popular at weddings and strikes me as symbolic of how the union of two things can be greater than the sum of the individual parts.
Peter spoke warmly of family and friends. His French grandfather, and other relatives, who influence his world view and also of his friendship with Andrew Jefford (whom he clearly misses whilst he is on sabbatical in Australia writing a definitive guide to wines there).
I have offered my services at his next harvest as I can think of little better than spending a day at Breaky Bottom enjoying the Terroir, contributing to the next cuvee and listening to him recount rakish tales.
By mthomas
The Psychology of Eating and Drinking
I recently revisited Alexandra Logue’s Psychology of Eating and Drinking whilst on holiday. It’s a wonderful mixture of the academic and accessible. Starting out from her own early experiences with food Logue leads the reader through a journey of self-discovery rooted in the scientific method.
The book is made up of 15 chapters that explore areas such as food preference, the role of the senses and evolutionary influences. Latter topics include eating disorders, gender and, in the last chapter, ‘Cuisine, Beer ands Wine’. Throughout, the tone is engaging yet serious (as befits the topic).
The book is probably of more interest to psychologists than wine enthusiasts as only a couple of pages refer directly to wine. However, the way in which Logue makes fundamentals about our eating and drinking behaviour accessible should be engaging for anyone interested in why, and how, they eat and drink. Logue quotes Savarin’s challenge; “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are” and Alice (in Wonderland) “I know something interesting is sure to happen whenever I eat or drink anything”.
Sections on specific anosmia (smell insensitivity) and genetic sensitivity to PTC/PROP (supertasters, tasters and non-tasters) should be required reading for wine educators wanting to understand individual variance in responses at tastings. As Otolaryngologist and Yale Professor Linda Bartoshuk states, “People inhabit separate taste worlds”.
Logue uses the clever device of including ‘Conversation Making Facts’ in text boxes throughout. These might relate to why porcupines get run over (it’s all about their appetite for salt), the success of Gary Hall, a diabetic Olympiad, or the amount of butter used by successful chefs in their cooking. This grounds the academic studies in lived experience and increases accessibility.
I was particularly interested in the debate between the ‘complete abstinence’ and ‘controlled drinking’ views on alcohol dependence. The AA approach seems to ‘catastrophise’ relapse and I am more sympathetic to the way in which some CBT approaches encourage controlled relapse to help people learn how to manage drinking more effectively. As with all ‘therapy’ it very much depends on the client’s profile and needs. What Logue manages to do throughout this admirable book is to set out the evidence and debates in a rigorous and balanced manner.
Logue, A. (2004) The Psychology of Eating and Drinking Brunner-Routeledge New York
ISBN 0-415-95008-0 (softback) or 0-415-95008-2 (hardback)
By mthomas
I was kindly invited to a lovely tasting held by Haynes, Hanson and Clark at the Royal Society of Arts on Wednesday 20th May. As usual I am slow at creating a blog entry but am getting faster as the site takes shape and I get used to Wordpress! I am starting to actually enjoy creating posts and am interested in getting feedback so that I can develop the site.
The invitation came via Rosi Hanson who recently interviewed me for Decanter Magazine. Rosi was a very kind interviewer and I am looking forward, if somewhat nervously, to seeing the article. I must have enjoyed the tasting as I have already ordered a couple of cases. The stars for me were;
Macon-Villages-Quintaine Perette and Marc Guillemot Michel 2007
and
Fleurie Classique Chateau de Beauregard 2007
The Macon punches above its weight and has complexity and balance way beyond many more prestigious Burg’s that can demand a much higher price. It is produced biodynamically in Clessé (but cannot be called Macon-Clessé now) and shouts out terroir.
The Fleurie is just one of Burrier’s consistently good portfolio of wines. Grown on pink quartz and granite soils which make the vines work hard and results in low yields. It is cherry freshness in a glass and is available in magnums too.
An interesting psychological observation was that someone in the guestbook has dated their entry as 2005 and the following 6 people had followed suit. Solomon Asch would have been amused. I was tempted to continue the pattern but couldn’t quite bring myself to.
By mthomas
The inside of the Eddie
I had a great evening last week at the King Edward in Stratford (The King Eddie to locals). The Manager, Kendall, organises themed tastings with able support from Matthew Bradford (formerly sommelier at the Groucho club).
The night was all about matching wine with sushi and there were demonstrations from one of the few women sushi chefs who have ‘broken into’ this male dominated career. The sushi was a really good standard and Matt had a brave stab at finding wines to match. I enjoyed a Picpoul de Pinet (and am a fan of this humble but versatile grape) but a Californian Rose’ with tuna sashimi didn’t really work for me as it was a bit ‘turkish delight’ . I think one from Provence or the Languedoc might have been more successful. It is a hard call to match when pickled ginger and soy sauce are involved and, in general, I would always choose chilled sake’. However, Matt struck me as one of the better (more engaging, informed and honest, tasting hosts on the circuit) and I would recommend these nights.
It was good to catch up with my friend and colleague Ash (Ashok Jansari) a neuropsychologist who is getting a lot of media coverage for his work on brain injury. Ash has been bitten by the wine bug and I look forward to tasting with him in the future.
Going down to my family’s house in East Sussex for the Bank Holiday weekend gave me the opportunity to meet with their friend and neighbour Peter Hall. Peter has been making wine at Breaky Bottom for over 30 years and produces excellent English Sparkling wine. A recent trophy sat in his kitchen as testament to his success with the classic trio of fizz grapes as well as Seyval Blanc which he is committed to due to its compatability with the Terroir. He spoke passionately about the long process leading to a realisation that this was the wine he should be making at BB.
Breaky bottom sits in an idyllic valley in the South Downs. Like many vineyards, the huge effort involved in maintaining this is often invisible to the casual visitor. Peter gets up at 3am and does most of the work himself. He has overcome flooding and other challenges that many would not. He deserves the success he is now enjoying.
The Kir Royal was a perfect balance of his fizz and homemade Creme de Cassis, decidely fun and not at all ‘naff’. Kir Royale is often out of balance when mixed casually in bars and restaurants and by taking it seriously Peter has produced something to be celebrated. It is unsurprising that it is hugely popular at weddings and strikes me as symbolic of how the union of two things can be greater than the sum of the individual parts. 
