The Bottle Apostle

By mthomas

It is really good to see new independent retailers like The Bottle Apostle opening (website here). This is especially true when they are in the East End and therefore easily accessible for me. The Apostle is clearly at home in ‘Hackney Village’, just along from the excellent Ginger Pig butchers and opposite the Empress of India ‘gastropub’. Those seeking an old style Hackney experience can still wander through Victoria Park to ‘The Top of the Morning’ pub in Hackney Wick (as I sometime do with friends) but this area is also gentrifying at a swift pace following the influx of artists fleeing Hoxton in the hope of finding affordable studio space .

Anyway, whatever your view of gentrification, the Bottle Apostle is an attractive space with welcoming staff (all of whom seem to be called Tom) and most importantly a good range of the kind of wines you don’t tend to see on supermarket shelves. I plumped for; 2007 Riesling Kabinett Der Brauneberg, 2008 Zarate Albarino (I think Jancis R liked the 2007 so this is worth a punt) and 2008 Pinot Blanc from Domaine Bruno Sorg (pictured).

They are varietals I particularly like and although all were around the ten quid mark I think this is where true value often lies.  I will try to remember to review them when I open them…

It is so refreshing not to be treated like an idiot (bogus supermarket discounts and hyped up medal blurb) even if this is not the cheapest selection of wines in town.  I think they may have to rethink the Enomatic machines as I am unconvinced that they merit the space and must be a significant investment for a relatively small set up. Better to have a few open bottles, a cheap but effective Vacuvin and friendly banter.  They are organising tastings (see site) and currently have a witty competition to design a label for their own claret. Hopefully not the first step in a global branding campaign.

I was saddened to see the plight of Threshers, the 112 year old off-licence chain founded by Samual Thresher, following First Quench Retailing going into administration. Victoria Wine, an important venue in my youth, was merged with Thresher in 1998. Wine cellar recently sold 109 shops after similar difficulties and Unwins had already become part of Threshers in 2005.  Oddbins bought by Castel in 2002 was sold at a huge loss. Majestic however seems to be weathering the storm, in part due to the welcome move to reducing its minimum buy to six bottles, but the supermarkets seem to be heading towards an oligopoly (intended or not).

It is hard for conusmers to resist the retail advantages of the supermarkets. Even harder perhaps for producers to negotiate in a marketplace where they are so ‘outgunned’ by retailers. And, as for the critics and bloggers, what is their role in the wine economy? I like to think of myself  as a relatively independent blogger due to my main job as a Psychologist, and  I try to retain some objectivity when tasting (though would not be naive enough to proclaim a Ralph Nader inspired unimpeachability). I am aware of more than a few ‘critics’ who are so involved with the trade that their claims of objectivity, which is at best a fragile construct, are laughable.

I hope the Bottle Apostle thrives and will do my best to support it and other similar independents. I have no financial links with it but, ‘call me old-fashioned’, I just like local shops with good stock and the human touch.

The challenges of tasting

By mthomas

I am constantly reflecting on my ability (inability!) to discriminate between wines at the moment. I am reading lots of research that seems to undermine the accuracy and consistency of human tasters as well as more confessional and critical wine writers who acknowledge these limitations (Gluck et al).  I am also mindful of the restrictions of language and the work of Lehrer, Bourdieu etc. illustrating that the purple prose of critics is often more about individual taste, context, power relationships and subjective experience as it is about anything intrinsic to the wine.

I went to an interesting tasting mid-week arranged by Genesis wines. I had not really heard of them until recently but I was going to be speaking in central London nearby so had a ‘window of opportunity’. Once I made it past the imposing and heavy door of Chandos House and met up with some friends I set about tasting some of the Rhone 2008 En Primeur offers including a trio of Condrieu from Francois Villard and a host of barrel sample reds. Interestingly Villard was a chef before he began making wine and is still involved in the restaurant business. I do believe wine is often at its best when symbiotically and sympathetically interacting with food and wonder if someone who cooks is bound to be attuned to the potential of this. It also highlights how tasting early samples is distanced from the ultimate destination of drinking a mature wine with food.

Parker’s effusive reviews of the 2007s has clearly pulled the carpet out from under the 2008s. The euro exchange and the recent drop in the Liv-ex also make many things a ‘hard sell’ at the moment. My impression was that the  reds were generally sound despite the weather and will provide some enjoyable, if not particularly exciting, drinking for selective buyers but the market demands the ‘best’ and money will be drawn towards 2007s. It is also so hard to ‘fortune tell’ when tasting barrel samples and I have a very limited threshold for tasting them. After half a dozen of the reds I find my palate overwhelmed, in this case with tannins, coffee and cassis flavours. I find it hard to recall wines even with my notes and wonder at the abilities of those who drink 150 over a short period.

I am not a huge fan of Voignier but I think this is mainly due to the quality of wines I was first exposed to. I also have a lot of respect for friends who rate the grape highly and clearly there is a top-end market for them. I think this is a grape I will learn to appreciate more, and even at an immature stage, the wines from Villard were interesting and enjoyable. I had the sense of what they might become and look forward to trying them in future at their prime.  The pick for me, possibly because I enjoy acidity, was the ‘cheapest’ of the three (Les Terrasses du Plat) although the most expensive (De Poncins) seemed to have potential to age well and will probably mature beautifully.

Comments on photos (and architecture)

By mthomas

Photography by Steve Howse for Decanter

In a recent blog I used an image from a photoshoot for Decanter Magazine commissioned to accompany an article for their ‘My Passion for Wine’ slot. The image was not the one used in the article but people seem to really like it and have asked me about the angular building in the background (see below). The ’shoot’ was at the University of East London Stratford Campus where I am based for part of my week. I am not used to being photographed, especially by a professional in public, so it was a strange experience despite Steve doing his best to put me at ease.

The building in the picture is the new Conference Centre at Stratford (soon to be venue of the De-medicalising Misery Conference (conference website here) run by my friend and colleague Professor Mark Rapley, Head of the training programme for Clinical Psychologists an Antipodean with an interest in wine and very GSOH.

The campus has had a huge overhaul including the new Cass School of Education (picture to the right) and refurbished open spaces. It is not as striking as our Dockland Campus which regularly wins architectural awards but is a great place to work.  Here is more information on the campuses and buildings for those of an architectuaral inclination.

My office looks out over a green space containing a sculpture/garden that was at the Chelsea flower show. Perhaps more exciting is that my desk faces the Olympic site and I am monitoring the building progress and rise of the new (temple of consumerism) Westfield Centre. More importantly, things are settling down, for students and staff, after the unavoidable upheaval of the building work.

Photography by Steve Howse for Decanter

The image that was selected for the Decanter article was similar to the one on the left taken in the University library (an attempt to add intellectual gravitas perhaps). It was significantly different though in that I was looking up (recalling a trauma  or diassociating due to the embarassment of being ’shot’) and gives the impression of me being slightly eccentric (Hannibal Lecter meets Woody Allen). People who meet me who have seen it are surprised I am not aloof and geeky! People who know me are convinced that it catches some important aspect of my personality. A big thanks to Steve and Decanter for allowing me to use his work and UEL for investing in such great buildings.

The emails from readers reminded me how important photography can be (especially in text heavy blogs). I guess I am lucky in that I have two good friends who are talented photographers. Huw Williams who did a lot of the early pics for the site (and was great on the technological stuff too) and James Wilson who used to work with a lot of well known photographers but now seems to specialise in taking lovely pictures of my wife and kids but embarassing pictures of me. I am a bit sceptical of ‘disclosure’ generally, and even more so on wine blogs; especially if it is along the lines of ‘we got a new hamster today’ but people have asked for a bit more info so there you go…

Open Access International Journal of Wine Research

By mthomas

I recently came across this open access online peer reviewed journal from Dove. Link is here. There are a few papers that immediately struck me as potentially interesting;

Wine rating scales: Assessing their utility for producers, consumers, and oenologic researchers

Wine consumers’ environmental knowledge and attitudes: Influence on willingness to purchase

There is also a ‘Guest Editorial’ on Resveratrol-enhanced wine

I hope to review them soon as it is increasingly clear is that this form of journal publishing is the future. It is also democratizing in terms of free access and might be expected to increase citations and the amount of new research. What remains to be seen is if,and how, this influences the quality of empirical academic studies available.

Recent bottles

By mthomas

Sommelier Secrets

By mthomas

Whenever I am eating or drinking out at a place that has a sommelier, or at least someone interested in wine, I always try to discuss their role with them. I sometimes explain my perspective as a psychologist and follow up this initial chat with a scheduled semi-structured interview as I am fascinated by the role and enjoy researching the psychological interaction that underpins it. I have not submitted my data to peer review journals yet but thought some initial observations might be of interest.

My questions include probes around how the person became involved, their qualifications and their aims in the role. However, the most interesting responses tend to result from questions about the challenges and opportunities linked to this work. Perhaps most fascinating are the reflections on their motivations and beliefs particularly when interacting with customers.

Most sommeliers seem to see themselves as benevolent in that their primary aim is to enhance the customer’s enjoyment. Many are passionate about this and one told me that the biggest challenge in his job is ‘not getting carried away with wines I like’. There is usually a recognition that people like different things and most sommeliers have a skill set that includes eliciting what people are looking for in terms of taste, and price point. They often find themselves having to balance their enthusiasm for certain wines with a generally conservative approach by consumers. Some wines are just too different for some tastes.

They all tend recognise the importance of interpersonal communication and one I spoke to recently has studied the area to optimise his interactions. Another had a degree in psychology and mentioned ‘mirroring’ to establish rapport as he felt people are often too insecure about wine to ask questions. He also acknowledged the importance of profit and that the role is, like most things in life, not simply altruistic. Wine is expensive in restaurants and the mark-up provides vital income. This can lead to a tension between customer service and the profit margins of the owners.

At the moment sommeliers are still noticing a new austerity that they associate with the ‘credit crunch’. One from a well known restaurant serving high rollers in the city told me that customers had reported being told to ‘have a lower profile’ when it comes to corporate entertaining. Champagne is less socially acceptable in such climates.

The best sommeliers seem to be chameleons who are flexible in their interactions with a diverse set of customers. They are a generally fascinating and informed group of people who are drawn to the role due to their passion for wine.

Unfortunately, I am unlikely to write-up this paper until I have made progress on my book for Wiley’s new ‘Psychology of …’ series but will include the data in it. It is an exciting project and my best wishes go out to my Publisher Andy and his wife who are expecting their first child imminently. Also a big Happy Birthday to my youngest son Saul who is 7 today.  He is a wonderful child who brings all of us great joy.

Happy Birthday Saul!