Here at InterWined.com, we try to give everyone in the wine industry a fair voice. Our third edition of ‘InterWined In Conversation’ focused on the newly launched French wine for women range, Sublimelle.
The interview gave plenty of attention to the product designs, ideas, and marketing, while reserving any comment or criticism.
The makers of Sublimelle define […]

Keep reading...

The 2004 Bethany Grenache Barossa from Schrapel Family Vineyards: Co-Op, £7. Heavy aroma of raspberry, with an undercurrent of wet earth. There is a touch of violet in this one, but it tastes mainly like grape-flavored tootsie-roll pop.

Keep reading...

The 2005 Domaine Saint Antonin ‘Les Jardins’ ((14.5%), from the South of France, has the sad distinction of being the worst rated of the InterWined’s Twelve Wines of Christmas. But it makes it into its Totally Awesome Christmas Cracker Wine Case (available year round – — hurray!), because it is extremely food friendly.

This can go with pea soup, turkey crown, and even that crazy Christmas pudding that so many old-fashioned Brits like to set on fire before shovelling down their gobs. It is soft and fruity, with very little on the nose.

And, sure, It’s approachable, but some may find it too overripe: 8.2 alone, 8.4 with Christmas vittles or in a mixed case.

Keep reading...

The 2005 Cline Cashmere (14.5%) from California is a tremendous and complex blend of Mourvèdre, Syrah and Grenache. A light, fresh berry nose with the colour of a Pinot Noir.

The wine itself is ripe and fresh, with a notable flavour of green olives. There is nice tannin and a smooth mouth feel…but there is maybe too much burn on the finish: 8.6 alone; 8.8 with discounted mixed case.

Keep reading...

Every Friday, InterWined.com pairs one great wine that exceeds its normal £10 ($20) threshold with one great meal, prepared following the instructions of some the Internet’s best food blogs.

This week’s ‘Blow the Bank’ takes another slight departure from the norm and comes courtesy of its own recipe for Cumberland Pie.

As mentioned previously, traditional British foods have a universally poor reputation — especially when compared to the traditional foods of their European neighbours to the South, such as France and Italy. The only fly in the ointment, however, tends to be that so few of the people doing the comparisons have ever had many of the traditional British foods that they deride.

Perhaps it’s their names: To people born outside of the Commonwealth, names like Fish Pie, Cumberland Pie, Cottage Pie, Shepherd’s Pie, Toad in the Hole, Bangers & Mash, Bubble & Squeak conjure up images of Monty Python sketches far more than they do desirable cuisine. And to be fair, who wouldn’t rather eat something exotic sounding like Coq au Vin over Steak & Kidney Pie, which to the American ear — at least — must sound like the worst dessert ever.

Yet, pies in particular are an essential and complicated part of British cooking and cuisine. There are pies that have crusts and pies that don’t. To complicate things further, there are vast differences of opinion on the most appropriate method of preparation. Does one steam a steak pie or cook it? If a Shepherd’s Pie is prepared with beef, doesn’t it become a Cottage pie? Should a Cottage or Cumberland Pie always have minced meat?

And while InterWined has its own opinions on each of the above, any debate would, in part, miss the point: Traditional British pies, like French cassoulet and Italian osso buco are comfort foods, hearty dishes made for eating on rainy days and after arduous work, that people love to eat because they taste good rather than simply sound tasty.

The Spanish 2004 Sangre de Torro from Miguel Torres might not ‘Blow the Bank’ with its £5.49 price tag (available at supermarkets everywhere) and slight air of ubiquity (again, available at supermarkets everywhere), but don’t hold those things against it.

Made of Garnacha and Cariñena, the Sangre de Torro or Bull’s Blood is commonly hailed as a great Catlan table wine; and, as with the Vinho Verde served in the previous ‘Blow the Bank’, that’s not intended as an insult. This is a wine for serving with roasts and casseroles and all matter of traditional comfort foods.

Its rich mix of blackberry, current, and pepper gives added flavour to the sweated onions and meaty vegetables such as the mushrooms featured in this week’s pie, during their preparation. And, once in the oven, it serves as an excellent blanket in which to wrap the meat under a heavy lid of mashed potatoes and grated cheese, ensuring that meat is tender, juicy, and slightly sweet. A comfort wine for comfort foods: 8.7.

So rather than argue the details of whether InterWined prepared a fully authentic Cumberland Pie, let’s simply agree it’s a comforting and hearty meal and one of the Worst Desserts Ever!

InterWined’s Own Dish in Full

Cumberland Pie

Click on the post to view and download the recipe

Keep reading...

Every Friday, InterWined.com pairs one great wine that exceeds its normal £10 ($20) threshold with one great meal, prepared following the instructions of some the Internet’s best food blogs.

This week’s ‘Blow the Bank’ comes courtesy of Lynette at Lex Culinaria and a tantalizing Pistachio-crusted Elk Roast with Wasabi Mash.

Alongside the recipe at Lex Culinaria is a post on a story that appeared in The Age, an Australian, Melbourne-based Newspaper, concerning fraud in the food industry and recipe theft in particular. In 2006, a Melbourne restaurateur, it seems, had begun copying other restaurants’ recipes and serving them in his restaurant. Given the shapelessness of the Web, Lynette pondered what, if any, lessons the article imparted to the food blogger. Her conclusion? The same as InterWined’s: few ideas and few recipes are truly original; and, whether copying or adapting, always give credit where credit’s due.

Bearing this sage advice in mind, InterWined decided to adapt Lynette’s excellent Pistachio-crusted Elk Roast with Wasabi Mash recipe, rather than copy it. And, instead, prepared a quicker ‘Blow the Bank’-friendly Pistachio-crusted Venison Steak with Wasabi Mash. (For those disinclined toward elk or venison, Lynette assures that beef works too.)

To accompany InterWined’s Lex Culinaira-inspired Pistachio-crusted Venison Steak, the 2005 Espelt Sauló, from Emporado along the Costa Brava in Catalonia, Spain, £12 from Philglas & Swiggot and widely available online in North America.

Sauló is Catalan for sand gravel and, oddly, an almost fitting description of the wine and the soil in which the grapes (Garnacha & Cariñena) were grown. There’s a dirt quality to the wine, but it’s also low in tannins, soft, and has a nice fruitiness. The wine’ earthiness makes it durable and helps it stand up against the Asian, sugary flavours of the dishes glaze, while the soft fruit pairs very nicely with the meat.

Lynette’s Recipe in Full

Pistachio-crusted Elk Roast with Wasabi Mash

Click on the post to view and download the recipe

Keep reading...

Check this: for £8.5, the 2006 Chateau Romanin Rosé from Les Baux-de-Provence tastes unbelievably bland on its own. Except for some strawberry in the beginning (typical) and some tartness in the end, with a bone dry finish (the only saving grace), there isn’t much to the wine. But the blend of 7 (yes, seven) grapes — Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvedre, Cinsault and one InterWined.com has never heard of Counoise — all work to one completely unpernicious (which, everyone knows, isn’t actually a word) end: it pairs amazingly with just about every type of dish one can make on a grill.

That’s is an unbelievable feat and InterWined is wondering if the more grapes in a blend, the better its chance to pair with more taste complicated dishes, such as grilled lamb chops with a yoghurt, mint and cumin dressing, with a twist of lemon, served with garlic pita, with pumpkin seed and coriander hummous…well you get the point. By itself: 8.2, with the grill, 8.8 easy.

Keep reading...

Following the comment, InterWined gulped some 2005 Vida Organico Chenin Blanc (£7) from Argentina and can write a book about this one wine.

Atypical for a Chenin Blanc, found in white wines from the Loire Valley in France (red wines from Loire are usually 100% Cabernet Franc), the Vida Organico does not have that dry, neutral zip of a Loire, nor the chalk-like structure. Instead, it’s fatter and greasier — a bit of dry melon and kinda sweet. Best on its own: 8.4.

InterWined also sprung for a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape. It cost £13; but, hey, it can have up to thirteen different grapes by law, so that helps catch InterWined up in its new quest to try every wine grape.

These wines — from the Rhone in France — are usually about 80 to 90 percent Grenache, which has many spellings, so the editor noted.

Keep reading...

The 2003 Bodegas Olvena Magnum from Somontano, Spain, was purchased after some hard bargaining between InterWined and the fabulous wine shop, Planet of the Grapes. One of the owners, Matt, said, “Hey, InterWined, buy that bottle for 20 quid and stick it on your blog”.

The black cherry was also expected, but no less enjoyed. There was a hint of tarty flint, which would be more pronounced, and likely less enjoyable, in a single bottle offering. Delicious: 8.7.

The 2003 Magnum of Vendange California Cabernet is an example of a big American wine in a big American bottle…ready to drink on a Friday night – this one – and the new oak abounds with black berry. Simple and effective. Let breath for two hours to one day: 8.5.

Keep reading...