A standard California table wine, The Boulders Viognier 2004, goes for £5. Viognier is an ancient lady, common in the Rhone. Needs sun as it is prone to rot.

The Boulders isn’t very floral, as one would expect when the grape is grown in America or Australia. A probably a bit too heavy for such a heavy dish. But Interwined has a big belly, so here we go: Greasy and tart, some hints of orange zing, quick finish, but heavy in body. Perfect with fish and chips. By itself: 8.2.

German Riesling is the fall back guy for difficult food pairings. 2004 Mineralstein Riesling, from between the Mosel and Rhein rivers, around £7 from Marks and Spencer. The low alcohol, nice apricot aroma and peach-smartie type flavor really enhance the spice on Buffalo chicken wings (what spice is that, anyway?). The wine itself is a gem, dry and flinty, with a unbelievably long finish… If Cricket were a wine sport, Mineralstein would be it’s star.
Perfect wine Buffalo chicken wings: 8.6.

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Came across an interesting one: called Monastrell IX. No brand. Just a Spanish grape, Monastrell (Mourvèdre in France, Mataro in New World) with one selling point: it’s 15 percent alcohol by volume. To sell based solely on the fuzzy factor, seems just plain wrong. And it’s not cheap, £5 at the Co-Op. Certainly it would be awful, but some fool has to blog it, doesn’t he?

Telling you; that wine was so bad, it took forever to finish – every last drop.

Also had two great Montepulciano d’Abruzzos. Thinking about doing a few reviews on these wines: Who likes Italian?

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