Of wine, politics and the security of isolation on a rainy Sunday

"privates neidich" wrote ..........

Advance planning has commenced - we will probably restrict our presence to the West Coast (CA & AZ) - have always wanted to drive the coastal route from LA to SF - and take Kathryn to the Grand Canyon.

Of that I have no doubt - but why doesn't the US abide by international law, and stop paying lip service to human rights?

My point exactly - even the worst of the worst deserve a fair trial rather than questionable incarceration.

Absolutely 100% correct - and there is a certain security about hiding down here in this corner of the South Pacific growing our food and wine in a nuclear free environment, far from the modern madness of the Northern hemisphere.

No privates, YOUR government spies on us too !!!!!!!!!!!

With something approaching 80% of all NZ wines now under screwcap closures, I cannot remember the last time I had a tainted NZ wine.

However, we have friends staying over the weekend: last night we have several wines, none from NZ, all bottled under cork!

My very first experience with Grüner Veltliner was disappointing.

The wine was Salomon Undhof Wieden GV 2002 - quite lean and mean - but interestingly, we all found a woodiness which we agreed was because we have been drinking our local Rieslings and sauvignons bottled under screwcaps for several years now, we put down to cork influence - not TCA though.

Next up I opened a M. Chapoutier Condrieu 2003 - an absolutely gorgeous expression of Viognier, so unctuous !

The friend staying is in the wine trade - the red I served is actually imported by his company - so I decanted and served blind a 2002 Joseph Nebbiolo from South Australia (scarce as rocking horse crap!)

It took him a while, but by a process of elimination more than anything he realised my practical joke.

A stunning wine: OK very young but s-o drinkable: fruit, acid and tannin in perfect balance.

I simply don't know if anyone can find this wine, but it certainly gets an A+ from me.

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st.helier