Posted
by Fabio Bartolomei
on Apr 21, 2014
in Features
Vinos Ambiz Table at the Real Wine Fair.
Winemaker Fabio Bartolomei from Spain’s Vinos Ambiz traveled to London to present his wines at the Real Wine Fair 2014. Here’s his experience:
I’m just back in Madrid after an intense 4 days in London, 2 days of which were taken up by the REAL Wine Fair itself, and 2 days of which were for me!
My main mission: to boldly seek out an importer for my wines in the UK.
Sunday was the day the fair was open to the public, and the forecast was that it would be busy. And it was! I have to say that I’ve never had to work so hard at a fair in all the years I’ve been exhibiting at wine fairs.
The time just flew from 10:00 to 18:00. I did nothing but speak and pour wine, and I had sore feet and a sore throat! Usually, at wine fairs, I prepare a sign that says “I`ll be back!” and I go off and taste as many wines as I can and chat about wine stuff! But this time… I didn’t even have time to prepare the sign!
I suspect that something viral or ‘word-of-mouth’ happened, as the first thing that many people said to me was “I’ve been recommended to come taste your wines by….”. It was awesome, thinking about it. It’s really the best and most sincere compliment that can be given to a wine producer. It has encouraged me no end, and has reconfirmed my belief that I should listen to myself, my heart and my intuition. I generally do, but there are moments when I’m assailed by doubts. The memory of that day will help to keep me on the right path. The path of low-intervention, terroir-expressing wines! 
The next day, the Monday, was a trade day, and I was also quite busy, though not as much as the Sunday. And in fact I had a volunteer helper: Leila, a friend who I was out with the day before, and she asked me directly “Can I be you wine bitch tomorrow?” I was shocked and speechless for a few seconds! Because, not living in the UK, I’m not really sure these days what’s politically correct or socially acceptable to say or not anymore, but if she said it then I guess it must be OK!
Fabio Bartolomei and his wine b$#@$ Leila.
So, thanks to her, I was able to escape from my table a few times and taste some other wines, but not nearly as much as I would have liked to. Apart from restaurant and wine shop people, I also got some growers coming round to taste my wines, which is quite unusual for me (unless they knew me previously from some other occasion). I could tell they were growers because they were silent and didn’t ask any of the usual questions. They would just hold out their glasses, sniff, taste and look each other in the eye silently, and then go away!
So I don’t know what to think about that! But I think I’m going to take it as a compliment, because they must have had some kind of recommendation from someone, and they actually took the time to get away from their table. Unfortunately I don’t actually know what they thought of my wines, as they were so taciturn!
And then lastly, to round it all off, was the Georgian banquet, or Georgian supra, as it’s called. This is a wonderful way of having a dinner or banquet. Basically, instead of just one or two main courses, there was a constant flow of small dishes of different things.
But the main distinguishing element of a Georgian dinner, is the custom of giving toasts to all the guests. Every so often during the meal, you hear the ting, ting, ting of a knife on a glass and that’s the signal that the toastmaster is about to give a toast. I think this is a great custom, and we should adopt it here in Western Europe too. It has the effect of bringing all the guests at the different tables, together and of uniting everybody in a way. I found, at any rate.
Yet another distinguishing feature of Georgian banquets, is the singing. This time there is no ting ting ting on the glass, but every so often you hear the melancholic, minor key, sad, sad singing of two or more voices. You may or may not like it, but I’m a sucker for it, and it actually really did bring a tear to my eye. What with all that Georgian wine flowing too, and me being like the way I am! Of course I have no idea what the words in Georgian mean, but I’m imagining deep tragedies and laments, and yearnings; maybe from the Persian invasions of a few thousand years ago! I don’t know.
The next day, I was to fly back to Madrid – but in the afternoon. I decided a few years ago, that life was too short, not only to drink bad wine, but also to take early morning (or even morning) flights!
Which gave me time to go to the Doodle Bar, in the TestBed1 space/project/thing, which is in danger of being “redeveloped”. I hope my little contribution helps.
And then it really was time to go home. But wow, what a weekend, what a refreshing, illuminating, and encouraging few days. Just what body and soul needs, maybe just a few times a year
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Posted
by Organic Wine Journal
on Apr 16, 2014
in Features
From British Airways’s High Life – Isabelle Legeron chooses the ten best places for natural wine in London.
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Posted
by Andy Besch
on Apr 14, 2014
in Features
South American wines have enjoyed quite a run in the United States, thanks to their reasonable prices and their boringly even quality. They aren’t terrible, but they aren’t, for the most part, the least bit special. So when one comes along that truly breaks the mold, it really stands out.
Louis-Antoine Luyt is a winemaker who saw an opportunity in the sea of completely ordinary wines he tasted in Chile. Bored with living in France, he arrived there as a 22 year old, got a job as a dishwasher and worked his way up to wine buyer. After studying winemaking in a class, he decided to go back to France to learn more. He studied in Beaune and worked five harvests under the tutelage of Mathieu Lapierre (the son of the legendary Marcel Lapierre) in Morgon, and then returned to Chile determined to make extraordinary wines. He found a number of small vineyards with very old vines (some as old as 300 years), but their grapes were either being sold off to huge wineries or being made into so-so wines by the locals for their own consumption. So he took over the vineyards and employed Lapierre’s techniques, converting to organic farming, plowing with horses, and staying away from irrigation. Now he makes arguably the most interesting and complex Chlean wines out there.
In the winery, Luyt uses only natural yeasts and minimal sulfur. The wines undergo carbonic maceration and they are all remarkably low in alcohol. The result is Chilean wine that can stand up to the finest red wines anywhere in the world. The Carignan Trequilemu is made from 70 year-old vines, and is a rich, dark, earthy beauty that’s amazingly vibrant and alive. 12.9% alcohol levels are a big reason why.
We sneak slightly over the $20 a bottle criteria with this one, but for a couple of bucks more you’ll get a whole new take on Chilean wines. I remember all too well my reaction to Luyt’s wines when I first sampled them, and I know you’ll enjoy that same revelatory experience. The label, inspired by the Santiago transit system, is a standout, too. You can’t miss it in a retail environment.
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Posted
by Organic Wine Journal
on Apr 8, 2014
in Features
The Real Wine Fair 2014 happens next week in London – and there are a lot of events, tons of great wine and even a Georgian Supra to keep track of. Let the Organic Wine Journal break it all down for you:
The Real Wine Fair
This is the main event; two days of celebrating organic, biodynamic and natural wines with 150 winemakers and growers pouring for consumers and professionals.
Sunday, April 13th: For Consumers and trade. Consumer tickets are £15 in advance and £20 at the door. Purchase tickets here.
Monday, April 14th: This day is for trade and media only. So consumers – make sure you plan on going on Sunday.
The fair is located at Tobacco Dock, Wapping, E1W 2SF. Sunday is the day of the London Marathon – so public transport is your best bet. For that day they also recommend Wapping Station, rather than Shadwell, so you won’t have to cross the marathon route. Here are full transportation details.
The Growers
150 Winemakers from France, Italy and Spain make up the majority, but also represented are Portugal, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, England and a whopping 10 wineries from Georgia.
From France, you’ll see a lot of OWJ regulars, like Domaine Audrey & Christian Binner, Clos du Tue-Boeuf, Domaine Cousin-Leduc and Domaine de la Tour du Bon. From Italy, there will be Cascina Degli Ulivi, Tenute Dettori and Colombaia. And from Spain, be sure to say hello to our good friends at Vinos Ambiz.
The full list is incredible though – see it here.
A Georgian Supra!
What’s a Georgian Supra? It’s a celebration of Georgian food and wine – and you don’t want to miss that. There’ll be Georgian dishes such as red beans with wild thyme, oyster mushrooms with tarragon and green plum sauce, chicken livers with caramelized onions and white wine, lamb chanakhi and churchkhela with honeycomb. All the Georgian wineries at the fair will be pouring their wines and you’ll experience traditional Georgian songs and toasts.
The dinner is April 14th at the pop-up restaurant The Unfiltered Dog, and tickets are £55. Get them here.
Seminars and Master Classes
April 13th
2.00 – 3.00 pm – Daniel Honan – “The Secret Australian Wine Revolution”
In the past couple of years the artisan wine scene has positively exploded in Australia. Daniel will be talking about a group of young, iconoclastic Aussie winemakers, who share a love of music, poetry, food and natural wine.
4.00 – 5.00 pm – John Wurdeman, Rafa Bernabe, Giusto Occhipinti
“Feats of Clay” – a winemakers’ perspective on qvevri, tinajas and amphora wines.
April 14th
2.00 – 3.00 pm – Salvo Foti from I Vigneri
Viticulture and winemaking on Mount Etna.
3.30 pm – Wink Lorch, author of “Jura Wine”
The hidden treasures of Jura.
Reserve your place by notifying the front desk when you arrive. Full class descriptions here.
Food & Drink
With all that great wine being poured, you need something to eat. Serving great dishes at the fair will be:
Duck Soup – lamb shoulder cooked in milk, broad beans & wild garlic and tarama and shaved kohlrabi and sesame salt on warm flatbreads.
Donostia – small plates such as slow-cooked pigs cheeks and arroz negro plus variations on a jamón theme.
Zucca – Cianfotta (a seasonal vegetable stew from southern Italy) and pork cooked in milk.
Handmade Food – beetroot borani & feta with crispbread; marinated pigeon breast in flat bread with watercress and pickle, and Simnel cake.
Morito – cooking lamb on the plancha with labneh, pickled chillies and green olives and serving grilled Tetilla cheese with membrillo and walnut bocadillo.
Burro e Salvia – signature fresh pasta from traditional family recipes.
La Cour de Rémi – Pressed oxtail, mustard vinaigrette & roquette leaves; fried cuttlefish and pork belly ‘à la Ibaiona’ and Scallops, marinated with lemon infused olive oil.
Also on hand will be Workshop Coffee, Camden Town Brewery and Sacred Microdistillery.
The Unfiltered Dog
The folk behind Terroirs, Brawn, Soif and The Green Man & French Horn are popping up again with a pop-up restaurant at this year’s Real Wine Fair, where consumers can rub shoulders and knives and forks with wine growers and trade professionals.
The bistro, winningly named The Unfiltered Dog, will be open for dinner on the evening of Sunday 13th April. It will serve a short-but-punchy à la carte menu of charcuterie and cheese platters, as well as hot & cold dishes and desserts featuring such comfort food as chicken noodle soup; courgettes, artichokes & broad beans; quail, bitter leaves, anchovy, chilli & garlic; bacon chop & baked beans; squid, chickpeas & chipotle salsa; chocolate mousse, chewy hazelnut meringues, and banana bread, salted butter caramel & raw crème fraiche.
Dinner will be served from 6pm ‐10pm (last orders). Unfortunately, advance bookings will not be taken but customers will be seated on a first come, first served basis.
Did we miss anything?
Probably – so go to the website www.therealwinefair.com to find out more.
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