Talking of Wine

Again, we get a bit chatty here, why wouldn't we, its Rum! Coming in around 45mins we can hopefully keep your interest and enthusiasm high. As we drift our way through the exotic world of rum cocktails. Pina Colada Joe! We didn't do Pina Colada! Oh well, we did do the Daiquiri so just do a pineapple one of those and add coconut! Beware the Mojito though, delicious but surprisingly tricky. No worries, Joe on hand to guide us through the perfect method. Meanwhile I get my Pimms numbers 1 and 3 muddled. Throw in a bit of US presidential history, ice cream, dishwashers with a dash of brandy and you pretty much have a delicious episode. Big up Fam!

Our relentless cocktails journey continues. Went a bit more in depth with this one. Slightly longer as we delve into the intricacies of what tequila actually is. After deviating into Mescal, we then regain composure and actually suggest a few choice mixes. After 4 episodes we finally throw some Simon Difford in, with his immaculate "Difford's Guide" (chapeau Mr. D). There are worms, or not; shots and salt, or not, and a whole bunch of history and variations. Of course we offer up what has now become our staple option of a Salad Cocktail (can we trademark that, Joe?). And why is a Margarita called a Margarita? "¡Arriba, abajo, al centro, pa' dentro!"

Onwards we go. Third instalment of our cocktail series. Big hitting Vodka, or is it? Russian or Polish? Ukranian…or… err Scottish?!? As usual there are a few references to popular culture and some little nuggets of historical context from Joe. More gentle undercurrents that nod to bartenders past and present. We even try and push vodka cocktails as a potential one of your five a day, consumption of alcohol in moderation as always. Za zdorovye!

Continuing on our recent theme, this week we dive into the Gin Cocktails. Having dealt with the Martini in its own episode, here we suggested a few more big hitters in the world of evening libations. From the sour derivative Tom Collins through to the Count of all cocktails, the Negroni. Along the way we discuss other component parts such as soda water or tonic, and sugar syrup. As ever there is a bit of history and a few suggestions on how to (ahem) shake things up. We also talk bad alcohol, Superman and a nod In Memoriam to Wayne Collins, to whom the episode is dedicated. Chin chin!

Welcome to season 2 of Talking of Wine. We were going to come back with a ubiquitous festive episode but, as is our way, we rambled a bit. The result is what we call an Alt-Christmas episode where we just went with some left field suggestions in the hope of stirring up interest and mixing things up for the family gatherings. Its not what we were planning but, as ever, hope you all enjoy our musings. Seasons greetings to you all.

Talking of Wine wraps up the 2024 vintage reports from Wildwood Vineyard. Dr Paul joins us for this last episode where we look at the month of October. This is harvest month so Paul finally gets to see what state his crop will be in. We talk through the final assessment of moulds and last minute hurdles involving the local wildlife. A gentle reflection on visits to the property over the year and a look forward to the wines that will be bottled over the coming months and years. With this, the last instalment, I hope that anyone interested in how wine is made, either for studies or perhaps with an aim to making their own, has found our little monthly series of interest.

Talking of Wine here links the classification of wines around the world with our previous episode on Phylloxera. How could such a devastating etymological event have such a positive impact on the structure of the world wine trade? Its timing with Napoleon's own classification table of 1855 led to a retrospective look at how wines have been categorised since Greek and Phoenician trading. And what happens when the rules are questioned or even broken? To be honest we were pretty good at sticking to theme this time. That said, we have our first (I think) mention of the towering influence that is Robert Parker Jnr., Joe gives us a very brief analysis of how Italians view the powers that be and he is a little dismissive of the Gironde landscape (that said he is rather fond of those in South Africa). Also, it transpires that table wine can be really rather brutal on the wallet.

Talking of Wine's monthly wander through the vines of Wildwood. It's crunch time as we near the harvest and the moment of truth is upon us. Have we had a summer or not? Spoiler alert, we talk about a lot of things that are not wanted in a vineyard at this time. All that makes life hard for Paul though makes for a fascinating Podcast. Turns out two be almost a two-parter with Dr Erica's episode on Phylloxera. We revisit the Spotted Wing Drosophila, explore the negative side of Botrytis, brush over photosynthesis and, as if there weren't enough big greek words already, throw in some Thermopylae. Aπολαμβάνω!