An Occasional Tipple: Feeling OK with fabulous wine?
People often say silly things, perhaps the silliest being “are you ok?” to someone who has obviously hurt themselves. I am not immune from this failing and I doubt very much that you are either.
Only last week while out picking blackberries, my darling wife, the redoubtable Madame G., tripped and landed face down on the ground in a clump of bushes.
I heard a shriek, turned around and asked “did you fall?”.
“No,” she replied, “I felt tired so I decided to lie down on my front in the middle of these bushes”. Luckily, she didn’t put out her hands to protect herself and the blackberries she had gathered were saved.
A little later we stopped to enjoy our picnic. I opened one of our sandwiches so that we could add mayonnaise and heard my Madame ask me “can you open that sandwich?” while looking directly at the opened sandwich. If we are capable of such breathtakingly inane comments when fully sober, how much more ridiculous can we get when tipsy? Let’s find out!
And let’s do so in the company of today’s WINE OF THE WEEK, the dark, decadent, devilishly smooth and resoundingly fruity 2022 Tulga Toro Joven (£7.49, Lidl). An abundance of muscular, ripe blackberry and plum flavours dominate its seductive, delicately spiced palate before a magnificently lengthy finish with beguiling notes of oak and black pepper. I suspect we'll enjoy ours with a wholesome, tasty supper of black and white pudding alongside Japanese-style spiced rice and sizzling green peppers in soy sauce. A fried egg on top with a sprinkling of dill is optional but I’d go for it- a runny egg makes the best sauce, doesn’t it?
They say there’s no such thing as a silly question but I believe that’s the first sensible question I’ve asked all day. Why don’t you find out how silly your questions can be after a glass or three of today’s second recommendation, the fabulously fresh and fragrant 2023 Benjamin Darnault Pique-Nique Blanc (£11.99, Naked Wines, www.nakedwines.co.uk)?
A theatrically ripe pear and stonefruit nose welcomes a luscious palate full of lemon and crisp, sweet apple flavours which are deftly balanced by understated spice and very discreet hints of oak. Zingy and upbeat, this Chablis-like blend of Chardonnay, Colombard and Sauvignon Blanc will also go wonderfully well with seafood, especially oysters. And you know yourself what oysters mean, hey? Carnal bliss for some, hugging the toilet bowl for others.
On reflection, “Have I done something to upset you?” is possibly the least intelligent question of all. There is no good answer to that question. You’ve either revealed yourself to be an idiot who doesn’t know what he (it’s always a he) has said or done or, worse, you’ve invited her (it’s always a she) to trawl through her memory and find some crime to pin on you, poor fool, and thereby alleviate her sorrows. You won’t catch me falling into that trap. “You seem a little down, darling, a glass of today’s WINE OF THE WEEK, would that help?” is more my style. And if it doesn’t, well, I can always ask her “are you ok?”. Just to annoy her! Till next week, tipplers, sante!