On a trip to London last week, I tried to get a feel for how consumers might see sherry. Just ordinary consumers, not the sorts who buy wines from expensive West End merchants. Of course, this exercise was totally unscientific. In between errands and meetings, I dropped into as many shops as I could to get an idea of what a potential sherry drinker might experience. I stupidly forgot my camera at home, and the pictures my phone produced are simply not up to scratch for this post. So you will have to do with this picture of Tio Pepe and the amusing advert down below.

Anyway, the value wines account for the largest part of the steady decline in sherry sales and since most sherry in the UK (largest sherry market) is sold through the the supermarkets, these were necessarily my main ports of call. All the supermarkets I went into had house brands, which seemed to be fully representative, even including Amontillado and Oloroso wines (this surprised me). Tio Pepe was ubiquitous with Croft Original and Harvey’s Bristol Cream popping up in most places, including even smaller off-licenses (bottle stores), but not so much in the off-license chains, like Oddbins and Majestic. I’m certain if you ask any Briton to name a sherry, one of these three brands above will come up.

Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket, has their house brand produced by Zoilo Ruiz-Mateos (part of Grupo Garvey). The Tesco packaging did nothing for me (nor did “Bodega Jerezana” at Waitrose and Sainsbury’s “Taste the Difference”) but I was not really expecting own-branded goods to do much. I’m sure the wines in these own brand bottles are very good but I could not help thinking that buyers own brands can’t be doing sherry any favours, as people will associate these good sherries with all things “cheap”. On top of this I was struck by the confused message Joe Bloggs might get seeing wines like Tio Pepe and possibly La Gitana (posing as light whites) on the same shelf as Croft Original and Harveys Pale Cream (posing as sweet fortifieds). The Harveys bottles put me in mind of Port more than anything else. This confusion can’t be doing any good to the “sherry” brand.

The off-license chains had more up-market wines, as you would expect. Emilio Lustau was well represented. The bottles (posing as sherries this time) were usually dusty, on low shelves and behind counters.  I came away from my little tour of London sherry shops feeling slightly downbeat.

Why is it that, almost to a man, the UK wine trade loves sherry, but consumers just don’t seem to get it? Is it because the sherry trade is not selling through to their consumers and potential new converts? I get the feeling the sherry trade might have lost touch slightly…

Thankfully I’m already converted and there is no need to preach to me and on a more positive note: If you ever find yourself in London and feel like a copa or two of decent sherry, head to one of the restaurants below, as they have a great selection of sherry on their wine lists.

Moro - 34-36 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QE (just down from Sadlers Wells, off Skinner Street).

Friends took me to Moro. We had a fun time and ate great food. The staff really know their onions, especially when it comes to sherry. I enjoyed a glass of Matusalem in lieu of pudding. Conveniently, I was able to hop on the 38 bus, which whisked me into the West End in no time.

Barrafina - 54 Frith Street, London W1D 4SL (Soho).

You can’t book here, so turn up early to make sure you get a spot. I was last there in February 2008 and ate Navajas (Razor Clams), Gambas al Ajillo and Tortilla. The Tortilla was made from scratch right in front of me and tasted delicious, the Gambas were nothing an Andaluz would recognise, a bit “Anglo” with their garlic portions, but tasty nontheless. My tipple, a glass of Valdespino Tio Diego. The food was great. They were a bit rude, but that wouldn’t stop me going back.

Fino - 33 Charlotte Street, London W1T 1RR (entrance around the corner).

The last time I went to Fino was a while back. We enjoyed some tapas at the bar and quaffed Manzanilla.

Cigala - 54 Lamb’s Conduit Street, London WC1N 3LW

Two of my London mates have recommended this place. I have yet to go, but their sherry list looks promising.

Hasta la proxima!

Justin Roberts

• Sherry Bar Madrid - LA VENENCIA
• Sherry House: Emilio Hidalgo, And Ways to Change Future Generations into Sherry Lovers
• Six courses of sherry..What to pair with them…
• We’re Sherry Educators
• Wine Tourism in Sherry Country and a Lesson from Portugal

It’s been a month and a half since the European Wine Blogger’s Conference, and shamefully, we’re just now getting around to not only retasting many of these wines, but simply entering our notes on the numerous great wines we tasted. Today, I want to point out a wine that I think is starting to mature gracefully and is worth your attention.

In 2006, I visited Herdade Malhadinha, while still in a learning phase regarding Alentejo wines. My palate was exercising itself to include a whole ranging of grapes and flavors I wasn’t used to. It was at Malhadinha that I first realized the great potential of the Alicante Bouschet grape having tasted a wine that was vibrant and alive after spending 16 months in oak.

Not surprisingly, the winery has grown fast, and now boasts a Spa/Country house that we have yet to visit, but I did see the beginnings of the construction last time I was there. From there website (warning heavy use of flash), you can get a feel for the facilities; and it appears to be a nice offering for the growing wine tourism industry of the Alentejo. Only a few hours by car from Lisbon, this is definitely something to check out if you craving a relaxing vacation in the Portuguese countryside.

So how are the wines? A few nights ago, we popped open a bottle of the 2006 Malhadinha Nova and were very impressed. A blend of Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Nacional, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine is foot trodded in a lagar and aged in French oak for 14 months. During my first trip, and subsequent tastings of their wines, I found that I liked the wines, but they seemed to be in a phase of sorting out their personality and identity. The 2006 feels as if its coming into its own, and the youthful exploration of the first few years is beginning to move to the refining stage. In short, we both enthusiastically give this wine our thumbs up. Full of fruit, perfumy nose and wonderful layers, this wine was open for hours, as we enjoyed it with grilled pork and artichokes. It is a modern styled wine, where its fruit is pure and up front, but still tastes of Portugal. aAnd from my experience of Portuguese wine, I would even say that it tastes of the Alentejo.

For me the “flavor” is something I wish I could explain, but personally my sensory memory of Portugal and Alentejo wines stems from our trip through the region back in 2003. Maybe it’s the soil, the air, or the memories, but there are times when I stick my nose into a glass and it brings me back to this place and time, a smell that has been reinforced many times since with subsequent trips.

This Alentejo wine is worth seeking out. Perfect for some backyard grilling, where smokey meats require a strong, yet juicy, wine to deal with their powerful flavors. Congrats to Herdade Malhadinha, and we look forward to tasting more of your wines as you further refine your style.

Ok and now a few housekeeping notes before we head into the weekend!

• Delong Iberian Wine Maps! Yes, they have arrived in Spain, and we are selling them! Thanks to Steve DeLong, we are your new European distributors. Hence, if you want to order a comprehensive Iberian wine map, head on over to our Iberian Wine Map page! We’re still working out shipping details throughout Europe, considering that it’s more expensive than we had hoped, but we’ll have the numbers for you shortly. If you are in Spain, however, you can order one today for considerably less than shipping from the US.
• If your a wine blogger, please fill out the Wine Blogger survey to let us learn about you. We are trying to get a snapshot as to the demographics of a wine blogger. Hopefully, we’ll have some interesting results to share soon!
• New client in the Sidebar - la Casa de las Vides is a familiar winery in Valencia that is just now beginning to export. We’ve built their site, and are now helping to spread their message. What’s interesting about these guys is their history. The name in English means, “house of the vines”, describing the family’s long history of selling vines from their nursey, a business they continue even today. We’ve asked them to share these experiences with us, so hopefully, we all can learn about the intricate details in growing vines! Please give them a visit, and say hello to Emilio, the export director from Tintoralba fame! And if you have any design skills, please leave a comment on this post.

• Bodega Profile - Herdade de Malhadinha
• New Portuguese Wine in the USA
• Story Map
• Spanish and Portuguese Wines Sweep!
• Bodega Profile - Monte da Ravasqueira - Alentejo

Editor’s Note: After reading the title of this post, you may be pondering why Catavino has an article on North-East Chinese cuisine, which is a very good question. Edward Ragg, our Chinese correspondent, has been sharing his experiences living in Beijing as a wine consultant, which have included very detailed and descriptive articles on the state of Spanish wine in east Asia, as well as his experience with pairing traditional Chinese foods with Iberian wine. Considering that Edward is magically finding time to share his knowledge with us, between wine fairs and teaching WSET courses, we are clearly very appreciative. And if you have any questions for Edward, please don’t hesistate to put them in the comments.

It?s now almost two years since my wife, Fongyee, and I moved to China to begin work as wine consultants, a profession that barely exists in a country that only really began importing wine some fifteen years ago and whose own wine industry is dominated by massive government corporations.

Much of that time has, of course, been devoted to setting up a company ? no easy thing in the PRC ? getting to know the wine importers and fledgling wine magazines as well as becoming more and more familiar with the different national wine markets ? Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and further a field ? the extent of wine knowledge at consumer and trade levels, people?s expectations of wine in general and what myths v. facts abide in an emergent wine culture.

Trying myriad Chinese wines, judging at Chinese wine competitions and the teething pains of setting up a website and blog ? ever works in progress ? have had their own challenges. But we can hardly complain: this invaluable experience, by turns exciting, frustrating and occasionally downright baffling, has whetted our appetites and got our palates salivating. We?ll definitely be here for the long-haul, if we can.

But just as I was planning a series of posts entitled, ?Confessions of a Chinese Wine Consultant?, going right back to January 2007 when we first landed in Beijing, I had the opportunity to go to Dalian, a popular tourist city about an hour?s flight to the north-east of China?s capital, on the attractive peninsula of Liaoning Province (which borders Hebei and Jilin Provinces, Inner Mongolia and North Korea).

As well as having a quick holiday peep at the wine scene there, Fongyee and I, at the behest of her Chinese relatives, were subjected to a two-day eating spree ? Chinese entertaining is beyond bountiful ? gaining some insights into how a typical middle class family sees eating and drinking and how the older and younger generations view Chinese and international wines.

Dalian is a good place to be fed to death. Our local Beijing market boasts fresh seafood from Dalian ? fresh because, as in all proper Chinese markets and restaurants, everything is still alive before purchase. So we were keen to see how local Dalian folk treat their seafood and other fish on their own turf.

Fresh off our morning plane, lunch was served (the Chinese generally rise early, eat lunch around 11.30-1 p.m. and consume dinner between 5.30-8 p.m., something Mediterranean visitors find intolerable). Fongyee?s cousin had already been to the main Dalian fish market at 5 a.m. that morning and was, I?m not kidding, plating up the following feast, ingeniously prepared from one of the smallest kitchens I have ever seen (even by domestic Chinese standards). The French talk about mise-en-place, the Chinese invented it:

steamed crabs (two types ? see below)
steamed abalone
steamed scallops
steamed razor clams
poached flat-fish: of Chinese origin (similar to a meaty version of sole or plaice)
stir-fried prawns with green onion and garlic
stir-fried squid with carrot, green onion, garlic and chilli
deep-fried oysters (in a very delicate batter dipped in white pepper and salt at table)
deep-fried fish in a chilli glaze: the fish was of Chinese origin (similar to perch)
braised red-cooked pork spare ribs (simmered in rice wine, dark and light soy sauce, ginger, star anise, green onion)
preserved pork gelatine salad (flavoured with star-anise and garlic)
salad of preserved pork with julienned cucumber, carrot and green onion in a garlic-soy sauce dressing
prawn soup in a delicate broth (de-shelled prawns, shaped into ovals a bit like French quenelles, with Chinese chives in a clear soup ? i.e. not fish stock)
fried buns with pork and onion filling (known as xia bing)

The two types of crab were ?flower crab? (hua xie), seen on the right above, with flower-like patterns on their shells, and ?flying crab? (fei xie), the bigger beasts to the above left whose shells look something like sting-rays.

Each crab was eaten with a special dipping sauce ? see middle above ? comprised of minced garlic, soy sauce and ginger. But there was plentiful pickled garlic on hand just in case anyone felt their daily intake of the herb was lacking. Fortunately, we eat everything and just about anything. And who could have trouble tucking into this?

To be Continued: What did they drink in Dalian?…

Cheers,

Edward Ragg

Edward Ragg & Fongyee Walker write for us from Beijing, and you can get more information on their website, Dragon Phoenix Fine Wine Consulting

• Part 2 - Dalian Delights: Seafood and the Wine Scene off China?s North-East Coast
• Exquisite Harmonies: Matching Iberian Wines with China?s Great Cuisines
• Shrimp and Mushroom Risotto with 2005 Barrel Fermented Alma de Tobia White Wine
• Could Albariño Substitute Hot Tea during a Traditional Chinese Meal?
• Can Spanish and Portuguese Wines Succeed in the Chinese Market?