Wine
Each month former Wine magazine editor Chris Losh will be arming pub staff with ideas for boosting wine sales.
Coping with Carmenère
PubChef's new simple guide to grape varieties and wine-growing regions this month takes a look at Chilean Carmenère.
Carmenère has burst onto the scene over the last few years, with Chileans knocking out thousands of bottles of the stuff for thirsty export markets. This might make you think that it's a recent creation, but in fact it's been around for centuries. The grape's original home was Bordeaux (where it's now practically extinct), but the Italians still have thousands of hectares of the stuff, albeit most of the time mistaken for Cabernet Franc. They're not alone in this case of mistaken identity, though. Until recently the Chileans thought most of their Carmenère was Merlot and labelled it accordingly. With hindsight, this is extraordinary, since Carmenère ripens two to four weeks later than Merlot - though it does go a way to explaining why some Chilean "Merlots" had unripe, green notes!
Following the realisation that a good percentage of their "Merlot" was, in fact, something else altogether, the Chileans have set about working out how to get the best out of it. And this is where the fun begins, since Carmenère is one of the most temperamental of grape varieties.
It needs plenty of sun, but not too much heat, is susceptible to all sorts of set problems if the spring isn't perfect, and to cap it all it ripens late, making it easy prey to autumn rains. Even with Chile's enviable climate, her winemakers admit that growing Carmenère can be something of a headache, with big variations in ripeness from one vine to the next. So why bother? Well, first of all it gives the Chileans something different to bring to the table besides Cabernet and Merlot (California has Zinfandel, Argentina has Malbec, South Africa has Pinotage etc). Secondly, when fully ripe it can be very good, giving wines of a dark, savoury intensity.
In Chile the jury is out as to whether it is at its best as a single varietal or as a blending component. But one thing's for sure, as more and more growers and wine makers get the hang of making the stuff we're going to be seeing plenty of it over the next few years.
On the nosey:Think aromas of black fruits mixed in with soy sauce, tomato and olives, with just a brush of green pepper.
Carmenère in 10 seconds: Red grape, mainly from Chile, at its prime gives wines of a dark, savoury intensity.
Food and wine matching Since we're talking about pork elsewhere in PubChef, I've decided to open our food and wine matching section with this. Talk about a baptism of fire. Pork is one of the toughest of all meats about which to generalise. Partly because it can be cooked in so many different ways, but also because it's awkward to match with wine. First off, it sits more or less in the gap between dark meat and white meat; secondly the meat can often have a real sweetness that clashes with certain styles of wine.
As a general rule, wines to avoid with pork are big reds with stacks of dark fruit and great tooth-stripping tannins. These are fine with, say, hunks of beef, but they trample all over the softer flavours of pork. Really old reds work okay - the tannins and fruit flavours have had a chance to mellow - but they come at a price. Very light or aromatic styles of white won't work either. The chalky austerity of a classic Sancerre, for instance, won't do either the wine or the meat any favours.
If there's a food scale with beef at one end and prawns at the other, pork is more or less in the middle. As a result, I try to find wines in the same area: either a lighter style of red without too much tannin or a more robust white. Having said that, pork changes character significantly depending on how it's prepared. A Thai pork and basil stir-fry is far lighter than a big roast or pork cooked in a creamy sauce.
The wines below should cover the majority of possibilities.
ERRAZURIZ WILD FERMENT CHARDONNAY 2001, Aconcagua Valley, ChileChile hasn't made much impression with whites, but this is a beauty. Soft and creamy, with a real depth of flavour, it will go fabulously with pork cooked with stone fruits, as well as standard roasts. £9.78 & VAT, Matthew Clarke
STONE CELLARS MERLOT 2001, Beringer, Napa Valley, CaliforniaMost reds are too big for pork, but this soft, juicy offering from California is great, partly because the tannins are soft and ripe, and partly because the fruit is attractive, but not domineering. Good with roasts, tomato or pepperbased sauces or barbecued chops. £66.36/case, Berkmann
RIESLING PIERRETS 1999, Josmeyer, Alsace, France Alsace is the home of juicy pork dishes in cream sauce, so it makes sense to pick one of the region's wines. This restrained apple-and-lime flavoured Riesling, from charming Harvey Keitellookalike Jean Meyer, is as dry and elegant as they come. As well as a match with heavier pork it would also be a great bet with spicy oriental food. A fine food wine all round, really. £104/case + VAT, Pol Roger UK
CUVÉE DES DEUX PAPIS, Alex Gambal, Burgundy, France This is made by an American in Burgundy. More incredibly, he's been made to feel welcome by the locals! It's not hard to see why either. This is a classic Bourgogne rouge; elegantly raspberry- fruited with a brush of chocolate, delicate tannins and a fine acidity to hold it all together. £8.25/bottle +VAT, Mayfair Cellars 020 7386 7999 (min order two cases)
The A-list
Each month PubChef will be looking at what some of the best wine pubs in the country are doing to make their wine sales work. This month we look at the Red Lion Inn, in Stathern, Lincolnshire.
The Red Lion Inn Tel: 01949 860868 Wine List: 30 house wines, 12 fine and rare, plus bin ends By the glass: 10 wines, plus sweeties and fizz Top countries: "Chile and Argentina are where Australia was 10 years ago." Main supplier: Richards Walford Top picks: Stanley Brothers from the Barossa Valley in Australia. They've only just arrived in the UK. Really good reds and whites for £15 to £20 a bottle that would be twice that in a restaurant.
The Rutland Inn Company's second project has already attracted praise for its wide-ranging food and wine lists, with this 16th-century pub offering plenty of wine by the glass and prices ranging from £10 a bottle for house wine up to £47.50 for Taittinger champagne. Its rural Lincolnshire location attracts walkers at the weekend, but otherwise the pub relies on people making a dedicated visit, and to assure repeat visits everything has to be right - including offering plenty of choice.
Although the house wines are all supplied by a nearby agent, the fine and rare wines can come from a dozen different suppliers. "It's very important not to get supermarket wines," says co-owner Ben Jones. "We want people to say 'that's worth paying the bit extra'." But more important for Jones than the size of the list is the service on offer. "It's all about giving the customer the right information to encourage them to buy something," he says. This information comes both from blackboards and lists around the bar, but - perhaps most importantly - from the staff. "It's the additional personalised information that's important," says Jones.
As for encouraging punters to trade up, he believes licensees simply have to get every detail right from the start. "You have to give people the confidence that a £20 bottle of wine will be served at the right temperature in the right glass, not full to the brim in a Paris goblet," he says.
This month's recommended wines
Working on the assumption that the high point of Februa
