There is something rather Sherlock Holmes about this post.

I have had two rather odd eating out wine experiences recently.

The first was at a friend's birthday, held in a local gastropub (a good old British pub turned into a flash restaurant leaving no trace of a bar to sit at and sup beer, but retaining the pub feel in a sort of half-hearted way). We ordered a bottle of Champagne, and were promptly fetched several full glasses of fizz. The bottle nowhere to be seen.

The whole point of ordering Champagne is admiring the elegant bottle, cooled in a silver ice bucket and anticipating the extravagant pop on opening. This was all rudely robbed from the moment. May as well have been served up some cheap sparking wine...or maybe it was?

Champagne has proven difficult to pick out in blind tastes. Fairly ordinary sparkling wines can do better. This article from the Independent makes an interesting read and proves the point -

"According to the panel of tasters, the £24 Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial was inferior to a £3.99 cava from the Co-op"

I love the idea of sabrage, opening a Champagne bottle with a sword. This harks back to Napoleon's cavalry, the Hussars, and flamboyant displays with the saber. I will have a word with the management of the gastropub next time in advance.

The second strange occurrence happened very recently in an Italian restaurant. I looked at the wine list, and next to a cheap Montepulciano there was an intriguing Barbera D'Alba from Piedmont, North Italy. It is the third most planted red grape in Italy and has high acids levels, low tannins. It is also a high yield grape and can become lower in quality and more acid as a result of less than meticulous pruning. But it interested me, a 2006, aged in Oak and sounded rather nice.

The wine bottle arrived at the table already opened , a major sin. The wine also had the cork half in the bottle.... I poured it out for my brother and I to taste.

My brother first mentioned that the wine seemed odd. I agreed. Something did not seem right, and I am not talking about corked wine. This wine tasted more like the familiar house carafe wine, light, acid and no depth or oak whatsoever. Even a rich pasta dish could not cut through the astringent edge. I may be clueless about wine , but this bottle did seem like a cheap impostor.

Looking more closely the cork was not of that bottle, some might say guilty as charged. It is tricky being in this situation, especially as it was a special occasion and you do not want to cause a fuss. We left it and next time will insist on the bottle being opened at the table.

I suppose you always doubt your judgement, so I cannot truly point the finger at the restaurant. I will buy the same bottle and try it at home to make a proper comparison, which will naturally include gorging on homemade pasta and tiramisu.

Have your say

Name (optional):
Email (optional):
Website (optional):
Message: