Midweek - too tired after a day in the office and too hot after the commute to want to do too much in the kitchen; a dive into the supermarket to grab a bottle and something to throw on to a plate without too much fuss. The wine should be cheap - lacking in energy to think too much about the alcohol we are slurping.

For me that supermarket is Waitrose. The wine is a bottle of £4.99 South African white while the eye is drawn to a tortilla from the new Delicatezze range. Specifically Edamame Bean, Artichoke and Lemon Pesto Tortilla made from free range eggs, which appeared better value than other dishes in the same range; and more substantial too. Add a salad and a meal is made.

Taking little more than 15 minutes in the oven you might need to make use of the quick-chill machine to get the white to non-shelf, drinkable temperature.

Wine Tasting Note: Nederburg Chardonnay-Viognier, 2007, Western Cape, South Africa.
Available from Waitrose for £4.99.
Crisp and refreshing - a touch acidic perhaps but nicely rounded with peach, melon and floral notes. The Chardonnay has seen some barrel ageing, but the whole is lifted by the lemon floweriness of the Viognier. It's fine and fine summer-garden drinking. Alcohol 13.5%. Fine with the salad-tortilla combination; you don't afterall, want anything you have to think too much about.

Scribblings Rating - 84/100 [3 out of 5]

Chilean wine producer Montes, in association with Professor Adrian North of Heriot Watt University in Scotland, has determined that the style of music we listen to whilst drinking wine affects how that wine actually tastes.

"For example, when powerful and heavy music such as rock is heard, wines such as Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon were perceived as tasting 60 per cent more powerful and heavy than when no music is heard. Similarly, when bold and fresh styles of music such as pop were heard, Montes Alpha Chardonnay was perceived as tasting 40 per cent more bold and fresh than when no music is heard.

In conclusion, it can be said that the style of music we listen to whilst drinking wine has a direct correlation on the taste of that wine. In the psychology field this is known as sensory priming.

Some previous music/wine research had noticeable buying pattern changes in supermarkets but this is the first time I have heard of music effecting taste directly.

The research is an extension of Montes wine-making techniques. They apparently play continual Gregorian chants to their wine barrels, believing that the gentle vibrations of the chants aid the maturation and ageing of their wines.

I have some samples of both the wines and the music used in the research coming to me next week; could be interesting!

One of the advantages of living in a major wine producing country or area is the easy access to the vineyards, to the producers and the ability to keep 'in touch' with developments, check out the latest releases and watch the vintage conditions. Such writers over at Catavino (Spain) and Lenndevours (Long Island, America) have a distinct advantage over the likes of me in the UK.

Granted, the UK does have a wine industry (and I have a vineyard within walking distance of my home, that I have yet to visit!) but it doesn't really rank that highly in global terms. Blogging may be about finding a niche and English wine is certainly that, but generally I don't enjoy the wines that much.

Similar, I expect, to writing on another under-dog of the wine world, Sherry. As there is so much more to the world's most famous fortified wine than Bristol Cream, a delight to discover a blog specialising in the subject. If you have any interest in Sherry than a visit to Vinos de Jerez etc... is suggested.

Penned by Justin Roberts he describes Vinos De Jerez etc... as being

about as fashionable as sherry is at the moment"

about time this changed!

Recent posts have concentrated on comparing two wines of a similar style - two Pedro Ximénez and Tio Pepe vs La Ina for example. Lucky for us that Justin is based in Jerez de la Frontera, a better location for covering Sherry you couldn't hope to find!

I understand that many rave about Riesling being the epitome of fine wine making. These people see the poise, quality, long life and expression of terrior while not overshadowing the grapes inherent characteristics, as representing the very best of the classic grapes.

Me? I don't give a monkeys. Dessert wines aside, I just don't like the grape.

I would rather not drink something akin to kerosene (aged Riesling) and when young most taste of little more than lime-splashed sugar water. Some of the mineral and lime Australian dry Rieslings I do enjoy; it might just come down to the European versions (generally) being low in alcohol. This is a bit strange as the weighty wines, often with an inkling of sweetness (thinking Pinot Gris, New World Chard's) are just what I enjoy. Alternatively high acidity as found in New Zealand Sauvignons is another characteristic of Riesling; love the former; ignore the latter. OK, so I WILL drink Rieslings; I just wish I was drinking something else, that's all.

In the spirit of Wine Blogging Wednesday a bottle of German Riesling found its way into the fridge. The Riesling range in Waitrose was rather impressive. Ranging in price from £6.99 up to £15.99 I do wonder how many they actually sell. Good to see a distinct lack of those Germanic scripted labels put down as one of the main reasons for disappointing sales of German wine over the last few years.

Wine Tasting Note: Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland Riesling Spätlese, 2002, Rheingau, Germany.
From Waitrose for £9.99.
Rather a surprise in the quality here - nicely judged acidity balanced with a under-ripe pear and lime flavoured lightly sweet palate. Honey on the nose. Fresh crisp acidity and no noticeable kerosene from a wine still young from the 2002 vintage. Alcohol 8%.

The Dr Wegeler estate was founded in 1882 and is now run by the 4th generation of the same family.

Scribblings Rating - 86/100 [3.25 out of 5]

The picture is a little dark (taken late in the evening) but highlights the wines (and sweeter Rieslings in general) affinity with spicy food. The dish is Chili Beef Ramen from the Wagamama Cookbook one of favourite 'oriental' cookbooks. A white wine with beef! Almost as radical as me drinking a German Riesling!

If you read TechCrunch you would have seen a report on an Australian experiment to Twitter a wine tasting.

Twitter is one of those 'what is the point' geeky things that you either 'get' or you don't. You have the ability to send a short 140 character message to all of your Twitter friends. A message is called a tweet, by the way. While it began as a simple way to let everyone know what you are up to it has morphed somewhat over the last few months; well at least it has in my little group!

Now conversations rule the day, links to news and sites of interest with the TechCrunch story highlighted by fellow wine blogger Catavino being a prime example.

I must admit that firing up the computer to be faced with 600 odd tweets can be a little depressing; so I just delete them all and join in the conversation afresh! It must be even worse if you opt for them all to be sent to your mobile. Incidentally, Twitter was featured on BBC Radio 4 a week or so back. I don't think it is quite mainstream yet though, especially as the interviewer remained totally perplexed by the whole affair!

The techcrunch story, to return to the focus of this post, tells how Project Vino, an Australian wine site focused on community recommendations, tried a Twitter wine tasting. The site sent three bottles of Kirrihill, a South Australian, wine to 12 prominent Australian Twitter users, with the only obligation being to tweet their thoughts to Twitter at the designated times. A fascinating little exercise but I'm not sure exactly how such a niche activity helped in any marketing plan.

If you want to join in the Twitter conversation I'm at http://twitter.com/wine_scribbler

Wine Tasting Note: Château Laures Blanc, 2006, Entre-Deux-Mers, Bordeaux, France
Available from Bordeaux-Undiscovered [more] for £6.75 (normally £9.64)
The Semillon really comes though on the nose giving a lovely herby touch to the lemon-citrus that dominates. Palate is nicely rich and full with a slight spritz and good acidity balancing it all out. A honeyed touch to the lemony complexity all melds together wonderfully.

Château Laures is a 70 hectare estate owned and run for many generations by the same family. They've pulled together a typical Bordeaux blend for this bottle - 60% Semillon, 30% Sauvignon Blanc and 10% Muscadelle. Alcohol 12.5%.
Scribblings Rating - 92/100 [4 out of 5]

While more than suitable for a wide range of foods - salads and fish particularly recommended - a match with a Marmade Tomato Tart worked superbly well. Based on a recipe in Rick Stein's French Odyssey this combines pesto, garlic, tomatoes and puff pastry into a lovely spring-type dish. I added a slice of ham and a little Mozarella to the topping just to make them a little more substantial.

No apologies for featuring another wine from the excellent Howard Park stable; this is their old vine Cabernet Sauvignon from the Great Southern Region of Western Australia. It was an absolute star with this lamb dish although don't go too heavy with mint sauce.

Wine Tasting Note: Howard Park Scotsdale Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005, Great Southern, Western Australia
New vintage available soon from Bibendum for £13
They make great play on the 'old vines' description on the rear label. The grapes for this bottle come are sourced from a single estate in Mount Barker (in the Great Southern region) in Western Australia. The vines were planted in 1974 and are therefore 34 years old. Old vines and extra attention in the vineyard results in a higher quality wine, in this case one brimming with wonderful blackberry and bramble flavours laced with a herbal, dark chocolate edge. It is also blessed with a long length and tannins that should see it though for several years. In fact the recommend 5-8 years cellaring. Alcohol 14.5%.
Scribblings Rating - 90/100 [3.75 out of 5]

It's a touch young at the moment but still a joy to drink. Served with Lamb Baguettes with Fresh Mint Sauce (recipe below) it was a delight. Wareing's sauce is rather sweet and, depending on how much mint you add, quite powerfully flavoured. The sweetness will swamp the wine so use sparingly.

CityWire, one of the UK's 'leading personal finance and investment websites', is offering a weekly prize of an annual subscription (worth £70) to Jancis Robinson's award-winning website, www.jancisrobinson.com.

Here's how to enter:

1. Visit CityWire and view Jancis's latest Wine Of The Week

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3. Send the answer to wine@citywire.co.uk and you may win the prize.

These lovely little fritters will pretty much go with most white wines, at least those that are blessed with a crisp acidity and a medium-to-full body. I selected the Periquita White for the simple reason that it is currently reduced to a bargain £3.99 at Waitrose.

Wine Tasting Note: Periquita White, 2007, Setabul, Portugal.
Currently on offer at Waitrose for £3.99.

Even at the normal price of £4.99 it's a fine little blend of Arinto and Moscatel from the Setubal Peninsula, south of Lisbon. The Arinto gives the crispness and freshness, while the Moscatel lends a lovely aromatic component plus a level of spiciness to the flavour that proved to match so well with the fritters.

Scribblings Rating - 90/100 [3.75 out of 5]

The fritter recipe comes from the regular food-blog event, Waiter There's Something In My..., that I co-host over on SpittoonExtra with this particular round, 'Pulses', selected and hosted by Cooksister. As a regular host I do try and make some of the dishes submitted to each round. The varied creations from across the globe never ceases to amaze. The Spicy Chickpea Fritters came from Australian blogger Kazari at I Think I Have A Recipe For That. The mix of caraway, cumin and coriander also complimented the wine; the yoghurt sauce is a must too!

More banging on from me about how we should look to the independent merchant for the more interesting wines - small producers, interesting flavours, unknown grapes etc etc but such purchases do not have to be the idiosyncratic, often you just need something decent and mainstream but still retaining that small producer mentality...

Wine Tasting Note: Château Les Tonnelles, 2004, Fronsac, France.
Available from Bordeaux-Undiscovered [more] for £7.99 (normally £11.99).
Very French (for which read Bordeaux) in style and structure - the aroma has a lovely fruity edge that needs a little teasing (swirl/decant) to really reveal itself - don't forget that aroma offers so much to the overall enjoyment of wine - is that blackcurrant, blackberry, leaves, undergrowth?

The Bordeaux Undiscovered website states that this 'drinks well on it's own' but I disagree - it's a classic French food wine - unless you enjoy hearty tannins - and in that regard is highly recommended with a simple roasted game bird. In this case it is stuffed with herby sausage and served with a potato-parsley-garlic mash and a broad bean puree (the latter left over from the Pappardelle with Broad Beans and Rocket dish).

The wine is 100% Merlot. Alcohol 13.5%.
Scribblings Rating - 90/100 [3.75 out of 5]

It was all the rage a couple of years ago for sparkling red wines to be served with Christmas dinner; no idea if you were allowed to drink them at any other time mind!

The delightful Joanne of Henley Fine Wines popped over the other week, brandishing, as his her want, a couple of bottles of wine - one of which was a sparkling red. The NV Bundaleer Shiraz is one of the prize offering that her small company imports direct.

I really wanted to do this wine justice with its food accompaniment and scoured another new addition - Rick Stein's French Odyssey - for something that would benefit from the bubbles and the red fruit flavours. Step forward Sautéed Lambs Kidneys on Toasted Brioche with Sauvignon Blanc, Mustard and Tarragon!

Bundaleer Sparkling Shiraz, NV, Southern Flinders Ranges, South Australia
Available from Henley Fine Wines [more] for £8.50
While there is a touch of sweetness it just makes this blackberry flavoured wonder all the more drinkable. Nicely balanced with plenty of classy fizz and good balance. Medium bodied. Alcohol 13.5%.
Scribblings Rating - 92/100 [4 out of 5]

Sautéed Lambs Kidneys on Toasted Brioche with Sauvignon Blanc, Mustard and Tarragon.
Adapted from Rick Stein's French Odyssey [Amazon.co.uk £13]
For one
4 sliced lambs kidneys with white cores removed
Knob of unsalted butter
Large glug of Sauvignon Blanc
¼ tablespoon Dijon mustard
Fresh tarragon
Double cream
2 thick slices of brioche toasted

Melt some butter and fry the kidneys over a high heat for about 2 minutes on each side until lightly browned but still pink in the middle. Remove and keep warm. De-glaze the pan with the wine and reduce. Add the mustard, any free-run juices from the kidneys, chopped tarragon and cream and boil until a nice sauce consistency is reached. Season.

Top the brioche with the kidneys and spoon over the sauce. Garnish with tarragon.

The dish is very rich - all that glorious cream I guess - with the wines bubbles cutting through, leaving the palate refreshed (and hankering for more!). The sweetness of the brioche and the wine matched nicely; I was enjoying the combination so much I failed to notice the tannins. In fact I failed to notice much else until the bottle ran dry!

One of those peculiarly named Edwardian or Victorian dishes, like Welsh Rarebit, Scotch Woodcock is simply scrambled eggs on toast with the addition of anchovies. The recipe appears in the May 2008 issue of Delicious (and is detailed on SpittoonExtra) where they top the dish with lightly steamed asparagus. It might sound odd but it's really fantastic.

A tricky dish to match with wine, you would assume, but I have found a great partner - another wine from the Howard Park stable, this one being the 2007 Riesling. The wine just 'worked'. The acidity cut through the 'tricky' richness of the egg while the fresh flavours were superb with the asparagus. I also think that Howard Park's Sauvignon Blanc would also be a fine choice.

Wine Tasting Note: Howard Park Riesling, 2007, Western Australia
Available (soon) from Bibendum for £11
Fresh and lively, but rather too young (although this style worked brilliantly wit the Scotch Woodcock). As Howard Park states "This wine will greatly reward the patient enthusiast. Secondary characters with start to develop after two years and will continue to add complexity to this wine for at least 10 years".

As it stands the wine is very pale, limey on the nose with a flowery edge with the palate offering great acidity, cool, pure flavours and, as mentioned, great capacity to age. Alcohol 12.5%.
Scribblings Rating - 88/100 [3.5 out of 5]

The production process is very interesting - only free run juice, all from the Great Southern region, was used with different batches cool-fermented separately in (the ubiquitous) stainless steel tanks which preserves the delicate Riesling fruit flavours. The blending trials of these different batches must have been fascinating.

This new book has been receiving rave reviews left, right and over. Self-published by the authors the The Wine & Food Lover's Guide to Portugal by Charles Metcalfe and Kathryn McWhirter is not, sadly a wine and recipe book (as I hoped) but a travel guide to Portugal

This is a guide for the independent traveller who loves good wine and food, but also wants to discover the country - and not just the fabulous beaches. It will lead you around edible Lisbon and Porto, and the stunning countryside of undiscovered inland Portugal, keeping a special eye out everywhere for the wines.

Wine in Portugal - Learn to recognise the best wines on the restaurant list. Visit the best wineries. Internationally-renowned wine critic Charles Metcalfe has tasted every wine in this book...

Eat in Portugal - New-wave restaurants, the best of traditional fare, fine cheeses and charcuterie, and of course sea food... If past Portuguese meals have been a stodgy disappointment, learn where the wine trade goes to eat, and try again...

Between meals - Well, you can't eat and drink all the time! The Wine and Food Lover's Guide to Portugal also guides you around the regions, and selects the most exciting other places to visit.

Sleep - At all price points, from luxury hotel to farmhouse bed and breakfast, we have sought out comfortable and atmospheric places to stay, often with a wine or food connection."

The Wine and Food Lover's Guide to Portugal is available from Amazon.co.uk for £11.87 or direct from the publishers for £16.75.

Did you know that there are 163 vineyards in England and Wales? Those 163 are members of the English Wine Producers group who claim to represent over three-quarters of England's total wine production, so the 'actual' number is a few more.

The EWP has released a new version of it UK Wine Map - available for free from vineyards, key tourist offices and (soon) from the EWP website.

The map depicts the location of each vineyard cross referenced by county and with full contact details, websites and a brief description. Each vineyard is colour coded to show those that welcome visitors, those that do not and those not yet in production.

Time to start planning those Summer visits. I have one vineyard within walking distance and I STILL haven't managed to get over there and sample the wines.

This is adapted from a Giorgio Locatelli recipe from the May 2008 issue of Delicious Magazine. The original is rather convoluted and excessive in its use of saucepans! Apart from time the most onerous part is podding the beans. As you can see from the photo I used Gnocchi pasta, Locatelli suggests fresh Pappardelle - which, curse my luck, was unobtainable in my little market town when I needed some! It worked fine with the smaller, standard, pasta.

Extremely Spring-like in its use of fresh broad beans and rocket it also proved a superb match for the 'green' flavours inherent in the Howard Park Sauvignon.

Wine Tasting Note: Howard Park Sauvignon Blanc, 2007, Western Australia
Soon to be available from Bibendum for £11 per bottle
The punch on the palate perfectly replaces what it lacks in colour; it is rather pale and lemon-juice in colour. The green, grassy, herby, mouth-wateringly juicy fruit is from the portion of grapes sourced from the Pemberton region of Western Australia. For the citrus characteristics and the weighty feel say thanks to the 50% from the Margaret River. Very focused. Very crunchy and fresh. Alcohol 12.5%.

Scribblings Rating - 88/100 [3.5 out of 5]