ITs Food

We’re happy to announce our forthcoming Summer of Rosé 2007 event. With rosé wine becoming more and more popular we’ve decided to buy in 6 popular brands and let them battle it out for the coveted title of “ITs Food Favourite Rosé of 2007″. Wow, what an honour

We’ll review each of the 6 rosé wines in turn then have a grand final where we’ll pick our favourite. The wines have all been bought at Tesco and we took into account their overall value as well as their popularity. The wines are…

• Pink Elephant 2006 (review now live)
• Casillero del Diablo Shiraz Rosé 2006 (review now live)
• Tesco Finest De Vito Grenache Rosé 2006 (review now live)
• The Real Rosé Company Pink Zinfandel 2006 (review now live)
• Turning Leaf Shiraz Rosé 2005 (review now live)
• Rioja Gran Familia Rosado, 2006 (review now live)

I’ve never been a huge rosé fan myself but it seems you just can’t stop it taking over from Chardonnay as the wine to glug at summer parties and when “taking lunch”. With that in mind I’m ready to re-educate my taste buds and give it a go.

Now, having whetted your appetite (and palette hopefully) I’ve got to admit that posts will be even rarer over the next few weeks as work commitments will mean a few nights away from family and home and therefore no access to wines or much Internet browsing either. I’ll try to post when I can but I promise we will still be here even though we might go a bit quiet.

Back in the days when I was at University doing my Masters Degree I was re-introduced to an old friend. That friend was called Vouvray (yes, I’m sure you saw that coming!). Summer days we’re spent working very hard but the one bright light on the horizon was a evening meal outside with friends (including the future Mrs ITs Food) eating Coronation Chicken, salad , a fresh baguette and a chilled bottle of Vouvray. It was heaven.

Unfortunately my favourite tipple, Tesco’s own Vouvray at £3.99 a bottle (I was a student!) has now long gone. This bottle of La Couronne des Plantagenets Vouvray was picked up at Sainsbury’s. It’s a perfect example of a demi-sec wine, half-dry. The initial sweetness of the wine is offset by a lovely sharpness which leaves the mouth (okay, palette) refreshed and ready for another glug.

I wasn’t disappointed, this wine was easily gluggable and although it didn’t quite match my memories of those university days, it was a nice enjoyable bottle. Three stars.

La Couronne des Plantagenets Vouvray

Grape: Vouvray
Alcohol: 11.5%
Guide Price: ~£4-£5
I bought this wine at: Sainsbury’s (instore)
ITs Food Rating: Three stars

I’ve got a couple of bottle of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2006 coming my way this week. With that in mind I finished off my last bottle of the 2005 at the weekend.

Please excuse the state of the bottle, it’s “spider poo” according to Mrs ITs Food and I bow to her knowledge on the subject. I won’t review the wine as I think Sauvignon Blanc tastes best young and fresh, but I will say that Cloudy Bay does age very well (as does Highfield)!

I’m going to start including the back label in my wine reviews in future. What do you think?

Now, we’ve all seen those Vacuvin (USA link) wine stoppers which keep your wine fresh for longer, and we’ve all seen wine thermometers (USA link). What about a vacuum wine stopper with built in thermometer?

The Wine Vac™…

• …lets you enjoy a glass or two of a special wine, then keep what remains for the next few days, with little loss of flavor.
• Place it on top of the opened bottle; vacuum pump automatically activates and tells you when seal is complete.
• Built-in thermometer with LCD shows wine’s temperature so you know when serving is optimal (suggested temperatures are printed on the back).
• Runs on 2 AA batteries (order separately).

Also…

If you often enjoy fine wine in moderation, this is an essential tool — a vacuum seal that features a built-in thermometer with LCD that displays the wine’s temperature. Enjoy a glass or two of a special wine — and then keep what remains for later enjoyment over the next few days, with little loss of its freshness and flavor.

Simply place Wine Vac on top of the opened bottle; the vacuum pump automatically activates and tells you when the seal is complete. The thermometer will tell you the wine’s temperature so you can know when serving is optimal (suggested temperatures are printed on the back). Measures 3.5″ x 2.25″ diameter; weighs 4.5 oz. Runs on 2 AA batteries (order separately). 90-day warranty.

I think this is a nice bit of tech.  Even with my huge wine consumption I need to seal a bottle overnight every now and again (or sometimes for a couple of days). This would be a useful addition to my wine kit.

The Wine Vac™ is available from Amazon.com for $34.95.

Well, it looks like I was right. I picked up the 2006 versions of Brown Brothers Dry Muscat and Hardy’s Riesling Gewurztraminer at the weekend. These follow hot on the heels on the 2006 Sauvignon Blanc’s (like the awesome Highfield). In fact I’ve got some more excellent New Zealand SB’s turning up soon.

The Brown Brothers Dry Muscat 2006 was much fresher and sharper than the 2005. I expect it to lose some of that crispness over the coming months and turn even more fruity. Doubt it will last that long in my “cellar” though!

One thing I noticed on these new wines was on the back label. What is this new fashion of having removable tags on the back? Loyalty points? Can anyone fill me in?

Post a comment or email us if you know what these are for. Thanks!

Edit: Of course!  It just came to me over a glass of wine.  The labels are there for you to take to the supermarket so you know what to buy next time!  Nice idea.