Tipple of the Month – April 2017

Published on: 2 Apr, 2017
Updated on: 2 Apr, 2017

Jeremy Blood of the Surrey Wine School

Jeremy Blood from the Guildford based Surrey Wine School reveals his locally available “Tipple of the Month”.

With Easter just around the corner it is probably a good time to think about a wine for Easter Sunday and especially one made for lamb dishes.

At our recent Lamb and Rioja evening with Chef Maxwell McKenzie we paired six different wines and all of them matched the food beautifully.

When I say Rioja from Spain I don’t just mean red but also crisp rosé, (Rosado) and rich whites. In this instance however I’m going to highlight the reds.

Whenever you pair red Rioja with food you need to consider what ageing the wine has had.

Rioja is very helpful with its ageing laws which will be displayed on the label the youngest wines are called joven then, as they become older, it is crianza followed by reserva which can handle more powerful and spicy dishes.

The oldest wines are called gran reserva and they are best with more simple foods.

Most lamb dishes would pair well but the following worked brilliantly, slow braised lamb neck, roasted lamb loin and pressed lamb breast (deep fried!)

So with all things lamb in mind here are my tipples of the month:

The Society’s Rioja, Crianza, Spain 2012, The Wine Society £7.50 100% Tempranillo which is round, smoky and smooth.

Glorioso Rioja Reserva, Spain 2012,Tesco £9.00 Made from Tempranillo grapes grown on old vines resulting in mellow black fruit flavours, a velvet-like texture, cherry and vanilla flavours that give it a traditional taste.

Surrey Wine School run cookery and wine matching sessions with local Chef Maxwell McKenzie.

For more information about these courses, visit www.surreywineschool.com, call 01306 898569 or 07436 072518.