Top man Tarayan takes it on himself
Nick Tarayan has always had a way with wine - ever since he used to work the floor at Leith's restaurant in Notting Hill, London (now the Notting Hill Brasserie). And he has picked up a fair few accolades along the way, including AA Best UK Wine List and the Wine Spectator‘s Award of Excellence for 12 consecutive years.
So it comes as no surprise to learn that he has set up his own wine company. Called Wine of the Times (020 8838 9432), it launched in London two weeks ago and is primarily aimed at the on-trade.
"I've always loved being in the restaurant business, but I just couldn't do the hours any more, and wine has been so important to me all through my career," said Tarayan at his first tasting, held at London's Adam Street restaurant.
And what a bash it was. "It was one of the best supplier tastings I've been to in a long time," said Matthew Bradford, wine buyer for the Moving Image restaurant group. "Nick knows that we have to have the commercial wines as well as the top-end stuff, and he's done both well - not to mention showing the best Priorat I've ever tried."
Tarayan has been putting his list together since January - or, to be more precise, since a visit to new South African winery Flagstone. "Winemaker Bruce Jack so inspired me - and South Africa inspired me," he said. "I was so excited by the wines out there, I thought, ‘Why not bring them in myself?'"
Flagstone's Sauvignon Blanc, by the way, was one of Bradford's top wines of the tasting (see panel below).
What else has Tarayan got? The biggest section of the list is Bordeaux and Burgundy, which he cherry-picked from London merchant Jascots, followed by the full line-up from Flagstone. And there are bits and bobs from other French regions, and from Italy, California, Australia and Spain.
But what's the story about this Priorat? "Everyone is getting excited about Priorat," says Tarayan. "I know this one seems expensive, but it's a fantastic wine - hugely intense. No one blinks at paying £300 for a case of claret."
Asked about the best value wine, Bradford said: "The Angus - The Bull. It can't be beaten for a cool-climate Australian Cabernet." US wine guru Robert Parker apparently agreed - he gave it 90 points recently. Tarayan has 500 cases of the 2002, and has bagged 1,500 cases of the 2003.
Tarayan is also happy to advise as a "virtual sommelier", which includes advice on food-and-wine matching, building a cellar, and day-to-day glugging wine. And he's happy to pull wines in from other suppliers' lists.
Way to go, Tarayan.
Matthew Bradford's pick of Tarayan's list
(All prices are per 12-bottle case excluding VAT, unless otherwise stated)
2002 Petit Bourgeois, Henri Bourgeois, Chavignol, Sancerre (£62.40)
2002 Flagstone "Free Run" Sauvignon Blanc, Western Cape, South Africa (£72)
2000 Château Roquefort, Bordeaux (£67.20)
2002 Angus - The Bull, Aberdeen Wine Company, South Australia (£78)
2000 Closa Batlett, Gratallops, Priorat (£140 per six-bottle case)
Shorts
The spirit of chocolate
Hurrah! Next week (13-19 October) is London Chocolate Week and, to mark the occasion, several of the city's bars have come up with a line-up of chocolate-laced cocktails. The Living Room's offering is the Chocolate Wonka (hot chocolate laced with toffee, vanilla schnapps, marshmallows, chocolate chips and butterscotch sauce), while Eclipse is shaking Chocolate Martinis (vodka with chocolate schnapps and chilli) - or, for white chocolate fans, the Vanilla Martini (a blend of vanilla vodka, Modat white chocolate liqueur and milk). Red bar, meanwhile, has the Chocolate Bounty (a blend of white crŠme de cacao, Koko Kanu and cream) plus the Swiss Miss (butterscotch schnapps, dark crŠme de cacao, Frangelico, Baileys and cream, swirled with honey). Outrageous.
Case of good hope
South Africa is currently on a roll - it outpaced all other competitors in the UK wine market by achieving 25% growth in retail sales for the 12 months to June 2003, according to latest figures from AC Neilsen. This compares with the 6% growth in value of total UK retail wine sales for the same period.
The figures show that South Africa has increased its value share of the UK retail market to 9.5% from 8.1% a year ago, and now occupies fifth position behind Australia, France, and Italy and the USA in joint third position. Says Su Birch, chief executive officer of Wines of South Africa: "It suggests that the quality-value formula we offer is both highly attractive and remains highly consistent, irrespective of fluctuations in currency value."
However, she warns: "This does, of course, place pressure on our industry's long-term sustainability, and explains why we are shifting our focus away from the very price-sensitive segment towards the £5-per-bottle category and higher."
Top cheese
The Crooked Billet pub-restaurant in Newton Longville, near Milton Keynes, has won the title for the Best British Cheeseboard 2003, held last month. The competition, sponsored by Fonseca Port, wowed the judges (myself, Trevor Gulliver of St John restaurant, London, and Juliet Harbutt, organiser of the British Cheese Awards). Crooked Billet owners John and Emma Gilchrist also impressed with their cheese-and-wine matching skills.
"Traditionalists believe that Stilton and ruby or vintage port is a perfect marriage," wrote Gilchrist on his winning entry, "but I would rather have a light, tawny port. And very strong blue perfectly partners sweet wines that have not been infected with noble rot. Light red wine is well matched with semi-hard cheese, while more powerful reds stand up well with mild, wash-rind cheese."
The Gilchrists win a five-day trip to "Port Central" - the Douro.
The Fisherman's Lodge in Newcastle-upon-Tyne took second place, while the Corse Lawn House hotel, in Gloucestershire, and the Harrow Inn at Little Bedwyn, Wiltshire, were joint runners-up.
