Organic Wine Tasting: Iberian Indulgences
Organic Wine Tasting - Saturday 16th December, 7.30pm
£7.50
At the Greenhouse 42-46 Bethel Street
Most Christmases benefit from a good bottle of wine. Whether it is designed to enhance the company of good friends, help you agree with the in-laws or provide a companion for solitude, this is the time of year when people are willing to spend a little extra ‘to get something good'. But ‘good' is a deeply subjective thing, governed by your own sense of taste.
On Friday December 16th, you can decide what's ‘good' for yourself, by visiting the Greenhouse for an organic wine tasting. The theme is Iberian Celebration, and we've chosen three Spanish and three Portuguese wines for you to swirl, sniff and spit - or swallow, depending how celebratory you feel.
On an ethical level, all the wines in The Greenhouse shop are ‘good' - they are all certified organic, and all suitable for vegans. Wine is a blind spot for many ethical shoppers, who fill their baskets with organic buckwheat and barley, but buy booze on impulse from the corner shop. The delicate nature of grapes means that they are one of the most heavily sprayed of fruits. After harvesting, they are confronted by more chemicals in the winery, in order to flavour and preserve the wine. Then gelatine, isinglass (a substance derived from fish bladders) and egg white are used to clarify conventional wines.
You can shop for alcohol with an easy conscience at the Greenhouse, knowing that neither animals nor the environment have been compromised to bring you our sizeable range of wines and spirits. No chemical fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides have been used to grow the grapes, and chemicals have been kept to a minimum in the winery to make the wine..
We will move on to the kind of reds to warm long chilly nights. The ‘Cuesta Colora' Tempranillo is produced without added sulphur dioxide, a bonus for asthmatics or those with sensitive constitutions. Its tinglingly tart red fruit sets the scene for the fuller-bodied Iberum Crianza, the kind of hearty red that has made Spain the "go-to" destination for many wine drinkers.
Two wines from Casal dos Jordões, a winery in the Douro region of Portugal, will complete our evening. Douro is becoming known for the kind of deep, herby reds exemplified by Quinta da Esteveira, our fifth wine. It is better known, however, as the home of port, and we will end with a nightcap of ‘Majara' Finest Reserve - just the sort of seasonal indulgence to finish a festive feast.
The evening's wines in full...
Vinho Verde 'Air', Casa de Mouraz (Portugal 2009, 11.5%)
Loureiro / Tresadoura / Azal
Verdejo, Menade, Rueda (Spain 2009, 12.5%)
Tempranillo, Viñas viejas, 'Cuesta Colora' (Spain, 2010, 13.5%)
Tempranillo
Iberum Crianza, Navarra (Spain 2004, 13.5%)
Tempranillo / Merlot / Garnacha / Cabernet Sauvignon
Quinta da Esteveira, Douro (Portugal, 2008, 13.5%)
Touriga Franca / Tinta Roriz
'Majara' Finest Reserve Port (Portugal, 20%)
Touriga Franca / Tinta Roriz / Tinta Barroca / Tinta Cão / Toriga Nacional
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