Selecting from the Enomatic machines, and the payment card, which is re-usable. Purple Teeth made a local field trip to Reading a week or so ago to visit The Tasting House in Reading. It's a new kind of wine shop in the area. Not just a place to buy a bottle of wine from the extensive selection, but also a place to try new wines. With 2 state of the art Enomatic® machines, featuring 7 whites, a rosé and 8 red wines at any one time, you simply top up a tasting card with your chosen amount (minimum £10 for first purchase), grab a glass, and enjoy samples from around 50p. Small samples of 25ml allow you to try several wines without becoming too tipsy. Or, if you prefer, you can buy either a 125ml or 175ml glass of the wine that most takes your fancy, take a seat and enjoy it with friends and a selection of cheeses or charcuterie.
2 selections of cheese and charcuterie served with bread and oil Meeting a friend after work, we indulged in a couple of plates of meat and cheese (£8.45 for a single board). This helped to soak up the many samples we tried.
My companion doesn't enjoy the effects of white wine, so she moved straight to the red wine machine, while I felt duty bound to sample the Rieslings on offer and some of the more unusual whites.
In fact, I got to try a completely new one to me. Always a joy!
Frangy is one of four named crus of the "Roussette de Savoie" appellation of the Alps of eastern France, around 20 miles south of Lake Geneva. I don't think I'd ever had the Altesse grape before. These wines express gingerbread, pear and white flowers and are considered the finest wines in the area. Soft, mellow and perhaps slightly off-dry, if you like Hungarian Furmint, this should be next on your list to try (at the time of writing it's still in the tasting machine).
My companion doesn't enjoy the effects of white wine, so she moved straight to the red wine machine, while I felt duty bound to sample the Rieslings on offer and some of the more unusual whites.
In fact, I got to try a completely new one to me. Always a joy!
Frangy is one of four named crus of the "Roussette de Savoie" appellation of the Alps of eastern France, around 20 miles south of Lake Geneva. I don't think I'd ever had the Altesse grape before. These wines express gingerbread, pear and white flowers and are considered the finest wines in the area. Soft, mellow and perhaps slightly off-dry, if you like Hungarian Furmint, this should be next on your list to try (at the time of writing it's still in the tasting machine).
All in the name of research, the white wines I sampled, plus the helpful tasting notes at the machine to assist your choice
Of all the red wines, we were surprised that the Argentine Patagonian Pinot Noir was our favourite The reds were just as varied. An Italian Dogliani (not pictured), a traditional aged Rioja from 1998, an old vines Californian Zinfandel, a Chilean Carmenere and a Patagonian Pinot Noir from Argentina were all sampled, and it was the 2011 Humberto Canale Argentine Pinot Noir which won our vote as the wine to enjoy by the glass. This surprised us both but we enjoyed it's velvety mouthfeel, dark red fruits and hints of walnuts.
The joy of the Enomatic® machine is that you can keep your wine fresh for up to 3 weeks after opening thanks to the inert gas blanket that keeps oxygen out. That's great for these kinds of stores, allowing them to offer multiple samples to customers without losing lots in wastage. But at around £10,000 they're hardly practical for home use. At least not in most homes I visit, and certainly not at Chateau Purple Teeth.
Despite the latest news that it's okay to drink a bottle of wine a day, most of us won't drink a whole bottle alone. I generally have no more than 2 bottles open at a time and find the VacuVin pump (link below and pictured left) does the trick for one or two days. I've also included links to other wine preserving products you might want to try, including a "do it yourself" gas blanket. Getting the right wine preservation system for you means you can enjoy your bottle sensibly over a few nights rather than either wasting it or drinking vinegar by the end of the week. Precious grapes died for your wine. Respect that.
Feel free to share your preferred wine preserving methods on our Facebook page
Cheers!
PS: If you want to try a number of wines with friends,without leaving home, I'd love to help you plan a Purple Teeth tasting party..
Despite the latest news that it's okay to drink a bottle of wine a day, most of us won't drink a whole bottle alone. I generally have no more than 2 bottles open at a time and find the VacuVin pump (link below and pictured left) does the trick for one or two days. I've also included links to other wine preserving products you might want to try, including a "do it yourself" gas blanket. Getting the right wine preservation system for you means you can enjoy your bottle sensibly over a few nights rather than either wasting it or drinking vinegar by the end of the week. Precious grapes died for your wine. Respect that.
Feel free to share your preferred wine preserving methods on our Facebook page
Cheers!
PS: If you want to try a number of wines with friends,without leaving home, I'd love to help you plan a Purple Teeth tasting party..
Post by Purple Teeth.
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