WSET Level 3 – We’re on it!

The train journey down to London on Sunday night was less than inspiring. Floods on the roads to Welshpool, freezing cold in Wolverhampton. It was nice to arrive to a crisp moonlit night in the city and after a quick meal out, a walk down to the Thames we packed ourselves to bed for an early night before a tutored tasting day in Bermondsey.

Everyone laughs when we say it’s work, but seriously, it’s hard going! Emma, Terri and I have enrolled on the Wset Level 3 Wine course and the exams are in April. This day is to prepare for the blind tasting part of the final assessment. Not a drop is drunk. Well, a little may have slipped down in my weaker moments but on the whole, it was a solid 7 hours of learn, taste, analyse, repeat.

Essentially, we were learning how to analyse wine and make a judgement about its quality and main features. Is it balanced? Is it simple or complex? You are required to judge the sweetness, tannin, flavours etc and there are so many factors to consider. It’s a big step up from Level 2 which we sat a few years ago.

We like to keep developing professionally and it’s a brilliant challenge. It fires you up about the subject even more and keeps the work interesting for everyone. The result, we hope, is a confident team who are able to guide and advise confidently to the wine that suits you and to encourage customers to experiment if they want to. Part of the fun of the shop is to help people discover new styles or grapes.

The wine world is a complex and often tough one for the winemakers with their battle against weather and disease and the myriad of decisions they have to make from the planting of the vine to the bottling: every step affecting the style, quality and price. A course like this educates us but also breeds enormous respect for what they do. Call in and we’ll tell you about it!

Roedd taith lawr i Lundain ar Nos Sul ddim yn ddelfrydol yn ystod y Mis Bach. Ar ôl glaw ar y ffordd i Trallwng a rhewi o oer yn Wolverhampton braf oedd cyrraedd i noson glir a braf yn y ddinas. Dro bach ar ôl cinio i weld Tower Bridge a Thŵr Llundain wedi’u goleuo’n brydferth a gwely cynnar i baratoi am gwrs blasu gwin yn Bermondsey.

Peidiwch â chwerthin pan dwi’n dweud fod hyn yn waith caled! Mae Emma, Terri a fi ar gwrs Lefel 3 Gwin ac angen paratoi at arholiadau ym Mis Ebrill. Er mwyn paratoi at y darn blasu o’r arholiad, mae’r diwrnod yma. Dim tropyn yn cael ei yfed. Wel, efallai lithrodd rhyw ychydig lawr fy ngwddf ambell dro. Ond dim llawer, oherwydd o 9yb tan 5yh roedd angen canolbwyntio’n llwyr. Dysgu, trafod, blasu, dadansoddi. Drosodd a drosodd.

Dysgu sut i feirniadu safon gwin ydi’r amcan. Ydi hwn yn win wedi’u gynhyrchu’n dda? Oes balans rhwng ffrwyth ac asid? Ydi o’n syml neu gymhleth? Mae gymaint o ffactorau i’w hystyried ond wanwyl oedden ni’n tair wedi dysgu gymaint! Mae hwn yn gam mawr o’r Lefel 2 rhai blynyddoedd yn ôl

Dechrau Ebrill byddwn yn ôl lawr yn yr adeilad Wset (Wine & Spirits Education Trust) i sefyll un arholiad blasu ac un ysgrifenedig ar ôl 3 mis o astudio ar lein. Mae’r buddsoddiad yma’n fawr i ni gyd. 10 awr yr wythnos ychwanegol o astudio. Mae Emma a minnau’n cwrdd am 8.30 y bore i geisio dal y blaen!

Hoffwn feddwl am waith yn Dylanwad fel proffesiwn. Felly mae datblygiad proffesiynol yn hanfodol. I gadw aelodau staff gwerthfawr rhaid buddsoddi a chadw’r gwaith yn ddiddorol – a heriol! Y canlyniad gobeithio yw tîm sy’n hyderus i arwain cwsmeriaid i brynu beth maent yn hoffi ac i fentro i arbrofi gyda gwin.

Mae’n fyd cymhleth a chaled i’r cynhyrchwyr. Un peth oedden ni’n tair yn gytûn arno, y mwyaf ni’n dysgu’r mwyaf mae’n barch yn tyfu at y gwinwyr a’r myrdd o ddewisiadau rhaid gwneud yn pob cam o’r winllan i’r botel. A’r dewisiadau yma sy’n dylanwadu ar y steil, safon a’r pris.

Galwch heibio i holi cwestiwn a rhoi sialens i Terri ac Emma!

Detholiad Ionawr Emma – Emma’s January Selection

Emma’s Light Alcohol January Selection

During January most of us are trying to cut down on alcohol. I have chosen this selection of lower alcohol wines but never lower quality. I hope you enjoy the variety as much as I do.

Our Vineyard Visits

Ogereau was one of the first vineyards Terri and I visited with Dyl. See the photos below – how young do we look there?!  Emmanuel & family are lovely and so are the wines. This rosé is demi-sec so has a touch of sweetness but is perfectly balanced with good acidity. Don’t reach for the chocs – make this your Saturday sip instead.

What’s in a Name?

You’ll notice the name of the Llabustes red and may wonder about the significance. Ull de Llebre means ‘hare’s eye’ because they are small and dark just like the tempranillo grape used to make this wine. A beautiful red from Catalunya.

Emma’s Selection of Welsh Wines

I am particularly fond of all Montgomery wines. If you haven’t heard already, I have helped several times to pick the grapes! This is a delicious fruity red with good acidity and low tannins.

Back to the Loire

Douce Folie is from another small family vineyard in the Loire.  We visited this one too –  it’s situated closer to the coast. This is a delicious sweet wine that I love.

Emma

What are you drinking NYE?

Our Christmas

We had a pretty good Christmas after a hectic run up to the big day thanks to you, our lovely customers. Dylan nearly set the dining room on fire with a blazing Christmas pudding. My son’s branding of it a ‘skin graft dessert’ best creates the image of Dyl’s entrance, with a pan and pudding inferno that stunned our normally chatty 3-year-old granddaughter. No-one was hurt in the process but I admit to feeling rising panic at the time. Sandie, who was filming the event, reeled backwards when the second slosh of burning brandy shot up towards the ceiling in her camera lens. Never again will I tell him that last year’s flaming was ‘a bit lame’.

I hope you like our sparkling window? It was created by the talented Gwernan John who runs a small business locally called Cwtsh Clyd. It cheers me up every time I look at it.

Try a New Party Game!

We shall be at home NYE for the second time. However, we are planning a bit of an early doors sparkling tasting with the family before retiring to a cosy dinner. It’s a chance to have a bit of fun if there is a group of you. Buy 3 or 4 bottles depending on the numbers and open them all to have a comparative tasting – blind is even more fun! That means covering the bottles not everyone’s eyes – that could be messy.

I would suggest a popular and reliable brand for one of your bottles. I love our Palmer Champagne or a Piper-Heidsieck. Then throw in a curve ball with a Welsh or English sparkler – I think your guests may be surprised. Welsh vineyards, Montgomery, White Castle or Ancre Hill produce good sparkling wine that will provide interesting comparisons.

What About a Cremant?

I would then go for a really good quality Cremant. We have some delicious examples: Louis de Grenelle from the Loire or Jean Claude Raspail who has organic fizz from Die. If you’re ever heading south for the sun in France, take a quick left when you reach the Rhone. As you head for the Alps you’ll find this intriguing little area. Another surprisingly southerly region for quality fizz is Limoux, supposedly where the first sparkling wine was created (even before Champagne). This is home to our very popular and reasonably priced Salasar. These are all very good value and made using the traditional method. Finally, grab the cheapest Champagne deal you can find at a supermarket. See what conclusions you arrive at and let me know!

What Will I Be Drinking?

So, the fun of the tasting is over and dinner has been enjoyed with a good bottle of wine. I am inclined to agree with David Williams from the Observer that something a little richer is in order. And to be honest, there is probably no chance on earth that we will last until midnight.

So, a glass of something fortified with some cheese will be our final drink of 2021. Port would be the obvious choice, Dylan tends to go for a Tawny with its dried fruits and nuttiness but over the years, he has fallen for the wines of the Portuguese island of Madeira. For complexity and length, they’re hard to beat – wines that can almost last forever or at least a lifetime. I’m pretty sure he’ll be reaching for a bottle of one of the fine wines from Barbeito. Whatever it is, as we ponder on what this next year will bring, may it be a happy and healthy 2022 for all of you. Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

Llinos, Dylan & Team