Wine Live

I do like a glass of wine... or two... or three... In Chez Angie no Saturday evening is complete without a home-cooked 2-course candlelit meal, at which S- and I share a bottle of fine wine and while away the evening together. The longer it lasts, the better it is.

For these gastronomic evenings a tasty red is favoured. Our present "No.1" is Espirito Santo from Portugal, though over the years we've contentedly drunk our way around most of Portugal, Spain and Italy, with the odd excursion into France, Chile and South Africa.

Wine-free Sundays are also a rarity, but this time we usually go for a nice dry white to complement the roast chicken. Recently we've fallen head-over-heals for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

I certainly wouldn't describe myself as a wine connoisseur, but can tell the difference between a Beaujolais and a Shiraz, or a Liebfraumilch and a Chardonnay – and know enough to leave the Shiraz and the Liebfraumilch on the shelf! Moreover, it's always fun to discover new wines, so when this invitation to a Laithwaites Wine Tasting afternoon in Cardiff appeared in my Inbox, I signed up and parted with £30.

Saturday 3rd February will possibly best be remembered as the day when Wales slaughtered Scotland 34-7 in the Six Nations Rugby tournament. Consequently the train journey into Cardiff that morning was 'cosy' to say the least and I ended up with a young lady sitting on my lap.  But it was all good-humoured and on arrival 500 happy souls disgorged themselves and set out for the Millennium Stadium, while I made tracks for the City Hall.

You have surely seen the 'professionals' tasting wine. First they swill it around the glass and sniff it (there must be a posh name for that), then they sip a little, let it permeate their taste buds and spit it out. And all this accompanied with remarks like "oh a fine bouquet", "a pleasant hint of oak" or "I'm getting a hint of the Northern Slopes of Bavaria from this one."  You know the stuff.

Well I didn't see one person going through that performance, and actually remarked to Tom Laithwaite how refreshingly 'ordinary' everyone appeared to be. We were each given a tasting glass and offered as many small samples of any of the 91 wines on offer that we fancied. Anything left unwanted in the glass could simply be poured into a waste tub. I started by sampling the whites, moves on to the reds and ended the afternoon with the fizzies. And despite only having modest sips of all but the finest, I'm glad that I didn't have to drive home!

It wasn't only wine on offer. There was also beer, gin, sherry, meat... and this lovely couple offering scrumptious handmade cheese from the Blaenafon Cheddar Company.  I've promised myself a trip to Blaenavon before the year is much older, from where I plan to return with a good supply of Cymru Crunch – cheddar blended with pickled onions, chives and Cwrw Braf ale.

That nice Mr Laithwaite has offered me my £30 back if I order a case of wine in the next fortnight. No problem! When Ben from Laithwaites phones on Thursday I'll be asking for 4 bottles of each of the following:

• Joseph Castan Excellence French Merlot 2017 @ £6.99
• I Corleonesi Sicilian Cabernet 2015 @ £11.69
• The Rustler South African Pinotage 2016 @ £8.49

Total:  £108.68 - £30 = £78.68.

That should keep me well lubricated for several weeks.