FT Weekend Magazine - 10.19.2019

42 FT.COM/MAGAZINEOCTOBER19/202 019

◀of Italyincreasedtheirprices.

(California,withits ready-made,

well-heeleddomesticmarket,

needed no suchencouragement.

Afterall,SiliconValleyisbut a

brieflimoridefromNapaValley.)

ButatleastinBurgundy

thereisanacceptedhierarchy

of appellationsandlong-held

reputations.Howdoes amuch

newer producerin aregion

withoutmuchof an international

reputationpricetheirwine?

Notsolongago,itseemedthat

newcomers’ priceswererelatively

modest initially, until reputations

and/or highscores were won. But

nowI’m seeingmoreand morewine

producersdivinginatthe deep

end,askingreallyquiteambitious

prices fromthestart.Theymay

be emboldenedbythe factthat,

even if less wineis beingdrunk

in many countries –especially

Britain, whereno- andlow-alcohol

drinksareasmuchinfashion

as gin, craft beerand cocktails –

drinkersaretendingto tradeup.

Thosewhotreat themselvestoone

reallyspecial bottle at weekends,

punctuatingvirtuoustrips tothe

gym, arestartingto encroachon

thelittle-and-oftenbrigade.

OnUKshelvesand retailwine

lists,Iview£10to £25abottleas

thesweetspotthatis likelytobeof

mostinteresttomyreaders(and

Iwill tryto concentrateon this

pricebracket in myfourweeks

of specificrecommendations

leadingup to Christmas). But

it is becomingincreasingly

difficulttofind winesofreal

interestunder£25abottle.

TheLanguedocshouldbe a

source of great-valueFrench

winebecauselandisrelatively

inexpensive andonlyproducers

suchas GrangedesPères and

Masde DaumasGassac have

establishedinternational

reputations.But whenItasted

arangeof winesfromrelative

newcomersthissummer,prices

were alloverthe place–upto€ 40

abottleex-cellar,withoutmuch

apparentlogicor justification.

Ihad thegreatpleasureof

tastingthroughthecurrentrange

of winesfromanambitious

15-year-oldwineestate,La Pèira,

establishedonrocky hillsides

in theLanguedoc’sTerrasses

du Larzacappellation.Thequite

delicioustopred, alsocalled

La Pèira,retailsforabout £50a

bottle,whichIpresumeis quite

adifficultsell,eventhoughit is

everybitas good as manyred

Bordeauxat thesameprice.

PerhapsownerRobDougan

shouldhave copiedWill Berliner,

an Americanwho settledin

WesternAustralia’s Margaret River

regiononlyafewyearsago,started

to growandmakehis ownwine,

anddecidedtobeginat thetop.

QantasWineis currentlyoffering

his 2016 CloudburstCabernetat

A$350 (almost£200)abottle.

Hisneighboursmaybeenvious,

buttheyare alsodelightedbythe

permissionit givesthemto raise

theirprices. As virtuallyeveryone

elseseemsto be doing.

Morecolumnsatft.com/

jancis-robinson

Bristolcanfeel likeits ownnationstate,whereliberalismandciderare

thepillarsofsociety.Sincemovinghereaboutfiveyears ago,Ihavefallen

in lovewiththecity’s diverse cultural communityanditsuniqueidentity.

Findingsomewheretoeat is notdifficultbutchoosingcanbevery tricky.

Thefoodsceneis prettyamazing.

—AtWilks(aboveleft),JamesandChristineWilkscookinan

unapologeticallyclassicalFrenchway. In theageof Instagrammablefood,

goingsomewheresounbelievablynoton-trendis arelief.Perfect

ingredients,perfect cookingandperfect service–howwonderfullyuncool.

Thisis mineandmypartner’s favouriteplace.

—Dela,onMivartStreetin Easton,is anamazingspotforbrunchor lunch,

withfantasticallyfreshproduce.Theopenkitchenturnsoutdelicious

sharingboardsof foodin alargeconvertedfactory.

—Downsomevery seedy-lookingstepsnear thebusstationisMayflower,

anauthenticChineserestaurantfullof expats.Irecommendthedeep-

friedpig’sintestineswithpickledvegetablesandhoisin sauceandthe

saltfishwithauberginehotpot.

—MyfavouriteplacetogoshoppingisPopti &Beastbutchers and

bakeryinStWerburghs.It sellslocallysourcedmeat –thebeefandpork

aresomeof thebest I’vehad.It alsomakes amazingtoasties.

—Southof theriver,onNorth Street,OoweeDiner(above right) smashes

outsomeoutrageouslyfilthyburgers. Openuntillate.

WANTED

CLARET, TOPBURGUNDIES, VINTAGEPORTS ANDOTHERFINEWINES

WE WILLPAYAUCTION HAMMERPRICES

IMMEDIATE PAYMENT

PLEASE CONTACTPAULBOWKERor PATRICKWILKINSON

ESTABLISHED 1992

WILKINSONVINTNERSLIMITED

T: 020 7616 0404

38 Chagford St,LondonNW1 6EB

http://www.wilkinsonvintners.com E: [email protected]

Jan Ostleis head chefand co-ownerwithMaryWilsonof Wilsons,Bristol

MY ADDRESSES

—BRISTOL

JANOSTLE,CHEF/RESTAURATEUR