Part two of the BBC Oxford wine tasting challenge. Andrew is aiming to teach BBC Oxford mid-morning presenters Danny Cox and Louisa Hannan everything about wine in just three days - a lost cause some would say, especially as, until now, Danny doesn't drink!
The general idea, aprt form to have a bit of fun, is to see if some rapid fire wine tasting can teach Danny Lou the basics of wine, and then test which has become the better wine taster.
Today is red wines, and like yesterday, it is set-up in two parts.
This is the first part of our wine tasting challenge for BBC Oxford mid-morning presenters Danny Cox and Louisa Hannan. Today we are focusing on how to taste wine , and putting that into practice with white wines.
BBC Oxford wine challenge, white wines. Part 1
Each of segments is split into two pieces of audio (yes, Andrew just can't stop talking about wine!) The audio here went live straight after broadcast - thanks Danny for a very easy way to grab the audio. It then got uploaded straight away to our new podcast system here on surf4wine, where it will have a permanent home!
BBC Oxford wine challenge, white wines. Part 2
If you would like to see a list of the wines tasted in today's session, please go here.
We will blog/podacst each of the three days wine tasting training here, and then the taste off on Friday 30th May to see who is the best wine taster - good luck Danny and Lou!
Who was it who said there's no rest for the wicked?! Andrew didn't get a bank holiday lie-in today - he was up getting ready for an appearance on Louisa Hannan's Sunday radio show on BBC Radio Oxford.
Lou invited a local chef Graham Ameson of Hackett's in Witney to come up with a summer dish. (Although in typical bank holiday fashion, summer had gone for a lie-down and thunder storms were the order of the day.) Which meant Andrew spent some time wracking his brains trying to figure out which wine to match with "sweet pea risotto". Is that a risotto made with sweet peas? Or a sweetened risotto with peas?? Whatever the answer, the dish called for something subtle. (Don't know why they asked Andrew then - hah.) Andrew finally plumped for Paul Cluver Sauvignon Blanc - a vibrant white wine that should enhance the taste of a creamy risotto. He also took in Berton Estate Reserve Botrytis Semillon.
Posted by Andrew Chapman on May 12th 2008 10:29am. 2 comments
OK, this isn't a wine or food story, but I think is still interesting none-the-less. So gets a mention anyway....
I come in for a fair bit of stick about my love of all things technical. I've been banging on to anyone who'll hear (well, mainly the family) that Web 2.0 is the way forward, as it's stuffed full of possibilities. And I think I've just been vindicated! (I just had to blog about it today, because as my wife kindly points out, it's not often I'm right.....!)
It seems Twitter (a micro-blogging service that I've belonged to for some time) is now making history. Members claim they were the first to break the news of the China earthquake - before any established news agency got hold of the story. Rory Cellan-Jones is the BBC's Technology Correspondent. Read his interesting article here.
Robert Scoble is mentioned in the BBC article, and is actually someone I have been following on Twitter for a while now. Mostly for his writing on web 2.0 and other techy stuff. I too woke up and saw his Twitterings, just like Rory Cellan-Jones at the BBC. In fact, I found the BBC story because Robert mentioned it on Twitter - nice to know I'm following the right people!
This may not seem a big deal, but it is. Several news providers like the BBC, ITV and Sky have flirted with "citizen journalism". (This means using first-hand reports from witnesses to crashes and crimes, using photos and videos of things like tornados in Birmingham and the aftermath of bombs on London Underground. Although as Private Eye magazine points out, they have to be careful of mischievous citizens using stills from films or photoshopping pictures of celebrities into crowd scenes!) Twitter's gone one step further, and reminded us how we're all interconnected these days. If you've ever wondered what other people's lives are really like; what they dream about, hope for and get down to doing then I can heartily recommend Twitter! (By the way, if you want to find out what I'm up to, you can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/surf4wine.
We're trying hard to make the most of new technology at Surf4Wine. I can't report any earthquakes in this part of the world, but it looks as though something seismic is happening in cyberspace. You heard it here first!
Feeling horrible today with a particularly nasty cold. But I'm told they are famous germs from one of Alison's radio friends, so that has got to make it OK then, right?!
Talking of radio, cold or not, I'm getting all excited as I'm back on Louisa Hannan's Sunday morning show on BBC Radio Oxford this week (30.03.08). We did a great show back in February (hoping to get a recording of that to go onto Surf4Wine when I go in on Sunday), so I've been itching to go back (it's usually bi-monthly)
Louisa used to work with Alison when Alison was a producer and presenter at BBC Oxford, so I know her and it's not too daunting, in fact it is pretty relaxed and we have a lot of fun. Oli Richings, from local country house hotel Fallowfields is joining us this week, so it will be very much wine AND food.
So, if you are near a radio on Sunday (it's on 95.2FM), or can get BBC Radio Oxford via the internet (it goes out live online, see link to BBC iPlayer on this this page), then tune in and give us a listen.
Now, thinking cap on Andrew... wines to go with Duck egg omelet (eggs, oh great, nice clash there. Red wine hates eggs usually. Anyone got any good ideas?)
Posted by Andrew Chapman on November 25th 2007 8:22am. Leave a comment
Check out
Radio Oxford (95.2FM) between 11am and 12 noon - I'll be popping into the
studios of BBC
Radio Oxford for another fun-filled hour of food and wine on
Louisa
Hannan's Sunday morning programme.
So, tune into see what works, and what doesn't, with
an array of local Oxfordshire Cheeses brought in by Juliet, and a bootful of
wine currently trying to stay warm in the back of my car!
Posted by Andrew Barrow on September 13th 2007 11:16am. Leave a comment The end of the month - the 30th to be precise - sees Mr C returning to the studios of BBC Radio Oxford.
From 11am for an hour Mr C will be waxing lyrically, as is his wont, on the subject of matching wine and beer with curry. A tricky match for the foodie/wine lover. Too hot and spicy and the drink is deadened, but a creamy dish with just a modicum of spice-heat is a different proposition altogether. I have my favourites but wonder what delights he will select?
Posted by Andrew Chapman on July 4th 2007 7:23am. Leave a comment
I think it's about time Mr Chapman had a go at this new blogging thing......
said a voice somewhere in Surf4Wine Blog-land. So, here he is.
Avid readers of our new blog will have spotted a new team member here at S4W - Andrew Barrow. That makes two Andrews around the new office and warehouse, just to complicate things! (And yes, we've heard the jokes about the Andes being good for a whine.....!) Andrew B is a really talented wine writer and techno wizard - look out for our new 'Meet the Team' feature coming soon. He joined the team 4 weeks ago to help me with all the things I've been wanting to bring you, but haven't had time to sort out, like this blog among other things.
You'll get a fresh posting every weekday, and on Friday watch out for our "Something For the Weekend" feature. It's a place to find the best offers and discounts to help celebrate the end of the working week. Just at the moment, you can't post a reply to a blog, but that should be changing soon. I want to turn S4W into a place that's not only a place to buy blooming good wines at fabulous prices, but a place to pass on tips and finds to other customers too. Keep checking back with S4W, by the way, because in just a few days' time something big is happening with the site. We think you'll like it! It's going to mean more interaction, and a way for everyone to personalise their S4W experience online. Right now we're trying to sort out the virtual "goody bag" for customers that will come with the changes.
And talking of goodies...
I was up late with Mrs Chapman last night, while we listened to the BBC Radio 2 documentary she helped put together with "Whispering" Bob Harris. It went out at 10.30 last night and can be heard again here. To help celebrate Mrs Chapman's first effort on Radio 2, I decided to open a few bottles of fizz to compare and contrast while we listened.
Really gorgeous nose of buttered toast, yeast and toasted hazelnuts - classic for quality fizz made from 100% Chardonnay. Toastiness came through on the palate too, along with lovely ripe fruit and enough acidity to make the whole thing really balanced. Yummy! Excellent value @ £12.99
This one is a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir - just like in many Champagne's. More 'New Worldy' than the Allan Scott, even though they both come from New Zealand. Hints of tropical fruit and a twist of citrus (lime). Nice toasty flavours, although no as much as the Allan Scott. Lovely crisp acidity offsets the ripe fruit on the finish. Never mind Champagne, drink 'Rory' Brut (named after Kim Crawford's son), especially when it's only £10.99!
All in all, two tasty wines to enjoy while listening to the radio - or anything else that fizz can be used for. I blame Bob's dulcet tones for soothing me to sleep and not the long hours spent in new office, or the effects of the fizz... Hope I didn't snore guys!
But of course Mrs Chapman is not only a great documentary maker (among other things)....her radio skills mean we can post interviews with winemakers on the site which you can listen to with one click of a mouse. Big things are afoot here at S4W!
They say behind every successful man is an exhausted woman, and in Mr Chapman's case, it's very true. Not because he mistreats Ali, the lovely Mrs Chapman, you understand; but because she's been working hard on a BBC Radio 2 documentary.
Keith Richards' country home, Redlands, had been raided by the Drug Squad, following a tip off from the News of the World, and Keith and Mick Jagger were later sentenced to jail. William Rees-Mogg was the editor of the Times in 1967, and wrote his most famous leading article likening Mick to a butterfly on a wheel.
Ali's done many of the interviews for the programme, and has written the script. It's voiced by "Whispering" Bob Harris. To persuade you to listen (BBC Radio 2, Tuesday 3 July from 10.30 - 11.30PM) Ali's willing to give S4W an exclusive hint about what might be in the programme. As well as new interviews with the Stones' manager at the time (Andrew Loog Oldham) and the Executive Editor of the News of the World (Robert Warren), the programme's unearthed a wonderful story from William Rees-Mogg.
He's told Ali that he once went to lunch with a Home Secretary, during the course of which they decided that in order to understand more about drugs, they really ought to take some. This Home Secretary asked his staff, who said 'fine, but you do realise they're illegal and we'd have to arrest both of you?'
*Stop press* The Radio Times at www.radiotimes.com has just posted this review of the programme: "an enthralling retelling of one of rock's most famous tales and a decent slice of social history" (Jane Anderson)
That's "Who Breaks a Butterfly on a Wheel" on BBC Radio 2. 10.30 - 11.30pm on Tuesday 3 July.
Posted by Andrew Barrow on June 20th 2007 3:35am. Leave a comment Lunchtime - and I notice Mr Chapman perusing the BBC website. A few minutes later and in the email inbox appears links to two 'very interesting' stories told via video-clip, on, of course, the BBC.
The first details the militant wine group in France who have informed the "to raise the price of wine or 'blood will flow'". Not the most friendly pressure group around I would say. [view video]
We are all aware of the threat generally of 'global warming' and the extreme changes to the weather globally (anyone in Henley-on-Thames last night knows exactly what I mean!). For a specific look at how rising temperatures could threaten grape harvests in Tuscany, forcing producers to move further north is the subject of the BBC's second clip. [view video].
The blogging world offers many unique and informed opinions on wine and the wine industry (in addition to there being plenty taking the totally opposite path!). WineCast.net, under the hand of American Tim Elliot, produces regular podcasts on a variety of wine related subjects; certainly falling into the first group. [download audiocast].
Generally, although entertaining, I find the chats rather America-centric and the wines impossible to find on these shores. A recently written post on his site is of interest though - how the 'über-hyped iPhone' will power, via various applications 'wine 2.0'. [view post].
Wine 2.0? Basically a way of harnessing the power of the internet by for example linking public opinion (ie wine reviews) with retailers, producer information, recipe sites etc etc. The potential is very exciting, but perhaps the vision and reality have some way to go to realise the 'potential'.
Posted by Andrew Barrow in Podcasts - June 15th 2007 5:03am. Leave a comment Andrew on BBC Radio Oxford 08/06/2007
It's cocktail hour as Andrew Chapman appears on Radio Oxford.
Andrew dropped by at BBC Radio Oxford on the 8th to talk with Louisa Hannan about the perfect cocktail, shaking up a mean Margarita on air! Click on the video above to watch, or subscribe to the Surf4Wine channel on YouTube.
Posted by Andrew Barrow on June 8th 2007 4:45am. Leave a comment Before I slip off for the weekend I should just mention that Mr Chapman, amiable chap that he is, will be featuring on BBC Radio Oxford this weekend.
What I gather is that he will be chatting with Louisa Hannan about summer BBQ wines. Should be a highly entertaining hour (11-12) but it does mean missing the end of the Archers omnibus.
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Feeling horrible today with a particularly nasty cold. But I'm told they are famous germs from one of Alison's radio friends, so that has got to make it OK then, right?!
Check out
Radio Oxford (95.2FM) between 11am and 12 noon - I'll be popping into the
studios of 
Lunchtime - and I notice Mr Chapman perusing the BBC website. A few minutes later and in the email inbox appears links to two 'very interesting' stories told via video-clip, on, of course, the BBC. 
Before I slip off for the weekend I should just mention that Mr Chapman, amiable chap that he is, will be featuring on 
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