Spring Brochure 2015

Become a friend of Amps Fine Wines

Spring/Summer 2015

6 BOTTLE CASE FOR

£45

Spring in to

Summer

2 Order online www.ampsfinewines.co.uk or by phone 01832 273502

Spring Tasting

Date: Friday 8th MayVenue: Prince William School, Herne Road, Oundle, PE8 4BSTime: 5pm – 9pmCost: Free – but you must book in advance

An opportunity to taste around 70 wines from all over the world to suit every palate and pocket. It doesn’t matter if you’re a wine buff or a wine novice – the wines will be arranged on tables around the room will friendly help behind each one.

Simply come in, pick up a glass and choose the wines you wish to taste – try before you buy! In your tasting booklet you will find an order form so that you can order wine on the night, enabling you to take advantage of special one off discounts.

Want to plan what to taste in advance? Just provide us with an email address on booking and we’ll send you a preview copy of the tasting sheet a couple of days before the main event.

Booking is essential.

the annual

NEW VENUE

FREE ENTRY

3Order online www.ampsfinewines.co.uk or by phone 01832 273502

Shiraz/Cabernet Brookford 2014, Australia Juicy, dangerously drinkable and great value.

Merlot Emiliana 2013, Chile Super, classically rounded, deliciously plummy Merlot.

Tempranillo/Syrah Castillo del Moro 2014, Spain A soft and succulent red with ample ripe red fruits with a touch of spice.

2 for£12

Sauvignon Blanc Villarrica 2014, Chile Alive with zesty lemon and lime flavours.

Chardonnay Emiliana 2013, ChileUnoaked and bursting with ripe tropical fruitand juicy texture.

Chenin/Pinot Grigio Meerestein 2013, South Africa A mix of green apple fruit and creamy, honeyed flavours.

Choose any mix of wines!

Red

White


Basic Guide to Food & Wine Matching

Drink what you enjoy.A wine that you enjoying drinking is more important than any recommendation you might be given.

Start by thinking about the dish as a whole. What are its dominant characteristics?

With these in mind:

Keep flavours in balance.Match subtle foods with subtle wines.

Match citrus dishes with citrus wines.

Match big, flavourful foods with big, flavourful wines.

Match the richness of the food and the richness of the wine.

Alternatively challenge and contrast flavours.For example the higher acidity of Pinot Noir will challenge fatty lamb.

Wine and spice.Spice as found in Indian food, can clash and destroy the flavours in a wine. For white try a sweeter wine such as an off-dry Riesling to contrast. For red Carmenere pairs well.

If in doubt...Remember that foods generally go best with the wines from the same country.

For example, if you’re eating Italian food, then an Italian wine would be a good bet. It’s not a golden rule, but often helps!

What wine shall I drink with this dish?This is the question that we’re asked the most in the shop, so we have put together a few guidelines and classic combinations. Of course not all dishes are the same, as how foods are cooked and the sauces/spices they are cooked in will affect the wine. Please do ask us for advice, although trial and error with a few bottles open can be quite fun!


Classic CombinationsChardonnayChardonnay is really versatile – clean, crisp styles such as Chablis go well with simple seafood, grilled chicken and salads. Richer Chardonnay works better with cream based sauces as the oak mops up the richness of the dish.

RieslingRiesling is very versatile and isn’t afraid of sweetness – off dry styles are lovely with spicy food. Sweeter styles match fruit based desserts best.

Sauvignon BlancSauvignon Blanc’s fresh flavour lends itself to salads and seafood. It’s happy beside goat’s cheese and asparagus too.

ViognierViognier is a brash variety with intense flavours of apricot, peach and a natural low acidity. It easily stands up to gusty food like pork loin with apricot stuffing, chicken kiev or spice laden food.

RoseRose is simply a marriage made in heaven with salmon and cold cuts.

Cabernet SauvignonAt its best with beef or venison – the intense fruit matches full flavoured meat.

MalbecMalbec’s rustic flavours mean that sophisticated food is out and gutsy dishes in. Think sausages, steaks off the BBQ or a classic casserole.

MerlotMerlot and lamb are great friends – the sweetness of the meat picking up the sweet flavours of the wine. Also works well with a simple pizza or pasta.

Pinot NoirPinot Noir’s red fruit flavours, gentle nature and high acidity cuts through the fattiness of lamb. It’s also a great partner to all sorts of poultry, especially duck.

Shiraz/SyrahElegant Syrah with its peppery flavour is great with spicy dishes like Moroccan lamb. Bolder Shiraz is best with bold red meats, especially beef.

Tempranillo/RiojaTempranillio is a medium weight variety but its concentration of black fruit make it a really food friendly lamb match.


How do you feel about the Arinto being the Amps Fine Wines’ Wine of the Year?We are very proud of this because Amps is a family business just like us. Arinto is very popular in our house too!

Is it typical of Vinho Verde in style?We use native grape varieties from the region, but it isn’t typical in taste. Vinho Verde tends to be very light and quite green with lots of CO2. We make our Vinho Verde from mature grapes which makes it a rounded, very fruity and fresh style, with a persistent taste.

Tell us about the other wines that you produce.Our vineyards are located quite close to the famous Douro region, where we concentrate on the native white grape varieties of the Vinho Verde region - Arinto and Alvarinho. We also grow Vinhao, which is a very typical red grape variety.

An interview with Quinta da RazaWhen we chose the Arinto Quinta da Raza as our Wine of the Year last year, we never expected it to take off in the way that it has. It was the top selling wine at both of our Annual Tastings and has been flying off the shelves since, so we thought that it was about time that we introduced you to the winemaker. We sent Alan to London to meet Mafalda Teixeira, part of the husband and wife team at this long established family vineyard (17th Century), in Vinho Verde. You can watch the recorded interview on our website.


Alvarinho Quinta da Raza 2013, Portugal£13.50Smells just like fresh pear with lots of bright citrus fruit on the palate. Mix that with delicate flower blossom, long tropical length and a clean finish and you’ve got an irresistibly drinkable white! Food match: Seafood or fish & chips!

Vinhao Quinta da Raza 2013, Portugal£11.85Made traditionally – harvested by hand and trodden by foot in the ancient lagares (granite treading troughs) which results in a bright, fruity and lively red with lots of fresh fruit flavours.Food match: Excellent with a spicy pork casserole

What do you think is special about Portuguese wines?Portuguese wines are very diverse because we have lots of native grape varieties (grapes exclusive to Portugal) and the soil is completely different from one region to another. For example, talking about the Vinho Verde region, our soil is mainly granite and clay with layers of schist. In comparison to other areas of the Vinho Verde region, the soils are more salt, more granite and they have influence from Atlantic winds.

Overall, the techniques are different, the soils are different and although we are such a small country, we have great wine diversity.

Arinto Quinta da Raza 2014, Portugal£11.75A dry and elegant white made from the Arinto grape which gives lots of ripe pear fruit with a crisp, zingy streak of lime. Absolutely delicious!Food match: Delicious with chicken or salads


If you were asked to name a wine growing region in New Zealand, you would probably say ‘Marlborough’ - which wouldn’t be surprising given that 75% of all New Zealand wine is made there due to its wonderful climate.

Wairarapa shares a very similar climate as it is very close to Marlborough, yet only accounts for 1% of New Zealand’s production. Most of the wine producing estates in the region are family owned, including Gladstone Vineyards.

Laying on an old river bed, Gladstone are crafting wines in an environmentally responsible manner. Following organic methods helps them to produce wines that express the exceptional characteristics of the soil, the climate and the region.

Christine and David Kernohan, a married couple from Scotland, chose to make Gladstone Vineyard their home over 35 years ago. Christine runs the show, as she is chief winemaker (one of only three Scottish women winemakers in the world!) whilst David is an architect, although he’s very keen on wine quality control!

Wines to make you jealous!

Sauvignon Blanc Jealous Sisters 2013Introductory Offer: £9.99Lime and lemon zest aromas with oodles of pure citrus fruit flavours and a tangy grapefruit twist.

Pinot Gris Jealous Sisters 2014Introductory Offer: £9.99

Textured and rounded with rich yet fresh nectarine, peach and ginger flavours. Great with Asian cuisine.

Pinot Noir Jealous Sisters 2013Introductory Offer: £12.99

A masculine wine showing its feminine side! Good weight, pretty cherry stone fruit flavours and a savoury finish.

Pinot Noir Gladstone Vineyard 2010£21.50

A truly fabulous Pinot full of pretty berry fruit and spice, that is worth every penny!

What is Carignan?Carignan is a red grape variety often found growing on the hillside in the sunny South of France. It is a deliciously spicy and juicy, deep flavoured red variety that goes wonderfully with a range of dishes.

Carignan ‘Vieilles Vignes’ Mont Rocher 2013, France

£6.75 | Buy 6 pay £5.99 per bottleA charming mix of moreish sweet

fruit and spice.


CLASH of the

You can’t get enough of the Carignan Mont Rocher - in fact it’s our bestselling wine. So we’ve introduced a second Southern French Carignan onto our shelves and we might even dare say that we think this one might just have the edge...!

Carignans!

Carignan ‘Old Vines’ Pietas 2013, France

Now £6.99 | Save £2A stunningly good value bottle

of red that’s packed with powerful fruit flavour.


Morgon is one of the famous 10 Beaujolais Crus situated just

south of Burgundy. Just ahead of the 2008 vintage, James and Sarah Wilding, an English couple from St Albans, purchased the beautiful Chateau Grange Cochard, situated in the centre of the vineyards of Morgon.The Chateau has its own winery and 6 hectares of vines producing three different Cuvees, Morgon Vieilles Vignes, Les Charmes and Cote du Py, all made from the Gamay grape. The world renowned Cote du Py vineyard, is on a steep slope of blue granite pushed up from an ancient volcano. The vines are between 40 - 100 years old, resulting in low yields and wines with fabulous structure and concentration.2013 was a very difficult vintage in Burgundy and Beaujolais, the weather being difficult throughout the flowering, fruit set and ripening period. As a result,

harvest was 3 weeks later than normal, producing a smaller but better vintage than expected.Quality wine comes from the producer’s attention to detail in both the vineyard and the winery. Unlike most Beaujolais producers, at Chateau Grange Cochard they Triage the grapes. This means, as soon as the grapes are picked, they are taken to the winery and put onto a vibrating table for sorting, ensuring that only the very best fruit goes into the tank. It is hours of painstaking work and reduces yields, but is essential to produce the very best wines.As do the very best winemakers in the world, each vintage James and Sarah look for ways to improve their wines. Small experiments are tried each year, some are discarded straight away, and others will be developed and used in following vintages.In 2013 they decided to ferment a small batch of grapes in wooden barrels for the fermentation process, instead of

A story about a wine called Tom, Dick & Harry


their usual open top concrete tanks. James cut the top out of three French barrels, each a year old and holding 225 litres. Each barrel is filled after Triage, with whole bunches of grapes from their best vineyard Cotes du Py. The barrels were called Tom, Dick and Harry, hence the wine is now called TDH! Fermentation took place and after 3 months they pressed the grapes and the resulting wine was enough for just one barrel, only around 300 bottles!The experiment was a huge success and in March 2014, Philip Amps and Lesley Hole visited Chateau Grange Cochard and tasted the TDH from the barrel. It was fabulous, succulent, velvety and really quite seductive! Much more expressive and appealing than the Cote du Py produced in the concrete tanks. It was bottled in November 2014. Such is the success of the experiment; James and Sarah have purchased a huge wooden vat to ferment all of the 2014 Cotes du Py in!

So how does it taste? The nose is full of ripe red cherry, sweet blackberries and blackcurrants, spice and vanilla. Really approachable. It is rich with concentration, depth and structure for such a young wine. We think it is looking very good indeed! Drink now or cellar for more complexity over the next 10 years.Amps Fine Wines have exclusively purchased the 248 bottles that were put on sale of Tom, Dick and Harry. With only 248 bottles, it is a very limited release so an early response is advisable.

Morgon Cote du Py ‘Cuvee 1759’ Chateau Grange Cochard 2013 £20

James and Sarah with the TDH barrels

Fermenting grapes in an open top fermenter

Lesley Hole helping to sort the grapes

An exciting food & wine event centred on California that aims to bring a bunch of Oundle food & drink businesses together for a day of enjoyment and indulgence! The Amps Fine Wines courtyard and car park will be alive with noise, smell and colour as it plays host to an array of food and drink stalls, cookery demonstrations, wine tastings, activities for children and much more!

We’ll be encouraging you to try lots of culinary delights before you buy, and taste lots of Californian wines. Even if you don’t want to get involved in the numerous activities, you can just relax and enjoy a good glass of Californian wine.

We hope that the weather will be kind, but the event will still go ahead under cover.

Featuring:

Date: Sunday 28th JuneVenue: Amps Fine Wines, OundleTime: 12pm – 4pmCost: Free!

California Food & Drink Festival

EVENTS


Super Italian TastingDate: Monday 8th JuneVenue: Amps Fine Wines, OundleTime: 7pm promptCost: £5

If you’re a fan of big Italian reds like Barolo and Barbaresco, then this tasting will be right up your street! Poderi Colla is an extraordinary family owned estate in Piemonte, making truly great wines that are an expression of the vintage and region. We are very fortunate to have Pietro, part of the Colla family, descending on Oundle to host this special range tasting.

Hungary EveningDate: Friday 12th JuneVenue: Amps Fine Wines, OundleTime: 7pm promptCost: £5An interactive and fun evening! We’ve invited Gergely Szabo, a Hungarian wine expert, to host a masterclass about the upcoming wines of Hungary, which you can enjoy whilst making and cooking a Hungarian vegetable goulash. Please advise us of any dietary requirements at time of booking.

Tickets limited

EVENTS

WHERE TO FIND USAddress: Amps Fine Wines, 6 Market Place, Oundle, PE8 4BQTelephone: 01832 273502Website: www.ampsfinewines.co.uk @ampsfinewines /ampsfinewines

OPENING HOURSMonday – Friday: 9am - 6pmSaturday: 9am - 5:30pmSunday: Closed

Michael Amps, retired chairman of Amps Fine Wines, sadly passed away on Monday 16th February at the age of 82.

As Michael lived and worked in Oundle for all of his life, we know that he will be greatly missed.

Offers valid while stocks last until 31st July 2015.

Spring Brochure 2015

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