I have moved; finally. My little, rural idyll feels great and, despite the trauma of zero mobile phone signal (now dealt with) and an access road that is crying out for a four-by-four (despite my strong internal environmental protests), I feel as if I am finally home.
The neighbours all seem very friendly and I have been thrilled to find fresh eggs regularly delivered to my door. (Bribery, as it transpires, to reward patience when the chickens run free on the aforementioned access track.) Eggs are great but many wine lovers consider them unhelpful core ingredients when you are looking for a wine partner. I think it is because texturally they create a thick coating in the mouth which can be difficult for a wine to contend with.
Still, I am now a lady with a mortgage and I have never been known to give up free food and so, with this in mind and Easter not too far in the distance, I have decided to compile a list of wines that will work well with some of my favourite egg-based suppers.
I am writing hot on the heels of a smoked trout and spinach omelette for dinner and I am happy to report that my palate did not have a temper tantrum when I served it with a glass of the ‘several-day-opened’ Brocard Premier Cru Chablis 2008 that was sat in the fridge. The crisp, steely Chardonnay worked a treat with the smoked trout.
I am a sucker for a good tortilla and when I meet a Spanish friend in London we invariably head for Soho’s Brindisa and order it with a crisp, salty Fino. It is an unbeatable match and, given that I am on an economy drive, I am happier still that Fino can be snapped up at such good prices. Virgin Wines (www.virginwines.com) sell the stylish, bone-dry Fernando de Castilla Classic Fino for £8.99.
Despite promising myself that I was going to drink my way through the majority of the wine collection before we moved to a place that has no space at all to store it, I still seem to have a fair few bottles around. Imagine then my joy at unearthing some truly delicious Côtes de Bourg from Château Falfas (prices start at £9.50, available at www.adnams.co.uk) that I have been sitting on for ages. The truth about the Falfas wines is that they are beautifully made and very much in the Claret style with lots of grainy tannins. They have never drunk that easily in their youth but with almost a decade of bottle age they have become majestic and are a treat with the Manchego Soufflé that has been another product of my freebies.
I read somewhere that quail eggs and Champagne is one of life’s great pleasures. Iwonder whether to suggest the neighbours consider keeping quails in addition to their brood of chickens. Perhaps I should not push my luck just yet.You can read more about Sarah and sign up for her wine postcards at www.wine-talk.co.uk
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