It’s probably not the best time of year to start a Wine & Spirit Blog… I’m guessing most of us have done too much merrymaking over the festive period, which now means we need to address the balance with much more of the difficult abstention & participation bits. I’ve always tried to approach this conundrum from a Renaissance point view:

• One large measure of Robert Browning: “Less is more.”
• Add a splash of Newton's 3^rd Law: “To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction.”
• Garnished with Ancient Greece: “Nothing in excess.”

THERFORE: I now exclusively drink the good stuff, only a little less and just a bit slower.

        There’s loads of science, history, sociological and interesting stuff about alcohol, which we’ll cover off over time, a good place to get us started is probably the healthy bits. Wine, beer and spirits have a long history of medicinal use – including treating injuries, as digestive aids, curing stomach upsets and (my favourite, what an excuse…) not so long ago; it was safer to drink wine and ale for refreshment, because the drinking water supply was so dirty.
        Moderate consumption of particularly red wine, as part of healthy diet, (please see drinkaware.co.uk for your recommended intake) has many benefits as documented by some rather clever scientists – helps to balance your cholesterol, lowers ‘free radicals’, helps your heart, blood pressure and arteries, it’s anti-carcinogenic and fat free.
        Now, I’m not a doctor or a scientist – that’s probably very obvious, so please take this or any part of my Blog as a bit of general information/fun/nonsense only! Do not substitute it for your doctor’s advice or that of any other health professional or scientist for that matter… But, each 175ml glass of wine contains approximately 180 grapes, which is more than a handful… therefore, should wine be counted as one of your five-a-day!?! …I’ll leave that there – food or drink for thought!

        Along with drinking slightly less of the good stuff, I apply the same to eating especially cheese! This Christmas I have been nibbling on Booths Special Reserve Tasty Lancashire (£9.00 per kg. available on the cheese counter) – a real mouthful from start to finish. Made by one of our best local suppliers and personally selected by Booths cheese buyer/legend Phil Godwin “…this six to eight month old Tasty Lancashire is the one to beat. Made with local pasteurised cows milk and suitable for vegetarians …Creamy, with a real depth of flavour that does not leave a nasty aftertaste or tingling in the mouth like some cheeses can, and above all really good value for money.”

        
        Now to the point, a partner for this wonderful cheese – we’ve got a real bargain on at the moment Berticot Cuvée Première Sauvignon Blanc (£6.49 half price from £12.99, until 08/02/12). A delicious white from the Côtes de Duras, a smallish but perfectly formed area east of Bordeaux in France. Berticot are quality minded co-op that began in 1937 and now involves120 winemakers who produce their wine from 1,000 hectares. For the “Cuvée Première” they only use the best Sauvignon Blanc grapes from the choicest vineyards, giving a nice crisp white very similar in style to Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé from up the coast in Loire. It’s a cracking drop and we’re lucky to have it, as it’s particularly popular on the French restaurant scene (ssshhh don’t tell them).
        Berticot produce the wine low temperatures and by soaking the grape skins for a short time with juice to impart elegant aromas, a good structure and zingy flavours – loads of lime zest, blossom and a lovely crunchy green apple edge. As well as tangy cheese and a bit of fresh bread – a triumvirate of flavours… yuummm… this wine will be great with seafood and lightly flavoured fish dishes. Don’t just take my word for it; the wine has won quite a few awards and admirers:
Concours Mondial Sauvignon – Gold Medal.
Decanter World Wine Awards – Bronze Medal.

         I hope you’ve enjoyed this jaunt, there are so many different topics to cover if there’s anything in particular please let me know and of course if you try the wine or cheese your feedback will be most welcome!

Cheers

Andy

A Lytham cemetery is set for a colourful spring after Booths donated more than 3,000 flower bulbs to be planted around the grounds.

Our Lytham store has donated the bulbs to Saltcoates Cemetery, on Saltcoates Road, and they are currently being planted by volunteer groundsman Paul Rhodes in readiness for spring.

Paul said: “It’s wonderful that Booths have donated the bulbs to the cemetery as at the moment there isn’t much in the way of plants and flowers around at all.

“We’re currently busy planting whenever weather permits and hope to have them all done by the end of January.”

Snowdrops, daffodils, crocus and tulips will soon line the pathways and around the chapel making for more colourful pleasant surroundings for visitors.

Karen Harrison, Customer Service Manager at Booths’ Haven Road said: “Mr Rhodes is one of our regular customers and approached us asking if he could purchase a quantity of bulbs for the cemetery.

”Booths prides itself on supporting local producers and being positive members of the communities in which we operate. We thought it was great that our customer was looking to improve the appearance of the cemetery and that this would be an ideal opportunity for us to help support the local community – so we decided to donate them instead.”

The Hairy Bikers, Si King and Dave Myers, paid a visit to our Penrith store to sign copies of their latest book, ‘Perfect Pies’, and to launch a fantastic new range of ready meals which are now available in all Booths stores.

They did a tour of our store, and after eventually prising them out of our burgeoning beer isle, they met and chatted to staff and customers before signing books for the hundreds who came to see them.

During their visit they took time out to talk to us about how they came up with their ready meals, they gave us their thoughts on Booths and talked about the regionality of food.

Booths: “How do you feel about launching a new range of ready meals in Booths?”

Si King: “It is a great triumph for us, and we do look on it like that. We hold Booths in great esteem because of the support they offer the local producers. It is about quality over quantity.”

Dave Myers: “We both like Booths. I live in Barrow so the Ulverston store is one of my local shops. When we first started out with our first book we could be seen trailing around Booths in Ulverston buying the ingredients for all our recipes. It was handy because I lived close by but we also knew that we would get the best quality products and ingredients from Booths.”

Si King: “I do have one complaint about Booths though, and that is why have you not opened one of your stores on the other side of the Pennines near me in Northumbria?”

Booths: “Maybe one day we will. What do you think of our new Penrith store?”

Dave Myers: “This one is spectacular. Kendal was always the one I liked because of the Artisan Café. It was great to go in there for breakfast or lunch but Penrith is one step beyond that. It is absolutely superb.”

Si King: “The thing that’s great about the store is the sense of space. Every product is allowed to breath, which is fantastic for us and we are pleased that Booths have taken our product.”

Booths: “How did you go about choosing the ready meals, was it hard to select the meals you went for?”

Si King: “We have been working on them for more than a year and a half. What we wanted to do were dinners that we absolutely love but take time to prepare, such as beef and Beaujolais. We also worked hard on things like getting the ratio right for our Cheddar Mash. We tried all different ratios until we finally decided that 18 per cent cheddar to potato gave the best taste.”

Dave Myers: “We started from a point of what would we like to eat? One thing that we were keen to do was to make sure that we had a sense of generosity. We did that in two ways. Firstly, through the portion sizes. They really do feed two people, even people like us. Also the generosity in terms of flavour. They had to have that yum factor.”

Booths: “We pride ourselves on supporting regional growers, how important do you think regionality is with food?”

Dave Myers: “It is absolutely key, because the thing is, without a market place for these products, without that outlet, the producers will die. They do what they do to such a high standard that the revival, and revolution in British food would stall without them. Regionality is increasingly important for everything.

Si King: “Just look here, food tourism in Cumbria is enormous. It is remarkable, a pretty special place. Cumbria can do different types of lamb all year round, there are more than 300 microbreweries…”

Dave Myers: “The Staff of Life bread you do in Ulverston is some of the most imaginative bread I have seen. Booths are a wonderful exponent of local produce. They want to support quality and we agree that seasonality and locality is very important.”

Booths are stocking the following Hairy Bikers products in its stores:

Si's Mam's Cottage Pie:

British minced beef and vegetables in a rich and herby gravy topped with mashed potato and cheddar cheese.

The Ultimate Crunchy Parmesan Fish Pie:

King prawns, whiting, smoked haddock and salmon in a creamy sauce with a hint of vermouth finished with spinach and chopped hard-boiled egg. Topped with creamy mashed potato and a crunchy bread and parmesan crumbs.

Braised Beef and Beaujolais:

Tender, juicy chunks of British beef in a rich red wine gravy with a hint of orange and star anise, with roasted mushrooms and baby onions.

Chicken with Somerset cheese, cider and apples:

Succulent British chicken breasts in a rich and creamy Somerset cider and wholegrain mustard sauce with caramelised apples and West Country farmhouse cheddar cheese.

Macaroni Cheese Al Forno:

Macaroni pasta and mushrooms baked in a rich West Country farmhouse cheddar sauce, topped with sliced fresh tomatoes.

Cauliflower and Broccoli Cheese:

Cauliflower and broccoli florets baked in a rich West Country farmhouse cheddar cheese sauce with a crunchy crumb topping.

Super Crunchy Goose Fat Roast Potatoes:

Seasonal British potatoes with goose fat and semolina.

West Country farmhouse cheddar mash:

Rich and creamy great British potatoes loaded with cheddar cheese.