Wine to take away

I went to a wine bar this evening, a charming little place called "Grapeshots" that I've been walking past on my way to work every day. The place has the type of rustic feel to it that you expect from a traditional wine bar, cosy, with wooden chairs scattered loosely around small intimate tables and a vast range empty wine bottles stacked on shelves around the room, nice.

You can therefore imagine my disappointment when after buying a cheeky bottle of 2006 Californian Wattle Creek "The Triple Play" (£32 bar price not retail) I realised that the only available table was the one right next to a group of ANNOYINGLY loud, pissed up, latecomers to the concept of the work Xmas party. FFS....

I tried to ignore the noise but couldn't, after all all I wanted was a quiet civil drink and a chat, so after a glass and half I decided to leave and go home, bottle in hand of course.

Anyway, I really like Californian wines, a lot of people say that they lack elegance and finesse which in some cases is true but this is a nice example of something above average. The wine gets the name "Triple Play" from the three grapes that make the wine: Syrah (95%), Viognier (3%) and Petit Syrah (2%).

This effectively makes it qualify as a Rhone style blend so if you like wines from that part of France you have a very rough idea of what to expect from this one.

Obviously the huge difference in climate (amongst other things) ensures that this wine is different from the same style blends that you'll find in France, this is particularly true of the fruit which is riper. The usual hints of spice, liquorice and black fruit (black cherry, blueberry and plum) are all there, perfect if you are after a bold wine to stand up to meaty, gamey dishes. All round it's fairly well balanced, definitely worth a try if you come across it but I wouldn't suggest going massively out of your way to get hold of a bottle.

Trivia: California accounts for nearly 90% of American wine production. The production of California alone is greater than that of Australia.

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