I’m quite partial to the odd bottle – er, glass – of red wine and have offended many with my predilection for mixing even the good stuff with Coke. (It’s called a Kalimocho and I nearly got chucked out of a tapas bar in Granada for having the audacity to drink it in front of the bartender). Not in a month of Sundays, however, would I contemplate making the stuff myself.
Fortunately, wine writer and now maker Monty Waldin had no such qualms. Last week saw the conclusion of his insane wine-making adventure in France (Chateau Monty, 8.30pm, C4, 9 October). I say insane, because who in their right mind with such limited prior experience and resources (a dog called Harry, Brummie assistant Linzie, and sometime visitor, Italian girlfriend Silvana) would attempt to produce a red wine and a biodynamic one at that... in France?
The locals clearly thought the cosmic energy-harnessing Englishman was mad. No wonder, when earlier in the series we saw him trying – and failing – to keep wild boars away from the vines by getting said locals to pee in bottles he and poor Linzie then doused rags in to hang on the perimeter fence.
So did he pull it off? Despite the good-humoured scepticism of the late, great Bill Baker, of course he did, though it wasn’t quite the triumph over adversity it was presented as. He’d rather talked up the financial risks he was taking when he’d actually rented rather than bought the vineyard in Rousillon and both the vineyard owner and neighbour were biodynamic gurus.
That said, he produced a wine that was not just biodynamic but tasted good – “young, fruity, juicy”, according to one expert. And Monty managed to find buyers for all 6,500-odd bottles (being filmed for C4 no doubt helped).
Though he didn’t risk it all, as suggested, he didn’t make much either – £18.30 profit by his reckoning. It hasn’t put him off. This year, he’s rented a further 20 acres to add to his existing five and is broadening his horizons to oak-aged reds and whites. That’s series two then.
Meanwhile, I’ll be looking out for his 2007 Carignan blend – I’m sure it’ll go nicely with Coke.
Fortunately, wine writer and now maker Monty Waldin had no such qualms. Last week saw the conclusion of his insane wine-making adventure in France (Chateau Monty, 8.30pm, C4, 9 October). I say insane, because who in their right mind with such limited prior experience and resources (a dog called Harry, Brummie assistant Linzie, and sometime visitor, Italian girlfriend Silvana) would attempt to produce a red wine and a biodynamic one at that... in France?
The locals clearly thought the cosmic energy-harnessing Englishman was mad. No wonder, when earlier in the series we saw him trying – and failing – to keep wild boars away from the vines by getting said locals to pee in bottles he and poor Linzie then doused rags in to hang on the perimeter fence.
So did he pull it off? Despite the good-humoured scepticism of the late, great Bill Baker, of course he did, though it wasn’t quite the triumph over adversity it was presented as. He’d rather talked up the financial risks he was taking when he’d actually rented rather than bought the vineyard in Rousillon and both the vineyard owner and neighbour were biodynamic gurus.
That said, he produced a wine that was not just biodynamic but tasted good – “young, fruity, juicy”, according to one expert. And Monty managed to find buyers for all 6,500-odd bottles (being filmed for C4 no doubt helped).
Though he didn’t risk it all, as suggested, he didn’t make much either – £18.30 profit by his reckoning. It hasn’t put him off. This year, he’s rented a further 20 acres to add to his existing five and is broadening his horizons to oak-aged reds and whites. That’s series two then.
Meanwhile, I’ll be looking out for his 2007 Carignan blend – I’m sure it’ll go nicely with Coke.
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