All posts by Ben Jackson

Comms & PR Manager. Food and wine enthusiast

Wine

The people of Hallgarten: Tim Gray

23rd April 2020 Ben Jackson Leave a comment

The people of Hallgarten! Whilst everybody is currently working from home, we took this as an opportunity to help you get to know the team better. Today we have spoken to Tim Gray, Account Manager in the Hallgarten London team.

How long have you worked for Hallgarten and what do you do at the company?

Three years in April. I handle new business in East and North London across the on-trade, indie off-trade and crossover sectors, whilst managing a handful of central London on-trade accounts.

What first got you into wine?

A few things… my grandad used to send my Dad Laithwaites mixed cases which my Dad used to pack me off to Uni with; so a classic evening meal would be a tin of cold baked beans washed down by a nice Cru Bourgeois. Secondly, I did my dissertation on the French wine industry, for a Business & Finance degree, somehow managing to shoehorn in some relevance to my actual degree. And lastly I worked for a brewery during my placement year from Uni and fell in love with the booze industry and the people within it!

Tell us about your hobbies…

I played a lot of rugby as a kid and young adult, so still try to play touch rugby weekly; I spent a few years heading out to Dubai each December to play for an invitational team in the Dubai 7s. I love going skiing, though I’m currently rehabbing a ruptured ACL. Otherwise I like reading pretty bad fiction novels and spending time outdoors.

An interesting fact about yourself?

I spent a year in the Philippines working for a Marine Salvage Operator and Ship Agency.

Wine

The People of Hallgarten: Christo Eliott Lockhart

8th April 2020 Ben Jackson Leave a comment

The people of Hallgarten! Whilst everybody is currently working from home, we took this as an opportunity to help you get to know the team better. Today we have spoken to Christo Eliott Lockhart, Sales Manager in the Hallgarten London team.

How long have you worked for Hallgarten and what do you do there?

I have just completed 2 enjoyable years at Hallgarten. I am a Sales Manager in the London sales team. I have a very varied role looking after four account managers, also selling to the London restaurants and Independent Wine Merchants. I also look after the Fine Wine Merchants and Brokers in and around London.

What first got you into wine?

I was introduced to wine at the age of 14 as my French Exchange’s family (we are still good friend – He is my youngest daughter’s Godfather) are Billecart-Salmon Champagne. I went to visit and was initially fascinated by the size of a champagne cork before going into the bottle. Much later, during university I needed a holiday job and spent a summer working in wine and then on graduating I went back to the same job and within 2 weeks they had offered me a full time role. That was 20yrs ago…It’s all I know now!

Tell us about your hobbies or a random fact about yourself.

I am a mad keen sportsman (both as a fan and player). When not quarantined due to Coronavirus will play pretty much anything particularly golf, cricket, tennis, squash, skiing, hockey, football (not allowed to play rugby anymore!). I am lucky that my wife lets me and my young daughters also have the sports bug. I am also a trustee of the Wine Trade Sports Club Foundation supporting people in our industry who have fallen on hard times.

A random fact about myself?

Random fact is that I am a qualified Game Ranger (in South Africa)…Oh and I play the bagpipes.

Wine

The People of Hallgarten: Enid Jacobs

2nd April 2020 Ben Jackson Leave a comment

Whilst everybody is currently working from home, we took this as an opportunity to get to know the team better. Today we have spoken to Enid Jacobs, Customer Delivery Advisor with 17 years of experience at Hallgarten.

How long have I worked for Hallgarten and what do you do there?

It will be my 17^th Anniversary this July, but it seems like only yesterday that I joined the delivery team. In the team, it is my responsibility to ensure that orders are delivered on time and in full! We work very closely together and the left hand always know what the right hand is doing which we like to think results in our excellent delivery service.

What first got you into wine?

Funnily enough it was when I worked for Dunlop Tyres – also on Dallow Road – back in the 80’s. It was Friday tradition to share a large bottle of Liebfraumilch. That was my first experience of wine, however since then, I think hopefully I have evolved. The standing joke with all of the girls in the office was to work for the wine company up the road and 17 years later here I am.

Tell us about your hobbies or a random fact about yourself.

As my colleagues in Hallgarten know I love to cook – I think I’m a bit of a dab hand at it and often get requests for my cakes in the office. In previous years our warehouse operatives and my boss Phil would request a recipe my mother used to make – Chinese Pork.

A random fact about myself?

I appeared on ITV’s ‘Airline’ tv programme with some friends 15 years ago after EasyJet unfortunately changed our flights. Fortunately the camera crew took us to the bar, wine was involved and it turned out to be very entertaining!

Tasting, Turkey, Wine

The oldest, new wine producing country

20th March 2019 Ben Jackson Leave a comment

Following a vertical tasting of the indigenous and international varieties of Turkey’s Kayra Wines, which specialises in the production of premium wines from the country’s Anatolia region, it was one statement that stood out more than the rest; “tasting old versus new vintages, it is not the wines that have evolved, but the winemaking and viniculture.”

Daniel O’Donnell, consult winemaker at Kayra, is one of the characters of the winemaking world that make you stand up and listen. Napa Valley trained, he apologizes profusely for the styles of Chardonnay coming out of the region in the 1990s before presenting the first bottle for tasting – an oaked Chardonnay. Not quite as oaked as its California counterparts a few decades earlier, the Vintage Chardonnay shows far more elegance, tropical fruits and a vibrant finish.

Next up – Narince. Going off-piste, this wine did not have a vertical counterpart because, as Daniel puts it; “they are yet to find an example that ages well”. Fresh, lively acidity, subtle orange blossom and a smattering of tropical fruit. In some regions of the country the leaves of the Narince vine are worth as much as the grapes, so it is not uncommon to pitch-up at the vineyard in the morning to be greeted by bald vines.

Turkey is the fifth largest grape growing country in the world and of that, 95 percent of wine sales are domestic. That’s a lot of wine being sold in Turkey! And out of the thousands of indigenous grapes grown in Turkey, it is Öküzgözü that is the most popular. Even with current economic conditions in the country, of which the winery has had to overcome many, the wine industry is still strong.

Then into the reds – Buzbağ. Buzbağ is the name in for a blend of two Turkish indigenous varietals – Öküzgözü and Boğazkere – grown in Eastern Anatolia and dates back to 1944 when two French oenologists looked at ways to revive the winemaking history.

The 2006 Buzbağ Reserv, which was the first vintage Daniel was involved with, is still showing very well. Nebbiolo in style, rustic, refined tannins and a touch of creamy vanilla from the oak. In comparison to the current vintage, 2016, which is showing fresh, plump fruit. The oak influence gives it a nose comparable to blackcurrant ice cream (if that exists). Hallgarten is currently selling the 2015 vintage, which is fortunate as the wine is still slightly young.

Öküzgözü (which translates to ‘bulls-eye’) was the focus of the next set of wines – a nightmare to grow, but when tamed, an exceedingly good pairing with rich stews and grilled red meat. The 100% Öküzgözü ‘Imperial’ and ‘Vintage’ range of wines from Kayra are made from a combination of owned and managed, whereas the premium ‘Versus’ is made solely from Kayra–owned vineyards – all under the watchful eye of Daniel and Turkish winemaker Ozge Karmein.

‘Versus’ 2014 is a fruit bomb of wine, combining rich cassis, with baked black fruits and a touch of vanilla and hazelnut.

What did we learn from this vertical tasting? Kayra’s wines do age very well, but not as well as the winemaking team is, and the wines are heading in the direction of interest and refinement. The next vertical tasting in 10 years will be very interesting indeed.

Campaigns, Italy, View From The Vineyard, Wine

Volcanic Campania

18th February 2019 Ben Jackson Leave a comment

The Campanian Volcanic Arc has at its centre the mighty Mount Vesuvius. This is dangerous territory. A devastating earthquake rocked Avellino in 1980; it was from these ruins that Antonio Capaldi built Feudi di San Gregorio. The winery champions Avellino’s native grapes – Greco di Tufo, Fiano and Aglianico, as well as the Falanghina from nearby Benevento.

In less than 30 years it has become a benchmark for the region.

The flagship Serpico Irpinia is produced from centuries-old Aglianico wines and is an unforgettable mouthful of dried cherry, liquorice and leather.

The Aglianico grapes used for producing Serpico are produced in a historic vineyard named “Dal Re”. This historic region of the Apennine countryside is known as Irpinia and it has a unique terroir and climate in which vineyards coexist with fruit trees, olives and aromatic herbs. The winds here divert a beneficial rainfall which creates a microclimate in Irpinia that differs from Campania, the winters though brief are snowy and cold and the summers can be wet and prolonged.

Recently the winery has begun producing a stunning array of traditional-method sparkling wines under the Dubl label – these are not to be missed! Produced using the traditional method sparkling wine, the end product has a fine and persistent mousse. A fresh and aromatic wine with notes of crisp golden delicious apple, peach and floral hints of camomile, complemented by rounder notes of apricot.

For more information on the wines of Feudi di San Gregorio, please get in touch with your account manager.

Campaigns, Italy, View From The Vineyard, Wine

Volcanic Soave

11th February 2019 Ben Jackson Leave a comment

The Tessari family began farming on the dark and volcanic land of the Rugate hill, near the centre of Brognoligo, over 100 years ago. The volcanic origin of the land and its limestone and basalt characteristics make the soil generous, capable of giving life and taste to the typical grapes of this region, Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave.

The estate was renamed Ca’Rugate in 1986, taking its name from the volcanic hills where the vineyards are located. Now run by the fourth generation, Michele has brought with him a lively, passionate and entrepreneurial spirit. Considerable expansion has taken place in recent years with investment in a new technologically advanced cellar and expansion into the Valpolicella area with the purchase of vineyards in the hilly zone of Montecchia di Crosara.

Monte Fiorentine – which lends its name to the Tessari family’s highest cru – is a territory in the Rugate district, in the heart of the Soave Classico, characterised by hills with an average altitude between 120m and 350m. It is a historic vineyard par excellence, evocative, homogeneous and entirely planted with Garganega grapes.

Ca’Rugate has been awarded the prestigious ‘Tre Bicchieri’ award rating from Gambero Rosso multiple times, making it one of the most awarded producers in the competition and has been hailed by the New York Times as one of the ‘Top Five producers of high end Soave’.

For more information on the wines of Ca’Rugate, please get in touch with your account manager.

Campaigns, Greece, View From The Vineyard, Wine

Volcanic Santorini

4th February 2019 Ben Jackson Leave a comment

At the centre of the most seismically active area in the eastern Mediterranean, Santorini is a unique region for the cultivation of vines. The volcanic, porous soil, the long hours of sunshine, the lack of rainfall throughout the year, the sea mist and the strong winds during summer, the traditional ‘kouloura’ (basket shape) training system, and some of the vineyards dating back almost 3,000 years create rare, precious wines.

This unique combination is most evident in two of Gaia’s wines. The Wild Ferment Assyrtiko is made from grapes from upland vineyards in Pyrgos. The bigger day/night temperature range up here means longer ripening periods which, combined with some skin contact at cool temperature, helps to extract phenolics, giving you a peachy, minerally, umami-rich and powerful wine.

Meanwhile, Gaia’s Thalassitis benefits from sea spray which hits the low-lying vines and confers a stunning, almost indefinable salty character which adds complexity to this steely grape.

One of the pioneers of the modern Greek wine revolution Gaia Wines was established in 1994 by Greek winemakers Leon Karatsalos and Yiannis Paraskevopoulos. Operating two different wineries they make cutting edge wines in both Nemea and Santorini. Gaia’s main aim is to present the potential of the indigenous Greek grape varieties to wine enthusiasts worldwide.

For more information on the wines of Gaia Wines please get in touch with your account manager.

France, Wine, Wine of the Month

WOTM: Gérard Bertrand ‘Code Rouge’, Crémant de Limoux NV

1st February 2019 Ben Jackson Leave a comment

We have chosen Gérard Bertrand’s Code Rouge as our February Wine of the Month, from the oldest sparkling producing region in the world, Limoux. A glass of Code Rouge is the perfect sparkling wine to help celebrate Valentine’s Day, which originates from the Western Christian feast day honouring an early saint named Valentinus, often associated with the colour rouge.

In a nutshell:

An enticing floral aroma with notes of pear and citrus, refreshing and vibrant on the palate.

The producer:

Gérard Bertrand is one of the most outstanding winemakers in the South of France, where he owns numerous estates among the most prestigious crus of Languedoc- Roussillon. Named in 2012 as the IWC Red Winemaker of the Year and Wine Enthusiast’s European Winery of the Year, he is known locally as the “King” of the Languedoc.

Brought up in the Languedoc vineyards, Gérard Bertrand is committed to sharing the characteristics and exceptional diversity of each of the terroirs. Twenty years of know-how ensures that wines bearing Gérard Bertrand’s signature have a unique style driven each day by four fundamental values: excellence, authenticity, conviviality and innovation. We are proud to represent this leading French name in the UK

The wine:

A Crémant, made using the traditional Champagne method. The grapes were

manually harvested and carefully transported in harvesting bins. The juice was very gently extracted using a pneumatic press, which allowed 30 to 40% of the press juice to be extracted without having to re-press.

The juice was then allowed to settle prior to the alcoholic fermentation, which took place at a controlled temperature of 18°C. Meticulous blending of the various terroirs and grape varieties was then carried out, with bottling throughout January to encourage the secondary bottle fermentation. Aged on its fine lees for a minimum of three years, the Code Rouge was riddled and disgorged according to the Champagne method.

This cuvée has all the traditional features of Gérard Bertrand’s wines: the emblematic red colour of the bottle and the Alpha and Omega symbols, symbolising the endless cycle of nature which inspired its name ‘Brut Eternel

Awards: Silver – IWSC

For further information on the Gérard Bertrand ‘Code Rouge’, Crémant de Limoux NV or any other Gérard Bertrand wines, please contact your account manager.

Argentina, Campaigns, Food, France, Italy, Wine

Veganuary

2nd January 2019 Ben Jackson Leave a comment

If there has been one buzzword in the food and drink world recently, ‘vegan’ is surely it. Veganism has skyrocketed in recent years and with it the demand for vegan wines.

Although wine is made solely from grapes, it would be wrong to assume that all wines are suitable for vegans. To celebrate Veganuary, the go-vegan month, we have hand-picked a selection of vegan wines from our portfolio that your customers are sure to love throughout Veganuary and beyond.

2015 Sauvignon Blanc ‘Eggo Blanc de Cal’, Zorzal
Mendoza, Argentina

Made by Juan Pablo Michelini, the man with the best beard in Mendoza! Cool climate new world Sauvignon Blanc made in the style of a flinty Pouilly-Fumé with minimal intervention.

Awards: 16.5 Points; Jancis Robinson // 94 Points; Decanter Magazine

2017 Smederevka, Tikveš
Tikveš, Macedonia

Smederevka (Smed-er-EV-car) is the most popular white varietal of the Republic of Macedonia. You must try this: while relatively low in alcohol, it is full of flavour with stone fruits, tropical fruits and zest.

2017 ‘Sophia’, Basilisco
Basilicata, Italy

A peachy little number! Luscious organic Fiano from historic Basilicata in Southern Italy, made from vines from a single hectare vineyard on ancient volcanic soils. Wonderful freshness and minerality.

2017 Zibibbo ‘Vitese’, Colomba Bianca
Sicily, Italy

This crisp, fruity Zibibbo shows lifted notes of succulent white peach combined with soft floral aromatics of orange blossom and jasmine. Bright and perfumed with a zesty citrus finish.

Although winemakers may let a wine settle, waiting for the proteins capable of haze formation to clear naturally and leaving it unfiltered, most producers will filter out these impurities through the fining process.

To do this, traditionally, a number of animal products have been used in fining through adding substances like casein (milk), albumin (egg whites), gelatin (meat) and isinglass (fish), which act a bit like a magnet drawing all the smaller particles together so that they can be filtered out. These substances aren’t left in the wine so most
winemakers manage to avoid disclosing this on allergen labelling.

However, for ethical reasons you can understand why vegetarians, and in some cases vegans, might want to steer clear.

2017 Kratoshija, Tikveš
Tikveš, Macedonia

Kratoshija (Krat-oss-SHEE-yah) is a native grape of the Republic of Macedonia and a relative of Primitivo. Sustainably farmed, this is a vibrant red fruit bomb, offering excellent value.

Awards: Top 100; Wine Merchant

2014 ‘Silhouette’, Olifantsberg
Western Cape , South Africa

Naturally fermented in open-top fermenters to encourage a lower alcohol and sulphur content. This handcrafted wine is based on Syrah, with small additions of bush vine Grenache, Carignan and Mourvèdre.

2017 Nero d’Avola ‘Vitese’, Colomba Bianca
Sicily, Italy

A brilliant, deep red organic Nero d’Avola from Sicily with rich, juicy flavours of ripe plum and black cherries interlaced with subtle violet notes.

2016 ‘Le Prieuré’, Château Ksara
Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

A rich and spicy unoaked red made from organically grown grapes at Lebanon’s oldest winery. A blend of Carignan, Cinsault, Syrah and Cab Sauv with supple fruit made for a hearty vegetable stew.

Awards: Silver; IWSC

For more information on any of the wines above or for our full vegan portfolio, please get in touch with your account manager.

Italy, Wine, Wine of the Month