St Pauls Summer Sunset

Some semblance of organisation threatens to overthrow the haphazard world of Wine on Wednesday post pesto. For the remainder of 2010 WoW will be on the last Wednesday of the month. I will throw in a few in between (with venues a little bit out of the way or lacking the universal appeal) and let you know as these come up. The purpose remains threefold; a regular catch up, an exploration of London’s best bars and a chance to learn more about wine. I will keep you in the loop with these emails and this blog.

Our next adventure falls on the 25th of August at Dion St Pauls, a place renowned for its Krug room. Be not afraid, one will not be expected to max the credit card on a Nebuchadnezzar of vintage bubbles but do join us for one glass or many of whichever wine you desire. Will kick off about 7pm to catch the last of the summer sunshine in the surrounds of London’s famous dome (Dion St Pauls, Paternoster House, 65 St Pauls Churchyard, London EC4M 8AB).

Wine from the Middle East . . . seriously?

I was lucky enough to try some Lebanese wine recently (even luckier that I was doing so in Lebanon). The results were not of note with one exception, the Ksara Reserve du Covent. A deep red blend of Cabernet-Sauvignon, Syrah and Carignan that was reminiscent of a warming Cotes du Rhone. Not really suited for drinking in the steamy Mediterranean sun but nonetheless a wine I will keep my eye out for. To qualify this I should say that I did not manage to sample any Chateau Musar wines. Musar is the flagship of the Lebanese wine industry (outside of Lebanon at least) and another to put on the list.