I Drink, therefore I Run

Back at work on Monday, from the two superlative weeks in Le Marche, and I remembered that I had agreed to run a tasting for 12 of the team at work. One of the guys had managed to organise a room in a local hotel, so we had a suitable venue for a bit of 'oenophilic activity'. I had billed the tasting as 'the best from John's cellar', and so I picked a representative selection of the great wines of the world, most with a bit of bottle age as well, and thus not that is widely available. One of my 'fears' when presenting a selection of high quality wines is that you can get a bit blasé about what you are paying for. So, by way of setting the tone, and also to establish the 'quality factor', we kicked off with an unexceptional bottle of Campo Viejo Rioja , a fiver from Asda. Not a bad wine, however, once you take tax off, it is a £2.50 bottle. This allowed me then to talk about what you get when you do 'choose up the list' - lower yields, gra...

I shall refrain from waxing too lyrical about how lovely Le Marche still is (following last week's post) or I fear that I will totally lose your spirit! Suffice it to say that there was one very rainy day, so let that act as proof that balance in everything makes you realise how nice the good bits are. The running continued this week, and it is definitely suffering, from a combination of a) good food, b) excellent wine, c) the heat and d) just a general sense of laziness brought on by holiday. We still love the Abbadia, which is proving to be a real live wire of a place. Every morning it is full of walkers, runners, cyclists, smart suited architects holding a conference, and, occasionally, monks! No doubt in the literature it would be referred to as a ‘resource’, and I would wholeheartedly agree with that definition. On Sunday we joined the rest of the holidaymakers and Dean and Lesley to go to the Mogliano Festival, an annual three day festival that involves all the us...

Friends and readers, At last, an opportunity to stop and put pen to paper (electronically speaking) as Janet and I are taking two weeks, staying in Le Marche in central Italy. The weather is mostly sunny, with the occasional bout of downpour - well, that's how it stays so green, I suppose! The Abbadia Runningwise, the agriturismo that we are staying at (quite excellent -  Caserma Carina ) was on a steep slope, so my first run out involved a 20 minute solid climb followed by a 20 minute downhill! This was really not going to be fun! However, Caserma's owners, Dean and Lesley, recommended the Abbadia di Fiastra, a nature reserve set in the grounds of a still-functioning Cistercian abbey. This was a great idea - so, after a short drive, we used a neatly marked 2.5 mile woodland trail, along with quite a few other Italians who clearly had this place marked out for their morning constitutional. As usual in temperatures above 30 degrees, any more than about 5 miles is impossi...

Not exactly 'on topic' - but a lovely picture of a wine glass, taken by a work colleague, Karan. He enjoys the work and effort, painstakingly capturing these kind of images, and this one, I though, was a real treat! I think I might use it for my logo for my tastings!

Just a quick post to talk about three lovely wines, two from a recent Wine Society delivery, and one from Waitrose. It has been a while since I last posted, so I won't make this too long, preferring to get it out there! Just one line on the running front - I am back to 3 runs a week, about 25 miles, with no specific training goals until I come back from holiday.  Feels like I will focus on some shorter races. The injuries are settling down....anyway, on to wine. The first is a great curiosity - Tio Pepe 'En Rama' (£12.50, Wine Society) . This is the second production of this Fino sherry, bottled in Spring 2011 with strict instructions to drink within 3 months. OK then, if you insist...and so the first of my two bottles lasted precisely 48 hours from delivery. (talking of bottles, I feel privileged too, as only 5,300 or so bottles are produced as well.This special version of the excellent sherry Tio Pepe is handled lightly, with minimal treatment and filtration, to p...

An early start this Saturday morning, the memory still fresh from a superlative bottle of Gevrey-Chambertin Dom Maume, 2006  last night. A glorious nectar of a wine, all sweet strawberries and warm delicate fruits. Nothing heavy here, slipping down perfectly with a pasta dish. The 2006 vintage is indeed charming, and the premier cru wines will be even better I am sure... Into Romsey for chores, and the refreshing urgent sense of a town in the crisp pale sunlight. It may be a bit of a cliche about fresh mornings, but like all cliches, they are true for a good reason! So, lots done and home by 10am, with a smug sense of getting ahead of the general populus! Then off to Oxford, where I am sitting at present in the Eagle and Child on St. Giles, supping a delightful pint of Brakspears . I am a bit early for an old School event in Chipping Norton, and so thought I would pass an hour in the Clarendon Street area, because you are just outside the centre of Oxford, and so can park...

It's Bank Holiday Monday, and I am now all set up in my running gear (always important to buy a new set at the marathon expo, so you have something to look forward to when you go for the first run after the big day!). Nice stuff from Gore as well... 8 days since I last pulled on a running shoe...long enough to miss it and want it again.. ..still disappointed (a bit) over my London performance, but getting over it...3:38 still a great time, and I know I throttled back in the second half anyway as I knew I wasn't on for  PB or qualification time. I reckon that's why I am not so knackered now. ..have had a week of good food and wine, nothing spectacular, just some pleasing bottles - sitting here now I can remember: Volnay Vielles Vignes Nicolas Potel 2005 , silky yet with a bit of tannic bite Vigna Flaminia Rosato by Vallone, from Brindisi, a lovely dry and rich wine, made from Montepulciano and Negroamaro grapes, perfect with tuna steaks Hannibal 2004 by Bouchard ...