Everyone knows that wine and football go together like, oh I
don’t know, Posh Spice and a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Which is to say,
not at all. Undeterred, I shall press on in my mission to tie together the fruit
of the vine and the beautiful game.
Over the coming weeks, you can drink along-a-football with
my handy guide to footballing nations and their vinous claims to fame. With
apologies to Chris Evans, Vassos Alexander and Radio 2 (ie please don’t sue
me), here’s my Top Tenuous of World Cup and wine.
At Number 10 – England. I know we did win it once but the
brutal truth is that we don’t look likely to do so again anytime soon. Our wine
fortunes, however, have been looking up in recent years, so now you can be
proud to toast the success (or, let’s face it, probably lack of it) with some
top flight English fizz.
Try
Nyetimber Classic Cuvée 2009: winner of a Gold medal
and the English Sparkling Wine Trophy at this year’s International Wine
Challenge. It shows that we do know how to be world beaters at something.
£35.99, down to £30.58 a bottle if you buy two at Majestic; £27.50 from The Wine Society and £31.99 from
Waitrose.
A surprise package at number 9 is Switzerland, notoriously
the target of a barb from Orson Welles, playing Harry Lime in the film The
Third Man: “In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare,
terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci
and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love…500 years of
democracy and peace and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.”
The comment is hardly fair or accurate: they produced Swiss
Army knives too didn’t they? Unbeknownst to many of us they have also been
making wine for quite some time, but tend to drink most of it themselves.
Try
Look out for weighty, complex whites made from Petite
Arvine and reds from Humagne Rouge. Alpine Wines (formerly Nick Dobson Wines)
is the UK Specialist.
France appears at number 8. After their World Cup win in
1998, there have been mixed fortunes for France, both as a footballing and wine
producing nation: domestic wine consumption is falling and increasing
competition in export markets has put the squeeze on French producers.
Try
There is no doubting the class of French wines, and
any wine lover is spoilt for choice when it comes to wine styles. From bone dry
whites, to full bodied reds via lipsmacking rosés and not forgetting Champagne,
there really is something for everyone. But please, spend over £7 if you want
to find something worthwhile.
In at number 7, Portugal’s football fortunes are essentially
dependent on whether Cristiano Ronaldo has his goal scoring boots on.
Wine-wise, Portugal has a much broader team to draw on, with a vast array of
unique native grape varieties. Winemaking techniques have caught up with the
quality of the raw materials, making this one of the world’s most exciting wine
producers.
Try
Thrilling, complex reds from the Douro Valley. Crasto
Douro Red is £10.99, or £9.34 if you buy 2, at Majestic. Sainsbury’s Taste the
Difference Douro red is also made by the same producer and is £8.25.
Italy, at number 6, can never be ruled out of the running
when it comes to football, and the same holds for its wines. Second only to
France in the global wine production stakes, we have probably all had our fair
share of disappointing reds and mind-numbingly dull whites from Italy in the
past. The quality revolution has come here too though, so dip your toe in and
you could find yourself charmed by an Italian all over again.
Try
Fiano makes juicy stonefruit-tinged whites. Look out
for Tesco’s Finest Fiano, currently down from £7.99 to £5.99.
Number 5 brings us to the Netherlands. Consistent performers
on the pitch, they are also, surprisingly, a wine nation, albeit a small one.
Try
You’re unlikely to find any Dutch wine here in the UK,
so probably best to stick with beer.
A shudder goes through the English at the combination of
football and the country at number 4 – Argentina. Hand of God and all that.
Best leave it at that and concentrate on their wine-making abilities.
Try
It’s all about Malbec isn’t it? Bags of fruit,
barbecue and meat friendly: perfect summer red. I have a fondness for the
greater refinement and Messi-like silky skills of Pulenta Estate’s Gran Cabernet
Franc - £25-28 at Berry Brothers and The Good Wine Shop.
For England there’s no getting past the country at number 3
– Germany. So often the team who lead to England’s footballing downfall, they
seem full of confidence and technical ability. What of German wines though?
It’s time we overcame our prejudices and had another go at
German wines – many more Trocken (dry) whites from Riesling are now available,
which should help to convince us that German wine doesn’t have to taste like
dolly mixture.
Try
Louis Guntrum Dry Riesling, £8.95 from The Wine
Society
At number 2, Spain, the current cup holders, are sitting
pretty. It seems unlikely that they could triumph again, but they are certainly
easy on the eye on the pitch.
Spain’s wines are pretty easy on the palate too – who
doesn’t love the mellow fruitiness and hint of shoe polish of a Rioja Reserva?
Try
Great value Rioja Navajas Crianza from The Wine
Society – textbook smooth and sleek Rioja style for £7.75 a bottle.
And at number 1 – home nation Brazil may be more known for rain
forests, poverty, those buttock-revealing bikinis and (possibly related)
frankly dodgy body grooming practices. But it is also a wine producer and the
UK is now its biggest export market, which leads me to conclude that I wasn’t
the first person to hit on this wine and football connection.
Try
Carnival Sparkling Moscato NV £9.99 or Coconova
Sparkling Brut £8.99, both from Marks & Spencer for some frothy fun.
As they say in Brazil, tim tim! Which must be Portuguese for
“Come on Tim!” – how nice of them, if a little out of date now.
