Bento Gonçalves, a city of 105,000 people, is the Bordeaux or Napa of southern Brazil. In September I spent a week here exploring the liquid delights of the surrounding Vale dos Vinhedos (Wine Valley), a sub zone of the Serra Gaúcha wine region that produces “fine wine” (as opposed to inexpensive “bulk wine”).

SDG at the XVII Avaliação Nacional de Vinhos, giving a tasting note to 700 people.
The generic body Wines from Brazil is having a major push on exports, so a motley crew of European hacks, including yours truly, was assembled to learn more about Serra Gaúcha.
Wine production here began in the 1870s with the arrival of German and Italian migrants, whose influence is still very apparent in the food and language of the area.
There are 31 wine producing businesses in total, mainly small in size (producing less than 50,000 litres per year). Total production is up to 12 million bottles of “fine wine” per year from a viticultural area of just over 2,000 ha, accounting for 90 percent of all Brazilian wine.
Climate
The journey up into the Vale dos Vinhedos is memorable for the lush greenery of the landscape, with brightly coloured houses scattered across the hills like balls on a snooker table. Power lines creep across the valleys like a south Brazilian parody of cable cars.
Located at parallel 29°, Serra Gaúcha has an average winter temperature of 12°C. In the summer, temperatures average 22°C, much cooler than in the north.
The humidity caused by high rainfall means that spraying is essential.
Soil

Hotel & Spa do Vinho Caudalie, surrounded by vineyards near Bento Gonçalves.
The lush landscape implies very fertile soils, which, because they encourage excessive vegetation (according to Richard Smart), are not always the best for growing grapes for quality wine.
The prevailing soil type is argillaceous, with plenty of clay. This suits Merlot well, of course, and also tempers the acidity promoted by the region’s high altitude. Bento Gonçalves is at 690 metres above sea level, though vineyards in the Vale dos Vinhedos tend to be a bit less than that.
Viticulture
Traditional pergola vines are still widespread but for the production of “fine wine” trellising is essential, not least to impress visiting wine hacks. Pergola used to give a yield of 40 tons/ha. On average, trellised vines yield ten tons/ha.
Vinifera rather than hybrid vines are now universal for “fine wines.”
Most estates claim to use espalier trellising, though some of them looked more like guyot.
Mechanical harvesting is difficult in Serra Gaúcha because of the undulating landscape.
Brazilian waxing
It goes without saying that the hospitality shown to my fellow travellers and me was extraordinarily generous. The joie de vivre of Brazilians is infectious. I am grateful to Wines of Brazil and all the producers cited below for the opportunity to visit them and to taste their wines.
I have noted winery and vineyard details when the estate has actually been visited. Sometimes we were shown an estate’s portfolio over dinner at a restaurant and such details were not available. They can of course be found on the relevant websites but I would rather research and write than recycle and write…
Panizzon

Ana Paula Panizzon
The lovely Ana Paula Panizzon hosted a tasting of her wines at the Trattoria Primo Camillo in a handsome old building at Garibaldi, a small town south of Bento Gonçalves. The enormous “Champagne” bottle at the entrance to the town is indicative of its vocation for sparkling wines.
Panizzon was established in 1960 and, as is often the case in Brazil, in addition to its wines also produces grape juice, cider, vinegar, hot drinks and so on.
Chardonnay Brut NV
There is 20 percent Riesling in this Chardonnay (!), which would mean declaring it as such for EU export markets. Charmat method. Persistent but not aggressive mousse. Soft and creamy, with a hint of marzipan. More grapey on the palate. Dry and plenty of acidity.
Rosé Brut NV
Charmat method. Pale salmon pink. Soft red fruit aromas. Simple, though it has a similarly pleasing texture to the Chardonnay.
Moscatel NV
Asti method. Simple and grapey, but not too sweet or cloying (70–80g/ltr sugar, we were told). Frothy. An enjoyable dessert wine. Drunk with Primo Camillo’s pièce de resistance (or should that be coup de grace?) ice cream and chocolate sauce on pizza.
www.panizzon.com.br
Don Guerino
The winding pothole-filled road that leads to the winery gives little clue to the investments made here.

The Don Guerino winery
The Motter family originally came from Trentino, hence the Italian habits but German surname. They built a new winery in 2001 at Alto Feliz in the eastern-most part of Serra Gaúcha, 40km southeast of Bento Gonçalves where the vineyards receive cooling sea breezes that encourage acidity in the grapes. It sits at 500 metres above sea level, surrounded by 50ha of vineyards on argillaceous soils that bathe in sunshine during the summer months.
It is challenging to clear land for vineyards here, they explained—the forest dominates everything. And of course there is also the cost of purchasing land. Typically one hectare would cost R$20,000, equivalent to about £7,000. So the vineyard here entailed an investment somewhere in the region of £350,000. By comparison, land in Bordeaux for basic AC Bordeaux grapes costs a minimum €18,000/£16,115.
Probably the winery cost a similar amount. The Motters have made a big investment, with much of that money coming from their well-established fruit juice business. They intend eventually to produce 500,000 bottles of wine per year.
Brut Champenoise 2007
Some toastiness at first, then a bit cheesy. More autolytic character with aeration. Dry and quite fat.
Brut Prosecco 2008
Soft, creamy and frothy. Simple and just about dry—13g/ltr. Some acetate on the nose.
Moscatel 2009
Very pale colour. Sweet and frothy, like lemonade. 60g/ltr sugar but not cloying.
Victoria Chardonnay 2008
Buttery nose, à la Macon. Clean, simple, quite fat but with good length. No barrels but chips were used during fermentation. A 2009 tank sample of this wine made in the same method was far more marked by oak.
Emma Rosé 2008
Named after the family’s 84-year old grandmother. Slightly bitter finish and rather tart. With aeration, quite oxidised.
Reserva Tannat 2005
Tar, leather and spice on the nose, but also a bit oxidised. Probably this was brutally tannic when young so ageing was necessary to tame them but in the process it has lost freshness. A bag-in-a-box Tannat was also tasted—no oak, simple and fruity, though again a bit oxidised.
Gran Reserva Teroldego 2007
Now here’s something interesting… A Trentino variety that I have not tasted from elsewhere before. The palate is supple and juicy, so it is a pity that the bright fruit flavours have been overwhelmed by oak.
Gran Reserva Ancellotta 2007
Another Trentino varietal. Very similar to the Teroldego, a nice structure but too much oak.
www.donguerino.com.br
Vinhos Boscato
The very Italian-sounding town of Nova Pádua is characterful, with villas painted as brightly as a Giotto fresco. The dramatic orange hues of sunset across the hills of the Rio das Antas valley are a wonderful sight, especially after a hard day’s wine tasting.

Vinhos Boscato
Here, 800 metres above sea level and 70km from Bento Gonçalves, lies the Boscato estate.
Sitting atop the slopes, the vineyards are relatively flat and have been planted at a not very dense 4,000 vines per hectare to allow machinery, though harvesting is done by hand. Total production is only 45,000 bottles per year, mostly sold domestically but some is exported to Germany and the USA.
There is a “weather” station here that records humidity levels and so on. The data is transmitted to a computer at the winery every 15 minutes and then appropriate action is (or is not) taken.
The Chardonnay vines were already budding though Ancellotta and Cabernet Sauvignon had not yet budded.
Atypically, Boscato does not make sparkling wines, only “fine wines.” And these are all monovarietal.
There is also a wine school and restaurant attached to the winery.
Reserva Gewurztraminer 2009
Excellent varietal character, Turkish Delight and so on. One-third was fermented in oak and this shows a bit on the finish. Made in quite a powerful style, à la Alsace. Good wine.
Gran Reserva Merlot 2005
A bit stewed on the nose, with some liquorice and cinnamon. Fleshy palate, finishing sweet and juicy. Nearly 2.5 g/ltr sugar here, which shows on the finish… Drink now to 2012.
Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
Sweeter fruit on the finish than the Merlot—not sugar but brighter and fresher. Fleshy again. Better acidity than the Merlot.
Reserva Chardonnay 2008
Simple and perfectly drinkable. Just slightly oxidative.
Cabernet Sauvignon Sofia 2005
“Cooler” nose than the previous red wines, with less of the sweet fruit. Rustic tannins. Good food wine.
Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
Much sweeter than the 2005, with a chewy finish.
www.boscato.com.br
Casa Valduga
This smart estate, with accommodation and excellent restaurants as well as projects in Argentina, Chile and Portugal, showed its wines to us over an extravagant dinner of Gigas oysters prepared by Jaime Barcelos of Ostradamus restaurant in Florianopolis.

Casa Valduga
The wines generally had civilised alcohol levels of 12.5–13 percent and showed good, fresh fruit.
I visited by myself a few days later. Valduga produces 1 million litres of wine per year, half of which is sparkling. It began to export in 2002 but has not yet ventured successfully into the UK.
The 200-metre long “Champagne cellar” has a 6-million bottle capacity though it will not be full for at least 20 years.
All this has been self-funded, I was told. The restaurants and accommodation are excellent but the bumpy road has not yet been finished…
Espumante 130 Brut NV
Named in honour of 130 years of Italian immigration to Brazil and blended from the 2003, 2004 and 2005 vintages. Two years on the lees. Very persistent mousse, fresh and fruity. Not quite as bright on the palate, which is more leesy than the nose. 8g/ltr dosage. Fairly simple.
Gran Reserva Extra Brut 2002
Noticeably deeper in colour. Toasty and very Champagne-like. 4g/ltr. Good.
Nature 2002
Colour as before. Persistent mousse but not quite as fine as for the Gran Reserva. Fresher and less toasty on the nose, though the palate is toastier and the finish is unsurprisingly rather austere. A spoonful of sugar makes the Gran Reserva just that bit more charming.
Premium Chardonnay 2008
Unoaked but with interesting flavours—a hint of toast. Warm finish. Drink now.
Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Nice texture, with bright fruit not overwhelmed by oak. More savoury and “cool” on the palate than the nose. Age to 2012 for more interest?
Premium Brut 2006
Served with fresh oysters. The wine was a bit too heavy and fat for the food.
Then oysters with mango, apple and Brie, a rich dish that better suited the wine.
Premium Sauvignon Blanc 2009
Oysters with garlic and oil and bread with almonds
The wine was a bit smoky and went well with the very tasty bread.
Premium Blush 2006
Oysters in balsamic cream
A superb balsamic, intense and thick. But just too much for this or any other sparkling wine.
Oysters in ginger and honey flamed in cognac
A good match, the wine picking up the ginger.
Gran Reserva Chardonnay 2009
Shrimp risotto
A very good dish but the wine was too oaky for this. The Sauvignon was a better match.
Premium Cabernet Franc 2006
Octopus with smoked almonds and oysters, together with mini corn, mushrooms and almonds
A very typical Brazilian dish, smoked heavily, or at least too heavily for European palates. The smoke absorbed the oak of the wine but also most of the fruit. A better match with the Chardonnay.
Premium Moscatel 2009
Pumpkin with coconut and orange sauce
A very sweet pud. The fizzy Moscatel was probably a bit too simple and grapey for this—it needed something a bit richer.
www.casavalduga.com.br
Don Laurindo
This tiny 15ha estate was established in 1887 by the grandfather of the current owner, the delightful Ademir Brandelli. Like so many other long-established businesses in the Vale dos Vinhedos, Laurindo originally sold grapes to wine-producing estates. The vineyards were all Vitis Labrusca but have since been replanted to Vinifera. Yields have also been tamed from 30,000kg/ha to a more discreet 8,000.

At Restaurante Sbornea’s with Ademir Brandelli
Some wine is already exported to Mexico, the USA and the Czech Republic, all sold direct by phone or Internet without any agents.
Ademir claims that the first Malbec in this region was imported by Laurindo from Argentina.
Ademir is not as averse to oak as Lidio Carrarro (see below) but he dislikes it in excess: “Caffe, caffe, caffe!”
Brut Methode Traditionelle Reserva 2006
Seventy percent Chardonnay with 30 percent Riesling Classico. Toasty nose (eight months on the lees) and quite full on the mid-palate, though the finish is not as full. Tasty, with a nice texture. More leesy with aeration. Drink now.
Ancellotta Reserva 2006
Garnet colour. Tobacco and leather on the nose. Good acidity, with chewy tannins on the finish. Rustic and characterful. Drink now to 2012.
Assemblage Reserva 2005
Forty percent Merlot with 30 percent each of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Smoky nose. Not as much acidity as the Ancellotta, nor as tannic. Fresher and younger, even though it is a year older. Drink now.
Malbec Reserva 2006
Turning to garnet. Not as developed as the previous wines, though there is some smoke and leather. Very tannic on the finish but happily fruit rather than wood tannins. Drink now to 2012+.
Tannat Reserva 2005
Very deep colour. Dark, meaty nose. Tannic. High alcohol—13.8 percent.
Tannat Reserva 2008 (tank sample)
Not as reduced as the Merlot tank sample. Bright fruit, juicy middle and a chewy finish. Should be good.
Ancellotta Tannat Reserva 2005
Eight percent Tannat. Very deep colour. An extracted, modern style, wearing a lot of new oak makeup. Very tough and hard, with bitter flavours. Please stick to the “old” style!
www.donlaurindo.com.br
Vinícola Miolo
Just up the road from our accommodation at Hotel & Spa do Vinho Caudalie, Miolo is the slickest operation in the region. Cleanliness is next to Godliness, so visitors are asked to wear an apron and cap when visiting the winery.

Vinícola Miolo
It claims to be the largest producer of “fine wine” and Champagne-method fizz in Brazil.
Winemaker Arley Pereira is a Carioca, born and bred in Rio de Janeiro. He admits that he had to “adjust” to Serra Gaúcha’s climate, which is nowhere near as warm as further north.
In 2008 Miolo received 120,000 cellar door visitors. It also hosts one day wine courses.
Michel Rolland advises—as the colour of the red wines suggests…
Fortaleza do Seival Pinot Grigio 2009
From Campanha Gaucha vineyards near the border with Uruguay, 500km from Bento Goncalves, where altitude and rainfall are both lower and the average temperatures are higher. Typical Pinot Grigio character—pear aromas and a slightly bitter finish. Very correct and sleek.
Reserva Chardonnay 2009
Twenty percent in American oak for the malolactic, the rest in tanks. Soft, round, quite fat. Again very correct and sleek.
Brut Millesime 2006
An equal blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Persistent mousse. Fruity nose, more evocative of Chardonnay than Pinot. Nice balance and very well-made.
Rar Collezzione Pinot Noir 2008
From Campos de Cima de Serra vineyards at 1,000 metres altitude. Medium-plus colour. Oak rather than fruit on the nose. High alcohol (14 percent) and verging towards flabbiness on the finish. Rather lacking in Pinot character and finesse.
Gran Lovara 2006
Sixty five percent Merlot, 20 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 15 percent Tannat. Medium-plus purple. Some tobacco on the nose. Medium-body and supple texture, with a bit of tannin on the finish. With aeration, Bovril flavours emerged… Starting to lose freshness and oxidise. Drink up.
Quinta do Seival Casta Portuguesas 2005
From Campanha Gaúcha. A Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and Alfrocheiro blend, the latter an obscure Dão variety. Turning to garnet at the rim. Supple texture, as before, but a bit more lively on the nose. Rustic and characterful. Drink now to 2012.
Merlot Terroir 2008
Ruby purple—très Rolland! Oak prevailing over the fruit at the moment, especially on the finish. Supple fruit and good length. Drink 2012–2015+?
Miolo Lote 43 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2005
Colour as before. Tobacco nose and some earthy Bordeaux-type character. Very skilfully made. Still very tannic and probably ageworthy. Drink 2012–2020+?
Ces Marias 2008
Again from Campanha Gaúcha, this has no less than ten different varietals in it. On Rolland’s advice, they were all barrel fermented… Opaque ruby-purple. Medium-body and velvety texture, with wood tannins on the finish. A showstopper that is meant to be “the best wine in Brazil.” Sold en primeur over the Internet.
www.miolo.com.br
Lidio Carraro
Established in 1998 and debuting on the market in 2004, this self-proclaimed “boutique winery” has a philosophy of “pure wine”, according to the pulchritudinous Patricia Carraro. No oak is used: “We are not against wood but we want to show we can have excellent results with purity.” Nor is there any filtering, micro-oxygenation or any other form of alchemy.

Lidio Carraro
The estate has two labels—SulBrasil and the “premium” Lidio Carraro range. The labels are essentially defined by their yields and the effects thereof—SulBrasil wines are cropped at 3kg per plant, Lidio Carraro at 1.4kg. So twice as much of the former is made than the latter. SulBrasil vineyards are planted on the usual argillaceous soils but the Carraro vineyards are mainly on granite.
SulBrasil Dádivas Chardonnay 2008
A hint of aldehydes on the nose (I must have been in a very stern mood today…). Quite closed, fatty. Some tropical fruits. With aeration, a hint of minerality emerged. Drink now.
SulBrasil Agnus Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
Bright and fruity, if a little jammy at first. Medium-bodied and juicy, with some grip on the finish. Not bad. Drink now to 2012.
SulBrasil Dádivas Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
More complexity on the nose than the Agnus. Plumper with the addition of Merlot and more grip on the finish. Juicy texture again. Drink now to 2012.
Lidio Carraro Elos Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec 2007
80 percent Cabernet, 20 percent Malbec. Fuller, richer and more structured than the previous red wines. A hint of jammy Cabernet on the nose, as per the Agnus.
Lidio Carraro Elos 2008 (tank sample)
A completely different blend—77 percent Touriga Nacional with 23 percent Tannat. Nice, supple texture and dark, rustic flavours.
Lidio Carraro Merlot Grande Vindima 2005
Tobacco nose, à la good Bordeaux. Supple and juicy, with earthy flavours beneath the sweet fruit. Slightly rustic tannins and the 14.2 percent alcohol shows. Otherwise good.
Lidio Carraro Quorum Grande Vindima 2005
Forty percent Merlot, 25 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 20 percent Tannat and 15 percent Cabernet Franc—the four approved red grapes for the Vale dos Vinhedos appellation. Mint and eucalyptus on the nose with something darker underneath. Sweet and juicy at the front and in the middle but finishes dryly tannic. Interesting and characterful but rather austere on the finish. Drink now to 2013?
Lidio Carraro Singular Nebbiolo 2006
Proper colour—mid-pale red. Smoky nose and a bit jammy, not showing much Nebbiolo fruit. Suitably tannic but the flavours are not appropriate. Very high alcohol—14.9 percent.
Lidio Carraro Tannat Grande Vindima 2006
Almost opaque ruby purple. Liquorice aromas. Very tannic and a daunting 16 percent alcohol. Age to 2015 if you are an optimist—or send it to an American friend.
www.lidiocarraro.com
Brazilian nuts
In 2008, Brazil sold 6,207,658 litres of sparkling wine to Russia, which is by far its largest market for this style of wine. But the value per litre was just US$0.38. In Denmark, it was US$30.70; in the UK, US$1.86, though of course both at much reduced volumes. (Twenty litres went to Haiti at US$1 a pop).
Brazil has much in its favour to enable it to export its wines to the UK and elsewhere. After all, the country is shaped like a bunch of grapes.
The wineries are well-equipped and so spotlessly clean that even a supermarket buyer would be impressed. Apart from the negative connotations of the favelas, Brazil brings to mind only happiness—wonderful footballers, beautiful women, beaches, bikinis, cocktails, carnivals, a thriving economy, the 2014 World Cup (a shoo-in for the seleçao!) and the 2016 Olympics.
Wine production in Brazil has surely become more dynamic and better organised since the establishment of Ibravin, the Brazilian Wine Institute, in 1998. Ibravin’s mission statement is, “To order and to promote in a participative form the Brazilian Viticulture by means of fixing objectives, establishment of strategies and the execution of actions aimed at its strengthening, making them become competitive and sustainable.”
Money, mostly private, is being pumped into the wine industry like newly-fermented wine into an empty steel tank. Large investments have been made by the 50- and 60-somethings. A huge amount of responsibility now rests upon the shoulders of the 20- and 30-somethings to make those investments profitable.
At a panel for “Opportunities for Brazilian wines in foreign markets,” I suggested to the assembled winemakers that their best opportunity in the UK market at the moment would be their sparkling wines, which at less than £10 a bottle represent excellent value for money at a time when Champagne sales have sunk like a brick in water.
The still wines, however, are a much harder sell. It is possible that a brand such as Miolo, which already has some presence in the UK, could continue to establish itself and other brands “surf” on the crest of its wave. Domaine Chandon has the might of LVMH behind it but doubtless it has its own agenda rather than broader generic concerns.

"You look like a naughty schoolboy": SDG with Ilka Lindemann and Junior Vianna MW at the XVII Avaliação Nacional de Vinhos
Think of how Chilean brands—Concha y Toro and so on—have reinforced the market for that country. A lot of it—too much perhaps—goes into supermarkets where Brazil would struggle to stand out from the crowd. For the time being Brazilian wines would be a hand-sell by dedicated independents and sommeliers, though there are very few Brazilian restaurants in the UK.
The UK market is not dissimilar to the luggage carousel at São Paulo airport—bits keep falling off and sometimes there is a breakage. Hardly anybody bothers to pick up the pieces unless it is their own luggage. Perhaps I am trying too hard to turn the mundane into the philosophical here! But the image of self-absorption and broken ambitions I think is apt.
Taxation levels on wine in Brazil are extremely pernicious. An imported bottle of JP Chenet costs R$30, or £10. Exported wines are also taxed heavily.
Excessively high alcohol might also be a problem in the UK market. Even if the wine does not show its 15 percent booze, seeing that figure on a label would put off many people.
In his book The Finest Wines of Tuscany and Central Italy, Nicolas Belfrage MW wrote, “the limits of a winemaker’s ambitions are the limits of his palate. Think about it.” His point is that winemakers need to have tried the best wines in order to gauge their own efforts. Brazilian winemakers should travel and taste as widely as possible.
Ultimately, they must ask themselves, “Why would a UK consumer want to buy and to drink Brazilian wine?” Only they can answer that question.

Of course, the drive into (or rather past) the city was for me thrilling, especially over the Golden Gate Bridge. I had been told that I would be staying at Dr Newton’s “hotel” in Mill Valley, a prosperous suburb just north of SF. I thought I was staying in her house, so I was bemused to learn that I would be parked in a hotel and one that wasn’t even in the city. When I arrived, all was revealed. The “hotel” turned out to be a splendid house that Dr Newton uses as her office. It was Friday so I would have it all to myself for the weekend.
Dr Newton told me off for leaning out of her car window while she was showing me round the city. (She is a very impatient driver). Apparently some kid had his arms or legs sheared off by a passing car when leaning out of the window so a law banning such things was passed hastily. San Francisco’s weather is capricious but so is its legislation. In the city of Haight-Ashbury, the Beat Generation, hippies and the Summer of Love you cannot even lean out of a car window without breaking the law. This famously liberal city is bound up by legislation tighter than the bark on a Giant Sequoia.


The flight was entertaining. Departure was late because of a Spanish-speaking prima donna. The entire plane could overhear her complaints. She was booked into first class but had turned up late and her seat had been given to somebody else. So she had to sit next to me in cattle class. “This is so unfair,” she moaned. Life is unfair, isn’t it? Especially when you don’t get that extra six inches of legroom you paid for. She decided that being sat next to me for six hours was intolerable, so off she went.
The final pit-stop was at Farrell’s, just up the road from Bernardette’s place and where a scene in As Good As It Gets was made (so many films today!). Bernardette had never been in there, which seemed surprising at the time but once inside I could see why… It is a very macho, Irish/cops place, though the regulars turned out to be friendly enough and we stayed there until 2am. Bernardette has vowed not to go again unless it’s with me, bless her.
By midnight only Gaetano and myself were left standing. We went to a bar where he knew (and fancied) the manageress. A youngish bloke and four younger ladies parked themselves on the table next to us. I struck up a conversation with one of them, “Kath, from Michigan.” She was blonde, had lips that implied the assistance of collagen, and wore a skirt slightly narrower than my belt. At first glance she was attractive She told me she had studied Victorian Literature in Glasgow. I was excited—perhaps finally I had found an intellectual soul mate wearing a two-inch skirt.
That left me with a full day to kill before flying to Brazil in the evening. I raced around the city, doing all the cheesy things that English tourists are supposed to do— walking through Central Park, going to the top of the Empire State Building, eating hotdogs, seeing the Yankee and Citi Field stadiums, the Chelsea Hotel, walking over Brooklyn Bridge, the Staten Island Ferry… I also did a few things that would only occur to me, like going to the building at St. Mark’s Place in the East Village that was used for the cover of Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti. (My dad was at school with John Bonham!).

“Marylebone has a nice feel to it, like a small village,” says Karam. “There are lots of boutique businesses, not many chains.” The lease on the Blandford Street premises was signed in May 2008 just before the credit crunch hit that autumn. But business has been quite good. Typically there are “a minimum of ten walkers per night.” Fifteen bookings can often turn into 60 covers. Nobu Matsuhisa himself has dined here!
There are 120 or so bins on the wine list. The Austrian wines we tried were, with all due respect, not that well-known. But Leo argues that lesser names means lower prices. Erich Machherndl’s Grüner Veltliner Smaragd 2007 is £34; F.X. Pichler’s Grüner Kellerberg would probably be at least £100.
Every evening from 27 June to 30 August, a music film is shown on the enormous screen erected outside the 19th century rathaus in central Vienna. Food and wine are in copious supply of course. I enjoyed rindfleisch-gröstl (a Tirol dish of fried meat and potatoes), würzige kässpätzle (egg noodles with cheese) and apfelschmarrn (diced pancake with apple sauce) with half-litre servings of the local Ottakringer beer in proper glasses. The Helles brand is quite light and refreshing; I found the unfiltered Zwickl Rot version heavier and more sullen. There was no drunkenness, litter or breakages—only people enjoying the food, music and weather.
The AWC was first held in 2004 when about 4,000 wines were analysed. This year 9,500 wines were submitted from 34 countries. Three bottles of each wine are sent, so over 28,000 bottles have to be logged, sorted and prepared. There are 490 tasting “positions” available to 290 tasters that come from seven countries. I was the sole UK representative.

2005 Le Soula rouge