Oz Clarke is best known for his appearances on television discussing, drinking and living wine; sometimes accompanied by James May. So needless to say the tickets for his wine tasting event, partnered with Kate Goodman, sold like hot cakes. The event was held within the Vaults in Bolton's Market Place Shopping Centre; a stone and mortar food haven complete with stone arches, cavernous rooms and mood lighting. I honestly thought the entirety of the Vaults was incredibly cool and a fantastic step forward for the shopping centre. The only fault I could find was voiced by a mother in the bathrooms who couldn't find a baby changing station. Get that fixed and Bolton is laughing with their newest, trendy refuge.
(Oz Clarke winding up an audience member)
The tasting got off to an interesting start when Kate Goodman entrusted her introductions to Oz, a mistake I doubt she'll make again when he promptly began to mercilessly tease her.
But soon the helpers were scurrying around to pour out the first of six wines, a Philippe Michel Crémant du Jura, for us to taste whilst Oz and Kate educated us on the smelling of wines and how to pick up the subtler aromas. They actively encouraged you to shout out what you could smell, assuring everyone there was no wrong answer. And so the first wine seemed to smell of anything from peaches to grapefruits to which they nodded and sniffed and spouted what seemed to be the entire history of the wine, region and method used to produce the wine, punctuated with anecdotes.
And so it continued until the room had happily drank their way through the first wine- a Uco Valley Malbec, then a Shiraz, and a Limoux Chardonnay, my favourite- the Pinot Noir Rosé Marlborough and a Lot 05 Leyda Sauvignon Blanc. Needless to say we were a very happy group before we were even halfway though.
(The wine selections)
I soon discovered that the audience ranged from seasoned wine tasters who really knew their Shiraz from their Malbec to complete novices like me who usually just buy the wine version of paint stripper. But we all nodded along wisely with our glasses of vino as we were educated on the differences between Champagne and Prosecco, the impending Prosecco shortage and just how they get the bubbles into the bottles of fizz, (a fermented sugar syrup is put into the bottle. Sounds simpler than I expected). It was all rather fascinating but so fast paced that my slightly wine happy brain struggled to keep up so unfortunately I probably won't be dropping any wine centred nuggets of wisdom into this post. Sorry.
I did however manage to secure a small chat with Oz that I can share with you. Oz Clarke was an open book all the way through the tasting and later on in our chat and I seriously believe that given a willing ear to listen he could regale you with stories all day long and late into the night.
What was your reason for hosting an event at Bolton food festival?
"Well, they asked me! Ah, I like doing festivals around the country, I like getting to meet the people and if I don't meet the people I'll never know what they like and if I don't know what people like, then how can I try and be a sort of a, what am I? A promoter of good stuff, a persuader of people to enjoy the excitement of the world of eating and drinking. So I've come into Bolton, because I know Manchester right well I know quite a few of the areas around Manchester really well but I don't know Bolton that well."
Where did your interest in wine start?
"Oh, University. Trying to get some sex and girlfriends, you know, just desperately looking around me thinking 'how on Earth do I get a girlfriend?' Because I didn't have any money in University and I thought, if I became a Wine Expert I would be regarded as sophisticated and elegant but it was a complete flop! But it did get me going on admiring the flavours and wines and it took me about 2 years to get a girlfriend so it was partially successful."
What advice would you give for someone starting to get into wine tasting?
"New World Wines are easier than Old World so Australian or Chilean, Chilean's are the best. Maybe Argentine...they're softer, they're fruitier, they haven't got as much acid or bitterness and when you get into them you either stick with them or move on. Lots of people like New Zealand sauvignon blanc, or pinot noir from New Zealand or Chile are quite gentle. But don't buy the most expensive stuff, buy fairly cheap stuff. What I would normally do is not buy the absolute cheapest, spend a quid or two more but never feel like you have to spend more money than you're happy with. Wine is meant to make you happy, it's about fun and pleasure, it's about being prettier than you thought and wittier than you thought and that everyone's going to laugh at your jokes and you're attractive. All that; that is what it's about. So don't spend too much money, but definitely New World. Just open it with your friends, don't worry about what glasses you put it in and always drink it in the kitchen rather than the dining room. And don't spit it out!"
And finally what is the cheapest wine you've tasted and enjoyed?
"Well I've had some I didn't pay for at all, I've had stuff that my brother made in the south of France that caused us to erupt- that was about tuppence a litre; pretty filthy but I enjoyed it. And I remember the one time I went away I eloped with a girl and we walked down a block in Florence deliriously happy and excited and walked into a tiny little bastard shop and asked 'can we have some red wine?' and the guy said 'where's your bottle?' and we didn't have a bottle but he said 'oh all right then' and got a litre bottle from out the back of the shop, brushed the dust off the top, squirted some sour pink frothy wine into it and gave it to us, I think for something like 10p and we went and drank it in a meadow at the side of the road just above the village in the Florence Hills; 10p's worth of bliss."
So not only did I discover that I could easily develop a taste for white wines, I learnt to always drink wine in the kitchen and I'm allowed to enjoy the cheaper brands of wine. So thank you, Oz Clarke, for filling our heads with knowledge and bellies with wine. We're all very happy.