The glass is more than half full - # 11/10

Charles Aznostix, the much loved Gallo-Armenian chanteur, nips about the kitchen preparing his lunch:  a fine field mushroom, topped with a disc of good French goat cheese accompanied by an excellent and unusual German red (yes, German red) wine - a rarely available estate-bottled Vogtsburg-Bischhofflingen of the pinot noir grape variety, followed by a fresh clementine, a cup of coffee and some Cadbury's whole hazel nut milk chocolate.  What better and what more healthy for one who must be constantly at peak performance for his expectant and demanding clientele?  Charles would not hesitate to recommend the wine - also superb with a fine 100% natural grass-fed Scottish grown rib-eye beef steak of totally traceable origin, with pommes frites, accompanied by a lettuce and tomato salad dressed in olive oil and Italian balsamic vinegar laced with a touch of fresh garlic.  Charles also declares his delight with his recent move to Britain where he finds the culinary standards to be far above his expectations and sounds a warning to his French countrymen.  "You may have won the rugby thanks to a bad referee who discriminated against the English who, critics all agree, actually beat you on the field; but just watch out - la France is definitely on a downer where lunch is concerned!"

Suburban sundown - Sun's up in my kitchen!- # 09/11

Taking a rest due to foul weather the hunt is on for a special kind of "red". It has to be light, with a nice balance of very light fruit and acidity. I'm looking towards the rarer "northern" reds grown under gentler heavens - perhaps Teutonic rather than Gallic.

So why show a Languedoc pinot noir? Only because I drunk the others before I could get the camera ready.

My wine merchant revealed a merlot from the Veneto (Italy) grown on the cooler gentle pre-alpine slopes at the very north of the region. I was suspicious that as a merlot it would be much too soft, but he correctly assured me that the cooler conditions had left it fresh enough for my palate and stated criteria.

Then came a gamay, from the Tourainne. Normally a Loire area wine is white, so this red fitted my search criteria.

I was highly suspicious of the above featured Languedoc pinot noir. Far too sunny. It will be too well delveloped and a bit too "tough", I complained. "Trust me" he said. He was right - but only just. It is a light and nicely balanced wine, that can be appreciated. One senses the South, but it's not too overbearing.

Now the search is really on for the very rare but serious German reds, followed by Austrian and even Swiss reds. This is what I am really keen to ferret out and sample.

What's provoked this sudden excursion? As I said; the weather, and Zurich. ( I suspect he's flying a kite with a hidden agenda). http://blog.forthmedia.com/index.cfm/2009/1/23/Valpolicella