Hannibal’s Newsletter – March 2022

HANNIBAL’S NEWS  –  MARCH 2022

After a (semi-) successful January of wine abstinence (yes, even we embrace a bit of the ‘Dry J’ thing), February brought with it an interesting shot at vegetarianism and I am pleased to report that, with the exception of the odd fishy inclusion, it was far easier to conquer!  “It’s all about textures”, says Jude.  And she’s not wrong (check out her recipes on our website and you’ll see she knows what she’s talking about).  “Food is just like wine – the more layers of texture, as well as flavour, the more exciting it becomes.”

One unexpected, yet very welcome outcome from taking the veggie challenge was the positive impact on the purse strings – I’d never really appreciated how reasonably priced veg is compared to hunks of meat.  Food for thought, as they say.

Wasn’t it fun to welcome March 2022 with the flip of a few pancakes!  Any aficionado of any substance will surely agree that the best pancake is the classic lemon and sugar option – totally delicious and surprisingly improved by a glass of barrel-fermented Spanish Chardonnay from Sabina.

The Hungry Gap

So who is bracing themselves for March winds?  Let’s be honest, it surely can’t be any worse than those we experienced throughout February.  But the third month of the year always sees another challenge.  The ‘hungry gap’, as it’s known to farmers, is the moment when there’s a lull in fresh vegetable availability.  In wine terms, we have our own ‘thirsty gap’ as we impatiently await the new 2021 bottlings from the northern hemisphere wine estates to arrive on our shelves – the fresh acidity and zip of the latest harvest literally kick-starts the tastebuds each spring.

Spotlight on…

The news of the moment is we have just launched our ‘Spotlight on…‘ series.  Pam & Jude turned on the search lamps last month to highlight some real treasures that have been hiding in the shadows for far too long.  Each week the spotlight will fall on an individual wine of their choice.   From recipes for the perfect food pairing to juicy nuggets of expanded info on the wine and winery, let us set your curiosity alight and – who knows – maybe even entice you to buy a bottle!   We’ve kicked off with our limited edition Carmenere from the Perez Cruz family estate in Chile, followed by a new white Viognier from the Limari valley, within spitting distance of the Atacama desert.  This week, we are delighted to welcome the 2019 vintage of the oh-so-special ‘Dindori’ Shiraz from our good friends at Sula in central India.  Do check these out on our website.

Please remember, don’t forget…

International Women’s Day – Tuesday 8^th March

No Smoking Day! – Wednesday 9^th March

World Water Day  –  Tuesday 22^nd March

Mother’s Day – Sunday 27^th March

A final word – no time for procrastination…

We continue our efforts to keep costs to an all time low and with it our carbon footprint.  (You’ll notice that even this letter is printed on recycled paper!)  Sadly, however, our pricing is being literally battered by one disaster after another.  And as fuel costs continue to spiral out of cost of of wine production, shipping  and packaging.  It is likely that we will be forced to push some prices a degree or two north in the coming weeks, so don’t delay if you want to take advantage of current pricing.

Cheers for now!

Hannibal