Tag Archive for: Wine

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 8th March

No Smoking Day! – Wednesday 9th March

World Water Day  –  Tuesday 22nd March

Mother’s Day – Sunday 27th 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

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Reducing the amount of packaging we use

As we continue to endure Covid 19 and all the upheaval that it throws at us, we are pleased to say that we are still delivering across the nation.  But we’ve discovered two things.   Firstly, that as the local dumps are closed for the foreseeable, our store of disguarded cardboard wine cartons (used for shipping on pallets) is turning into a mountain.  Thank goodness for the use of a very large garage, courtesy of Mrs Brown, which we are using as a temporary storage facility.

We’ve also realised that whilst these shipping cartons are rather flimsy, they are absolutely fine for transporting our local orders, thus reducing our overall carton use.  They may not be particularly pretty (afterall, we do love our Hannibal-branded cartons), but they do the job just as well.  So, to our local customers, you may see future wine orders in re-used shipping cartons.  In any case, it makes no difference to the quality of our wines.

An important fact – we are way ahead of the supermarkets and wine shops on sanitisation because not one person has touched any of our bottles of wine since they left the wineries.  The only time the bottles are handled are when Hannibal Brown staff pick your order.  Rest assured that all of our staff are using hand sanitisers and gloves at all times, so the bottles are clean as a whistle.  This is something important (imagine how many people touch a bottle of wine in a supermarket…).
Today’s recommendation – our deliciously ripe Alsace Gewurztraminer from the Dopff winery.

 

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Hannibal Brown Service in the Crisis

As I listen to the latest updates on the radio this morning, I wanted to keep you fully aware of Hannibal Brown’s continued services.

Whilst all of our events have been cancelled for the foreseeable, Hannibal Brown is a little more fortunate than many business – online businesses have been swamped over the last couple of weeks and we have felt this too.

In the midst of all that has been happening, we have had a website upgrade which is now fully operational.  It is clear, however, that the internet is overloaded nationwide, so please be patient when processing your orders with us – you may notice that the response time is slower than usual.

We will continue to do our absolute utmost to maintain our service levels, ie. deliveries within 1-3 days across mainland Britain.  But please be aware that we will be simplifying our range for the coming months as certain wines become unavailable.  As such, you can expect a little disruption and we may need to make substitutions from time to time.

On a more positive note – we have just introduced some new lines for the spring and of course the rose season is almost upon us – hoorah!  Not forgetting our Personalised Wine Design service, which is ready when you feel the need to put a little cheer back in someone’s step – a personalised bottle of wine does wonders for putting a smile on someone’s face.

NOTE FOR  LOCAL DELIVERIES – if you find yourself in need of any essentials, then please don’t hesitate to contact us and we will endeavor to help you.

We reiterate that our office and vehicles are being continually deep-cleaned and the team are following strict hand sanitization at all times.  Our couriers are also following all guidelines.  They will not request a signature and will retain a minimum 2 metre distance at all times.

Stay safe and healthy everyone!

Pamela, Jude and Hannibal

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The virtues of drinking older wines

When someone recently mentioned that we were nearing the end of yet another decade, it made me think back to the weather variations of recent years – and of course how that has impacted on grape harvests across the planet.

As I write, we’ve just witnessed horrendous wild fires in Australia and the USA, both within frightening proximity of vineyards.  In Europe, we are experiencing extraordinary rainfall – let’s hope that most wineries managed to pick their grape crops ahead of the floods.


The thought of older vintages gone by got me thinking about the virtues of allowing wines to age substantially before drinking.  It goes without saying that 99% of wine is sold almost as soon as it is bottled – such is the need for wineries to get paid.  But those lucky enough to experience older wines will know that holding off drinking your wine and cellaring it for a number of years really does pay off.

Consider our 2002 Riesling from Pierre Frick in Alsace – it’s a wine that’s nearly 20 years old, but you wouldn’t know it, such is it’s freshness.

Yes, the colour has turned deep golden and the primary fresh apply character has mellowed into a honeyed characteristic.  But this style of mature wine has globules of honeyed character, making it potentially perfect with next month’s turkey!  The great thing about well made Riesling is the acidity – a good acidity gives wine half a chance to age for years and years.  The result is we get to enjoy an altogether different but heavenly wine experience.

Visit Hannibal’s Grotto for plenty of wine gift ideas this Christmas.

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Paws for Wine? – We’re supporting the Guide Dogs

Everyone’s heart melts when you set your eyes on these little chappies!  The reality is that these fellers are destined for intense training to become Guide Dogs that will see them transform someone’s life.  Many Guide Dogs are fully trained within two years, but the task of pairing the right dog with the right owner is not so straightforward.  Right now, there is a severe shortage of trained dogs and funding is a continual challenge.  So next month, our annual Autumn wine and food event will see us supporting this life-changing organisation.  On Wednesday 23rd October in Wimbledon, we’ll be show-casing dozens of wines with sensational food pairings, kindly prepared by celebrity chef Elliot Johnson-Paul of JP Dining.   Simply by attending this event (tickets £28), you’ll be helping us fund-raise for the Guide Dogs.  If you want to learn more about the work that the Guide Dogs do – and also enjoy wine – please do come along. 

Read more and book your tickets here> 

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Staff Training….. with a difference at Hannibal Brown HQ

We took time out today to consider the importance of a consistent message throughout Hannibal Brown’s ranks.  We all know how critical it is in any business to maintain a steady hand on the tiller whilst allowing the business to gather momentum and steadily move in the direction of success.  So today, we practised singing from the same hymn sheet and in spite of the continual distractions around us, with the right nurturing, coaxing and down-right discipline, we are now all perfectly aligned.  Happy Red Nose Day everyone!

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Spring 2019 Wine & Food Tasting

The weatherman encouraged me this morning to believe that Spring really is just round the corner, with today’s weather not too dissimilar to that of northern Spain.

So it seemed appropriate to unveil the first of our consumer wine tastings of 2019…..  entitled Malbec & Masala, it’s our Spring pairing of fine wines with tempting food types using spices from around the world.  It’s hot on the heels of last year’s hugely successful Pinot & Paprika tasting.  Such was the popularity of this event, that we’ve decided to run a similar theme, albeit we are pushing the boundaries yet further – Six devilishly delicious food types paired with six artisan wines.  And a raft of other wines to taste and discover at your leisure.

For the concerned few, remember,  not all spice is hot!

We want to share the secret of wine and spice with our guests.  After all, what’s life without a bit of wine and spice thrown in?!

Venue :  Trinity Hall, Wimbledon, SW19

For more details and tickets – call us on 020 3876 8008 or click on the link HERE>

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Crowd-pleasing Muffins, Merlot & Mozart

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In this food and wine pairing, it’s all about the fruit characteristic of the Merlot which couples nicely with the contents of the muffin – sweet, ripe beetroot and fruity goat’s cheese.  The components sit comfortably together in an attractive, gentle way.

The touch of Mourvedre blended into this Merlot provides structure and backbone without too much grip.  ‘Smooth’ it the ultimate wine and food descriptive here and an ultimate crowd-pleaser, hence our chosen musical accompaniment:  Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtsmusik

Join us tomorrow night Friday 19th 7.30 at Wimbledon Library – Measure For Measure – it’s gonna be a blast!

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Still not tasted our wines? Come on down!

Can you believe it?  Already the 22nd November; the first storm of the season has hit; Trump is still procrastinating over his team appointments and my feet are cold!

If you’ve ever stopped to think about the seasonality of wine consumption, then it will come as no surprise to you that this is the busiest time of Hannibal’s vinous year.  And whilst we hold tasting events throughout the 12 months, we save our ‘biggest and best’ for the end of the year.

Hannibal Brown’s Festive Wine Fair 2016 takes place on Wednesday 30th November at MertonVision – a delightful 1920s old school hall within 3 minutes’ walk of Colliers Wood tube station (Northern Line).festive-wine-fair-flyer-rgb

We’re flinging the doors open at 5.00pm this year for the early birds amongst you.  Up to 30 wines from Hannibal Brown’s range will be ready and waiting for guests to taste at their leisure – this is ultimately the best way to work out your likes and dislikes and decide on what wines take your fancy for the Christmas season.  From Amarone to Ripanco, Dracula’s Winery to exquisite dry mature Riesling from Christian Binner – there’s a wine for everyone.  And of course, not forgetting those very naughty-but-nice pudding wines…!

Throughout the evening, the Home of Savoury will be tempting you with their savoury mini-muffin accompaniments (to die for) and “Harry” will be showing off his Chocolate Emporium for all you chocolate lovers.

Tickets are just £15, which covers entry and tasting of everything.  We’ll have our Bubbly Bar up and running, a Guess the Grape Competition and plenty of music and cheer.  What’s more, you’ll see examples of our unique wine personalisation service – imagine, you could sort out your entire Christmas gift woes in one fell swoop!

For full details about our end of year Festive Wine Fair, click HERE>

We look forward to seeing you there!

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