How Grog began – in the Rhone
Biodynamic, Organic & sustainable agriculture reds from the Village of Vinsobres in the Southern Rhone.
The “Cotes du Rhone” is lightly lighter and like “Beaujolias with knobs on” and more “easy-drinking” than the straight “Vinsobres village” wine. The reason being is that some of their grapes are grown just outside the village and they are slightly less intense & concentrated in flavour. Both are made from from Grenache grapes with a splash of Syrah (Shiraz) & Cinsault & Mourvedre. £11.49 & £14.99 respectively
https://www.greatgrog.co.uk/…/cotes-du-rhone-chaume-arnaud-…
https://www.greatgrog.co.uk/…/cotes-du-rhone-chaume-arnaud-…
These wines were the reason I set up Great Grog all those years ago (1999). I was working for Oddbins (a formerly great UK-wide Wine Merchant Chain) whilst studying for my Master of Wine. I tried this wine in the Caledonian Hotel (Edinburgh) at a Cotes du Rhone wine promotional roadshow of small producers. What struck me was the ingrained dirt in the winemakers hands. This was no “marketing chappie”, Phillipe was the real deal.
Having returned to the Oddbins shop in the West End of Edinburgh (Queensferry Street) after my brief wine/lunch break I phoned the oddbins buyers and mentioned this producer and how genuinely great the wines tasted. Their response was “are you trying to tell us our job?”
After seething for a little while I decided to self-employ and after 6 months I had left Oddbins. Guess which wine was the very first one I sold?
21 years later Oddbins has gone bust twice and I am fortunate enough to stilll be serving the nation with wines I like.
Cheers, Richard