What I drank this weekend: Pinot Noir (of course)

I was once told that the best Pinot Noir comes from either Burgundy in France or Marlborough in New Zealand. This is due to the climate and soil as Pinot Noir tends to like cool climates.

And since then, I've been a bit of a snob about it and tend to only buy my beloved red from those regions. The same with Sauvignon Blanc.

However, recently I have started to stray into trying different regions. Don't get me wrong, I love the light and earthy taste of a Marlborough Pinot Noir, but lately I've been trying some from South East Australia and Oregon.

Oregon is cooler than most Pinot sites in California and so tends to produce a lighter wine more similar to the Burgundy and less fruity and punchy than those from Sonoma. I have particularly enjoyed drinking the Underwood Pinot Noir from Marks and Spencer. At £13 a bottle it isn't cheap, but I think worth every penny. It doesn't have the smoky, mushroomy taste of some Pinots but its fruity and full of ripe cherries and raspberries and of course violets.

Now, when it comes to Australia, I'd generally be inclined to buy a Shiraz or a Cabernet. However, the South Eastern region can be cooler and I've recently become a fan of the Telegraph Station Pinot Noir. Made exclusively for Tesco it is half the price of the Marks and Spencer Pinot Noir at £6 a bottle. And it is delicious. Again, not mushroomy like the Burgundies but bright and fresh and full of raspberry and black cherry. In fact, it has recently been awarded a  International Wine & Spirit Competition Quality Award IWSC Bronze award.

So, if you're coming to visit me over my birthday or Christmas, feel free to bring either of these two reds. They are both great, but I think the Marks and Spencer wine is the winner. So, I'd be especially pleased if you brought this.

Slurrp sensibly and that :) 

Make me love you

Working in marketing (yes I do have a day job) I'm pretty cynical about stunts and promotions. Especially if they're too blatantly selling product. However, this summer, Cono Sur ran a Show What you Grow competition that really entertained me and quite possibly made me a fan.

Some of the tomatoes I grew in my garden

People could send in their pictures of goodies they'd grown themselves, and the best ones would be rewarded with a bottle of wine. Good clean fun. Well sometimes. Some of the vegetables were questionable shapes to say the least! Take a look at the gallery in their Facebook page, it is quite amusing.

It's a tough job doing alcohol promotions. There's a whole load of regulation around targeting the right age groups and not encouraging people to drink too much. That's why I think this campain hit the right level. Firstly because they understand their audience. People who grow their own produce are likely to be pretty middle class and like the good life. Secondly because, other than more wine, food's the best thing to go with a nice glass of something tasty. And thirdly, it gives fans a moment of fame, by displaying real pictures of people online page whether they're winners or not.

Finally because it works as a great sampling opportunity. Allowing people to try Cono Sur even if they hadn't thought of buying it before.

Me, a large courgette, a tomato and a bottle of Cono Sur

I, for one, had never really tried this brand before. However, I won the competition twice (yep, it's true) and I got to try a Pinot Noir and a Viognier from their Bicycle range. Both were delicious, but I was particularly impressed with the Pinot Noir since I am a bit of a snob and only tend to buy PNs from New Zealand or France. They also sent me a selection of recipes to give me ideas for what I could do with my home grown fare, and what to enjoy with my freebee wine.

A bottle of the Pinot Noir I won for my marvellous photo

All this must have engaged me with the brand because I even downloaded the Cono Sur app. Which, although disappointingly isn't configured for iPad, and doesn't do much more than list their range, I was surprised by how extensive their range was. Especially the 20 barrel range, a premium wine range which I had never seen before.

So the moral of this story is that well targeted promotions work. And did it make me drink more wine? Am not sure that is possible!! Would I buy Cono Sur in the future? Almost certainly.