Wine Spy

There is nearly always a bargain on the wine list — something the accountants have made a mistake on, or perhaps the wholesalers have sold in too cheaply.

Such a wine can jump off the page and offer great value for money, but they are becoming harder and harder to find as systems and checks put in place by importers, distributors and hoteliers work hard to ensure minimum margins of profit or cost.

Whilst we in Dubai are used to spending a minimum of AED 200 (US $54) for basic entry wines in our up-market establishments, to get something worth writing about often costs in excess of AED 300 (US $82) or more.

Tourists looking at the exchange rate will view those prices in dollars or pounds and see a price that back in even London or Paris would buy a really decent bottle of wine.

However, Vintage, The Cheese and Wine Bar, at The Wafi Pyramids negates the need to search long and hard for such a bargain by offering 40% discount off all wines from 5.00pm to 8.00pm during the week.

They have actually put together a really good list, not just the big brand names everyone has.

This of course creates another dilemma: do you choose to save money, or treat yourself to something which perhaps ordinarily you wouldn’t have chosen due to the price?

I decided to do a bit of both, (well, the promotion was on for three hours and it took half an hour in the taxi to get there, so no point just having one bottle between two,) and treid first a white then a red.

German wines have had terribly bad press over the last twenty years, as a generation who grew up on Liebfraumilch (a Blue Nun for a special occasion), Piesporter and Niersteiner shunned German wines as they and their palates moved on to the big Aussie reds and whites.

But it could be time for a rethink.

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Germany is famous for its Riesling wines and also makes some fabulous Pinot Noirs (called Spatburgunder in German), so as a re-entry to German Rieslings I chose Dr Loosen Riesling for only AED 225 (US $61) down to AED 135 (US $37) per bottle.

If you haven’t tried German Riesling for a while, have a go at this: a delicious Riesling grown on the steep south facing stony banks of The Mosel.

Due to the cool climate the grapes ripen very slowly through the season and are protected at night by the presence of the river.

This allows flavours of mineral and stone fruit to come through in a straight-forward uncomplicated way, whilst retaining good acidity to balance the wine and make it very enjoyable. A real bargain on the wine list!

This tempted the taste buds to dig into a big red, so I went from Germany to South Africa.

Years ago I discovered Meerlust Rubicon and was delighted to find a Meerlust merlot on the list — only the second time I had come across the wine. (The first was in Empire restaurant at The Monarch Hotel, with a really good steak.)

So it was interesting to try this on its own, especially as it now only cost AED 324 (US $88) after discount.

This is 89% merlot with 11% cabernet franc, in classic Right Bank copycat style. French-oak aged for nearly 18 months, the wine develops with pure plum and dark fruit flavours, nicely balanced with hints of chocolate and spice.

It is a big, strong wine and tasted nearly as good on its own as it did with the steak.

So there was only one thing left to do, have a little cheese to see if it would improve — and happily, with 40% off the wine, I could still afford the cheese and ham board for a full fare of AED 107 (US $29)!