15. Go to a wine tasting to learn more about wine

At university I had the pleasure of living in Oak House halls of residence with Mr Chris Johnson (as well as the wonderful Denise, the lovely Phil and some others who didn't really stick around).

Mr Chris Johnson (ironically, that's also my boss' name!) went on to become a sommelier and works at Jeroboams, a posh wine shop in London. Very conveniently a couple of weeks ago I received an email from Chris that he was hosting a wine tasting and would I like to come. Well yes, 1. because it's an opportunity to catch up with an old friend and 2. a chance to tick another item off my list.

Last Wednesday I was shown into the cellar of the Davies Street Jeroboams for a Bordeaux wine evening, sampling two white Bordeaux wines (yes Bordeaux can be white!) and sampling four red Bordeaux wines.

On arrival I was handed a very tasty glass of Laytons Brut Reserve Champagne. We then went on to sample the white wines: a 2009 Clos Floridene Blanc and a 2009 Caillou Blanc du Chateau Talbot. Both wines were priced in the £20-£30 region. Given that I don't know much about wine, the idea of spending that amount of money on a bottle of wine in a shop seems a bit much but they were both tast, although very different.

A brief interval of cheese and bread - very lovely cheese I must add - preceded the red wine tasting. In the reds we tasted:

2007 Chateau Quinault L'Enclos

2001 Cantermerle, 5th Growth

1996 Chateau Pontet Canet 5th Growth

1996 Chateau Lagrange 3rd Growth

Now after thinking that the £20-£30 was quite pricey, the reds totally outstripped that and the list included one £120 bottle and one £80 bottle. I have to admit that as hard as I tried to like the £120 bottle (pictured on the left), it just wasn't my cuppa tea, but the £80 bottle was pretty tasty.

Things that I learned at the wine tasting:

• Bordeaux does not just produce red wines, they also produce white
• Wine is often fermented in steel barrels, not wooden barrels as I had thought (to do with both cost and taste)
• White wines are not always one grape and can be a blend of grapes
• Robert Parker seems like an important man in the wine world - his ratings are essentially the equivalent of Michelin star ratings for restaurants
• 1996 was a very good year for wine and is one of the best vintages to get these days
• The older the vintage, the less time you should decant the wine for (as the air will just remove the taste like that)
• What chateau a wine comes from is important, the chateaux in France are super-important and vary in size and power

All in all a pretty good night, great wine, great food and great company! Thanks Chris for hosting!

Four down, 26 to go!