JOLLY GARDENERS RETURN

Have had an old friend and his son here  for the past two days. They've  been doing odd jobs and gardening and after their relentless toil we've all enjoyed jovial evenings with crémant for the aperitif , Alsace wine with supper followed by brandy balloons of  wonderful Alsace eau-de-vie.

Chris, a former micro brewery sales' director, really enjoyed the crémant and we both lamented its absence in the wine aisles of UK supermarkets, especially when Alsace crémant is the second most consumed sparkling wine, after champagne, in France. As our Gallic cousins invented la  méthode champenoise they must know what they're on about.

The Alsace pinot noir from Dambach-la-ville was also amazing and after Nespressos accompanied by the wonderfully orangey eau-de-vie Esprit de Bière, from Hubrecht in Maisongoutte in the Val de Villé who uses an ancient wood-fired still, we all slept well.

'I never ever woken  up here with a headache after drinking all your wonderful booze,' Chris smiled.

'How can an Italian sparkling wine served from a Coke-dispenser-like contraption be so popular?'' I thought aloud.

'It's all a case of marketing,' Chris said.

'Therein lies  the problem with Alsace wine,' I said, 'so many small vintners competing against each other and missing the opportunity to market their woefully underrated wines to a global market.'