Pousse d'Or Caillerets Clos des 60 Ouvrées 1996 and mallard

Now, this wasn't any old duck and burgundy combination as you might have guessed from the heading, this was complex, gamey mallard and a rather cherished mature Volnay. For a number of years I've been the proud owner of a bottle of Domaine de la Pousse d'Or Caillerets Clos des 60 Ouvrées 1996. We've recently moved house, so this autumn seemed a good time to open it to toast our new home. We had an old friend of mine from the wine trade round for supper, so the timing and company seemed ideal.

I've had several red burgundies from this tight, briskly acidic vintage and some of them (especially village wines) are reaching the end of their lives. However, I expected this wine from such a notable site and skilled winemaker to still be very much on song. To my relief (it always feels like Russian Roulette with mature wines), it was in full voice.

There is something quite moving about this wine. It was made by Gérard Potel, one of Burgundy's greatest recent figures, who ran the domaine until his premature death in 1997. You can read more about Domaine de la Pousse d'Or and Gérard Potel here on Clive Coates's website. It reveals that critical changes were taking place at the domaine and how stress may have contributed to Potel's early demise. So, the bottle of Volnay that had lurked in my cellar for so many years has particular poignance as it was from Potel's final vintage.

Amazingly, after 17 years, the wine was full of vigour, with a rounded silky texture, creamy and fleshy – not what I expected from this angular (even gaunt) vintage. Aromatically there was a lot going on – violets,  morello cherries, plums, exotic spice, even savoury soy notes, all supported by a refreshing chalky mineral backbone. Expressive, pure, defined and entirely harmonious. Ravishingly beautiful.

Allowing the wine to fully articulate itself, the mallard worked brilliantly. The gamey meat was complex enough in its own right, simply served with potatoes roasted in duck fat and one of my favourite vegetables for fine reds, red cabbage. An autumn treat we won't be forgetting in a hurry.

Wine Gang Christmas Fair ticket offer

It really seems as though the year is racing by and Christmas is now very much on the radar. If you need some ideas for the festive season why not pop along to a Wine Gang Christmas Fair in November. The Wine Gang comprises five engaging and entertaining wine experts – Joanna Simon, Anthony Rose, Tom Cannavan, Jane Parkinson and David Williams – who will all be on hand to help guide you through the hundreds of wines available for tasting. There will be free 20 minute wine walks and bookable masterclasses (priced separately) – the Tokaji and chocolate masterclass at the London event sounds particularly tempting. There will also be a pop up shop with wines available at a discount.

The Fairs are taking place at the Guildhall in Bath (November 2nd), Vinopolis in London (November 9th) and the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh (November 30th).

The Wine Gang has generously offered readers of this blog tickets at a reduced rate: £12 instead of £20 and a 10% discount on tickets for masterclasses. Please use the code BLOG40 when you book tickets on the website. I might see you there!

(To get you in the mood, I've included a couple of pics: the one at the top was taken last year in Covent Garden and the shot below is to remind you to start organising your dry ingredients for stir-up Sunday…)

A new home and a taste of the good life

It's been a busy few months. We've bitten the bullet and in early August moved further out of town from Tufnell Park to High (AKA Chipping) Barnet on the outskirts of London. The lure of a bigger garden and spacious green surroundings proved too much, yet we're just as close to the tube and a busy high street.

Almost as soon as we arrived some friendly neighbours from across the road came to introduce themselves bearing produce from their allotment. The first meal I cooked in our new home featured locally grown courgettes. After a three week holiday in France (more of which to come) we returned to our own fruitful harvest – blackberries, followed by apples and more recently grapes. What's more, our next-door neighbours have hens, so we've had eggs in exchange for home-made marmalade. Result!

So, I've had a busy few weeks preserving, juicing and freezing – my Bramley lemon curd is a particular hit and the bramble jelly as good as ever. So far so Good Life...

(Not a common sight in Tufnell Park!)

Salted caramel sauce

There's currently a bit of a vogue for salted caramel and lots of naughty examples are available. For some time I've been a fan of Paul A Young's truffles, but lately these more affordable lovelies by Charbonnel et Walker have been going down a storm in our household as you can see below.   

I've also got a major weakness for salted caramel sauce. I've bought it a couple of times recently, but had no idea what a complete doddle it is to make. Searching online I came across this recipe by Nigella where you just simmer butter, sugar and golden syrup together for a few minutes, stir in cream and salt and cook for a little longer. (You don't even need to check the temperature, so my sugar thermometer unexpectedly stayed in the draw.) Then, voilà, you have the most exquisitely decadent sauce. Nigella uses the word 'rakish' to describe it which is spot on. Some chopped honeycomb (or Crunchy bar) adds a nice bit of texture and only a few more calories – probably not many in the scheme of things.

Dining in and around Ramsgate

At Easter we spent a week in Ramsgate self-catering in this gorgeous apartment. It was freezing cold, but a few of those days were vividly sunny. We didn't mind, though. We'd taken plenty of games, DVDs, goodies we'd picked up at The Goods Shed in Canterbury and were able to pop out to Waitrose a few minutes' walk away. We'd also made some restaurant bookings and were excited about trying out local restaurants and, of course, there'd be fish and chips. We weren't disappointed. What's more when we were there a few weeks ago over the Whitsun bank holiday, we returned to a couple of favourites and made some new discoveries.

Age & Sons, Ramsgate
I love this place! I've been three times now – twice over Easter and again recently at Whitsun and each time eaten deliciously imaginative seasonal local food. Age & Sons is what's written on the side of the building, an old wine warehouse – Page & Sons is how it should appear, but the 'p' is missing. The team behind it is led by Toby Leigh, nephew of Rowley, who cooks with a similarly respectful hands-off style, allowing the ingredients to shine. On our last visit a particular starter blew me away – local asparagus with parmesan panne cotta (which included meadow wort I believe). It was inspired. This was followed by some rather splendid lamb from their Sunday lunch menu: £15 for three courses; they charged £10 for this dish and my starter was £5.50. (My only slight gripe is that they could do more to tweak dishes for children, rather than limiting them to the standard menu – however, I mentioned this to Toby as we were leaving and it sounds like they're taking this on board.)

Wyatt & Jones, Broadstairs
This restaurant had only been open a few weeks when we visited it at Easter for Sunday lunch. Wyatt & Jones is open all day as a café, bar and restaurant and occupies a prime spot near the beach in Broadstairs. Like Age & Sons, it focuses on local produce, prepared simply and stylishly. We nibbled some anchovy toast and brawn and pickles before tucking into our roasts. Here children can enjoy a 'mini roast' for £6 which went down as well as our grown up versions – we had excellent chicken and beef with vegetables to share served family style. As the non-driver, my pale ale from the Ramsgate brewer Gadds, was a tasty local compliment to the hearty food.

While we're still in Broadstairs, around the corner we passed an amazing looking second-hand bookshop that was serving all manner of Kentish goodies. We didn't go inside (next time), but did take some pictures. Another time.

Bon Appetit, Ramsgate
This little restaurant is one of several cafés and restaurants on a pretty parade overlooking the waterfront. We stopped off for lunch and tried some of the day's specials – fish pie, steak and a child's portion of the steak dish served with bread and with a couple of glasses of wine this came to a bargain £34. Our daughter's dish was a mere £2.95 and with that kind of generous good will, we'll certainly be going back to this cute and well located little bistro.

The Royal Harbour Brasserie
This was a real surprise. From the outside it looks like a beached tanker or World War 2 relic at the end of the harbour pier, but go inside and you'll find an enthusiastically run bar/café/restaurant serving well prepared fish and seafood, as well as a broad range of dishes often featuring local produce. It's open all day (except Mondays) and after a pleasurable stroll it offers spectacular views of the marina and town or turn the other way and gaze out to sea. After a long lunch at Age & Sons and a relaxing spell on the beach, it was ideal for early evening drinks and some small plates. On a previous visit on a freezing cold April day it was a cosy refuge with hot drinks and cakes. A good all-rounder.

Peter's Fish Factory, Ramsgate
Right down on the front in Harbour Parade, this is an award-winning classic old seaside chippy. It's easy to spot from its eccentric crenelated facade and the long queues that form most times of day. They even have a cheeky favourite of mine – mushy pea fritters! Apparently during the summer season they get through three tons of potatoes a week – potatoes that are grown nearby in Sandwich.

Pelosi's Ice Cream Parlour, Ramsgate
Just along from Peter's Fish Factory at 76 Harbour Parade is another classic establishment and, in this case, with a fabulous retro soda fountain interior well worth taking a look at in its own right. What's more the ice creams are great. So far, we can vouch for three flavours: rum and raisin, chocolate and the deliciously girly Turkish Delight (rose and chocolate). However, as I write this I've just noticed with dismay that the premises are up for sale. I sincerely hope someone enthusiastic acquires this Ramsgate gem and builds on the success of three generations of the Pelosi family.

Ramsgate: Regency elegance on the Kent coast

Until recently, to me, Ramsgate was just a lesser known Channel port, but a fleeting visit early last year radically changed this. We'd failed to get to France for Easter, so spent a couple of days exploring this corner of Kent and really liked what we saw. What's more, as it's so close to London, we've returned a couple of times since.

The big surprise with Ramsgate is the quality of the architecture, big sandy beaches and its bustling, scenic harbour – Britain's only royal harbour, a status granted to the town by George IV. Street names such as Nelson Crescent, Wellington Crescent and The Plains of Waterloo all obviously date from this period and elegant Georgian terraces shape the townscape. A century later local resident Pugin put his stamp on the town with his distinctive Grange and several other buildings. Blue plaques noting the town's many illustrious visitors punctuate the buildings and reveal just what a fashionable resort Ramsgate used to be. Over the years, fortunes have fluctuated for neighbouring Margate and Broadstairs, too, but things are definitely picking up and being only 75 minutes away from St Pancras on High Speed 1 means the so-called 'DFLs' (Down From London) will only get more numerous.

It's a great area for food and drink and I've already mentioned Canterbury's amazing Goods Shed in an earlier post. I'll be covering recommended local restaurants separately, but here are some pictures of Ramsgate basking in glorious sunshine at Whitsun.