Denise Medrano aka The Wine Sleuth

Denise is an American ex-pat who is fascinated by wine and who has now made it her full time job as a freelance wineblogger. Previous to her arrival in London, Denise had done a sommelier course in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Denise started where so many people in the UK wine trade start, Oddbins, and was fortunate in that Oddbins back then had a great wine education partnership with the Wine and Spirit Educational Trust and was able take the WSET courses.

Looking around the web for blogs that covered the London wine scene, Denise found there were none. Well, none that appealed to her, and none that were a mix of trade and consumer views and opinions, or that really talked about what a great centre of wine London is. So she rolled up her sleeves, bought a domain name and the rest, as they say, is The Winesleuth history. Denise has now branched out into covering wine and travel and in the past 5 months have visited Ireland, France (3 times) Italy, Austria and recently returned from 3 months in Argentina and Uruguay.

What, in your opinion, is the most underrated and overrated Wine in the marketplace?

Sherry has to be one of the most underrated wines in the marketplace, largely because it has this undeserved reputation as a sweet “granny” drink. I think what we don’t realize here is that in Spain, the country of it’s origin, the drier versions of sherry, like Fino, Manzanilla and Dry Oloroso are widely drunk as aperitifs and there is a whole range of cuisine that goes along with it. Sherry is the perfect food wine because it often has a slightly salty character to it and matches beautifully with foods such as olives, which are notorious wine killers and almonds, which is not a wine killer but the nutty character of sherry blends seamlessly with it. When people actually have sherry that has been matched with food correctly, they are often surprised at how well the wine matches with the cuisine. Dry sherry is also very versatile. I had a dry oloroso with a creamy fish pie the other night and it was fantastic, the wine blending perfectly with the creaminess of the pie and at the same time leaving a wonderfully buttery, nutty finish. The higher alcohol content (16 – 20%) of sherry may put some people off but it is supposed to be drunk as an aperitif or with starters, not a wine that should necessarily be drunk throughout the meal, although there’s nothing that says you can’t!

The most over-rated wine currently on the marketplace has to be natural wines. I like the concept of the natural wine movement, little to no intervention or use of chemicals but I think that this does not always produce a good quality wine. When I first tried natural wines, I enjoyed the novelty value of them very much. They were wines with a twist, whether it be their unstability due to lack of the use of sulfur, the slightly oxidized flavours and aromas that sometimes occur or the incidence of brett (which I do enjoy, although some people absolutely abhor it), I found that they constantly surprised me. And occasionally, I would find a very well made, well balanced, natural wine, the only snag being that these were usually very expensive and for the same price, it was possible to get a wine of much higher quality. I think with natural wines, you have to know your wine producer very well. I’ve had too many bad natural wines now to be convinced that they will never be anything but a niche wine. I applaud the idea of little to no intervention and minimal use of chemicals but sometimes, these sometimes, these things are needed to ensure a, frankly, good, enjoyable wine. I’m not advocating manipulation of wines but  a little help doesn’t hurt. Natural wines are often referred to as “hairy-armpit” wines and much like hairy armpits, either you find them a turn on or a turn off, there really isn’t much middle of the road here. If I see a hairy armpit now and then, it doesn’t bother me, but if I lived in a world full of them, I’d probably be disgusted. Much as with natural wines, now and then they’re ok but I’ll stick to the more conventionally made wines or even wines that don’t wear the badge of “natural wine” but are made with little to no intervention or chemicals.

What alcoholic drink do you most resemble?

That is a tough question! I guess I’d have to be a New World fine red wine, friendly and  approachable but at the same time capable of provoking stimulating conversation with my many hidden qualities. 

After a hard days work, what drink do you kick back and relax with?

Wine of course but I don’t really have a favourite one. I usually look at what wines I have at home and pick what feels most appropriate. In winter I tend towards the reds, French, Italian or Portuguese and in summer I like roses!

What’s your earliest Wine memory?

My earliest wine memory is bottles of Blue Nun in the refrigerator. My mother used to drink it in the 80’s and I can still see the bottle in my mind’s eye. It was also the first wine I ever tried. My mom let me try it and laughed when she saw the expression of distaste on my face after I had. Luckily it didn’t scar me for life and I went on to many happy wine drinking experiences.As a matter of fact, I recently tried Blue Nun and while it’s still not a bottle I would have on the dinner table, for 3 quid, I can see why people would buy it.

Briefly describe the best Restaurant experience you've recently.

I’ve only just recently returned to London from a 3 month trip to Argentina and have not really gone out to dinner since my return. I’ve been so busy with tastings and events but the meal that stands out for me was one I had in Bordeaux just last week. I was at Cheval Blanc and we (my press trip companions and I) had lunch with their Technical Director. The service was impeccable, the food lovely and light, just perfect for a mid day meal and the wines were incredible. We started with Dom Perignon ‘02¸tasted through some older vintages of Cheval Blanc, ’03,’00 and ‘89 and finished with Ch. D’Yquem ’95. The setting, the conversation, the food and of course the wines made it as perfect a meal as one could hope for. Sadly, it’s by invitation only and they don’t give those out very often.

You can read up on Denise's wine adventures at http://winesleuth.wordpress.com/ or follow her on Twitter on @thewinesleuth

Cheers!