“1. Suppose I were to begin by saying that I had fallen in love with colour. Suppose I were to speak this as though it were a confession; suppose I shredded my napkin as we spoke.” Maggie Nelson
“Treat my body like some oxtails, lick your fingers” Megan Thee Stallion
A space between food and drink as body, and colour as a nourishing entity, is the rabbit hole I crawled down to concoct an introduction for today's red wine subject matter. I indulged in something macro whilst Marigold falls into the hands of BJ McNeill this week, they will fine tune some more precise thoughts on tasting. BJ picks bottles of red to mark the end of the year and excessive festive drinking. Or rather, the brief was to stick to red, but ever the ‘Leone d’uva’ (lion of grapes) they have thrown in a sparkling of their own initiative, making the self indulgent intro that follows obsolete.
RED
In times of celebration Red is often the marker which elevates the everyday to the monumental. At Christmas this is the velvet trim and the holly berries, in Indian weddings it is the hue of the bride's adornments, on the Hollywood red carpet it’s the signature Louboutins. Mythologically connected with the colour of Mars and by proxy its astrological shorthand, the colour red is often used to conjure emotions that describe the great passions of life be this anger, love or fertility.
This symbolism, tied with red's place in the colour wheel, i.e if the primary colours are yellow, blue and red, then yellow is surely the sun, blue is the water cycle and red is the earth rich in sedimentary layers; this provides red with a wombic bodily connection. Today's newsletter is concerned with red wine; whose presence when conjured in a devotional role is the very blood and body of Christ or, when tasted for pleasure, attributes speak of flesh and platelets, be that thick and tannic, ferric or full bodied.
The oldest red pigment is hematite, sometimes itself worn on the skin, a symbol of strength in battle, and surely a measure of people taking power from the earth. Red wine terroir directly affects the profile of the finished glass, the taste is of the earth and of the vine. As the grape juice ferments the process opens its tasting notes and the end result should produce something with a beautiful colour be it Garnet or Ruby. Perhaps it is the combination of rich earthy flavours and a drink with a palette akin to our insides that links red wine with fertility, and in turn sexuality (of course it goes without saying there is also a certain loosening of morality after the third glass).
With this in mind myself and Josie had an interesting morning preparing today's photos, misting grapes so they appeared dew kissed and figuring out whether an armpit or an elbow is a better place to hold fruit. I’m quite happy with our grape centrefold and I believe it sits nicely with BJ’s review, they are one of the most sexy and red wine soaked people I know.
Love,
Rebecca and the Marigolds
Suggested Pairing
I ummed and ahhed about using the following recipe, as Beej is vegan. Sorry Beej, but it had to be done, it just felt too appropriate.
Meat and offal is what I bring to the table, and much like a drunken good humoured disagreement round the family table, we will always love and respect each other’s opinions. When we do cook together me and Beej synchronise beautifully and have produced some truly banging food. If eating out we get mainly vegan/veg dishes to share, but they always make sure to take me somewhere I can get my meat fix on (shout out our last meal at Dilara Uyghur Restaurant in Finsbury Park - lambs feet for one to die for). Perhaps that’s why we’re friends - we round each other out.
So here’s my recommendation - Oxtail Eben's Way from St. John Nose To Tail - I made it this week as the weather has just begun to change here, and just the idea of soaking meat in red wine for 2-3 days screams wintertime indulgence to me. Not to mention port sauce - heavenly nectar. I’m only interested in eating things soaked in wine for the rest of the year.
Emily
December. Marigold. Wine.
Words: BJ McNeill
Images: Rebecca Townrow, Josie McLean
I wanted to start with a comment about drinking more than is perhaps necessary and in turn excess in the festive period. But let's be honest, 2020 has been difficult to handle at the best of times, and many of us have fallen into that behaviour a few times this year already. I think of myself in the first lockdown stirring 2pm martinis just because I... well just because. I rarely stopped at one.
Regardless, many of us will still no doubt be overindulging at Christmas particularly when it comes to wine. Wine is, in part, here to be enjoyed with food and food for many of us, privileged enough to indulge, is an essential part of the festive season. Plus a large glass of Chianti sometimes helps you tolerate family for just that little bit longer.
The Christmas I grew up with was Sydney-side, which spot-lit BBQs & beers, 30 degree heat, an array of fresh salads and morning ocean swims. It often featured oysters, sparkling wine, my great aunt Dawns Christmas cake, Nana’s prawn Vol-au-vents and lots of family friends “popping in”. In contrast my adult Christmases in the UK have been marked with rich baked and roasted delights, lots of gin, pickles & potatoes, red wine, hat making competitions, essential living room dance floors and the hope for snow. I won’t lie, I do prefer the Australian rendition, but both have their charms. One advantage of having a winter Christmas in the UK is that it feels more suited to red wine. So taking from both festive experiences I have picked a couple of vinos to fill a glass with at this time of year.
*** Disclaimer the tasting of these wines did not happen in any of the above contexts. It happened on a Thursday evening when my boyfriend invited me over to theirs for a date inclusive of a romantic bath and home made Okonomiyaki for dinner. A tad random but if anything it just shows the diversity of the wines.
I’ve chosen a sparkling and a red. The first for the morning with presents & any necessary toasting and the second to compliment the rich, fatty, roasts and sweet creamy desserts, that often arrive at the table just before the whiskey comes out!
Pago de Tharsys Brut nature Cava – I’ve picked this because well, 1. I trust Valencian sparkling as the Spanish rarely disappoint 2. You can pick it up for £11 and 3. It’s just fucking great, period! I’ve served this one working in restaurants, drunk it at home and it’s just a delicious glass of bubbles. This is a blend of Macabeo and Parellada grapes and the colour is a gorgeous light gold. It has fine bubbles and is light in body. It has a lemon citrus profile with a hint of green grass and gooseberry and just a tiny hint of biscuit at the end. It slips down very easily and before you know it it’s gone.
When it comes to red wine I have always been a lover of Italian grapes and one of my favourite regions in Italy is Piemonte. While the area is more obviously famed for the Nebbiolo grape the most widely planted varietal is Barbera which turns out a delish wine, not just because it’s from a great region but also because it’s super versatile and usually sold at a good price point. The Brich Barbera, Agricola Gaia, 2019 (pick it up for around £14) is vegan, the farming organic and the grapes picked by hand. The result is a wine that is a gorgeous garnet colour in the glass fresh and smooth. There is a prominent cherry flavour with a hint of blueberry and a touch of sweetness. It ever so slightly dances on your tongue.
Lastly a special mention to the well priced sparkling and reds below that I love love love and recommend for consumption this Christmas and all year round. Do check them out!
Riva Leone, Barbera, Piemonte, 2018, - From £8
Camillo Donati Lambrusco 2018 – Around £18
Crocera Barbera D’Asti Superiore 2017 – Around £10
Sainsbury’s Cremant – £9.50
Here’s to an indulgent end to a miserable year, send us some festive love at the.club.marigold@gmail.com or say hi on the gram, shout out to Juliet who hit us up with a picture of her beautiful mussels inspired by our 6 month issue. Below Josie has compiled some wine themed links, see you for our end of the year edition in a fortnight!
Sour Grapes – A documentary on a mysterious figure who emerges onto the 2000’s wine collection scene with an almost “unbelievable” collection. Which turns out to be utterly fake. A slightly sickening insight into the utter ludicrousness of wine collection, mainly when you realise a lot of it is purely about ownership as opposed to enjoyment. You can’t help but want to root for the shady figure robbing all these fat white men (about 99% of the demographic) from millions of pounds worth of imaginary wine they’ll never drink.
Wine Girl: A Sommelier’s Tale of Making It In The Toxic World Of Fine Dining – While I immediately want to dislike anything with the title Wine Girl, this book by Victoria James is much less frivolous than the title implies. One of three women who founded Wine Empowered, a charity which funds free wine education for women and people of colour in an attempt to redress the imbalance in the industry, she is not only shouting about inequality in the industry but also addressing it directly. This book is not an easy read, it tackles sexual harassment and misogyny from both a wider and personal perspective, it is nonetheless necessary for it.
Umami Synergy – something slightly cheerier and appropriately festive to end with. Also oysters (according to Beej they have no nervous system so count as vegan?!?!?) and fizz are true loves of our Beej’s life. A new study came out this week on the scientific reasons why champagne and oysters are a match made in umami heaven. Read the full study here or a brief overview here.