Cracked open a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc last Friday night. Feel sure it came from Waitrose and cost about a tenner. I've sampled it before but not sure why it never made it onto the pages of Spitty; maybe it's because I didn't really like it!

I certainly didn't enjoy it last week. Was this down to tiredness and the need for something uncomplicated just to relax with? That the wine clashed with the food and I was too exhausted to notice? Or down to the wine itself, appearing overly tart with a really heavy, noticeable spritz?

Perhaps though it just wasn't showing well at that time, it being a 'leaf' day an' all.

By coincidence the following morning copies of When Wine Tastes Best arrived and showed that the from 11 am of the 12th right through to 1 o'clock in the afternoon the following Sunday is a depressingly long 'leaf' period - along with Root a time to avoid tasting wine. (Fruit days and Flower days are the best times to taste/drink wine).

This bio-dynamic calendar is rather controversial - witness the comments left when I wrote about the 2010 release of the calendar back in September 2009. While I can appreciate that the moon, for example, exerts a huge influence on the rhythm of live here on this little blue-green world the addition of the constellations seems, to me, a little too far. Still if you want to show a wine at its very best ensuring it is tasted on a flower or fruit day can't hurt and, just might, aid its showing!

However and to quote from the pocket guide

"If you find yourself with an open bottle of wine on a root or leaf day don't despair. It has been suggested that some types of wine, particularly older bottles (4-5 years or more) can sometimes be favourably drunk on leaf days".

The 2011 edition of When Wine Tastes Best 2011: A Biodynamic Calendar for Wine Drinkers has just been released and is available from Amazon.co.uk for just £2.99.

For those IPhone addicts a free app is available - Wine Tonight - which tells you whether or not the day is a favourable one for drinking wine.

I see the next wine tasting I am organising (#ARSE 2 - Andrew's Really Secret Event) next Sunday falls on a ---- day. This I assume is worse than a Leaf or a Root day! Not good...

I'll put it down to old age. Not the old age where you forget where you live. Nor the old age where you forget you brought a multi-pack of toilet roll and head off to Asda to buy more. Nor the old age where you realise you don't actually shop in Asda. Or have an Asda anywhere near where you live. No, it is more the old age where you forget the little things. Like peoples names or like the review of a restaurant you intended to write up months ago, or where that bottle of wine came from that you would review if only you could recollect the specifics.

With the looming second edition of Andrew's Really Secret Event and me planning the details (you know, ordering bags of Twiglets, bottle openers, baby wipes) I fondly recalled the first tasting, in the Naval Club in London, and how after I was unexpectedly pulled into a taxi and whisked away to South London somewhere (Blackheath as it transpired) for a meal. I felt rather bad about abandoning those still standing after the tasting mid-street, but off I was dragged to, as it transpired, to a lovely little eatery trading under the name of Chapters. You may of heard of it. It's been positively reviewed and sampled by the food blogging community quite substantially. Interesting then to try first hand.

Thank goodness for the photographic evidence for I wouldn't have a clue what I ate.

Not that the evening wasn't memorable - the company was grand (man-about town Douglas Blyde - pictured - and Mnr. Fish, Patrick Carpenter), the pre-lunch cocktail did its stuff, the atmosphere was cool and the privileged tour of the kitchen and its famed Josper grill was a nice topping - but you know, it's that bad memory thang. In my defence it was back in May...

The starter was really interesting; Terrine of potted ham hock and black pudding, Piccalilli, grilled sour dough. The odd thing though was the honey on the bread. Not a great fan of honey at the best of times and I didn't really enjoy its edition here. But the terrine, presented in an individual Mason Jar was divine. Substantial amounts of terrine but not enough bread.

This poorly focused photo is of the mains. A juicy slice of beef given the once over in the Josper. Perfectly cooked - medium rare according to the adjacent knife - and stonking with a dribble or two of Bergerie de l'Hortus Rouge 2008, Pic Saint Loup, Languedoc, France (£28.00). Pic Saint Loup being a particular favourite of mine.

There was a dessert too apparently but then that memory thing kicks in. if only I was a 'proper' journalist and took copious notes at the time. I'd only forget where I put the notebook though and head off to Asda to buy a new one.

Chapters All Day Dining
43-45 Montpelier Vale
Blackheath Village
London
SE3 OTJ

That portion of Greece, Khalkidhiki I believe, looks like some deformed crustacean. Not sure it should grace a wine label but there it is, thrusting it stylised pincers across a bottle of Tsantali Organic Cabernet Sauvignon.

The grapes - organically grown Cabernet Sauvignon - come from this region, and from one of the larger producers in Greece, Tsantali. There website incidentally shows a different label; something not quite so muted, colourful almost,. Perhaps as this wine is from the 2005 vintage they have made some changes since.

But as I am so often reminded its the stuff in the bottle that counts. (But then I brought it simply because it DOES have a three pincered crab on the label, and for the fact it is on offer at Waitrose at the moment).

With a need for something to accompany a plate of Beef Stroganoff (yeh, I know kinda retro but damn quick to cook) using the superlative Pipers Farm Entrecote Steak I was hoping this Cabernet would have a touch of rusticity and power to match the food. I weren't wrong as it happens.

Braced by a decent structure the flavours of blackfruits and blueberries ride high; a great punchy little Cabernet from an unusual source, for Greek wines, despite the efforts of many, are not at the fore-front of the wine-drinkers thoughts.

This bottle would also be a great sample for any Cabernet Day tastings you might be attending. Cabernet Day, September 2nd, is being organised by the Napa based St. Supery Winery. I've had one invite to a tasting meal at Bute Rotissere in London, but I just can't make it... this would have been perfect...

Use the #Cabernet hash tag when posting on Facebook, Foursquare, Gowalla, Twitter, blogs and all the other sites you hang out on. Search the hash tag on social sites to see what other wine drinkers are saying. You'll be able to connect and chat with other Cab drinkers around the world. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet dominated blends are welcome!

A few moments diversion with two YouTube drink adverts. The first, an American advert for Red Stripe decimates the incomparable 1983 Relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood (sound track to my youth etc etc). I mean it is really really crap. The second is far cleverer - Rubik's Head (or is it Cube Head?) in a rather scary/disturbing way advertising Drench Juicy, a soft drink. The tune is the Gap Band's '1979 funk anthem' Oops Upside Your Head. I'm sure someone can enlighten me on which Tube station this is filmed at.

Cedric the Belgian's wine choice for the main course was a claret - Château Lassegue Grand Cru 2000 St Emilion £64, and there was me continuing the Barbera kick and aiming at a bottle of Barbera d'Alba Bric Bertu 2005 Negro-Piemonte at £50.

We came to a compromise. Being the restaurant head at the Montagu Arms he suggested I sample the Bordeaux and if not to my liking he would open the Italian. Nice chap is Cedric the Belgian.

To start though a bottle of Trimbach's Pinot Blanc 2007 caused no problem and proved a rather fine choice to accompany my starter of "Spiced Diver Caught Scallops with Cauliflower Puree Apple, Coriander and Cumin Velouté" (£18) wasn't bad either with the bloke sitting across the table and his choice of "Chilled Cucumber and Horseradish Velouté with Home Smoked Organic Salmon and Avruga Caviar" (£13). The scallops had an interesting textural addition, rice deep fried... Freshly baked bread and locally churned butter (with 3% sea salt) and we were off...

I should have mentioned the Gourgeres we savoured outside on the terrace beforehand. Oh and the plate of nuts and olives were delicious and made the wine decisions an overly protracted affair.

As it transpired the claret did have a rather nice floral quality to the nose but you know what, I'm just not a fan of claret! The Barbera though was sensational and all the more perfect with the chef's special of the night a perfectly water-bathed steak with home grown beans. And indeed they are home grown as you can wander through the kitchen garden with ease (it's through the terraced gardens to the right a little after the croquet lawn). It was here, betwixt the chicken pens and tomato stuffed poly tunnels that I turned my Canon to the film mode and caught the head chef, Roux Scholar Matthew Tomkinson, chat to my dining companion Douglas Blyde.

While Dougie-boy tucked into his beautifully presented "Roast Crown of Landes Pigeon with Crispy Leg Meat Samoas Slow Cooked Sweet Onions and Sage Gnocchi" (£35) we contemplated if we should have gone with the Chef's Menu Surprise.

"For a unique dining experience, Matthew will create a surprise seven-course tasting menu from the best of the day's seasonal produce. Menus will not be presented at the table. Instead dishes will be described to guests as they are served."

Each course is presented with a wine pairing - giving Cedric a chance to delve into the wine list - for a cost of £110 per person. Next time perhaps...

We abandoned the idea of accompanying the dessert with a suggested wine, coffee sufficed at this stage (blaming those pre-dining double G&T's), but my "Dark Chocolate Delice with Crispy Praline Lavender Ice Cream and Burnt Orange Syrup" (£10) has the recommendation of a glass of Skillgalee Liqueur Muscat from Australia (£6.50) while Dougie-boy's "Warm Pistachio Sponge Cake with Rhubarb Sorbet, Rhubarb Compote and Vanilla Custard" (£10) would have been even better perhaps with a glass of 2007 Höpler Trockenbeerenauslese, from Berganland in Austria (£12.75).

Our new best Belgian friend hasn't been at the Montague Arms for much more than 4 weeks; the wine list by his own admission needs a little tweeking and less reliance on just one supplier but I will have to insist that the Barbera is retained; 'cause it was just gorgeous with that Tomkinson-caressed steak. The claret went 'quite nicely' with the Pigeon.

Simply one of the most joyous and tasty meals I've had the pleasure to consume.

The Montagu Arms Hotel,
Beaulieu, New Forest,
Hampshire. SO42 7ZL

Some may feel the name is little more than cheesy. Others take a different track- a touch of much welcomed humour in the swirl of pomposity that comprises the world of wine.

So Conan the Barbera it is; a bottle ordered (from FindWine) simply on its pun-drenched title.

Love the name, love the wine (hate the dirty, tatty look to the label). A damn decent Italian red. A barbera at the richer, robust end of the scale. Still offering a rustic edge, a bright acidic sword-thrust on the finish, something four-legged, gripped between those muscular thighs on the nose; the man's important bits wrapped in an expensive silk cloth.

It is rich, big, rather beefy... oh my; is there a word that implies 'big' enough to encapsulate this bottle? Oh, yeh there is... Conan. More attractive than an Arnold Schwarzenegger incarnation I should add...

The rear label, mucky design apart, is a blast:

"Well done! You picked it up and hey, you're reading the back label. I like you already, you're my type of person - daring, not too conventional... great.

Now can I ask you a personal question? - do you like big, muscly Italians? If that's a no, well it was nice to know you, if just for a short while (sigh)

But if you DO, then I had a go at creating this energetic, bold, single vineyard Barbera from the hills just above Nizza in NW Italy, just for us.

It is a big, sappy, juicy, very focused, deliciously current in the middle and intriguingly minerally around the edges.

It hasn't been fined, filtered or faffed about with, which means it will throw a sediment - so just keep your teeth together when you get to the very last drop of the very last glass! "

Odd name, secret(ish) intentions - a new addition to the internet wine scene is about to be launched. There has been a little twitter buzz concerning the 'Haidu revolution', its launch has been announced as the 1st of August.

Rather than dismissing yet another "wine lifestyle network" - think Snooth, Adegga and another launching soon idea, DrinkPrice - lets see what they say there "absurdly ambitious project" will be offering:

"Some specifics: hundreds of winery websites worldwide, global Wine Dining Guide & Events Calendar, Magazine & Blogs, MyHaidu (a sort of a social network, though the Haidu folks don't like to define it like that) and websites of key players of the wine trade, from event organizers, through wine schools and universities, traders & merchants, wine tourism agencies - the list just doesn't end...

Haidu offers wine lovers around the world relevant, practical information to discover and plan their next wine experience, to expand their wine horizons.

Let's say you think about traveling to Mosel Valley for your vacance. You simply type Mosel Valley in Haidu.net search window (in its clean & elegant homepage) and before your eyes unveils a list of the valley's wineries, 'wine-friendly' restaurants, wine-related events, magazine articles & blog posts about Mosel. You can quickly tag the entities to your liking with vacance 2011 and they are automatically saved to a specified folder in your MyHaidu universe"

Easy to deduce then that Haidu will be offering a heck of a lot more than a wine tasting database. All the Haidu information is drawn from the "players themselves"

"The wineries manage their own websites, the event organizers publish their own events, even the restaurants create their own sites around Haidu's review of them. All this guarantees clean, reliable information, without any middleman distortion"

The social aspects haven't been ignored as you will be able to share, highlight, follow and receive updates from each section. There is of course going to be a Haidu iPhone App.

Just a few days then before we can all explore and engage further...