Not a great crime you would have thought but coupled with a really abysmal memory and disaster befalls my blog-writing regular-like. Coupled with an hereditary inability to ever find anything - before, after or during regular 'tidying up ' sessions and you may wonder how I struggle under the weight of shame and guilt to lift head-from-pillow every morning.

I've just discovered a rather well written intro to a blog post, scribbled on the back of a brown envelope. The witty and, dare I suggest, sophisticated missive references two superb sounding wines (one from Argentina, the other South African) but sadly fails to mention any specifics - like name or grape variety. The crumpled edge of the envelope has a paper clip attached... I am wondering where said 'attachment' is though...

I have attempted everything to become more organised. From designing and printing tasting note sheets and clipping them to a Muji clipboard (that could only hold 10) to using variously sized notebooks which were either too small or two cumbersome to manage at tastings. I had an eleastic band looped round one, quite well used, suitably sized, note book which held everything of import written for Spittoon over a period of several months. And then lost the book.

I even confused the 'bottles for photographing box' with the 'empties for recycling box' and now have a stack of picture-less wines to grace my graphic heavy website. Poor show indeed.

Bottles are currently lined up on a secondary table, 12 in number and all awaiting a write up on Spittoon. I have the notes and several references to the food match. But can I recall what half the foods were? Can I buggery. An attempt to match stored photos of food with each wine has just wasted a fruitless hour with three possibles and two no-shows. Some were sampled several months back; and as I can't even recall what I had for dinner last Thursday recollections from the dim and distant are simply hopeless.

The problem is exasperated by the sheer number of samples I have to write-up. In addition to the 12 there are four more empties downstairs and two whites in the fridge.

My wine tasting note hieroglyphics in use at trade tastings convert just weeks after the event into ancient Sumerian cuneiform of a type that even Mr I Jones would decree to be indecipherable (and they made so much sense on the train journey home!)

My new years resolution is, therefore, to become more organised, to write complete notes at the time of tasting and not relying on a 'yep, I'll remember that when I come to complete the write-up'. I resolve therefore to only have two 'to report' bottles waiting at anyone time and not to broach any further bottles until they have reached the pages of Spittoon. I'm sure I resolved something very similar last year... only I can't remember back that far.

I think that both Pinotage and Torrontes might fight with the rocket - I'd go for the rosé - bon appetit!"

While Rob at the Wine Conversation went for the Torrontes

Torrontes! Def not Pinotage, but depends on how good the rose is, however Torrontes still best bet. Sounds yummy"

The rosé (Fish Hoek Pinotage Rosé, 2008 from South Africa) and the Torrontes (Catena Alamos Torrontes, 2008 from Argentina) were duly opened. The other bottle options, a Sauvignon Blanc and a Pinotage, both from South Africa, and a Bordeaux red remain for another day. Why I thought a Bordeaux red would be any good I have no idea but I did think the rustic nature of a Pinotage would go well with the earthy quality of the beetroot, hoping the wine would match the inherent sweetness of the beetroot too.

Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: Fish Hoek Pinotage Rosé, 2008, Western Cape, South Africa.
Price: £6.19 From Tesco and Somerfield [More: Adegga / Snooth]
A splurge of cherry and strawberry opens this rosé, tinge of spritz, creamy edge, rounded and very drinkable. Dry finish. A Silver Medal winner at the International Wine Challenge 2008. Alcohol 13%.

Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 88/100 [3.5 out of 5]

Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: Catena Alamos Torrontes, 2008, Salta, Argentina.
Stockist: Bibendum Price: £7.00 [More: Adegga / Snooth]
Peachy, apricot, honeysuckle but not in a sweet Gewurz-type way. Palate is lighter than the aroma would suggest and while similar flavours are present the palate is more limey, crisp and refreshing. Dry too. The acidity is the key here, forming the wine into a fine food wine.

Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 90/100 [3.75 out of 5]

Now, while it was the Alamos Torrontes, that as a wine was preferred, from a food and wine view it was impossible to select one above the other (and by heck did I try - a seemingly endless switch between glasses and mouthfuls of the food in various combinations). The Pinotage Rosé, while a simpler wine, worked superbly well - countering the (overly) forceful garlic, the dryness of the walnuts and the pepperiness of the rocket. The slightly sweet fruit also matched the sweetness of the beetroot.

Conversely the Torrontes utilising the full powers of its acidity acted as a palate cleanser rather than a complementary partner. But still the floral nature of the wine made an interesting and tasty counter to the sweetness of the beetroot and even developed an affinity with the peppery rocket.

Tesco organises this event every year giving the winners a guaranteed listing in national and regional Tesco stores for a minimum of 12 months.

The Tesco Drink Awards are designed to champion regionality and small producers, giving them a route to market and wider exposure to the UK consumer.

Now I think the bottle pictured is Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale brewed by the Flying Dog Brewery in Maryland, America. As you can read in the press release below this won the Best Bitter and Ale category - which must have been the table I slurped around - so it would appear my fellow judges were as impressed as I was!

Coming to a Tesco near you then, Flying Dog Classic Pale Ale.