Wine List
Right then, after reading the wonderfully embellished descriptions of our cocktails and spirits I felt it only right that I should witter on at length about our fabulous wines. If all you want to do is cut to the chase and quaff away then please feel free to completely ignore the next few paragraphs and get some great wines on board.

If, however, you'd like to know a little more about why I've chosen these wines in particular then please continue to read this humble attempt to entertain and inform. We have ploughed our way through over 500 different bottles of wine, (Hard life eh?) to find the 20 or so beauties that we have to offer you. The way we chose these few was through an ingenious selection process which follows. Having sipped from the glass:

a. Do I want to drink the whole glass? - If no, then bin it. If yes, see b.
b. Having drunk the whole glass, do I want to spank the whole bottle? - If no, give it to the staff, if yes, see c.
c. Is it an exceptional example of that particular variety AND having drunk a whole bottle, can I remember what ....................

So there you have it, the Amber Rooms guide to wine tasting. Basically, if you like it, drink it!

WHITE WINES

HOUSE WHITES
We have three splendid house whites, a dry, an off-dry, and a sweet - a little something to suit every palate.

RESERVE DELUC
11.5% vol: is a bright, clean dry drop of lovely from the Gascoigne in south west France. If you like your white dry, you'll love this; it's absolutely, bloody marvellous for the price. Great citrus aromas and flavours, an absolute snip at BY GLASS @ £3.50 OR SPANK THE WHOLE BOTTLE FOR £9.50

RUITERSVLEI CHENIN BLANC
12%vol: Grown within sight of Table Mountain, this wine offers aromas of ripe melons and pineapple which are carried through to the palate. I love it's delightfully fruity flavour and is amazing value at only BY THE GLASS @ £3.50 - BOTTLE £9.50

KENDERMANNS RIESLING KABINETT 2003
8.5% vol: This cool climate Riesling comes from the stunningly beautiful Mosel valley. An amazing example of what a Riesling should be but so rarely is. With the first taste comes a glorious explosion of sweetness. Then, swallow and the palate is left feeling dry, clean, fresh and watering in anticipation of the next glorious sip and at only 8.5% vol. it's perfect as a day time quaff with a light lunch. GLASS £3.50 - BOTTLE £9.50

TORRES VINA ESMERALDA
11% vol: From Catalonia in north eastern Spain comes this mental Muscatel (85%) and Gewürztraminer (15%) wonder. Smooth, flowery (Elderflowery really. No, really!). I've never met any one who has tried this and not said, "WOW! THAT'S INCREDIBLE! GIVE ME THE BOTTLE!" Great by itself or amazing with everything. When you drink this wine, it's always summer. Try a glass, buy the bottle! You know you want to. GLASS £4.00 - BOTTLE £12.00

GRAND PREBOIS MARSANNE - VIOGNIER
13% vol: Produced by the Perrin Brothers (No relation to Reggie.) of Chateau de Beaucastel, just north of Avignon in south east France near the town of Orange. What a bizarre delight, clean, crisp summery freshness, dry after taste with a hint of toffee!? Honest. Weird and wonderful. GLASS £4.00 - BOTTLE £12.00

THE SPECIALS

MEZZA CORONA PINOT GRIGIO
12.5% vol: We've got this little gem on our list, not because it's trendy, (How many thin, watery, boring glasses of Pinot Grigio have you had?) but because it's fantastic! With all the light, crisp, fresh elements one would normally associate with this bottle plus a bit of unexpected body. A truly excellent example of what Pinot Grigio can taste like. Magnificent with fish and chips ............. or line caught Tuna steak, served on a bed of wild rocket leaf. BOTTLE - £15.00

REX GOLIATH CHARDONNAY
13.5% vol: Known amongst the staff as our "BIG COCK", for the innocent reason that REX GOLIATH was a 47 pound cockerel which was the star attraction of a travelling Texan circus from the turn of the 20th century. Honestly, we don't have this on our list JUST so our staff can shout "A BIG COCK ON TABLE TWELVE!!!"- Good idea though. This is GREAT Californian Chardonnay. PS Check our Red wine list for a BIG RED COCK! BOTTLE - £16.50

MISSION HILL 2002 CHARDONNAY Bin 99
13% vol: Why two Chardonnays you may ask, well I'll tell you. Dicky and I were at a huge wine tasting, with more than 200 wines from over 50 different producers. We started to trawl our way through endless amounts of average plonk and just when we started to think that we were on a pointless mission we found ourselves at the Mission Hill table. WOW! Granny Smith apple and lemon peel are complemented with savoury oak and spice notes. Hints of toffee arise as the wine warms in the glass. Rich with silky butter, wood smoke and spice in the finish AND it's from Canada! BOTTLE - £16.50

MORTON ESTATE SAUVIGNON BLANC 2003
13% vol: For many years now, the Kiwis have been producing bench mark Sauvignon Blancs and names such as Cloudy Bay are regularly bandied around as being a fine example of the New Zealand wine makers art. Fare enough. This estate, however, was voted New Zealand wine producer of the year at the London wine and spirit awards and in my humble opinion is the best drop of Sauv. Blanc I've ever had. Full bodied yet crisp and fresh with huge fruity flavours. It says on the back of the bottle that cellaring this wine for 2-3 years will develop its finesse - there's no way I could keep this for that long without drinking the beauty. BOTTLE - £18.00

THE REDS

HOUSE REDS
For your complete delight we have two amazing house reds. Both are soft on the palate and amazingly easy to drink by themselves or with food. Enjoy.

VOLANDAS CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2004
13% vol: This is a great value for money drop of Chilean Cab. Sauv. A lovely rich aroma, full of plumy chocolate followed by a soft, medium bodied flavour. Perfect on a summers evening, or sat on a sofa in front of a roaring winter fire. TRY A GLASS FOR £3.50 OR STEAM INTO THE WHOLE BOTTLE FOR ONLY £9.50

LAMURA NERO d'AVOLA 2002
12.5% vol: A tremendously characterful red made from 100% Nero d'Avola grapes, indigenous to the sun-baked Italian island of Sicily. It's soft, approachable, easy to drink and packed with red berry flavours. It's the perfect pasta wine and great on its own. GLASS £3.50 / BOTTLE £10.00

IF YOU'VE ENJOYED OUR HOUSE REDS, TRY THESE AWESOME BEAUTIES!

NAVAJAS RIOJA 100% TEMPRANILO
13% vol: I must be honest, I love Rioja when it's good and absolutely hate it when it's not! This is a corker with underlying oak flavours, lashings of ripe fruit and matured in American oak for a minimum of two years. Soft, velvety, smooth and amazing value at only £12.50 A BOTTLE

LOS CARDOS CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2003
13.5% vol: From the Mendoza region of Argentina, yet another brilliant Cab. Sauv. from those talented South Americans. Grown in vineyards over 1000 meters above sea level, these grapes benefit from stacks of sunshine and cool Andean breezes which gives this wine a great balance and provide a smooth, lingering finish. £12.50 A BOTTLE

CONCHA Y TORO MALBEC 2003
14.5% vol: Those crafty South Americans have come up trumps again with superb Malbec from Chile. Think morello cherries balanced with sweet yet powerful tannins. Amazing with a sirloin steak or try it with our outstanding Aberdeen Angus beef burgers. £13.00 A BOTTLE

REX GOLIATH CALIFORNIAN MERLOT
13% vol: Assuming you've read the White list before reaching this point in our wine list, you will be expecting our "Big Red Cock", well here the little beauty is! This is what the Californians do best. Big, full bodied, fruity monsters that slide down smoothly and painlessly. So if you're in the mood for a boisterous drop of quaff - this is the Rooster for you! £16.50 A BOTTLE

TORMARESCA BOCCA DI LUPO 1999
13% vol: To be completely honest, for a long time I thought that the Italians kept all their best wines for themselves, (tight gits!) but recently I've found a few corkers. This is one. From the "Heal" of Italy, 90% Aglianico/10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The Aglianico grape is indigenous to this region, it's smokey and balsamic on the nose with intense and expansive notes of raspberries and blackberries, cloves, mint and high-roasct offee. It's packed, strappingly muscular and dense flavours continue in a seamless flow over the palate, softening as they move but still totally mouth filling and explosively powerful. £20.00 A BOTTLE

AVILA PINOT NOIR 2003
13.8% vol: Yet Another monster from California. This is my favourite Pinot Noir and, arguably the best choice from the Avila range, brimming with flavours of cherry and spice. This medium-bodied wine has a complex finish while displaying luscious fruit and supple, well-integrated tannins. RAD! £21.00 A BOTTLE and worth every penny!

CLOOF PINOTAGE 2002
15% vol: Cloofs richest - and most intense - cuvée, this wine is the product of their best vineyard (source, also, of the fruit used to make the Champion Pinotage in 1999). Its palate is elegantly structured, with alluring spiciness, warmth and softness. The bold, concentrated flavours of this wine are directly attributed to the tiny yield of mature bush vines growing under extreme conditions. Optimally ripe grapes were crushed, and then immediately chilled to inhibit fermentation. This "cold soak" lasted for 4 days, after which the juice was inoculated with cultured yeasts. After a further 4 days the must was pressed off the skins to finish its fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The wine was then transferred to French Oak barrels where it remained for 15 months before bottling, becoming a mental drop which will spank you like the puppy you are! £21.00 A BOTTLE

CHAPELLE DES BOIS FLEURIE 2002
12.5%vol: Another wonderful medium bodied beauty this time from Beaujolais in France. This is a perfect summer time red, light and fruity but with plenty of flavour that dwells on the palate. Fleurie is the most popular of the 10 'Cru' villages of Beaujolais. Made from 100% Gamay grapes grown on Granite soil, it has an appealing floral aroma backed by silky rounded summer fruits and supple, rounded palate. Lovely. £22.00 A BOTTLE

JIM BARRY. THE LODGE HILL SHIRAZ 2003
15.5% vol: MONSTER, MONSTER, MONSTER! This is huge, smooth and absolutely bloody marvellous. It has a brilliant deep red colour with purple hues. It delivers complex and fascinating aromas of black cherry, liquorice and mint. The palate is rich, dense and full bodied, with ripe dark cherry fruit, velvety tannins, sweet vanilla oak and a long, juicy finish. At 15.5% one might expect it to drink like treacle, but its delightful smoothness disguises its strength remarkably well. This amazing Shiraz should be thoroughly enjoyed with more than a bit of respect! £22.00 A BOTTLE

MONTES ALPHA MERLOT 2002
14.5% vol: I love this so much! Handsome ruby-red colour. Outstanding fruit, with a noseful of red berries, black cherry, black pepper and hints of tobacco. These elements come through on the palate, revealing a full-bodied wine. In mid palate its round and velvety with an added touch of vanilla and toast, followed by a long and smooth finish. Truly amazing and wonderfully elegant, Montes Alpha are setting standards that other Chilean wine producers are finding very difficult to match. Go on, you deserve it! £22.50 A BOTTLE Mmmmmmmm!