Wine time

By Paul Fulford on Jun 12, 09 10:25 AM

Whisper, please, for today my head is throbbing.

The reason: last night I and the Birmingham Mail's drinks writer Laurence McCoy went to the Connolly's wine tasting in the lovely RBSA gallery in St Paul's Square.

Something like 80 different wines from around the world were available for tasting (and buying) and I reckon we must have sampled at least a couple of dozen.

Thankfully, we did the sensible thing and spat out much of what we tried. But some was simply too good to end up in the spittoon. Plus I'm pretty sure the body absorbs some alcohol in the mouth before it's expelled.

I was particularly taken by a delicately sweet auslese reisling from Germany and a strapping red from Italy.

It was fascinating to chat to the wine makers and to compare wines made from the same grapes in different areas.

Laurence's account of the wines we tried will be in the Food + Drink section of the Mail next Thursday.

Most are available from Connolly's shop beneath the railway arches in Livery Street (the bit just beyond the Queensway).