Life is too short to drink bad wine

So what is more cunning then serving a white Burgundy with the most astonishing fried cod to a gang of petroleum people celebrating their recent gas discovery in the Barents Sea? (Puits= wells) Lovely citrus and buttery smell with a perfectly balanced "heavy" or "fat" dry long aftertaste. The fried cod at De 4 Roser was out of this world and the combination really lovely. Puligny Montrachet 2005 1er cru "sous les Puits" by Merlin Pricy ca 35€ or NOK460 but yammy... http://www.de4roser.no/

Got this wine at "De 3 Roser" in Harstad, Norway A new Riesling producer to me but perfect match with scallops. Ginger and petroleum on the nose. Very fruity and dry taste, but lovely acidity and touch of minerals. Great stuff. Dr Burklin Wolf Riesling 2009, Wachenheimer Dry Riesling suitable for a number of dishes including sushi.

Great light golden colour with small bubbles. Sweet apples and fruity balanced taste. 100% Chardonnay. Blanc de Blancs Champagne never fails to impress. Agrapart Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut To be drunk in victory and defeat...

I was served this white Recioto with the dessert at the restaurant De 4 Roser in Harstad the other day and what a lovely wine. Plenty of abricot, nutty and floral bouqet and a wonderful sweet taste with great acidity. 230 NOK or 15€ for a 50cl bottle. The grape is 100% Garganega. Perfect for Xmas! Recioto di Soave "Le Sponde", delicious stuff  

This deep dark purple red wine is now out in a new vintage (2008 and the excellent 2009 coming up). Lots of dark berries and pepper with a nice touch of minerals. Packed with dark fruit and a good tasteful. Goes well with game and lamb. A lovely wine at only NOK150 or ca 10€.  

Wine # 6 end of Blindtasting Sirdalen 2011 As a reward for a demanding blindtasting at high altitude we picked this one out of the wine fridge. Complex bouquet of berries from the wood, humus and oak. A solid Burgundy with lots of fruit and soft tannins (still). Not a wimpy wine that's for sure. Close to peak now just 10 years old.... Thanks to the host for a wonderful tasting... Nuits St George 2001 1 er cru "Les Pruliers" by Henri Gouges just enjoyment 45€ or 530 NOK

Wine # 5 Blindtasting Sirdalen 2011 Deep dark red colour. Vanilla, pepper and dark berries. Well balanced and a long fruity elegant taste. Could it be Syrah? Great wine... Cote Rotie 2006 by Ogier. Score 17.90 Lovely stuff ca 40€

Wine # 4 Blindtasting Sirdalen Nov 2011 Dark red coloured wine. Beautiful dark berries and blackcurrant smell. A big and well balanced fruity taste. Firm soft tannins. Panel not entirely in the right place. Domaine Solitude 2008, Pessac Leognan Score 18.10 a great value Bordeaux  Price 12€ or NOK 220

Wine # 3 Blindtasting Sirdalen 2011 Deep dark red colour with smell of brambles, drak fruit and hint of jam. Quite a big solid taste with some sweetness to it. Could be Zinfandel or Syrah.  It's however something really tricky a Spanish new wine from Castillo y Leon. Panel totally lot although good reasoning. Beau di Bre, Castilo y Leon, Spain  Score 17.30  what's Zinfandel got to do with it?

Wine #2 Blindtasting Sirdalen Nov 2011 Light red colour, near Beaujolais like. Light red raspberries and flowers. Feminine style. Disappointing light simple taste. Nothing special. Apparantly Chambolle Musigny of top quality but more like a Beaujolais in taste. Must be something wrong with the bottle as a similar wine had been tasted jst recently and was superb. Chambolle Musigny "Les Cras"2006, Ghislaine Barthod, Ca 500 Nok or 40€ Score 16.25

This is the red wine version the Terroir Noble selection by Vincent Gerardin. A lovely Pinot Noir with firm but velvety taste. Bouquet of cherries, raspberries and some flowers. Quite an elegant wine which at the price (NOK 174) is a very good deal as red Burgundies are normally much more expensive. It's actually in the same price range as a Beaujoulais. Bourgogne Pinot Noir, Vincent Girardin, a very attractive cheap Burgundy. Low price NOK 174 or ca10€. 

Wine #1 Crispy dry white with pale straw colour. Wine is slightly too cold which hampered the panel's judgment. Lovely crispy balanced taste with hint of lime and butter on the nose when the wine had had time to warm up in the glass. Unfortunately that was after we knew what we were drinking... Chassagne Montrachet "Blanchot-Dessus 2007 by V Girardin, ca 40€ a bit too pricy

Vernaccia is a local white grape in Tuscany from area close to Florence. Nice floral smell with hint of lime. A very light white wine with smooth crispy finish. Around 10€. Goes with all sorts of seafood including red fish. Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2010, by Cecchi, good buy when visiting Tuscany

This is a lowest rank White Burgundy and made by Vincent Girardin. Still it is a very good wine with beautiful integrated oak and crispy fruit (100% Chardonnay). It's a dry white wine matching seafood and fish soup. A real bargain as it tastes like the real thing but is much cheaper than the likes of Puligny and Chassagne Montrachet... Bourgogne 2009, Terroir Noble, Vincent Girardin,  €12 or 160 NOK, lovely cheap white Burgundy

Found this Shiraz from La Motte, Western Cape in South Africa in the tax free. Dark deep red coloured wine packed fruit and brambles and a lovely long velvety taste that is crying out for grilled meat.   Just on the border between low and medium price range it is worth every penny and especially of you can get it tax free. La Motte Shiraz 2008, Western Cape, South Africa, dark fruity and delicious.. Ca 200 low/medium price 

Zipping Chambolle in an old cosy house the day before the cup-final turned out to be the highlight of a disappointing footballing weekend. Quite a "pale" red colour with lovely smell of raspberries and redcurrant. The taste very seductive, elegant fruit and a light stunningly balanced finished. Absolutely faboulous! Chambolle Musigny 2006, Barthod, high price 420 or ca 30€, what's price got to do with it?

This is one of the better performing grand cru classe from the Graves region. Quite a nice mineral taste of dark berries with hints of tobacco and chocolate. Needs time to develop. Packed with nice fruity and soft tannins, but not "chewy"tannins. A very nice Bordeaux that will go with lamb or red meat. Ch Smith Haut Lafitte 2007, high price 40€ or 490 NOK, elegant wine but worth the money..? just..  

100% Syrah from top of the Rhone valley. Guigal's Cote Rotie may not be the best from this appellation but does the trick for a reasonable price. Velvety taste, perhaps too kind. Would perhaps also benefitted from a more distinct peppery bouquet and taste, but still an enjoyable wine. Cote Rotie 2004, Guigal, 27€, cheap nice Cote Rotie but not brilliant  

Airplane (SAS) wine based upon the Carignan grape from an area around Carcassonne in southern France. Deep dark colour, lots of dark berries and fruit. Sort of "inky" look and taste. Not bad at all!!

This is a 100% Chardonnay version. Lovely smell of wet toast and apples. Dry fruity taste and a perfect balance.  Champagne quality at half the price! With seafood or as an aperitif. Cremant de Bourgogne, Jean-Paul Brun, low price 176 or 10€. Champagne quality at half price.

This wine is made from 80% Syrah and 20% Mourvedre. Very dark attractive wine. Packed with dark berries,  plums and some pepper. Big solid wine crying out for red meat. Lovely long taste with soft elegant tannins. Syrah Mourvedre Tulbagh Vineyards 2005, South Africa, perfect for cold autumn days....