Fiano Di Avellino 2010

The wineyard Terre di Ora produces the Fiano Di Avellino 2010 from Italy. It is made from the grape Fiano which is an ancient indegenous grape. The smell is of tropical fruit and I was suprides tyhat the taste was very strong. Not as light as I thought it would be. It has a very rich taste and a full body, maybe fruity. And it is a very dry finish. A grape that I have to check out more in the future. Worked very well with the tagliatelle al Ragu.

Dr Loosen against Juliusspital

Two sweet German wines. Both made from Riesling grapes but from different regions. The 2009 Riesling Auslese Juliusspital if from Würzburger Stein. It has a very delicate flavour. The sweetness of this wine is very light to the taste and it feels very fresh. Only 7.5% alcohol makes it very easy to drink. Despite the bottle being 500 ml it was consumed very quickly. As usual with the Franken wines the bottle is a Bocksbeutel. Not the normal wine bottle. The Dr. Loosen Riesling Beerenauslese is from Mosel and is 7.0%. This is the first time I have seen such a small winebottle, only 187 ml. This rich dessert wine is made from grapes afflicted with botrytis (noble rot). It has a light colour not as amber as they usually are. The smells is of nectarines. Has a taste of honey and is a bit intense. I think with a couple of more storage this will become even better. So which one is the best? I would prefer the Juliusspital for warm summer evenings while Dr. Loosen for autumn and spring.

A trio of Italian wines

Italy has many good white wines and also their passito wines are excellent. First of is a wine made of Grillo and Chardonnay from Sicily by Duca di Castlemonte from 2005. This is a first time I have tasted Grillo grapes and it was good. A good combination together with the Chardonnay. Was excellent together with my homemade tortellini al ragu. The next wine is another white wine from my favourite wine area in Italy, namely Südtirol or Alte Adige as it is also called. Now this Pinot Bianco from 2009 by Kellerei Cantina Terlan is very nice. The Pinot Bianco grape is a nice experience. Finally but not least is a Passito di Pantelleria. The Ben Rye from 2008 by the producer Donnafugata is everything a passito from Pantelleria should be. Sweet but not overly sweet and with the passitos strong flavour. Luckily I have several bottles for storage for drinking in later years.

Domaine Zind-Humbrecht

Some while ago I tested two wines from Alsace from the producer Domaine Zind-Humbrecht. This producer is situated in the village Turckheim in Alsace very close to the German border. The two wines tasted was one very dry Riesling from 2007, the second one was a Vendange Tardive from 2002 made on Pinot Gris grapes. The rieling dry wine is probably the best dry rielsing wine I have ecer tasted. From what I remeber the taste was excellent. Vendange Tardive means late harvest in french and are made from late harvested grapes bot not any grapes afflicted with botrytis. The result is a wine full of great richness. And this Verdange Tradive from 2002 is excellent. Such good taste that I can almost drink it as a normal wine. Unfortunately I could not find any more bottles of this wine aftre I tasted as it had sold out.

Rotari Riserva 2007

I haven't tried so much Italian sparkling wine but I have drunk good still wine from Trento so the sparkling wine Rotari from 2007 seem like a good choice to start. The Rotari Riserva is made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. And it is fermented in the bottle for at least 36 months on the lees. My bottle had the degorgement done in 2011. The colour is very nice and the taste was a bit to harsh with green apples. It is dry with no hint of sweetness. The next day I tasted it again and now the taste was mych better. Maybe I was to tired the day before to truly appreciate it or it had become better after been aired for a day.

Terredavino Barolo 2007

When in Liguria very close to Piemonte what should I try then? Yes a Barolo is a good choiCE. And it is a Terredavino from 2007. Before drinking it we had it decanted on hour before. Very nice smell and the taste of it is very fine. Yet again no sour notes that I dislike with normal red wines. I like this wine. Since it was easter we also had easter eggs, to much of it as can be seen in the pic. As a dessert wine I had a sweet dessert wine from Sicily made by malvasia grapes. Unfortunately my picturs of the label is so blurry I cannot see what name it was or type.

Marco Rabino, Pey 2007

Genova is a nice twon full of small alleys and very nice places to eat. The place for this evening was a meat restuarant in an alley in Genova. Their specialty was raw meat. The wine of the evening was a wine from the neighbouring region Piedmont. A Barbera d'Asti made from Barbera grapes by the producer Marco Rabino called Pey from 2007. I like this red wine as it was not this sour taste as I get in so many red wines. Good smell and taste. The strong alcohol of 15% was not felt when drinking this so all in all very good. And the food? Delicious. Genova makes the best pesto.

Return to Osteria Broccaindosso

When in Bologna a visit to Osteria Broccaindosso is a must. They serve a big feast and they serve very nice wines. And the owners will greet you with a warm smile. The wine of the day was a Traminer from Veneto by Marco Scolaris. The colour is yellow with a small greenish hint. The taste is very good. As all Italian Traminer wines they are smoother than the Alsace wines and has a good herbal taste. Like it a lot. The food was a delight as usual. Fiften different starters as the anti past, very good carpacchio and the amazing dessert buffet with the best ever chocolate mousse I have ever tasted. As I said, they serve up a feast.

A visit to Ambasciata Calabrese

My first taste of the Calabrese food from south of Italy at the trattoria Ambasciata Calabrese. The white wine of the dinner was a Critone from Val Di Neto from 2011 made from Chardonnay and Sauvignon grapes with an alcohol level of 12,5%. The wine went very well with the spicy anti pasti. For the spicy secondi I had the red house wine was was good.

Lenz Moser 2008 Trockenbeerenauslese

Trockenbeerenauslese is a sweet wine also shortened to TBA and is made by individually selected grapes affected by noble rot. It is a wine with a lot of flavour. A good strong taste of apricots and botrytis. Very nice. Think it would taste even better if stored a couple of more years.

Dellago Weissburgunder 2010

The Dellago Wiessburgunder from 2010 was chosen as the wine of the day for a dish consisting of Macaroni cheese and sausages. Was unsure of this white wine would work with the strong food. But the strong alcohol level of this wine, 14% makes it go well with the good. Weissburgunder is also know as Pinot Bianco. I have had a couple of times now and I like this grape. Yet another good wine fron SüdTirol or in Italian Alto Adige.