Sicily and the grape catarratto

Catarrato is a grape that is grown a lot of in Sicily which is used to make white wines. I have tried the wine Costantino by producer Azienda Agricola Costantino. It is wine from 2013 made by 100% Catarratto. The colour is straw yellow with hints of green. It smells very fresh and the taste is of citrus and grape. It is very nice and has a long aftertaste.

Lacrimarosa, or is it tears of joy?

One producer in Campania that I have wanted to try is Mastroberardino, however their wines are hard to get in Sweden unless one wants to buy six bottles. But I found their rose wine Lacrimarosa and I bought a bottle. The colour of this rose is very beautiful. Almost like the colour of a red grape. The taste is complex and is the best rose wine that I have tasted. The taste is of red currants, blood grape and some herbs. Not an easy drinking wine but a wine for food.

A region in Italy that I don't drink that much from is Liguria, but the white wine Vinodamare from the DOC Colli di Luni has found it self into my hands. The grape is vermentino and it is from 2012. The colour is very deep yellow shifting into orange. The taste is very strong and a good wine for seafood.

Two on the road

While being away on business i had the chance to try two different white wines. One from Chile and one from Italy.

Wine from Chile is not normally on my menu but it is nice to try new things. this wine is from producer Errazuriz and is from 2013 and the grape used is Sauvignon blanc. I had a couple of Sauvignon blanc of the years and they have tasted nice but this wine tasted all gooseberry and not much else. Not very nice to drink for me. I have had better.

Better is the wine Da Luca from Siciliy.It is made from pinot grigio and chardonnay grapes and is from 2012. It has a taste of apples, pears and some citrus and with a long finish. Decent wine.

Two white from Italy

Rocco Ventosa is a white wine from the region of Abruzzo in Italy with the designation IGP Pinot Grigio. So the grape is Pinot Grigio and the producer is Cantina Tollo. I bought it because of the region and I usually love Pinot Grigio wines.  But this wine is nothing special. Not bad but nothing that says anything to me. Rather bland unfortunately.

Planeta is a big producer in Sicily and I have loved their previous wines that I have drunk. The white wine Casa Planeta that I have tried is their family wine and with a nice price can be on anyone's table. The grapes are Grecanico and Chardonnay. The colour is of yellow with hints of green. The smell is of flowers and the taste is very fresh. Notes of citrus, green fruit and a good acidity. Good to drink as it is and also with food such as chicken or vegetarian dishes. With this quality I wonder why this is not in the regular range at Systembolaget. Planeta is one firm that I have to try more of. I wonder how their top brands taste when their table wine is this good.

Alto Adige, good wine and beautiful nature

Alto Adige is one of my favorite regions in Italy. It has such beautiful nature with the valleys and the mountains.

Alto Adige produces some of the best white wines in Italy but this time I have tried two bottles of red wine from Alto Adige. Both are produced using the grape Lagrein, which is a red wine grape native to Alto Adige. First up is the wine Lagrein by producer Mezzacorona from 2012. It is a decent wine with a taste of black currants but feels a bit harsh.

Second wine I bought in Alto Adige and it is the wine Lagrein by producer Cantina Tramin from 2010. The taste is of pepper, cacao and liquorice and has a long finish of pepper. Very good wine. 

Normally I have a picture of the wine I have drank but with such beauty in Alto Adige, lets stay there.

From Sardina to Campania

Sardinia is a place I want to visit someday and until then I have to do with Sardinian pecorino and their wine. A wine that I tasted were the white wine Samas by producer Agricola Punica. The Samas wine is a Isola dei Nuraghi IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica). It is of vintage 2013 and contains 80% vermentino and 20% chardonnay. It has a yellow tinged colour and has a very fresh aroma. The taste is very fresh and a bit fruity character with ripe pears and some citrus.

For the second time I had the chance to try the grape Fiano and the producer is the old acquaintance Terredora. The wine is Fiano di Avellino which is also a DOGC and the vintage is 2013. The aroma is strong and the colour is pale straw yellow. The taste is also very strong with a big hit of acid and citrus. Some fruit notes and honey. This wine would be lovely together with sea food. I can imagine myself sitting by the coast drinking this wine with local fish in Campania. I think this wine will store well for a couple of years also due to its strength.

From one end of Italy to the other

Campania, the region there Napoli is situated has the grape Aglianico that is used in the Taurasi wines and is also used in the IGT wine Aglianico by producer Terredora. Compared to the Taurasi wine this is stored less on barrels and has less tannins. The vintage is 2010 is deep red. It has a strong taste of black currants, violets, a bit sharpness and a strong aftertaste. Worked very well with good green olives from Sicily.

On the other side of Italy, in the region Friuli bordering Slovenia the white wines are dominating. The bottle from producer Bidoli is a pinot grigio wine and is the first bottle I ever bought from this region. The colour is very light yellow and is almost clear. The taste is light and is of pears, citrus and ends with an aftertaste of grapefruit. Good wine.

Sciacchetrà Wine: A taste of heaven

Cinque Terre, one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Also Cinque Terre is home to one of the best wines that I have ever tasted. Namely the sweet Sciacchetrà wine. Sciacchetrà is a passito wine which is made from dried grapes. This drying process I could see when I visited Manarola in Cinque Terre.

The grapes hang from the roof and walls in this building slowly drying out until they are ready to be used for the winemaking. I have tried many passito wines and this Sciacchetrà by producer Cheo, is probably the best I have ever tried. The grapes is grown in the hills above Vernazza. The wine is from 2008 and it has been stored in chestnut barrels before being bottled.The colour is deep amber and looks very good. The nose is intense and by just smelling I know that it will taste good. The taste is of apricots, dried raisins and honey. It is very strong and intense and leaves a long aftertaste. Wonderful, unfortunately I cannot buy this at Systembolaget so the next visit to Cinque Terre I have to buy several bottles of Sciacchetrà.

But one will always find reasons to visit Cinque Terre. Salute!

Another journey into Italian wines

The journey to try everything in Italian winemaking continues. This time I am in Puglia region on the southern part of Italy. The wine is Il Falcone by producer Azienda Vinicola Rivera. It is from the DOC Castel del Monte and is made of 70% Nero di Troia grapes and 30% Montepulciano grapes. It is a red wine and the colour is deep red. Before bottling it is stored in barrels for one year before being stored in bottles for another year before selling. This is from 2008 so it has been stored in the bottle for a longer time before being sold. The taste is of red currants and red cherries. Reminded me of my youth eating berriedsin my mums garden. Soft tannins that lingers a while. Good wine.

Sparkling and then Sicilian again

I have drunk many sparkling wines from Trentino in Italy but this time it is the first time I can sample Rotari Flavio from 2006 by the producer Mezzacorona.  It is made by the metodo classico, which means that the second fermentation is made in the bottle. The grape is 100% Chardonnay, the classic champagne grape. The colour is yellow with a lot of bubbles. The nose is pleasant. The taste is quite strong of apples and oranges. Very good, Mezzacorona has made another good sparkling wine.

Another wine from Sicily that I have tried is Canti. This wine is made by the grapes Catarratto and Chardonnay and is a IGT wine. The colours is straw yellow. The taste is of citrus with some hints of fruit and is light and quite nice.

Two dessert wines and one strong Taurasi

I love dessert wines but over the last couple of years dry wines have dominated. The last couple of weeks I have had the chance to enjoy two very different dessert wines both from Italy. The first wine is a Marsala wine from Sicily and it is more than a dessert wine. It is from producer Florio and is called Terre Arse from 2000 with an alcohol level of 19%. It is not your normal fortified Marsala wine as it is quite powerful with a burned character. Interesting taste and the producer recommends it with Parmesan cheese or fish dishes or as a dessert wine. Worked very well as a dessert wine especially with chocolate ice cream. It is not sweet as the cheaper Marsala wine but quite dry taste. I find this wine to be very interesting, unfortunately good Marsala wines are hard to find in Sweden.

Next dessert wine is something I don't drink that much. Namely a sweet red wine from producer Azienda Agricola Villa Medici in the Veneto region. The wine is called La Valle Del Re and is from 2009. It is a passito wine with IGT Rosso Veneto with alcohol level of 14%. The colour is very deep red and the taste is sweet with dark cherries. It went down very well with chocolate. Definitely a wine to relax with. Hard to find information about this wine but I discovered that the grapes are Corvina 60% and Rondinella 40%.

The first Taurasi wine I had were good so now it was time to try another producer. It is from producer Terredora in the district of Campania in Italy from 2008. As it is a Taurasi, the grape is Aglianico. Compared to the earlier Taurasi wine this is very strong. The colour is ruby red and and the taste is of dark cherries, plums and cacao with some strong tannins. Definitely a wine for strong food such as roast meat or game. This wine is also called Taurasi Fatica Contadina Terredora. Yet another nice acquaintance. 

Back to France and then Italy again

It has been a while since I drank French wine and when going through some wine in the corner of the cellar I found a bottle of Rochemorin from 2005, which I had totally forgotten about. It had been there for almost five years. Chateau De Rochemorin is in the region of Pessac-Leognan in Bordeaux and is a Grand Vin de Bordeaux. The colour is very dark straw yellow. It has a big taste of gooseberries. I had it with lentil soup and it overpowered the soup and also were to strong for pork schnitzel. However, it went well with breasola with Parmigana cheese.

The Italian wine Michele Chiaro from DOCG Gavi is a bit similar to the Rochemorin but lighter. But this wine is younger, from 2011. The colour is light straw yellow with some hint of green. It also has a taste of gooseberries but with stronger notes of citrus and a very dry aftertaste. A good wine.

Tasca yet again

I found the wine Regaleali Bianco so good that I bought Regaleali Nero D'Avola from producer Tasca D'Almerita in the middle of Sicily. Next time I visit Sicily I will see if I can visit this producer. As usual this Nero D'Avola wine is very dark in colour. The taste is of black currants, dark cherries, cacao and liquorice and the taste lingers in the mouth afterwards. Nice wine.

A visit to Marche

Marche is famous for its Verdicchio wines but this time I try a different wine. It is a wine made from the grape Pecorino and the wine is called Ofithe by producer Monarco. And the denomination is "Offida Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita Pecorino", Italians have such short names.

The wine is of a straw yellow colour with almost a greenish tinge. The taste is of pear, citrus with a long acidity bitter after taste. Works well with food.

 

One white and one red from Sicily

I am trying wines from the different regions of Italy and this time it is Sicily yet again with one red wine and one white wine.

The red wine is a wine made from the grape Nero D'Avola from producer Cantine Minini caalled Coste dei Mori. The colour is a dark ruby red. The smell is good and the taste is of black currants and liquorice. It is smooth and good.

The white wine Regaleali Bianco is from producer Tasca d´Almerita. It is clear and slighty yellow and the wine is made from the grapes Catarratto, Grecanico, Inzolia, which are local Sicilian varieties. It has a taste of apples, pears and citrus and it feels very fresh. A delight to drink.

Back to Germany with a riesling

A riesling from Germany is never wrong and to drink something that is not available from Systembolaget is nice. Adam Müller is a wine producer of nine generations in Baden. The wine is a Leimener Herrenberg Kabinett made of Riesling from 2011. The colour is straw yellow and it smells of citrus. It tastes of citrus, grapefruit and minerals. There is a very long strong aftertaste of grapefruit. Very good.

Taurasi and the Aglianico grape

I watched Youtube and saw an episode called Discover the wines of southern Italy. It is made by a television companyfrom Ontario Canada and it is very nice and informative. In this episode they go through the wines of southern Italy starting with Sicily and going up into Campania and Puglia.

The good thing about this series is that when they go through the different regions they take time to go through the grape specialties of each region. When talking about Campania the program talked about the grape aglianico which produce red wines of high quality. That gave me the inspiration to try it out.

Taurasi is a DOGC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) area in Campania where the red wines are made aglianico grape. For a normal Taurasi wine it has to be stored at least three years of which one year is in a wooden barrel. For the Taurasi wines I looked at were all from 2008 so they are stored even longer before being sold. It has a very good storage capability.

I got my hands on a Taurasi by producer Feudi Di San Gregorio from 2008. Here the wine had been stored in wooden barrels for 18 months before being bottled. Everything is written in Italian on the label which means it is not made for the Swedish import market. The smell is very nice, cherries and dark berries. The colour is dark almost ruby red and looks pleasing to the eye The taste of dark berrmies and liquorice and an aftertaste that stays in the mouth. A very rich wine with nice tannins and would taste even better if stored for a couple of more years. Definitely need food with this wine. Why not a lamb roast or a red wine risotto?

I will buy several more bottles of this wine for storage and also will try out some more of the other brands. Unfortunately only four at Systembolaget here in Sweden. 

Sicily and Nero d'Avola

Sicily may not be that known for wine but one grape that is famous is the Nero d'Avola. It is the only grape with red pigmentation in the fruit meat which means that one can only make red wines using Nero d'Avola. Producer Planeta has a wine called Plumbago made by the grape Nero d'Avola from 2011.
It has a very good taste of red fruits, cacao and some plums. Not to strong and works very well with Mediterranean food. Not as deep red colour as red wines can have.

Dreaming of Taormina

Yet another blogpost and guess what land wines I have tasted. Italy again and the first wine is from Sicily. The Island that has everything from history to good food and wines.

The wine Feudo Zirtari is a new aquaintance for me. It is made of Inzolia and Chadonnay Grapes. Just Inzolia makes me remember the evenings in Taormina sitting in a back yard drinking wine made from the grape Inzolia in a very nice wine bar.

So rustic and very Italian. This wine, Feudo Zirtari, is a very good wine. Almost yellow colour with strong aromas and an acidity that leaves a good aftertaste in the mouth. Very good together with food. I feel like I am back in Sicily when drinking this wine.

Another good wine if from 2013 in Lavis,Trentino by the producer Casata Monfort in and made with one of my favourite grape varieties, Pinot Grigio. This is a good aperetif wine. Mellow with big notes of apples and grey pears, very nice aromas. Very good and is also so good as an easy drinking wine.

Sicily and Verona

I stay with Italy when trying out new wines and this time it is two new red wines and one old acquaintance.

Sicily should be more famous for it wines which are of good quality as well for the nature and food.

Above picture is from Mozia near Marsala and in Marsala the wine producer Donnafugata has their historical cellars. This time I tasted their wine Tancredi again but now the vintage 2009. The colour is dark ruby. Strong taste of cherries with strong notes of cacao and liquorice. The same strong taste as last time. Goes very well with strong food. Very nice.

A new acquaintance is the wine 6 Sesta by producer Cantina Valle Dell'Acate in Sicily. It is made by Frappato and Nero d'Avola grapes. The colour is not as deep red as the Tancredi wine but lighter. The taste is of black berried with some chocolate. Very good and after tasting these two wines I should explore Sicilian reds more.

The last wine tasted is the wine La Grola by producer Allegrini near Verona in the Veneto area of Italy. It is strong and could have probably been stored for another year or two. The vintage is 2008. It tastes of black currants and with some cherries. Definately a wine for strong food such as red meats or pasta dishes.

Summer of wine continues

Three more Italian wines I have that has been excellent during this warm summer. First up is a Sauvignon wine from producer Winkl in Alto Adige. It is strong nice food wine. Very good.

Next is an older red wine from 2006 and from the heel of Italy the region of Puglia, namely Vigna Pedale from Castel Del Monte. It is strong and has a taste of cherries. A nice and good wine.

Chianti wines I don't drink that often but the Chianto Classico from 2008  from producer Castellani is very good. It has a strong peppery taste with cherries. Good wine.

When Swedish summer goes Italian heat, one goes drinking Italian wine

When the Swedish summer is almost like an Italian summer with temperatures above 30 degrees it is very nice to try out some good Italian wines.

As usual I tend to favour the wines from Trentino/Alto Adige and this time it is no difference. The wine is from producer Ca' Montini and it is called  Terre Di Valfredda and is made by Pinot Grigio grapes. Very good taste and very enjoyable. The bottle is of a beautiful design.

Another favourite of mine is the vernaccia wines from San Gimignano. I have tried one wine from producer Montenidoli before and it was their Tradizionale wine and this time it is their Fiore wine. The Fiore Vernaccia di San Gimignano is from 2011 and it is recomended that it gets some air before drinking. This is true as it tasted better the second day. It is a strong wine with a long aftertaste. Wonderful. The only problem is that I have no more wines from this producer at home now.

The final white wine of this Italian tour is from Tuscany. It is the wine Tonicella by producer Barone Ricasoli from 2011. It has strong taste of grey pears and green apples with some hint of citrus. A lovely drinking and food wine.

From Sicily to Germany

Sicily, one of the best places to visit in Europe.

Sicily also has many interesting wines and local grapes. One grape is the fiano grape which is grown in Sicily and in the Campania region of southern Italy. The wine Delicio from producer Canicatti is from 2009 and is made by the Fiano grape. It is a strong wine and very interesting. Much try this grape more in the future.

Going up further north in Italy we come to Lombardy and the village of Gavi. The producer Ricossa Antica Casa makes a wine just called Gavi. It is made from cortese grapes grown on the hills of Gavi. The vintage is 2012. The strong taste is of grapefruit and I would love to have this wine together with fish.

The last wine is the wine with the curious shape of bottles, namely a wine from Franken. I have tried sweet wines from Juliusspital and they have been excellent and this time it is a dry wine (trocken). It is a 2012 Silvaner kabinett trocken. Very dry and with an alcohol level of 14,5%. Very strong and a taste of pears and green apples but with a lot of acids.  Not your normal easy drinking wine. An excellent wine.

Never tire of Italian wines

I never tire of Italian wine and their accompaniment good Italian food. This time I had the chance to try out three different white wines from three different regions, Veneto, Emilia and Marche.

First up is the wine from Veneto. It is the wine Amedeo from producer Azienda Agricola Cavalchina. The colour is very clear and almost yellow. The wine consist of the grapes garganega, fernanda, trebbianello and trebbiano. It is from the DOC Custoza Superiore in the Veneto region. The taste is of pears, citrus and peaches. Very good drinking wine and goes well with Italian food.

Finally one ecological wine that is good. Faleri Pecorino is a white wine from the Marche region in Italy and is made by producer Cantina della Marca. The taste is heavy of grey pears and apples.
Almost need some food with it.

The last wine is the wine Iove from producer Umberto Cesari in Emila. It is made of the grapes pignoletto and Pinot Grigio. A good wine with a taste of citrus and flowers.

South Africa goes sparkling

The sparkling wine Simonsig from South Africa I had during New Years made me interested in South African wines so I had the chance to try two more wines.

First up is another wine from producer Simonsig, a chardonnay from 2013. Very nice wine with a taste of butter, citrus and some apples. Yet another good wine from this producer. Will have to check them up more.

South Africa also produces sparkling wine the Boschendal brut is my first taste of South African sparkling wine. This sparkling wine is made of the grapes Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the typical champagne grapes. But this sparkling wine left me dissapointed. Sure it has bubbles and some bread taste but nothing else. There are much better sparkling wines around.

One much better sparkling wine is Doppis from 2012 by producer Tre Monti from the area Colli D'Imola in Italy. It is made from the local grape Pignoletto and is slighty sparkling since the name Pignoletto Frizzante. It has a very good taste, bread and citrus and tastes like a more expensive sparkling wine. Excellent. I think that Pignoletto wines are underestimated.

Two wines from Alto Adige and sweetness from Romagna

I love wines from Alto Adige (South Tyrol) and I try to taste as many different wines as I can. This time there were one red and one white wine. From the producer J. Hofstätter I have tried their Pinot Grigio earlier so a red wine from them is a new experience. The wine is a Steinraffler which is made by the grape Lagrein and is from 2009. The smell is nice and the taste is of red currants and red cherries. Very good and is went very well with beef. Yet another excellent wine from this producer and the Lagrein grape I have to taste more.

A new acquaintance is the producer Elena Walch. It is a Pinot Grigio from 2012, it is a good drinking wine with notes of pear and apples with somce acidity.

For my homemade cantucci I had a passito wine from Romagna, namely Albana di Romagna from 2007 which is bottle 56 out of 900. It is by producer Poderi delle Rocche in Romagna between Bologna and Imola. The color of the passito wine is golden yellow almost amber. It goes very well with my homemade cantucci. The taste is not intense as the passito wines from Pantelleria for example. A good wine.

Yet another three Italian wines

It is interesting to see how a wine varies between different vintages. This time I had the chance to try two wines and see what one or two years difference makes.

The Kalis Cardonnay Grillo wine I had tasted the 2012 vintage and now I had the chance to taste the 2013 vintage. My recollection of the 2012 wine was that it was a decent drinking wine. But the 2013 vintage is something different, this is very light, not much flavour. A true table wine for those who like their wines simple and with not much taste. Not to my liking.

Each time I get to taste a Donnafugata wine is a good time. I had sampled their sweet Kabir wine from 2010 (Moscato di Pantelleria) and it was excellent. Now I have tasted the Kabir from 2012. I have to say that the 2012 vintage is very aromatic, much more than the 2010. Not to everyone's liking I would think due to the strong aromatic taste but for me this is paradise. Together with some sweet desserts like almond cake this would be a match in heaven.

The last wine is Manzone Bianco from the Veneto region by producer Cantina la Salute. I read a bad review of this in a magazine, but how they described it sounded like a wine for me. The smell is very good, almost fruity. The taste is almost like a pignoletto wine, some citrus and honey. I like it.

When in Siciliy drink Sicilian wine

During my recent Sicilian trip I had the chance to sample some Sicilian wine. In Trapani I had the chance to sample some wine from my favourite Sicilian producer Donnafugata. The wine in this case were the white wine Anthilia from 2013. This wine has the main grape of Catarratto and is complemented by other grapes. The smell is very fresh. The taste is very fresh with pear notes and some grapefruit. It is a delight to drink and I wish I could find bottles of it in Sweden.

Passito, Prosecco and two good white wines

I love passito wines from Pantelleria and I drink them way to seldom. The producer Nun is a new experience. This passito from 2008 has a dark amber as usual these wines have. The taste is like burned candy. Strong and good. But still the Donnafugatas passito wine is still my favorite. When I visit Siciliy I have to see if I can drink many different passito wines there.

Staying in Italy I have tried two different wines from the north of Italy. The first is from producer Gregoletto from Colli Trevigiani. It is a Chardonnay from 2012. The taste is very strong and goes very well with food. They make very good Chardonnay wines in the north of Italy. The second wine is a Prosecco by producer Castelforte. It is dry and have strong notes of apple, pear and citrus. Very nice as an aperitif.

Going even further north is a riesling wine from Germany by producer Gustav Adolf Schmitt. It is from 2012 and is trocken (dry). Good drinking wine for the sauna.

Two Italians and a return to Dr Loosen.

For my homecooked Taglatelli al ragu I had a bottle of Bepi Deeto, a merlot from 2012. It is a wine from the Colli Trevigiani area in the Veneto region of Italy with an alcohol level of 14,5%. The colour if very deep red, almost black and it need some time to open up. It tasted better the day after. The taste of black currant and some tobacco. Very strong and definately a food wine.

The sparkling wines from Italy that I have tried have been good and Berlucchi Cuvee Imperiale is no different. This sparkling wine if from the Franciacorta DOGC in northern Italy. It has a taste of bread and citrus and works very well with cheese and salami. Very good.

It has been some time I had a sweet wine despite sweet wines being my favourite type of wine. I was not impressed with the Dr Loosen 2006 Riesling beerenauslese when I first had a taste of it but I discovered one bottle at home and opened it up. Time works miracles. Now it is very good with a strong riesling taste and the acid to match it. Excellent wine, it just needed two years of extra storage.

A mix of Italian wines

I like wines coming from Alto Adige but I usually don't like Pinot Bianco wine so it would be intersting to try a Pinot Bianco (Weissburgunder) from producer Nals Margried in Alto Adige. However, the aftertaste of this wine I didn't like, so back to Pinot Grigio instead which produces some of Alto Adige best wines.

Sparkling wines are fun to try and a new wine for me at Systembolaget is a the sparkling wine P. Lex, which is a Prosecco wine. This is a dry sparkling wine and taste of apples, citrus and bread. Very nice and good wine, perfect for an aperitif.

Castel De Monte is a famous castle in Puglia in the heel of Italy. One day I will visit that castle but until then I will have to do with wines from that area. The Wine Vigna Pedala Riserva from 2006 by producer Torrevento is not as complex as I expected from an older wine. It is decent but I expected more.

I have grown fond of the grape Verdicchio and the wine Verdicchio Di Matelica by producer la Monacesca is the second wine from Matelica I have tried in a short time. It has a taste of apples and citrus and leaves a pleasent aftertaste. Very good.

Wine from Giglio and more Verdicchio

First time I heard about the island Giglio outside the coast of Tuscany were when I watched Bo Hagströms tv-program Solens mat. It looked beautiful and one day I will go there but until then I will have to do with the white dry wine Cicala Del Giglio from 2010 by Testamatta di Bibi Graetz. The colour is very yellow almost going over to orange. The taste is very strong and reminds me of herbs, citrus and grapefruit. Would go very well with seafood.

Next wine is made from the grape Verdicchio which is a grape grown in central of Italy especially in the Marche region. The Verdicchio grape produces dry white wines. This time I tried the wine Bisci Verdicchio di Matelica from the town of Matelica some distance from Perugia. It has a nice smell of pears and lemon. The taste is dry but very good. With some hints of pears and grapefruit. Good both with food and as drink all by itself. This is a wine which I am going to get a pair of more bottles.

A return to San Gimignano

I had the chance to try a couple of different wines. The white wine Vernaccia Di San Gimignano has became of one my favourites. This time I had the chance to try the producer Montendoli and a bottle from 2011. It has the characteristics of a Vernaccia but the aftertaste is not so much bitter almond as the other ones I have tried. Very good wine.

I usually prefer red wines from Italy than France and this time I have tried a bottle each from each country. First up is a Ripasso from Valpolicella by producer Castelforte. It has a taste of cherries and is not that strong, definatley not as complex as the Castelforte Amarone. Goes well with pasta.

Couvent des Jacobins Bourgogne Rouge is Louis Jadots standard Bourgogne red wine. It has a spice tasty but lacks something for me. Does it need a one or two more years of storage?

New Year is sparkling

Sparkling wines and new year go hand in hand and this year is no different. The first sparkling wine were a champagne, namely a Taittinger Millesime from 2004. I bought it five years ago and it was time to try it now. The bouquet was wonderful, a lot of floral notes. The taste were of strong notes of citrus, bread and apples. It had a very long lingering aftertaste. Excellent champagne.

The second sparkling wine of the evening were a South African sparkling wine. From producer Simonsig comes Kaapse Vonkel Brut from 2011. A first time for me. Very good wine. Complex taste with citrus and some almost smokiness in the aftertaste. Delightful, I hope I can taste it again soon. The grapes used in this were the same as used in Champagnes (Pinot noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.)

The evening finished with Cremant D'Alsace and a bottle of Kabir (Moscato di Pantelleria) from producer Donnafugata. The Kabir taste better now after a year of storage so will the last bottle taste better in one years time? Only time will tell.

Birthday celebrations with Rotari and two strong Italian reds

For birthday it is good to have good food and wine and this time the food consisted of three different parmesans, a four year old, a three year old and a Modena bianco 30+ months and two different Pecorino, one stored in a grotta. Extras were parma ham and three different salamis.

The wines served for this food delight were all Italians. The first wine served were a sparkling wine from Trentino made by producer Mezzacorona and it is an old Rotari from 1996 which were sboccatura in 2013. The taste is very good. Strong citrus notes with some apples followed by bread notes. Excellent wine and it is fun to taste an older Italian sparkling wine. I have to admit that this wine were all drank before the food as it was such an easy drinking.

The first wine together with the food were something new for me. A Brunello di Montalcino by producer Castiglion del Bosco from 2008. Very strong wine that goes very well together with the food. Tastes of cherries, dark berries with a hint of tobacco. Very interesting.

The next wine is an amarone, Castelforte Amarone della Valpolicella from 2007. Now this wine is very complex and also has very strong flavous and it also goes very well with the food. Wonderful wine. Both of these red wines need food or they will be to strong.