Take it easy and just enjoy

There are many wines that are very good and not overly complex. One such wine is the wine Lighea from the producer Donnafugata. It is made with Zibibbo grapes ( the grape is called Moscato d'Alessandria outside of Sicily). These grapes are grown on the island of Pantelleria south of Sicily. I have only drank sweet wines from Pantelleria such as the Passito so this is something new for me. The alcohol level is 12,5%. One can feel on the smell that it is Zibibbo. The taste is aromatic. Not strong aromatic as a Gewürztraminer but more gentle. The taste is hard to describe but has notes of grape, almonds and fruits. A very good easy wine perfect to have a glass and just sit back and enjoy. Another good wine from an excellent wine producer.

I really like the paintings that Donnafugata has on their wines. Reminds me of Sicily.

Rubrato from Campania

Aglianico is a grape grown mostly in Campania and is used to make wines like the Taurasi. It is a very important grape in this region and in previous times it was shipped northwards in Italy to augment "weaker" red wines, the so called "wine railroad".
The wine Rubrato Aglianico from 2012 by producer Feudi Di San Gregorio in Campania is made by 100% Aglianico grapes. This wine is from the Irpinia Aglianico DOC. The colour of the wine is very dark. The taste is of black currant and dark cherries, it is very strong and leaves a long after-taste. This wine needed to breath before drinking. When drinking it at once it showed to be very closed and after twenty minutes it had reached it full potential. Like the Aglianico wines I have drunk previously it need some time in the glass before drinking. Yet another good wine from Feudi Di San Gregorio.

I tried the producer Peter Semmers Chardonnay a couple of months ago and this time I had the chance to they Peter Semmers Pinot Grigio from 2013. This one is better than the Chardonnay. Taste like what a Pinot Grigio should taste like and is a good wine. Yet another good wine from Alto Adige.

Visit to the mountains and the good wine

In Italy many good wines produced in lesser known mountain areas such as Valle D'Aosta and Trentino. When I visited Valle D'Aosta  had the chance to visit the La Grotta Di Vegnergons store and I wish i could bring a lot of their wines back to Sweden. The white wine Chambave Mucat from 2013 by La Grotta Di Vegnergon I received as a gift. This is the perfect aperetif wine. It is a very fresh aromatic wine with taste of yellow peaches and thyme. Very good.

In the dolomites in the Trentino region the native grape Lagrein is very popular. I have tasted this grape before and liked it. The wine that I have sampled is from Cantina Mori in Trentino which I had the chance to visit in 2013.  The wine is called Terra Di San Mauro and is from 2010. It is very good. Not to heavy as some red wines can be but has a taste of plums, red cherries and dark currants. Some tannins to round it out.

Passito from Lipari

The last year I have not drank so much sweet wine but now I had the chance to try a passito wine from the island of Lipari north of Sicily. Passito wine is a sweet wine made from dried grapes.The wine is Colosi from 2007. It is made of Malvasia grapes and the colour is deep amber.. The taste is very strong and so wonderful. Almost like a passito di Pantelleria. Excellent wine.

The wine La Frosca from producer Gini in Soave is from 2013. The colour is yellow and the smell is good. It is made of the grape Garganega. The taste is good and has a good aftertaste. Very nice.

Returning to Sicily for the wine Planeta Carricante which is made of the grape carricante. This wine comes from  the wineyard Sciara Nuovo on the north side of the Volcano Etna. It is on 870 meters of height and produces according to Planeta ageworthy white wines. The wine is from 2011 and he smell is good. The taste is almost like an excellent riesling. It has a fresh mineral style with tastes of apples. An excellent wine.

Finally summer and another batch of wines

Finally the sun arrived this summer and parts of the summer were saved. This time I have tried three Italian wines and a German wine.

The most interesting wine is the red wine Torrette Superior from Valle D'Aosta in Italy. It is the first time that I have been able to buy a wine from this region in Sweden. Valle D'Aosta is a region that has many local varieties of grapes of which many were close to extinction bur fortunately many of these grape veracities have been saved for example Fumin. The Torrette Superior is from producer Maurizio Fiorano Chateau Feuillet. It is made by the grape Petit Rogue which is only grown in Valle D'Aosta in Italy. It is not a heavy wine but a medium bodied wine with a taste of cherries and liquorice. Very good wine.

Next are the wine Coste Di Riavolo by producer San Fereolo whoch is from the Langhe DOC Bianco. This is a wite wine and since it is from 2010 I had high expectations from it. But I were dissapointed, a weak taste and not to my liking.

South Tyrol or Alto Adige as it is called in Italian makes very good white wines. A new producer for me is Peter Zemmer. I tasted the wine Chardonnay from 2010. this were better than the previous wine. Nice wine but I had better Chardonnays from Alto Adige.

I don't drink so much wine from Germany but when I see wine from Franken I usually try to buy a bottle. Producer Brennfleck has made a wine which is by the grape Silvaner and it is a dry one. It is from 2013 and the taste is of Peaches, hoey and spices. Very good wine.

Etna Bianco

There are many good white wines from Sicily and wines grown on the volcano Etna I have not tried many of.  Tenute Delle Terre Nere is a producer with wine yards located on the northern slope of the volcano. They produce two kinds of white wines. One from a blend of Carricante, Catarratto, Grecianico and Minella. The other, from Carricante alone, is fermented in barrels. The one I have drank is the blend which contains approximately 65% Carricante. The vintage is 2014 and this is a good wine. The taste is of citrus, minerals and peaches. It has a strong acidity and I think that it can be stored for a couple of years if needed.

SurSur and Lugana

This time I have tried two different white wines from Italy. One in the extreme north while the other from Sicily in the south.

From producer Donnafugata I have drank several wines and they have all been excellent. Their white wine SurSur from 2013 is a new experience. It is made of the grape Grillo which is a grape widely used in Sicily and is used also for the production of Marsala wine. SurSur has a good smell and the taste is excellent. It has notes of grapefruit, peaches and some aromatic notes and has an excellent structure. Goes very well with seafood. Very good wine and the white wines from Sicily continues to impress me.

From the south to the north of Italy. The wine Lugana from producer Casello Bondoni on the western side of lake Garda in the Lombardy region. Very close to Switzerland. The grapes used for this wine is the grape Trebbiano di Lugana and the alcohol level is 13%. The colour is yellow with almost greenish tints. The taste is of peaches, pears and herbs. Good structure and very fresh. A nice wine.