February 22, 2023 - 1:31pm
This Week in Wine
This week I have mostly been drinking wine from Puglia, Italy.
Varietals: Susumaniello; Negroamaro; Primitivo; Fiano
Share
This week I have mostly been drinking wine from Puglia, Italy.
Varietals: Susumaniello; Negroamaro; Primitivo; Fiano
Lekker Wines via Vivino
Majestic
I've never bought off Vivino - are they good?
Lance
Sure, I am a long time customer and it's been interesting to see the business grow over the years.
For me though it's a little too easy to spend big, as there are many high quality wines that match my stylistic taste.
There's plenty of choice so you should be able to find what you like if you know what you're looking for. I think Vivino was first conceived as a wine rating system, then came the market place and then too they became a seller themselves, in that way they are similar to Amazon as a retailer.
Certainly many of the best wines I've had, have come from Vivino.
Thanks, I'll have a browse of the wine offerings. I do know of the wine review aspect of the site, though I always thought the user reviews were pretty harsh - nothing seems to get much more than 3.9 points.
My current sources are Lidl (great if you get lucky, but also some so-so wines). And usually if you find a good one and go back a few days later to get another couple of bottles, it's all gone!
Majestic - a good average standard and free delivery over 6 bottles.
And lastly, the Wine Society - also a good average standard. £20 to join, but currently free deivery on all orders.
Lance
The rating system isn't without its flaws, you get to know and navigate the raw numbers of ratings with time. For me as a very general guide I steer clear of anything rated 3.5 or less and 4.1 and above is likely to be very good. But as with anything, it really comes down to taste. A system like this promotes what the masses prefer, which is ultimately actually a little boring akin to the term vanilla! What might be interesting to some can be jarring and weird to others.
Sure, for me:
My favourite wine shop is North and South Wines in Battersea / Wandsworth common.
Closer to you I have been here: https://goo.gl/maps/yM51dokdGqDe7EMX9 (Edit: looking at the reviews, looks like it's gone down hill since I visited in Sep '21)
And it seemed like a lovely place with a really good selection.
What are your preferred styles of wine that you enjoy Lance?
Easier to start with styles I don't like! That would be those big, berry-fruit forward Shiraz type reds; totaly one dimensional for me, but of course, loved by many.
My favourite red style/area is Bordeaux - for me a great balance of subtle fruit, tannin and often some oak. and not overpriced (yet).
With a nod to your Italian interest, I am a big fan of Barbera d'Asti, though a good one can be pretty pricey. Cheaper ones can often be somewhat acidic, which is touted as a characteristic, but I don't think it is.
A good few years ago I went to Asti on business and our local contact there took us to a great restaurant and we drank a Barbera of a good age and it was sublime.
I also like whites - I'm partial to German dry Rieslings and white Burgundy, but that is an expensive ticket and not without its pitfalls....
The Italian whites also drink well - eg, Soave, Gavi, Pecorino.
Lance
I think those wines are commercial offerings fit for drinkers rather than those actually interested in wine! Easy to coax lots of fruit flavour in very warm climates.
Bordeaux would similarly be my preferred region of France for wine but I admit I drink very little French wine as for me there is a big stigma attached that being pretence. My biggest weakness for French wine is Sauternes, ah liquid gold!
One the best things about Italy is the wines are produced more humbly and without that stigma I mentioned but it does exist more so in Toscana.
Italy however has the most diverse range, no other country has more grape varieties to explore!
I know what you mean about Barbera d'Asti (the Sainsbury's TtD comes across a little sour), the variety is however naturally:
High acidity
Low tannin
High / richly deep coloured.
High acidity is a good thing, and most Italian wines are known for that, means they work well with food! Where the acidity is sour probably means the harvest is sub par, to be expected with cheaper offerings.
I also enjoy whites, but again I'm staying mostly in Italy here, I do have real thing for Trebbiano... While it's a bit of a workhorse grape being a little austere, it can be coaxed into something interesting. There is a Trebbiano in Waitrose well worth attention grown in Emilia Romagna, I buy again and again.
Trebbiano is used to make Lugana in Veneto and known as Ugni Blanc in France it is principally used for Cognac / Armagnac brandy.
Sure White Burgundy is the creme de la creme of white wines but there is lesser know rival in Umbria well worth a look in, Castello della Sala - a perfect match for a traditional Xmas dinner.
How about Greco di Tufo?
I'll leave it there, I could go on hahaha...
Time for a re-watch. No better movie to watch while enjoying a bottle of wine. I'm unwinding with a glass of Malbec right now. Don't mention Merlot :)
After the film was released, sales of Merlot plummeted as sales of Pinot Noir increased!
There is a twist of Irony in the film though, regarding his prized 1961 Cheval Blanc.
Michael where does all the italophile stuff come from? After all, what have they ever given us other than panettone, pizza and wine?! Do you have Italian family?
Jon
I'm not entirely sure tbh Jon.
Indeed just a few humble products that haven't travelled at all haha!
I have some possible heritage which I spoke about in the Ciabatta Community Bake here.
But thinking about it, even as a young child I did develop an obsession with the profile of a Ferrari F40, I would draw it endlessly... And also the Lamborghini Countach was iconic to me...
In fact, I remember when we went to buy some games on cassette tape for our Amstrad computer and the guy just happened to have a white Lamborghini Countach in his garage! As you do! Although I think it might have been a kit car replica!
Or perhaps it was the girl of Italian heritage that once stole my heart in my teenage years that did it! 🤷♂️
In any case, here I am! I've clocked up more travel time in Italy than any other country and I'm ever progressing in speaking the language.
When it comes to food, wine and art, is there any other country that contributed more?!... I really don't think so!
Not to mention there is that always slightly out of reach godly ability to blend science and art, something Leonardo was known for.
Are you a wine drinker Jon? And do you drink much South African wines?
Michael
Yes!
Was chatting to an ex South African living in California who likened our wines to drinking mother's milk - it is highly formative in influencing my own ideas of what wine should taste like.
Also, at least for me living in the wine region of the Western Cape the way I personally buy wine is quite different to you, almost never on line, often by the case at the cellar door, although from supermarkets too. And not as global, mostly local with only the odd foreign bottle.
Nero d'Avola; Valpolicella blend; Primitivo; Malbec; Frappato / Nerrelo Mascalese
Rare / not much commercial attention grape variety.
Lacrima of Morro d'Alba in Marche, Italy.
This grape variety is super interesting! A key characteristic being the very rose petal / violet aroma! It's great! First thought, beta-damascone !
This one is medium bodied leaning light with ripe grippy tannins. Good and bright acidity. Deep purple.
I would conclude all steel tank ferment indicated by very slight reductive tones and no apparent oak influence - back of the bottle confirms this in Italian.
£1.4 million? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64865977
Won't find these wines in the local supermarket.
Orvieto White for lunch while trying to coax the sun from behind the clouds.
Multi-region red blend for steak and ale pie dinner.