We were in Italy for the June wine club … if only !!
We were in fact in Cliftonville, a semi sunny evening at Mark & Linda’s tasting Italian wines and eating Italian food… its as near to the real thing as we could get. As one does, we started with a bubbly little prosecco in the garden and a goldfish bowl of white wine for Jacqui, complemented by some delicious bruschetta.
As the sun began to set we headed inside to begin tasting five Italian wines, two white and three red. Apparently if you tried a different Italian wine every week it would take 20 years to taste your way through Italy.
We started with a white, we felt although it had plenty of floral and fruit aromas it was actually a bit on the bland side, although cheap enough, not cheap enough to buy again.
Pecorino white wine 13% Tesco £6.50 on offer (£8.50) 2017
Tesco Tasting Notes
Yes, Pecorino might be the name of a cheese but here it is, in wine form! Made from the Pecorino grape, grown in the Abruzzo region on the east coast of Italy. Packed with pear, grapefruit and lemon flavours, it’s full of zippy freshness. Tesco say it goes with so many things from breadsticks to baked fish.
‘Breadsticks’ I ask you…really .. is that the best suggestion they could come up with !
We tucked in to a delicious lasagne.. ohh but let me tell the ‘Lasagne Tale’ …. at some point in the past Mark was going to cook lasagne, Linda who orders her groceries online ordered 4 or may even have been 5 boxes of lasagne sheets (I know, flipping big lasagne) anyway they have sat in the cupboard for quite sometime (haunting Mark).. so now was the opportunity to use them.. or so Mark thought (already making me smile)..
The shopping arrived, Mark starts to unpack it.. and what does he find, another 4 boxes of lasagne sheets, hopping mad he was .. 
(We won’t ask how many packets of porridge are in the cupboard, but hey, if you ever run out you know where to go !
So that 20 years of tasting Italian wines may well be round at The Knowltons !!
Moving on swiftly, to the second white of the evening, we thought it was a perky little number with a bit of a tarty twang to it.
Falanghia Del Sannio white wine 13% Tesco £8.00 on offer (£9.00) 2016
Tesco Tasting Notes
- Crisp and complex white wine. Some lees aging gives added depth to the perfectly balanced flavours of orange peel, stone fruit, acacia flowers, and leaves a deliciously long fresh finish. Enjoy with simple seafood dishes
History
- Ancient variety, named after the name of the cultivation technique (Falanga was a long wood support for vines growing over trees). In the ‘30s, a group of enologists crowned Falanghina as one of the best Italian grapes, largely recommending its dissemination for the best production in the principal wine zones of the south.
Regional Information
- Irpinia is a region of the Apennine Mountains in Campania, South Italy about 40 km east of Naples..
To cheer Mark up and keep him awake we moved on to the reds, we thought they were all really good, number 5 proved to be a bargain too.
So, wine three topped the scales with 9/10 and cries of bellissimo from Jacqui,
probably something to do with the goldfish bowl of wine she’d started the evening with..
Shame Karen & Terry were missing it was their favourite Italian, an Amarone and it was absolutely delicious, we loved it, it was the most expensive of the evening but so smooth and full bodied.
Tesco Finest Amarone Valpolicella – 15 ½ % Tesco £18 2015 – Bellisimo !
This classic Italian red is made from a blend of local varietals that have been partially dried in small crates and then aged in oak barrels. It is famed for its intense and full bodied flavours of ripe black fruits, chocolate and sweet spices with a rich, smooth finish
Tesco Tasting Notes
With aromas of concentrated perfume of dried cherries and blueberries, the palate offers a powerful but modern balance of ripe tannins and spice. It is opulent on the palate, with a warm full body and a long persistent finish with complex tertiary notes
Regional Information
- Cantina di Valpantena is situated in the Valpantena, northeast of Verona. Known as the ‘valley of god’ to the ancient Greeks, this area is well-known for its high quality red wines, due partly to the soils but also because of the cool breeze that blows down the valley from the foothills of the Dolomites.
For further reading on Amarone I recommend Wine Folly link below:
https://winefolly.com/review/amarone-wine-turns-raisins-into-gold/
The fourth, a red, again high scoring 8/10. The most noticeable thing was the extremely heavy bottle, I mean really heavy…
Sette Muri Brindisi 14% Tesco £8 2015
The wine is made from 100% Negroamaro, a local grape that produces some of the best wines in the region and known for its rich, spicy character. A deep red colour, with heady aromas of red cherry, black plum and vanilla, the wine has a smooth velvety texture with a long spicy finish.
“Sette Muri” is Italian for ‘Seven Walls’, and here refers to the unique walled paths that line the vineyards of Brindisi, where this wine is from. Situated in Puglia at the end of the famous Roman road, the ‘Appian Way’, Brindisi is one of the most historic and ancient cities in Europe. The name for the city comes from the Latin word ‘Brindisium’ meaning ‘deer’s head’, and refers to the unique shape of the strategically important port here.
Tasting Notes
- A deep red colour, with heady aromas of red cherry, black plum and vanilla, the wine has a smooth velvety texture with a long spicy finish
History
- Sette Muri is Italian for ‘Seven Walls’, and here refers to the unique walled paths that line the vineyards of Brindisi, where this wine is from.The name for the city comes from the Latin word ‘Brindisium’ meaning ‘deer’s head’, and refers to the unique shape of the strategically important port here.
Regional Information
- Situated in Puglia at the end of the famous Roman road, the ‘Appian Way’, Brindisi is one of the most historic and ancient cities in Europe
At this point we started to talk holidays, its a favourite topic of ours and I can’t remember who brought it up or the exact story, wine does dampen the brain ever so slightly (maybe), anyway here’s the gist of it, someone they knew worked in a travel agency and a regular (wealthy) client would come in to chose a holiday, after hearing all the options and the decision was to be made they’d say “F*** it, Book it”, so we have decided to adopt the motto if swaying over whether to go somewhere or not (afford it or not) and as Mark would say ‘its all got to go’… so we’ll be handing out travel brochures next time too.
Now getting back to the wines.. The fifth wine another very decent red, this one was very nearly on par with the Amarone but it only cost £ !!!! so I’d say rush out and buy this its a steal for the price. This really is an absolute bargain, well Steve and I thought so, you can blame us if you don’t like it. (An Amarone look alike)
Now this might sound weird but you may understand, I thought it tasted like the smell of the rubber on the end of a pencil and more normally, liquorice. It was very smooth and virtually no tannin.
Colle Marrone Appassimento 14.5 % Tesco £7 2016
Colle Marrone Appassimento is a full bodied wine made from carefully selected sun-dried grapes. This method, called Appassimento, increases the concentration of fruit and flavours in the wine. Colle Marrone Appassimento is a rich, complex and fruity wine with notes of ripe dark cherries, fresh herbs and vanilla
Tesco Tasting Notes
Colle Marrone Appassimento is a full bodied wine made from carefully selected sun-dried grapes. It is a rich, complex and fruity wine with notes of ripe dark cherries, fresh herbs and vanilla
History
The Appassimento method used to make this wine is the drying of the grapes before pressing and fermenting them to increase the concentration of fruit and flavours.
Regional Information
The grapes used for this wine come from selected vineyards in the Salento region, in Apulia, Southern Italy.
We finished up with cheese and biscuits, followed by big slabs of lemon tart, not because Linda had over ordered but because Mark didn’t want any to be left over.. Terry where were you when we needed the puds eaten up !?!?
We had a really enjoyable fun filled evening hosted by Mark & Linda.
Well we are now on our summer break, we don’t meet officially again until September, although I can’t actually believe that it was a year ago our paths all crossed in Broadstairs and we kidnapped Jacqui from work.. where has the time gone..scary !
Have a great summer everyone, don’t forget to take a photo of your favourite summer wine on location.
Time to stick a cork in it.
Bye S x
Wine Club Uncorked 