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Wines from Southern Europe have improved in
leaps and bounds in recent years and so Martin will be discussing new wave reds
from Italy and Spain on Friday December 1st from about 3pm on the
afternoon show with Sean Moncrieff on News Talk 106-108 FM.
At about this time of year the first
fruits of Europe’s harvest are hitting the shelves and that usually means
Beaujolais Nouveau, which comes out on the third Thursday of every November.
Sadly in Ireland we’ve tended to shun it, not because it isn’t any good but
because of a tragic accident in 1984 when a small plane whose passengers
included four Irish journalists taking part in the Beaujolais race crashed and
killed all nine people on board.
Winemaking goes on though and so why not look
to Italy for an alternative if Bojo is passé? We’ll be tasting in studio an
alternative Italian nouveau called Novello ’06
by Velonosi, an IGT Marche red from the Ascoli hills of Central
Italy. I think it is made from lacrima and montepulciano grapes. It’s very
fruity and more full bodied than Beaujolais but pricing is similar at about
€10.50 per bottle from Karwigs in
Carrigaline, Co. Cork or Redmonds of
Ranelagh in Dublin.
Italy is home to a whole host of new and
exciting and affordable reds, particularly in the South and Sicily. So, forget
the famous and often over priced names like Barolo and Chianti and look for
varieties on the label like Primativo, Nero d’Avola and Negroamaro. Most
supermarkets and wine shops have a selection and they are fairly reliable and
affordable.
Spain has arguably even more exciting reds
these days than Italy and, as good as classic regions like Rioja and Navarro or
brand names like Torres can be, it is time to expand your horizons.
Tempranillo is the most important red
variety in Spain and it pops up all over the place, but sometimes under an
alternative name such as Cencibel, Tinto Fino
and Ull de Llebre. It rarely makes a bad wine and for me those in Ribero
del Duero are arguably Spain’s very finest. A recent visit there just blew me
away. The wines were almost all sensational. Some were very, very expensive but
one of the more affordable was one that we’ll be tasting called Arrocal
2004, imported by Straffanwines.ie and available in Dublin from
Sweeney’s in Glasnevin, Lilac Wines in Fairview, Bin No 9 in Goat’s Town,
Hole in the Wall Blackhorse Avenue and Devaney’s Rathfarnham plus further
afield at Red Island Wines in Skerries, Kennedy’s in Aughrim, Wine Well in
Clonee and Masters Wine Warehouse in Waterford at €12.99 -13.99.
Another important grape is Garnacha, the
Spanish name for Grenache. This grows all over the country and is at its best
from old, low yielding bush vines. Such a wine is the keenly priced La Sabrosita
Old Vine Garnacha 2005 from Calatayud in Catalonia by Marks and Spencer at just
€7.99. It’s made by a friend of mine I discovered when I read the back
label, a Scottish Master of Wine called Norrel Robertson. It’s a cracker and
cheaper than his main label called Papa Luna which he exports to the UK but not
yet Ireland.
The supermarkets have all sorts of
inexpensive modern Spanish wine but if you want something exciting and new and Spanish, go to one of
our better independent merchants and spend €10-20 on something other than
Rioja.
Booze Cruise To France
On
October 20th I wrote about buying wine
in Cherbourg where the savings can be enormous. Well on Friday 8th to
Sunday 10th I’ll be hosting a mini cruise to Cherbourg with Irish
Ferries. On the Friday evening I’ll host a tasting of wines available and
discuss what kind of wines and prices you can expect to see. Then on Saturday
while we are in port I’ll lead an excursion to some of the wine shops and be
on hand to give advice as you ‘fill yer boots’ with bargains. Why not join
us. Prices for a couple and a car are just €257. Expect to make savings of
several times that.
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