- Details
- Published: 09 June 2013 09 June 2013
We've been languishing down in Hampshire for a couple of days soaking up the sunshine, barbecuing, sun basking and reading books in warm sun kissed tranquility. Obviously all these activities require a small dose of vinous produce to aid digestion, precipitate a comfortable siesta and so on.
I found my peace today with this lovely Fleurie in the 'Exquisite Collection' from Aldi. The warm weather reds I tend to go for are Beaujolais Village, Fleurie, Alsace or Austrian pinot noir or menthia from Galicia; typically wines that are lighter, less tannic, with mouth teasing acidity and summer red fruits like raspberries and strawberries.
This wine has the lovely translucent ruby red colour, crushed ripe strawberry aromas and really refreshing fruity pleasant taste with a clean finish. A great summer wine for £6 a bottle … get a case and invite all your friends over!
Follow us on social media:
Climate change podcast
Ribeira Sacra, Wines of Galicia: Heroic Viticulture in the Cañón do Sil
We rolled out the rug on a small patch of grass etched between the steep cascade of Roman terraces, with neat lines of vines both rising above us and falling away to the tranquil water below. Between each vine, the ground was covered in shrubs, flowers and buzzing insects. The panoramic view across the Sil Canyon, in this stretch of Ribeira Sacra, with tins of sardines in olive oil and a makeshift salad, offer a rustic experience of sublime dining.
Discord in Odesa; pruning at Shabo goes on!
Last week a picture was posted on Twitter of vines in Shabo, a large estate that lies to the west of Odesa on southern Ukraine’s Black Sea coastline. The image seemed benign at face value but the reality, of course, is that the city of Odesa has been bracing itself for attack by Russian forces.
An aperitif by the coliseum
As COVID-19 conspires with the grimmest of winds and rain to force a societal retreat behind our own front doors, the word ennui springs to mind. The muddle of displeasure is pierced when Natalia hands me a large bulbous glass of a liquid I do not recognise.
Artichoke pasta and very fine Pigato
Britain’s lamentable exit
On the eve of Britain’s official departure from the EU, my partner and I decided to explore a small town on the Italian Riviera where thewintry cold doesn’t feel so much like cold war bite.
I had warned my significant other that I would be having an inverse departure party, a release of the sanity valve if you like!
Soave: volcanic wines with elegance and longevity
Sitting inside the ancient castle walls inside the town of Soave, a short drive from Verona in northern Italy, the unique slightly almond aroma of the indigenous grape, Garganega, rises gently from my glass. The castle sprawls up the side of an extinct volcano that gives the region its variant soil structures that mark out the better quality of Soave wines.
An American In Paris; Tanisha Townsend (@GirlMeetsGlass) discusses podcasts, Paris wine bars, & what she's drinking at the moment
Tanisha Townsend decided to move to Paris 4 years ago after regularly passing through the city en route to the world’s most famous vineyards. In fact, it was about 2 years ago at the Printemps de Champagne Bouzy Rouge tasting in Reims that I saw (who we shall now refer to as) GirlMeetsGlass chirpily speaking to her web followers on Snapchat.
