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Showing posts from December, 2012

Two weekends, two tastings

It's that time of year: wine tastings for a thirsty crowd. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy showing off new discoveries and some of the wines that have started to come round at last. The preparation is the trickiest part - you never know who will be coming or how many people will show up so it's hard to gauge which wines to put in (or which to leave out). Experience has taught me to avoid too much in the over £10 bracket but, still, I could not resist showing a Barbaresco and a Chateauneuf this weekend. At the Norwich tasting last week, there was a consensus that Italian wines are generally overpriced. I would counter that they need food, without which they are easily misunderstood. A little salami and cheese, perhaps, wasn't enough to convince them of this. The whites went down well with the Manzone "Rosserto" proving especially popular. Filippo Gallino 's Barbera always goes down well - juicy fruit and not overly complex (although the totally contrasting

Congratulations to Fabrizio Battaglino

Fabrizio Battaglino has just won best QPR white for his Roero Arnies 2011 in Gambero Rosso 2013 Well done Fabrizio! A well-deserved award. Fabrizio's full entry in the guide reads as follows:  "Fabrizio Battglino's small winery seems to have returned for good among the top producers of Roero. The vineyards are at Vezza d'Alba, on the steep sloping hills of Colla and Mombello, where soils are sandy and face south at an altitude of 350 metres above sea level. The classic variieties of Roero are grown, Arneis, Nebbiolo and Barbera, and tradition is interpreted to craft a series of technically flawless wines full of delicious fruit, carefully designed for delightful drinkability." New entries for this year include: 2010 Roero Sergentin - Due Bicchieri (entered in the finals) 2011 Roero Arneis -  Due Bicchieri (especially good value) http://bigredwine.co.uk/PP/Battaglino/Battaglino.asp