In vino veritas - what wine are you drinking?

dudara

Aldi’s Limoux Chardonnay from Les Domaines Paul Mas Astélia in the Languedoc-Roussillon is one of my regular favourites. I think it’s about €12 and has a lovely full body, nice acidity and buttery oak. It’s really reminiscent of a quality Burgundy but much cheaper

odyssey06

limnam wrote: »

I had this last night with a nice bit of rib eye and enjoyed it. The only issue I had with it is while I tend to like wines that are 13.5%+ I felt the alcohol over powered slightly. But for a 16e bottle of wine I'm probably been too critical.

That's ironic because I usually look for wines under 14% and while I thought it was powerful I didn't think it was overwhelming.
Probably best to steer clear of the €6 LIDL Cotes du Rhone then as I thought that was overpowered and a bit rustic.
Or maybe it'd make an interesting blind taste test for you

anthony4335

This is one of my favourite wines, but at full price ,a bit too much ,currently on offer for 19.95. Full bodied and no need to decant.

100% Merlot from bardolino

https://www.obrienswine.ie/wine/current-offers/italian-wine-sale-85/rizzardi-clos-roareti.html

dudara

^^ I actually visited that winery last summer, on Lake Garda, if anyone finds themselves in that area. They also have a lovely little tasting room and restaurant in the town of Bardolino

limnam

At one of my favorite places in Cork at the moment Elbow Lane. Which If you're not from Cork but happen to be down for a weekend it's an absolute must visit. The only problem is you can't book it and it can be difficult to get a table.

Truffle Hunter Leda Barbera d'Asti

This relatively light/floral with some baked jam/winter fruits Would suit a casual mid-week tipple. I had it with a T-Bone and it held up well against it.

It's 29.50 in Eblow Lane, but can be picked up in Curious Wines for about 13e

Melendez

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anthony4335

Melendez wrote: »

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I visited the Ca Dei Frati winery in Lugana last year and the Rizzardi restaurant in Bardolino as well, second time actually really nice place for a drink. However the first year I was there you could have the Calcarole Amarone by the glass but unfortunately this was not the case last year.

schemingbohemia

Stellenbosch/Franschhoek advice? - Heading there next week. Myself and my wife prefer white wines - lately been drinking a lot of Godello and Gruner Veltliner when eating out - any recommendations for vineyard visits or wines from those two areas?

dudara

Cabarnet Sauvignon would be the main grape grown in the Stellenbosch, but you’ll get Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay & Viognier also. Look for barrel aged Chenin Blanc.

Franschhoek, I’m not too familiar with. But ZA has a thriving wine industry and vino-tourism. You’ll get trips and tips while there.

limnam

I'm heading to Valpolicella for a couple of weeks

Anyone any recommendations for vineyards to check out?

anthony4335

limnam wrote: »

I'm heading to Valpolicella for a couple of weeks

Anyone any recommendations for vineyards to check out?

I am heading out there myself during the summer. 2 years ago on our first visit to verona we booked a tour with Pegasus wine tours ,it is a little expensive but I found it quite good. Out of that tour we visited a small winery near negrar with the most amazing Amarone which they called Forlago. I think with most wineries you can just rock up during the day and purchase wine, some will even give tours for free, one such place was Ca Dei frati near sirimone. So it is worth picking some of your favourite wines and checking on their websites to see if they do tours, and when. Another place worth mentioning which has been posted earlier is to visit the Rizzardi winery/restaurant in Bardolino town by the lake.
Lastly if you are staying in Verona I will only suggest having a drink at the Antica bottega del vino ,you can try lots of different excellent Italian wines by the glass.

https://www.vogadorivini.it/en/amarone-della-valpolicella-classico/

http://www.bottegavini.it/bottegavini/index.php?option=com_content&view=featured&Itemid=784&lang=en

Enjoy your trip

dudara

Opened a bottle of Insight Single Vineyard Gewürztraminer from O’Briens last night. Very nice, slightly thick, oily mouthfeel. Flavours of rose petals, lychee and other soft tropical fruit, some lemony zestiness for balance. Lovely example.

dudara

Easter Sunday lunch of roast leg of lamb and roast potatoes. I wanted a wine with a nice bit of body, so I tried this Rinforzo Salento Primitivo (O'Briens, reduced to €16 from €21).

Straightaway you can tell this wine is from a warm climate (It’s made in the heel of Italy). It's full-bodied, jammy and juicy, which is as a result of the grapes being dried for 4 weeks before winemaking. Blackberries, some vanilla and herbs, plus some drying tannins. Great value for money.

anthony4335

Picked this up at the weekend, rich and full bodied



https://shop.supervalu.ie/shopping/wine-beer-spirits-italy-barone-montalto-ammasso-75-centilitre-/p-1436900000

CastielJ

I prefer homemade wine

That’s really no help to anyone, is it? If you make your own wine then please expand, red or white? Grape variety? Tell us more please!

The Gloomster

anewme

Signed up for the Wines Direct monthly wine explorers club.

1st case on the way and will arrive tomorrow or Monday - took the cheapest option €69 per month - looking forward to it...

the beer revolu

Very nice Barberesco in Lidl reduced to (I think) €10.
Offputtingly cheap for a Barberesco but this is just a really drinkable wine.

padraig.od

anewme wrote: »

Signed up for the Wines Direct monthly wine explorers club.

1st case on the way and will arrive tomorrow or Monday - took the cheapest option €69 per month - looking forward to it...

I am interested in signing up for this too. Do you have any experience of the quality? Its a pity you can't specify the mix of r/w in each case.

anewme

I only signed up yesterday......happy to do the mix 3 red and 3 white, havent arrived yet so no idea of quality, looking forward to getting it

PHG

For the Wine Direct is the postage and packaging on top of the monthly fee?

anewme

PHG wrote: »

For the Wine Direct is the postage and packaging on top of the monthly fee?

No, it’s included in whichever pack you choose and every 3 months you get an upgrade to the next level up for that month only

padraig.od

anewme wrote: »

No, it’s included in whichever pack you choose and every 3 months you get an upgrade to the next level up for that month only

Signed up myself, all reds. Looking forward to my first delivery.

dudara

Last August, we visited the Priorat in Spain for a long weekend. While we were there, we ate lunch at Clos Figueras, a winery and restaurant. Anyway, we were out for dinner last night in Nightmarket in Ranelagh, and they had a wine from Clos Figueras on the menu.

It's a blend of Grenache, Carignan, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Strong red fruit and berries, a little herby even. Not as strongly mineral as you'd typically expect in Priorat wines but very pleasant. €45 in Nightmarket for the 2015 vintage.

limnam

I've mentioned before I don't drink a lot of white wines. So I'm looking for a recommendation for something that would go well with scallops.

They'll most likely be served with a slice of Jack McCarthy's black pudding and some apple.

On the whites I tend to lean to very fruit forward wines. A lot of the more "modern" wines from NZ. But I feel they probably wouldn't work very well with the dish.

Any pointers?

Slaphead07

limnam wrote: »

I've mentioned before I don't drink a lot of white wines. So I'm looking for a recommendation for something that would go well with scallops.

They'll most likely be served with a slice of Jack McCarthy's black pudding and some apple.

On the whites I tend to lean to very fruit forward wines. A lot of the more "modern" wines from NZ. But I feel they probably wouldn't work very well with the dish.

Any pointers?

NZ wines can be a little unsubtle. Maybe a Riesling from Alsace? Or a prosecco or champagne? It works!

odyssey06

limnam wrote: »

I've mentioned before I don't drink a lot of white wines. So I'm looking for a recommendation for something that would go well with scallops.

Maybe Albarino?

I read an article recently suggesting pairing scallops with syrah (red)... curious about that one.

limnam

Slaphead07 wrote: »

NZ wines can be a little unsubtle. Maybe a Riesling from Alsace? Or a prosecco or champagne? It works!

odyssey06 wrote: »

Maybe Albarino?

Thanks for the suggestions!

I'm not long back from two weeks in Italy so I was all procesecco'd out :pac:

I went down the Albarino route and picked this up in Dunne's I think it was 12e. Went really well with the dish. One of the reasons I don't drink a lot of white is I find it a bit flimsy in the mouth. This had a really nice well rounded feeling in the mouth with apple and some citrus. If I blinded the wine I would have assumed this was a much more expensive wine.

dudara

Any white from a seaside region would probably work - Albariño, Picpoul, Muscadet, Rias Baixas etc. Champagne is always good with shellfish too.

limnam

Had some friends over yesterday who travel a lot to SA and love SA wine so I tried to play to the crowd and picked up a bottle of Paul de Villiers Shiraz 2015 from Curious Wines.

I really enjoyed this some really nice dark fruits big solid body with some very well balanced spice and a finish that seems to go on and on. This was a massive hit with our guests too. Comes in at 16.99 from Curious.

dudara

Was in M&S recently and came across this Duval-Leroy Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru NV champagne reduced to clear at €30 (down from €50+)

Light and crisp, some apples and soft fruit. A little touch of autolytic flavours, but fairly restrained. People who say they don't really like champagne would probably quite like this.