With a theme as big as North Italy, the Overton blind tasting group, where each member brings one or more bottles without much conferring, could have been very wide-ranging. We had a fairly representative sample, though no sparkling wine (Prosecco, Franciacorta, Asti) and one obvious classic missing – Amarone della Valpolicella. The selection was stronger
North Italian tour Read More »
The Overton BBC (bring a bottle club) has a cheerfully random air about it. This is particularly the case with ‘BBC1’. As the idea is to taste the wines blind, there is no plan about who will bring what. Usually, this works absolutely fine and often some fascinating themes emerge. By chance, three people will
When we think of Italian wine, we have established regions in mind – Valpolicella, Soave or Sicily if we are stood in front of a supermarket shelf, Barolo, Montalcino or Montepulciano, perhaps, if we are talking to a specialist wine merchant. In these contexts it is inevitably the regions which produce high volume at low
The setting is a very generous dinner invitation, a tour around a ‘cellar’ – that is, a very fine collection of wines, many of them old, in a well-protected garage – and congenial wine-appreciating company. Ten wines were served with four splendid courses, enjoyed by eight people. The highlights included Duval-Leroy’s 2000 vintage champagne and
Ch. Palmer and Monprivato Read More »
Ok, sorry about the title! The Italian region, Friuli Venezia Giulia, to give it its full title and restore its dignity, is one of Italy’s politically semi-autonomous areas, in this case on the far northeast border. Its neighbour to the east is Slovenia, with Austria to the north. It suffered a great deal in the
Truly, madly, Friuli Read More »
We have been enjoying a number of parties to launch our new garden/tasting room at home. It replaces a plastic conservatory and is proving a real joy – opening up the entire ground floor of the house, giving lovely views into the garden and creating lots of space. And of course, we have an excuse
Twins and triplets Read More »
The ‘Definitive Italian’ wine tasting took place at Lord’s Cricket Ground in late June – so obviously a perfect summer’s day is what the organisers had in mind. Sadly for those who came to see the Armed Forces cricket match at Lord’s on the same day – including what sounded like thousands of children –
Revisiting Chianti Read More »
The June meeting of the Overton-based blind tasting group was the usual mix of fine bottles, some disappointments and perhaps the least good wine we have ever had (is that sufficiently polite?). And it was a large tasting – 17 bottles. While it is difficult to concentrate for that long (even for those of us
The May meeting of the blind tasting group was a great evening out … if more chaotic than usual. It wasn’t obvious why. We had the same format: everyone brings a good/interesting bottle, we taste them blind, we get the wrong answer (mainly), we have a fine meal courtesy of the Red Lion, Overton, everyone
At the beginning of a trip, there is always the travel day – the early start, the wait at the airport, the anxiety of the unknown. But then there is the arriving in which Puglia did us proud. We touched down at 12.30 pm and by the time we had got through the simple passport
Arriving in Puglia Read More »