Winefriend by David Way

Writing about the wines of Piemonte, Italy and France

Italian wine

Tasters 1

Zind-Humbrecht at Coe Vintners

Being an orderly sort of soul, in general, I much prefer to go to a themed tasting, rather than a broad sweep across regions.  Comparison is a very powerful tool but I would rather limit the field and try to learn a bit more about an area or grower in depth.   Occasionally you get the

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Gaja in action

Homage to Gaja

After Brunello with Banfi, Barbaresco and much more with Angelo Gaja … where does one start?  This was simply one of the greatest experiences you can have in Italian or world wine, laid on by Decanter magazine as part of its Fine Wine Encounter.  But it was really two related experiences, with an underlying connection:

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Talking about wine

Most people get by without a developed language about wine.  ‘I know what I like’ is a fairly common response, with a laugh or smile, which probably means, ‘let’s face it, people drink for the pleasure, for the taste, for mild (or more) intoxication ’.  The further implication is that talking about wine is for

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Campania 8 – Villa Diamante

The name is glamorous, the place is wonderful but not glamorous.  Antoine Gaita’s house is up a small road well above the zona industriale of Montefredane, North of Avellino.  The vineyards fall away from the house on a North and North West facing slope, perfect for whites according to him.  The villa is a nice,

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Campania 7 – di Prisco

On a wine journey, one good thing can lead to another.  During our visit to the Contrade di Taurasi, we were quizzed on where we had been eating and then given a number of recommendations.  The top one was for La Pergola in Gesualdo, a 30-minute drive away which we took up for lunch as

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Campania 5 – Molletieri

The road to Salvatore Molletieri’s winery in Montemerano from Avellino is long and tortuous, even after an excellent lunch.  After our visit to Mastroberardino, we enquired of a restaurant. While Atripalda’s ‘Valle Verde’ looks like any another industrial unit in this rather unattractive area the food was excellent – cannellini bean and porcini mushroom soup

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