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La Dolce Vita
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Wine : what's your favourite?
started by Randolph (12 July 2008)
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12 July 2008
Italian wines are a jungle. Let’s give each other some tips. My personal favourite: Nebbiolo. So called because it is harvested in Autumn when the fog (nebbia) often covers the Piedmontese hills. Complex, well-structured, ages well; spicy and fragrant. The grape is used to produce blockbusters like Barolo and Barbaresco, but young Nebbiolo has been fostered recently to cater for the ‘ready-to-drink’ market of today. Remember, though ~ ‘Bacco, tabacco e Venere, riducono l’uomo in cenere’.
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12 July 2008
The only way I know about wines is drinking them :) I like a good rioccha.
I stayed in a town called Chellia or Cellia? in southern Italy. The trattoria where I ate produced their own house wine..it was like ribena..best wine I ever had. They only produced enough per year for them but boy it was good!
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12 July 2008
I really enjoyed Sangiovese (grape) wines when I was in Umbria and Tuscany. Mostly locally produced, even the ‘house wine’ variants were rich, berried and quite full-bodied (in a good way).
A good Montepulciano is worth drinking, too. The choice of wines (here) at Carluccio caffes rarely disappoints…
The best risotto I have ever eaten (again in Umbria) included Rosso di Montefalco, as an ingredient.
Generally, I think Italian reds rate more highly than the whites. Although Prosecco enjoyed in Venice shouldn’t be missed! Especially as an ombra to accompany ciccheti…
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12 July 2008
I agree about the reds but as a pure philostine here can anyone recommend a white wine I can actually drink?
As I am not overly fussed about wine with meals, (vegetarian) but I like a red with cheese or just sharing with friend, I cannot find a white that does not disagree with me. I find it very acidic.
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12 July 2008
I think the best white (aside from the versatility and lightness of Prosecco) I ever enjoyed was an Alto Adige from near the Swiss border. They tend to be quite expensive though, so perhaps more for special occasions…
If you want to ‘venture’ into France you might enjoy a fragrant Alsatian Gewurztraminer (brilliant with spicy food too) or a peach/apricot infused SW French Viognier (mi dispiace l’Italia).
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12 July 2008
Just a thought… perhaps we should look into arranging a Dolce Vita wine tasting - I’ll see what I can do if y’all express an interest and availability…
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12 July 2008
Sounds good to me :)
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12 July 2008
Yep, me too! However, I’m not really around until the beginning of September.
CarolineLD edited this post 12 July 2008
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12 July 2008
That sounds great! I fly out to Sicily on the 9th September, so if we could sort something before I go, then I can impress handsome Italian men with my clever wine knowledge….
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deleted user
12 July 2008
my favorite is Sangiovese (grape) from tuscany too!
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12 July 2008
I have a few ideas of people I can approach, so I’ll aim for early September and get back to you with updates!
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12 July 2008
Anyone else finding it strange that we’re talking about ‘early September’? That came around REALLY quickly…
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12 July 2008
Summer almost over..”looks out of window”..when was it?
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13 July 2008
Tick my box for the wine-tasing.
CarolineLD: Out of it for 7 weeks? Come on, tell us all what’s going on - you know we’re all dying to find out.
Templar: White suggestions:Falanghina (light, refreshing), Tocai Friulano (dry but fruity), but above all choose a white with D.O.C.G on the label. Definitely avoid the ubiquitous Pinot Grigio, which is now over-cropped in view of its great commercial success, unless it is DOCG.
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13 July 2008
One week of trying to get everything organised, and 6 weeks in Brittany doing some writing and lots of lazing around! The joys of working in education… ;-)
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arlene
London
Group Administrator
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