I love the name of this wine – Il Brutto. It works best if you say it as though you were an Italian film announcer, the kind of guy who would introduce a trailer for the next action hero block buster “Il Brutto – the Italian cowboy” Go ahead try it in your head, now… Read More »
If you wanted a Prosecco for Valentine’s Day then this one certainly looks the part. The label features a heart, the name is Heart. Quite why they didn’t make the label heart shaped I don’t know. I’m pretty certain that if pink Prosecco was a real thing then they’d have made it pink, but it’s not,… Read More »
After all the food, drink and late night excesses of Christmas I’ve been enjoying some quieter evenings with lighter, fresher meals. That means choosing some clean fresh white wines to go alongside them. After a period of refusing to admit the holiday was over and insisting that Champagne counted as fresh and light (it’s made… Read More »
I’m partial to a funky label. I’m easily distracted by shiny things and bold print. The nice people at The Co-operative have noticed this trend (I thought I hid it better than that) and sent me this bottle of Grecula Greco. I love the 1950’s style label. It could easily be for a pulp fiction… Read More »
I first tried Lacryma Christi in Naples, which is cheating a bit. Any wine tastes great when you’re sitting outside, relaxing and eating great food, with the vineyard that it grew in within cycling distance. When that vineyard is on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, you’ve just spent the day walking around Pompeii and you’re… Read More »
As was entirely predictable, I declared spring to have sprung, and the following day it was cold and frosty. This would sadden a lesser person, but for me it was an opportunity to snuggle under a blanket with a lovely warming wine. I haven’t yet sunk to the level of wearing a slanket. This Masi Campofiorin… Read More »
The weather has been wild and wacky over the last couple of days and the clocks have gone back. Winter is certainly on the horizon. The big advantage of winter is enjoying robust red wines with lots of pasta or whilst snuggled up under a blanket whilst watching a film, or more specifically at the… Read More »
Sitting in the Bay of Naples, looking at Vesuvius, imagining the view of the Pliny family as they watched Pompeii and Herculaneum disappear under volcanic rock and mud is an amazing experience. The food we ate in Naples was outstanding, and we were reluctant to end our dining experiences. In Europe people understand enjoying dining… Read More »
A recent game of Odin’s Ravens was accompanied by a bottle of Dogajolo Carpineto 2005, a young ‘Super-Tuscan’ blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon. Odin’s Ravens has some very pretty artwork on the cards, and Dogajolo Carpineto has an attractive autumnal label. Yes, that is what drew me to it, I am that shallow. It’s… Read More »
Browsing through the wine list of my local Italian restaurant we decided to opt for the only wine on it I’d neither tried before or ever heard of. It was Ser Niccoli 1998. From Tuscany. Er, that was it in terms of description – who wouldn’t choose it? Named for Niccoli Machiavelli with a neat… Read More »