Montepulciano and Montepulciano

Montepulciano and Montepulciano

I think we’ve all been confused at one time or another by Montepulciano on an Italian wine bottle. It is the name of a grape and of a town in Italy. According to Wine-Searcher.com the grape was named after the town and was once widely grown there.

Nowadays, the grape has found another home in Abruzzo, hence Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.  In the late 20th and early 21st century, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo earned a reputation as being one of the most widely exported DOC classed wine in Italy (Wikipedia). 

Abruzzo is a large area on the east coast. The local wine industry, according to Vino Italiano, is dominated by giant cooperatives of which Cantina Tollo (below) is one example.

Now let us return to the city of Montepulciano. This is in Tuscany, in the province of Sienna, and is one of the most attractive hill towns in the area.

The main grape grown here is Sangiovese (blood of Jove or blood of St Giovani or maybe something else entirely!). Only the very best grapes are used for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. The others are used for Rosso di Montepulciano. The Vino Nobile has the big reputation but the simpler Rosso is no mean wine either as our example indicates.

Other grapes grown here, according to Vino Italiano, are Canaiolo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and Alicante (Grenache). No mention of the Montepulciano on that list, so you are highly unlikely to see a Montepulciano di Montepulciano. Let me know if you do!

Cantina Tollo Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (DOP) Bio 2015, 13%, €14.45 Le Caveau

This organic wine has quite a few admirers and I'm among them. Pascal Rossignol of Le Caveau, the importers: “The Bio wines are a great find. The wines are literally singing in the glass with their exuberant fruit and juicy flavours”. The winery itself says they are bursting with primary red fruit.

The fruit is hand-harvested and the wine is neither “fined nor filtered”. Colour is an attractive ruby. Aromas are mainly of red berried fruits. It is fruity and juicy and easy drinking. Lots of lovely fruit flavours, nothing extreme, mild tannins, well balanced and with good acidity. Class finish too, long and dry. Very Highly Recommended.

Innocenti Rosso di Montepulciano (DOC) 2012, 14%, €17.45 Le Caveau

The Innocenti estate lies between Montefollonico, a walled city in Tuscany, and Montepulciano, just a short drive between them. This is a blend of Sangiovese (mainly), Canaiolo Nero and Mammolo and has spent six months in oak.

Colour is bright, and light, ruby. Generous aromas of stewed plums and a touch of heavier gamey notes. It is medium to full-bodied; that warm fruit is there, some spice too, really well balanced. Fine tannins noticeable on a long and dry finish. Very Highly Recommended.

See also (from current Italian series):

Fontanafredda. Important Player in Italian Wine
Two Amazing Whites from Italy.

Wines of Italy's Marche

In the Heart of Chianti

From the Islands

Pighin's "Grave wines are bargains". Good too!

Sweet Favourite of the Romans. Still Going Strong.

Barolo and Amarone. Two Italians Worth Knowing

Puglia: Cool Wines From The Hot Heel Of Italy.

Pinot Grigio, one of the most popular grapes.

Wines from the Alps

Velenosi from the Marche

Puglia: Two Cool Wines From The Hot Heel Of Italy.

Puglia: The Hot Heel Of Italy.

Two Cool Wines.

La Vigne di Sammarco Salice Salentino (DOP) 2014, 13.5%, €13.91 Wines Direct

Salice Salentino is the area and the grapes are Black Malvasia (20%) and Negroamaro (80%). Salice Salentino is one of dozens of DOC zones in Puglia, the heel of Italy, and the peninsula itself is called Salentino. Even though it is surrounded on three sides by the sea, there is very little cooling of the flat sun-baked land. It once had a reputation for over-ripe fruit and cooked wines. But, thanks to wines like this, that is changing.

You note inviting aromas of red berries when you pour this ruby red wine. There are wonderful ripe berry flavours on the palate, notes of vanilla, slight spice too, the tannins well reduced. Negroamara on its own can be tough and tannic but this property is countered by the Malvasia. The full bodied wine has power and pleasure in generous measure, all the way to and through the persistent finalé.

Very Highly Recommended. Importers Wines Direct recommend pairing it with pizza, bruschetta and lamb stew.

La Vigne di Sammarco Primitivo di Manduria (DOP) 2015, 14%, €13.56 Wines Direct

This another another gem from down south, full bodied, medium acidity, very dry and Very Highly Recommended. Good value too.

Colour is ruby red. It is rich and plum-y, hints of vanilla too; very inviting aromas indeed. On the palate, it is warm and soft, opulent and fruity and this delicious classy Primitivo (the grape known as Zinfandel in the US) has a lovely long finish. You’ll be hard pushed to get a better example even at double the price.

See also (from current Italian series):

Fontanafredda. Important Player in Italian Wine
Two Amazing Whites from Italy.

Wines of Italy's Marche

In the Heart of Chianti

From the Islands

Pighin's "Grave wines are bargains". Good too!

Sweet Favourite of the Romans. Still Going Strong.

Barolo and Amarone
Montepulciano and Montepulciano confusion!
Pinot Grigio, one of the most popular grapes.

Wines from the Alps

Velenosi from the Marche

Ageno - No. 1 Natural Wine

Ageno - No. 1 Natural Wine

Decanter has just declared La Stoppa’s orange wine, Ageno, the world's best natural wine.

The magazine’s expert panel blind-tasted 122 natural wines “from all corners of the globe”. And the winner was La Stoppa, Ageno, Emilia, Emilia Romagna, Italy, 2011, the very same wine that I enjoyed with dinner in Cork’s Cafe Paradiso last week.

Some of the comments from the panel:

Full bodied, spicy and honeyed.

The full orange in colour…it has fine meal-time aptitude and dazzling compelling flavours.

A riper style that is full of energy and laden with oranges and rhubarb..memorable finish.

It is indeed memorable, from start to finish: the colour, the flavours, the finalé. The experts didn't mention it specifically but I found hints of both cider and sherry, not least in the aromas. It is though very well balanced and complex and certainly proved a winner with the vegetarian dishes in Paradiso.

It is produced using an old traditional winemaking method, where the grapes are macerated on their skins (indigenous yeast, no added sulphur) for up to a month, or more, to create an orange wine. It helps that Ortrugo tends to orange in any case. The result is rich in colour, tannic and complex.

It is a superb wine with the grape varieties being Malvasia di Candia Aromatica (60%) and Ortrugo and Trebbiano and is produced by Elena Pantaleoni. She is in Ireland this week, showing at the Le Caveau trade tastings in Dublin (Tuesday) and in Cork (Thursday). 

During last year’s visit, she told me that the first Ageno was first produced in 2002. “We do not have a long experience of this wine,” said Elena and she recommended serving it at 15 degrees.

Bradley’s in North Main Street, Cork, stock quite a few of the Le Caveau wines.

See also (from current Italian series):

Fontanafredda. Important Player in Italian Wine
Two Amazing Whites from Italy.

Wines of Italy's Marche

In the Heart of Chianti

From the Islands

Pighin's "Grave wines are bargains". Good too!

Sweet Favourite of the Romans. Still Going Strong.

Barolo and Amarone. Two Italians Worth Knowing

Puglia: Cool Wines From The Hot Heel Of Italy.

Pinot Grigio, one of the most popular grapes.

Wines from the Alps

Velenosi from the Marche

Barolo and Amarone. Two Italians Worth Meeting

Venice

Barolo and Amarone. Two Italians Worth Meeting

A good few years back, a mixed nationality group of tourists, including yours truly, were slowly making our way across Italy. There were a few Australians in the party - they were mainly beer-drinkers (stubbies rather than stickies) but included one winemaker - and their conversation regularly featured the word Barolo. It seemed like a holy grail to them. Later I would find out why! Perhaps they also mentioned Amarone but I can't recall. These two wines from the north of Italy are well worth getting to know!

Ciabot Berton Barolo (DOCG) “La Morra” 2011, 14.5%, €32.95 Le Caveau

Nebbiolo is regarded as native to the Piedmont region and produces some of Italy's “most uniquely perfumed and powerful reds”. Since early days, one of those wines, Barolo, was referred to as the “king of wines, the wine of kings”. This La Morra is a right royal example.

It comes from a prestigious and historical cru. The winemaking is “fairly” traditional. The 100 per cent Nebbiolo is aged 18 months in 25 hl Slavonian oak casks (useful for stabilising and harmonising) and then 6 months in steel vats before bottling.

According to Vino Italiano: “…. the top wines in the DOCG are said to hail from the communes of Monteforte d’Alba, Serralunga d’Alba, Castiglione Falletto, Barolo and La Morra.” The hilly land concerned lies generally to the south-west of Alba and much of it is a protected World Heritage site since 2014.

This gorgeous light red wine has aromas of blackberry in Autumn, gentle hints of cherry too, plus floral notes. On the palate it is smooth round and rich, some spice too. Concentrated and elegant, perfumed and powerful. The excellent acidity heralds a long, fresh finish, a finish as satisfying as all that goes before. Very Highly Recommended.

Luigi Righetti Amarone della Valpolicella (DOCG) Classico 2012, 15%, €25.95 Karwig Wines

Amarone, some of you will know, is a style, not a grape and the style was developed in the area of Valpolicella where local wine-makers searched for a way to increase the body, complexity and alcohol content of their wines, made generally from Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara fruits. Amarone della Valpolicella is an intensely flavoured dry red wine made from dried grapes. 

Righetti may not always feature in the lists of top wine-makers here but his is a good one; you may take a certain confidence from the G in the DOCG. Colour is a deep ruby red. The complex nose features oodles of dried red fruit. It is rich and dry with concentrated flavour - the alcohol is also high; some spice too and a noticeable tartness, all characteristics carried through to the finalé. Very enjoyable wine and Very Highly Recommended.

See also (from current Italian series):

Fontanafredda. Important Player in Italian Wine
Two Amazing Whites from Italy.

Wines of Italy's Marche

In the Heart of Chianti

From the Islands

Pighin's "Grave wines are bargains". Good too!

Sweet Favourite of the Romans. Still Going Strong.

Montepulciano and Montepulciano confused?
Pinot Grigio, one of the most popular grapes.

Wines from the Alps

Velenosi from the Marche

Sweet favourite of the Romans. Still Going Strong!

Sweet favourite of the Romans. 
Still Going Strong! 

Masi Angelorum Recioto della Valpolicella Classico (DOC) 2012, 14%, €24.95 (35cl) Bradley’s

This is something special, once a favourite of the ancient Romans. 

According to Hugh Johnson, it “is the most historic of all Italian wines…. sumptuous..cherry chocolate…sweet fruitiness.”

It is produced by Masi, “one of the great entrepreneurs of Italian wine,” according to The Modern History of Italian Wine.

Masi are well known for using techniques that enhance the flavour and concentration of their wines and Recioto is one such. 

Recioto is made by arresting the fermentation.. so that some residual sugar remains, according to Vino Italiano. “With all that sugar, the extract, and the alcohol, a Recioto can be almost overwhelming in its intensity…. a meal in itself… It is still one of the great wines of Verona, an answer to Port.”

You will need patience to see that answer though. The bottle below is from 2012, so the style is sweet and fruity. Towards the end of its recommended 20 years, it becomes similar to Port.

It is a blend of three well-known grapes in the area: Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara. Moderate barrel ageing helps achieve balance. 

Colour is a dense ruby red.  Cooked cherries and fruits preserved in spirits are given as the aromas. Haven't done either, so I'll take their word for it! On the classy palate you notice that lovely balance of fruit, sweetness and acidity. And then the long finish. Nowhere near as heavy as some well-known sweet wines, not a hint of cloying, and Very Highly Recommended.

See also (from my current Italian mini-series):

Fontanafredda. Important Player in Italian Wine
Two Amazing Whites from Italy.

Wines of Italy's Marche

In the Heart of Chianti

From the Islands

Pighin's "Grave wines are bargains". Good too!

Barolo and Amarone. Two Italians Worth Knowing
Montepulciano and Montepulciano confused?
Pinot Grigio, one of the most popular grapes.

Wines from the Alps

Velenosi from the Marche

Pighin's "Grave wines are bargains". Good too!

Pighin's "Grave wines are bargains". Good too!

Vino Italiano (2005) sums up Pighin: A large estate with holdings in both the Grave and Collio DOCs. There are some decent wines in the bunch, and the Grave wines are bargains.

They have proved innovative wine-makers and built the first Italian example of an insulated winery. No water wasted here; the terrace roof is irrigated with well water which contributes to cooling down the spaces before returning down to where it came from. See the Modern History Of Italian Wine (2016) for more.

Grave is named, in much the same way as its Bordeaux namesake, after its gravelly soil. The Pighin family were in haulage when they took 30 hectares of Risano in 1964 and their drive for quality started then and continues. 

Their piece of Grave is considered superior for its wines, leading to varietal intensity and aromatic complexity. Pinot Grigio is king here and this below is a right royal example below.

Pighin Pinot Grigio Grave del Friuli (DOC) 2015, 12.5%, €17.75 Karwig Wines

The colour is a straw yellow, micro bubbles noticeable. The complex aromas speak of white fruits, hints of blossom too. On the palate, it is smooth and noticeably supple, superbly balanced and with a persistent finish. Nothing watery or weak about it; just a full bodied example of the grape and Very Highly Recommended.

Pighin Risano blanco Venezia Giulia (IGT) 2013, 12.5%, €14.85 Karwig Wines

The grapes used in this white are Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon, plus autochthonous (i.e. indigenous) varieties of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. They come from the vineyard of Risano where “Hot, breezy summers, rigorous winters and average rainfall create particularly favourable conditions”.

This very light straw coloured wine has attractive, if modest, floral aromas. That gentleness continues and combined with the freshness of the palate makes it an ideal aperitif. Good acidity should see it pair well with the recommended salads and light summery offerings. A very pleasant wine indeed and Recommended and good value, especially if you have a gang coming to visit.

See also (from my current Italian mini-series):

Fontanafredda. Important Player in Italian Wine
Two Amazing Whites from Italy.

Wines of Italy's Marche

In the Heart of Chianti
From the Islands
Sweet Favourite of the Romans. Still Going Strong.
Barolo and Amarone. Two Italians Worth Knowing
Montepulciano and Montepulciano confused?
Pinot Grigio, one of the most popular grapes.

Wines from the Alps

Velenosi from the Marche

In the heart of Chianti

In the heart of Chianti

If Tuscany is the centre of the Italian Wine Universe (as declared by Vino Italiano) then Chianti Classico is its heart. Chianti itself is a vast area in Tuscany with Pisa and Siena among its best known cities. Chianti Classico DOCG, situated on the hills between Florence and Siena, is tiny by comparison.

Hugh Johnson, writing in The Finest Wines of Tuscany (2009),  says the revolution of Tuscan wines began over 40 years ago and is still on-going. “It is the New World within the Old, questioning, experimenting all the time, with ever-rising standards.”  Looks like there is a lot more to this story.

Sangiovese is central Italy’s most important red grape and the main grape in Chianti where Grapes and Wines note Terrabianca as one of the top producers. It is also the base of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Brunello di Montalcino and Morellino di Scansano.

Terrabianca Scassino Chianti Classico (DOCG), 13.5%, €22.70 Karwig Wines

The estate is ancient (mentioned as far back as 1085) but Roberto and Maja Guldener started here only in 1988. Now, after much hard work, some of their wines, including this one, are well-known in “many countries all over the world”. Not bad going for a couple that left the city (Zurich) to live in the countryside.

The blend is 97% Sangiovese with 3% Canaiolo. It has spent 8 months in Slovenian oak and three months in bottle before release.

It is a vibrant cherry red, clear and bright. The inviting aromas are a mix of fruit (led by raspberry and cherry). It is fresh and supple, with moderate spice, fine tannins, a really pleasant experience on the palate, a well made Chianti, with typical fragrance and fruit, with a firm backbone and a long lasting finish. Very Highly Recommended.

Fattoria di Rodáno Chianti Classico (DOCG) 2011, 14.5%, €20.45 Le Caveau

This blend of 90% Sangiovese and five per cent each of Colorino (with its deep dark colouring) and Canaiolo (also used in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano) is produced by the Pozzesi family on an organically run hill-top vineyard in Tuscany. It is oak-aged in large Slovenian botti di rovere but this is really “little more than a seasoning”.

Colour is a bright cherry red and ripe red and darker fruits are prominent in the aromas. Flavours of plum and cherry are found on the palate of this medium bodied wine, spice too. Tannins though rounded are still a factor and even more so is the typical mouth-watering acidity. The elegant finish persists. This impeccably balanced wine is Highly Recommended.

See also (from my current Italian mini-series):

Fontanafredda. Important Player in Italian Wine
Two Amazing Whites from Italy.

Wines of Italy's Marche
From the islands of Sicily and Sardinia
Sweet Favourite of the Romans. Still Going Strong.

Pighin's "Grave wines are bargains". Good too!

Barolo and Amarone. Two Italians Worth Knowing
Montepulciano and Montepulciano confused?
Pinot Grigio, one of the most popular grapes.

Wines from the Alps

Velenosi from the Marche

Wines of Italy's Marche. Carminucci Family impress with this set

Wines of Italy's Marche

Carminucci Family impress with this set

The Marche (pronounced Mar-kay) is a long narrowish region on the east of Italy, between the Adriatic and the Apennines. The main cities are Pesaro in the north, Ascoli in the south and Ancona in between. It has an ancient wine-making tradition and its warm and cool viticultural zones mean a variety of produce.

Verdicchio is, by far, the main white grape of the area, with highly regarded wines coming from Castelli di Jesi and Matelica. But “there’s a significant production of a crisp Trebbiano-based white in the south”, near Ascoli-Piceno, according to Vino Italiano, and this is where our family, Carminucci, comes from. 

Red wines here are “a softer version of Chianti” according to Vino Italiano, and they can also be “some of the best values around”. 

The World Atlas of Wine is of much the same opinion. "Rosso Piceno... generally with lower yields and judicious oaking, can be good value." Sangiovese and Montepulciano are the main red grapes.

The Carminucci family started making wine here in 1928 and Findlater’s have  introduced their wines to Ireland.  The five wines below come from the sub-regions of Falerio, Offida, Rosso Piceno, 

Carminucci Naumakos Falerio (DOC) 2015, 12.5%, €15.95. Findlater's (whose stockists include Bradley’s North Main Street, Cork).

This is a fresh and fruity blend of Trebbiano, Passerina and Pecorino. Trebbiano is the backbone while the other two, each native varieties, boost the aromatic complexity. Crisp, tangy and refreshing.

Colour is a light straw, tints of green, micro-bubbles. Aromas are pleasant if modest, of almonds. There are refreshing fruity flavours with an immediate appeal, persistent from start to finish. And I'm not talking tasting portions here. This is not a wine to sip and abandon; it has second, even third, glass appeal! Good acidity too. Could possibly do with a bit more body, a tad more viscosity, but a very pleasant wine as is and Very Highly Recommended.

Carminucci Belato Offida (DOCG) Pecorino 2015, 12.5%, €16.95 Findlater's (whose stockists include Bradley’s North Main Street, Cork)

This is 100 per cent Pecorino. I am talking about a grape, not the famous sheep's cheese of Italy. The Pecorino grape is so called because a bunch resembles a sheep’s head. That’s one story. Another is that the bunches are a favourite treat for the sheep. In any case. it does well here in Offida.

Wine-Searcher.com says: Pecorino cheese is, coincidentally, a surprisingly good food match for Pecorino. I did try a previous one with the Pecorino from Toons Bridge and it certainly worked well. Brief details here

Colour of this Carminucci, a producer newly introduced by Findlater’s, is a pale straw, invitingly bright. Aromas are delicate and pleasant, of apple, pear and banana, some floral elements too. On the palate, it is full and rewarding, good depth of flavour and minerality; it is full bodied, dry and well balanced. A very pleasant mouthful indeed and Highly Recommended.

Winery tips: Serving temperature: 10-12 degrees; pair with

aperitifs, fresh cheese, white meat, fish.

Carminucci Naumakos Rosso Piceno Superiore (DOC) 2013, 14%, €16.95 Findlater's (whose stockists include Bradley’s North Main Street, Cork)

As with the whites, the DOC for this red is in the south of the Marche region, close to Falerio, Offida and Rosso Conero. The blend is 30% Sangiovese and 70% Montepulciano. It has been matured for 12 months in 400 litre oak barrels.

It is a dark ruby red with a complex bouquet of the darker fruits (plum, cherry), hints of liquorice too. The first rich sip tells much. It is a lovely rounded wine, full of flavour, some moderate spice, with  a terrific balance, quite fine tannins and a persistent finish. Very Highly Recommended.

Carminucci Grotte Sul Marc Falerio (DOC) 2015, 11.5%, €14.95 Findlater's (whose stockists include Bradley’s North Main Street, Cork)

Same three grapes but a different vineyard to the Naumakos, lower ABV also. Light straw colour, tints of green. Pleasant aromas of fruit (apple, pear), plus floral notes also.

After the introductory tingle, the fruity freshness (grapefruit now added to the mix) continues; it is dry, fresh yes, and well balanced. Good acidity too (they recommended trying it with fish) and a pleasant and persistent finalé. Highly Recommended.

Carminucci Grotte Sul Marc Rosso Piceno (DOC) 2015, 13%, €16.95 Findlater's (whose stockists include Bradley’s North Main Street, Cork)

This Grotte Sul Marc line underscores “our link with this territory… the Grottammore hill zone”. It is a blend of Sangiovese and Montepulciano and no oak has been used in this one. You are advised to “use all through the meal, with delicatessen products, cheese, and roast meats”.

Ruby red is the colour. There are cherry aromas. On the palate it feels smooth, with rounded red fruit flavours, slight spice and altogether a rather lovely wine, dry and soft and with a good finish. Enough acidity to keep it welcome at the table. Highly Recommended.

See also from current Italian series: 
Fontanafredda. Important Player in Italian Wine
Two Amazing Whites from Italy.
In the Heart of Chianti
From the Islands

Pighin's "Grave wines are bargains". Good too!

Sweet Favourite of the Romans. Still Going Strong.
Barolo and Amarone. Two Italians Worth Knowing
Montepulciano and Montepulciano confused?
Pinot Grigio, one of the most popular grapes.

Wines from the Alps

Velenosi from the Marche

Fontanafredda, important player in Italian wine. Three examples.

Fontanafredda: important player in Italian wine. Three examples.

The Modern History of Italian Wine (2016), to which we'll be referring often over the next few months, picks Fontanafredda, renowned for decades for its Barolo, as a key player in Italy's wine industry. The important company now produces some 7.5m bottles a year and you can find quite a few of its products, including the Barolos, in Karwig Wines. Below are just three examples. 

Fontanafredda Raimonda, Barbera D’Alba (DOC) 2009, 14%, €21.15 Karwig Wines

In 1858, an area close to the village of Serralunga D’Alba was registered to the King Vittorio Emanuele II. Here he indulged his passion with the commoner daughter of a drum major and it was eventually their son Emanuele Guerrieri, Count of Mirafiore, who devoted his life to making wine here, “with a very modern approach”.

Success with Barolo followed later but, after war and economic strife, the banks took over in 1931 and appointed a winemaker to take charge. In recent years, the property passed to Oscar Farinetti, “another visionary” according to the recently published Modern History of Italian wine, “who revitalized its sale and the commercial image of the brand”. 

Dressed with the colours of the estate, the Stripes series “is the central line of production by Fontanafredda”. And the Barbera for this striped bottle is grown around Serralunga.

Part of the wine is aged in large French and Slavonian oak casks, the rest stored in small barrels of medium toasted French and American oak for about a year. The two parts are blended prior to bottling.

Colour is a deep ruby. There are intense aromas of cherry and plum, notes of vanilla. Quite a striking velvety mouthfeel on this one, round with ripe and tangy fruit, hints of spice, and an excellent acidity. A very pleasant drop indeed and Very Highly Recommended.

Karwig’s also do another excellent example of the grape: Renato Barbera D’Alba.

Fontanafredda Gavi (DOCG) 2015, 12.5%, €23.10 Karwig Wines

This is another of the vineyard’s Stripes Series and the Cortese vines from which it is produced are grown near the village of Gavi in south east Piedmont. Serve between 10 to 12 degrees and you’ll find it is ideal for starters and light meals.

It is a light straw colour with a definite green tint and micro-bubbles cling to the sides of the glass. There are fairly intense aromas, a melange of white fruit and blossom. Lively fruit flavours predominate as it rolls smoothly across the palate. It is an easy-drinking well-balanced wine with a long dry finish. Highly Recommended.

Fontanafredda “Le Fronde” Moscato D’Asti (DOCG) 2012, 5.0%, €9.95 Karwig Wines

This is a gorgeous moderately sweet wine, another string to the impressive Fontanafredda bow. Try it with all desserts, they encourage. I had a few of those delightful cheesecakes from Charly and tried the two together. Excellent, though I'm told it may be even better with drier cakes (e.g. panetone). And, by the way, it is also lovely on its own.

May not have much alcohol on board - yes, that five per cent is correct - but it has quite a lot going for it otherwise. It is slightly fizzy, lots of bubbles in evidence, mainly clinging to the sides of the glass, a frizzante rather than a spumante. Indeed, the low alcohol count means it can be convenient to use within a multi-course meal, either as aperitif or with dessert. I prefer to use a normal white wine glass rather than a flute.

It is aromatic (this one sage and honey) and floral, full and fruity also. Well worth trying, ideal in the garden in summer, with three or four friends. Recommended.

Recently reviewed:

Fontanafredda Pradalupo, Roero Arneis 2010 (Piedmont, Italy)


See also from our current Italian series:
Two Amazing Whites from Italy
Wines of Italy's Marche
In the Heart of Chianti
From the Islands

Pighin's "Grave wines are bargains". Good too!

Sweet Favourite of the Romans. Still Going Strong.
Barolo and Amarone. Two Italians Worth Knowing
Montepulciano and Montepulciano confused?
Pinot Grigio, one of the most popular grapes.

Wines from the Alps

Velenosi from the Marche