RAISE A GLASS
I’M back with my mix and match of January themes and this week I’m bringing you Veganuary, Ginuary – and a sips for Burns’ Night next week. My first is a Veganuary wine with an alter ego. Casa Roscoli Organic Primitivo (£8, Tesco) is a moreish and fruity red from Puglia in Italy.
I waved it at some eager wine lovers who were staring back at me through my laptop screen at an online Zoom session for their wine club, on the theme of California.
Woah, roll back a few words... did I say this wine is from Puglia, that southern heel of Italy? But … I waggled it in a glass as I was talking about California?
Eager hands clasping pens were quickly thrown at pieces of paper when I explained that the primitivo grape is the very same as the Californian grape zinfandel. If you enjoy one, you’ll likely enjoy the other.
It’s probable that Italians leaving their homeland to seek their fortunes in the California Gold Rush took the grape variety with them. A kind of memory of home.
The grapes for the casa roscoli wine are grown organically, handharvested, and no animal products are used to remove the remnants of yeast and grapes left from the fermentation.
The wine is ripe with black fruits and cherries, with silky soft tannins.
My Ginuary choice is
Mermaid Gin (RRP £38, at John Lewis, Tesco, Harvey Nichols, M&S, Waitrose). It looks amazing in its blue,
rippled, livery. The bottle is making waves with its oceanic statement.
The gin is crafted at the Isle of Wight Distillery and is fresh, clean, inviting and moreish. Its signature botanical is rock samphire, known locally as
“mermaid’s kiss”.
Finally, a whisky from Aldi to include in your Burns’ Night celebrations on January 25 –
Glen Marnoch Speyside 12 Year Old Single Malt Whisky (£19.99).
Making whisky needs a lot of water and in the Speyside region there are huge rivers and therefore lots of distilleries. The whisky – aged in American oak barrels – has aromas of dried apples, pear, vanilla, spice and caramel, with the same notes found when you sip.
Jane is a member of the Circle of Wine Writers. Find her on social media and online as One Foot in the Grapes.