Food & Drink RAISE A GLASS
Wine comes to life with food. I joined a “wine team” to put that to the test in grand style, with one wine in particular: Gavi DOCG.
As a guest of the Gavi region and drinks industry experts The Buyer, I taste-tested these lovely Italian whites against three cuisines.
Not traditional Italian, but grazing tapas with dips and charcuterie; then Chinese food including the tastiest (and sometimes spicy!) dim sum; and a selection of Middle Eastern mezze.
And, by golly, this is a wine for all-comers, for all tastes, for all food pairings.
Gavi white wines hail from Piedmont in the north east of Italy where it stands tall among mighty reds including Barolo and Barbaresco.
Gavi’s World Ambassador Sara Repetto explained the wine was mineral and crispy with floral and citrus notes.
She added: “You can have Gavi by the glass without any kind of food; or with vegetables, salad, chicken, or pasta.
“It is so versatile you will never be disappointed. It is like having a glass of spring or summer time.”
That sounds great in February! Go for it!
There are plenty of great quality Gavi wines on our supermarket shelves, including: ASDA Extra Special Gavi (£9.25), Tesco Finest Gavi (£9.25), Waitrose Gavi Piedmont (£9.99), Lidl’s Gavi (£7.99) and Co-op Irresistible Gavi Broglia (£9).
Some of the wines we tasted on our food and wine pairing tour, included: Castello Di Tassarolo Gavi DOCG (£11.29, Costco);
Cascina delle Monache Gavi del Comune di Gavi 2022 (£15.30, down from £17, online at The Oxford Wine Company);
Costa Donnio Gavi DOCG, Parisio (£14.36, stonevine.co. uk);
Tacchino, Gavi di Gavi (£15, streetwines.co.uk);
Molinetto Re-lys Gavi DOCG (£16.95, tilleyswines.com);
Il Poggio Black Label
Gavi (£18, amathusdrinks. com);
La Raia Gavi Riserva (£21.95, aduv.co.uk).
To find out more about
La Raia Gavi DOCG wines head to
Gavi consorziogavi.com,
Riserva or follow them on Instagram @gavi972.
■ Jane is a member of the Circle of Wine Writers. Find her on social media and online as One Foot in the Grapes