RAISE A GLASS
I WAS so happy the other day when I converted a pal from pinot grigio to another white wine. Happy is an understatement; it is one of my life’s missions to widen the horizons of pinot grigio drinkers who find themselves stuck in a comfort zone.
The victorious wine was from Slovenia and is one of two new wines released by puklavecandfriends.com who are based in the Podravje region of the country. My “winning” wine was puklavec & friends
Furmint 2015 (RRP £9.99, but £7.99 from August 9 to September 5, Waitrose, 13.5% abv) and its sister wine is puklavec & friends Sauvignon Blanc / Pinot Grigio 2016 (RRP £8.79, and £6.59 across the same dates, Waitrose, 12.5% abv).
I love that the front of both wines emphasise that the grapes were handpicked – the furmint on September 28 and October 2. Call me a geek, but that puts me right in the hills of Jeruzalem in eastern Slovenia when people would have been scurrying around on the vineyard terraces. Ah, but enough of the poetic reflection, what of the wine. It was a little shy releasing its aromas, but a couple of good swirls revealed floral notes, lemon, melon and a touch of lychee; the flavours much the same with a nice acidity.
The aromas of the sauvignon blanc and pinot grigio blend (yes, my pal liked that too) are zesty, with huddles of elderflower and a dabble with tropical fruit. In the mouth the citrus pings and it has a decent, mouth-watering length.
Also in my glass... last Friday it was absolutely pouring down. I thought heck, where has the summer gone? I wanted to remember sunshine, cloudless skies and breezes willowing with aromas of roses and blossom. Then I remembered The Society’s Exhibition English Sparkling Wine NV (£21, 12% abv) and I thought if the summer won’t come to me, I’ll remember it in a glass of sparkling wine from the sunny fields of Sussex. This wine is created for The Wine Society (thewinesociety.com) by Ridgeview which uses the classic champagne grapes chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier and the traditional sparkling winemaking method as followed by champagne makers. This wine has scrunchy green apples on the nose... but what’s this... after a while it opens up into squishy ripe red apples, all encased in a buttery biscuit base.
I ran a wine tasting last night and my red wine was Ring Bolt Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 (RRP £12.99, 14.5% abv). It was awarded this year’s International Wine Challenge Great Value Red Under £15 and the IWC Great Value Champion Red. I hunted for this Australian wine in my local Tesco and found it on the top shelf, minding its own business, with no indication of the top awards it has picked up.
My little gathering loved it and some of them are off to buy it pretty quickly so you’ve been warned. The wine hails from the Margaret River region and had fresh overtures of plums and cherries, with layers of mocha and chocolate from oak aging, together with velvety tannins. I hid a glass for when my work was done. What a treat.