RAISE A GLASS
and lots (and lots) of cheese.
Which got me a-thinking that maybe you don’t know to look out for the rooster in the wine aisles. It is a symbol of the Chianti Classico Wine Consortium and is placed on Chianti Classico labels to indicate that the wines come from that region. It stands firm to declare the quality of the wine you’re about to buy.
Look out for it on the wine aisles. It’s there for a reason, to guide people like you and me.
Find out more at chianti.com) The serendipity bit … a couple of days after my corner-of-the-eye rooster moment I was watching a video talk by wine expert and educator Nina Cerullo.
She explained that years ago the emphasis in the Chianti region was quantity over quality; that a word often used to describe the wines was “rustic”. But that has changed “dramatically” and people who haven’t tried a Chianti in several years may now be genuinely surprised at how well made they are. Back to my Sainsbury’s wine and my rooster in waiting. The wine is rich and speaks of cherries, blackcurrants and plums. It’s a dry wine with low tannins which nestled alongside my pasta and kept me content for the evening.
On another evening (by chance) I sipped
(RRP £10.79, Waitrose) with those curly-type ribbons of pasta and a wine-thrashed Bolognese sauce. It did nothing for my lockdown waistline, but my palate was pleased by the fresh cherry flavours and a hint of spice.
■ July hasn’t been the most giving in terms of sunshine, but summer still calls out for a glass of rosé.
I ignored the clouds and sat on my garden bench with a glass of
(RRP £8, the Co-op) which is vibrant with strawberries and hints of grapefruit. The wine is created from the sangiovese