With Ireland v Italy in the rugby coming up this weekend, I thought we’d take a look at a couple of Italian wines. To try and create a little bit of “La Dolce Vita” in the Country Mix studio, I also brought some crunchy amaretti biscuits to try with the wines.
Zenato Lugana 2008 RRP 14.95
A wine from the shores of Lake Garda that I’m very fond of. It’s a lovely, dry mellow white, with hints of peach and apricot and a nice mineral twist. To me it has more to offer in terms of flavour and character than most Pinot Grigios. The Zenato family also make an excellent range of reds. Keep an eye out for their Valpolicella, Ripassa and Amarone. We’ve been following the wines for a number of vintages now and they are always good to excellent. We tried the Lugana with the crunchy amaretti and the combination wasn’t bad at all. Lynsey Dolan, the presenter of Dublin’s Talking, was heard to “OOH” and “AAH” and that’s generally a good sign! Amaretti can also be served with good coffee or broken up over quality ice-cream.They’re my current addiction!
Cantina Zaccagnini “Twiggy” Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2007 RRP 15.95
A wine affectionately called “Twiggy” by our customers (because of the vine “twig” hanging off the label) this spicy beauty comes from the Abruzzo region, east of Rome.
Quite dry (a typical Italian red quality..) this is certainly a food wine and calls for good pasta, cheese or cured meats (or ideally all three together..) Its one of our bestselling Italian reds and its appeal is clear to see. It delivers lovely Italian quaffability and slips down nice n’easy! According to the winery website the wine sees four months ageing in oak, but any oak influence is soft and smooth and the fruit and spice shines through nicely.
An interesting little tasting..now Come on Ireland!!
You can listen to my weekly winespot on “Dublins Talking” every Wednesday morning at 10.30am on Country Mix Radio 106.8fm.
