Thursday, March 31, 2011

Catherine Fulvio Visit




Catherine Fulvio Book Signing & Wine Tasting

Thanks to everyone who attended our tasting night with Celebrity Chef Catherine Fulvio. It was one of the best nights we’ve had for a while.

We were absolutely delighted to welcome Catherine as our guest and she was in fabulous form, giving out plenty of cooking tips and tricks and insights into her excellent book “Catherine’s Italian Kitchen”

The Italian-style nibbles went down very well (Thanks a million to Hajni and Mary for all the hard work and preparation!)

On the wine front I selected a dusky range of Italians and the wines we tasted were:

Whites
San Giorgio Prosecco RRP 11.95
Pasqua Pinot Grigio 2010 RRP 10.95

Reds
Borgo Cipressi Chianti 2009 RRP 12.95
Nespolino Sangiovese / Merlot 2009 RRP 11.95
Masciarelli Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2008 RRP 15.95

The San Giorgio Prosecco went down very well, it’s a lovely easy drop and a good wine to kick off any party or celebration. This one is quite fruity, not too dry at all and there’s a decent bit of fizz going on. It’s screwcapped too, which is handy if you you need to crack open a few bottles in a hurry! It will be great “warm-weather drinking” in the months to come!

The Pasqua Pinot Grigio was very typical in style, light, crisp and fresh with lots of pear fruit character and a “dangerous gluggability”

The Borgo Cipressi Chianti 2009 (Cypress Village..named after the beautiful cypress trees so typical of Tuscany) was the first red in our line-up and is a good example of benchmark DOCG Chianti. Tasty cherry fruit and spice with a nice bite of acidity, this is a wine designed in wine heaven for Italian cuisine. Works great with pasta dishes in tomato sauce.

The next red Nespolino 2009 is from the Emilia Romagna region (near Bologna) and is a super example of modern Italian winemaking.
It’s a blend of Sangiovese (the Chianti grape) and Merlot, a bit of a turbo-Chianti and delivers great colour, a lovely plummy nose and bags and bags of flavour. A great new wine which we’re delighted to recommend.

As one or two tasters pointed out we’d saved the best until the end with the Masciarelli 2008.This is a damn fine Montepulciano d’Abruzzo ,from one of the best local producers and the wine punches well above its weight pricewise. A wine to try with meaty food.

You can check out all the details about Catherine at www.catherinefulvio.com and find out about her cookery school in Wicklow at www.ballyknocken.com

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