Tongham's Italian Wine and Food Evening

Last night we had another successful wine tasting evening in Tongham Village Hall. Again we raised over £400 for the upkeep of the hall and had a fun evening of Italian wine and food tasting. Judging by their comments our three dozen attendees had a great time. Whether you attended or not you might be interested in what we tried:

1. SPARKLING WINES
Prosecco is the well known sparkling wine grown produced in the area around Venice in North East Italy. About half the price of Champagne it offers great value and a different style – softer, more fragrant. It makes a great aperitif or can accompany fish or seafood. We are serving one at just under £10 a bottle with some Parmesan Sables (biscuits) – Prosecco Spumante Collalbrigo Brut. 11% (FromVineyeardsDirect.com). Prosecco indicates the grape variety and you can find still versions. Spumante indicates that it is sparkling. Asti, which used to be called Asti Spumant, is made with Muscatel grapes and comes from North West Italy. It tends to be sweeter and can be great with rich deserts or for those who prefer a sweeter aperitif. John’s notes on the Prosecco we tried: A really superb dry Prosecco which is much more champagne like than most. I highly recommended that you try this good value sparkler.

2. WHITE WINES
With Pinot Grigio, Italy has found another internationally popular wine and it is now one of the most popular white wines in the UK. It is a very different style to the Alsace Pinot Gris which is made with the same grape – the Italian version is dryer. Most Pinot Grigio, however, is rather bland and flabby and thus it is worth looking out for other Italian white wines. In the last few years, Gavi has become popular again having also gained a following in the 1980s and this is made around the town of Gavi in North Eastern Italy from the Cortese Grape. We are serving a lovely £8 one from Tesco’s Finest range – Gavi Fratelli Martini Socondo Luigi SpA DOCG 2010 12.5%. Other Italian white wines to look out for include Soave and Vermentino. You will be enjoying our white wine with a Baccala Mantecato – a creamy dish of cod served with Italian bread. John’s notes on the Gavi we tried: This was my favourite of the many Italian white wines we tried during our research but it had a mixed reaction on the evening.

3. PRIMITIVO RED WINE

Primitivo is a grape variety grown in Puglia in South Eastern Italy and is an identical grape to the popular Californian Zinfandel grape. It has a high alcohol content and tends to have a ripe fruitiness. Normally best drunk young, we are breaking the rules tonight and serving you a delicious one from 2004 - Casa Catelli Primitivo Puglia IGT 14%. John’s notes on the Primitivo we tried: Showing sign’s of age but lovely and smooth with some power but relatively little complexity. It went down well with most of our guests.

4. NEBBIOLO RED WINE
Nebbiolo is the grape variety used in making the great red wines of North West Italy – Barolo and Barbaresco. Although, these are great wines this varietal is used virtually nowhere else in the World. The wines tend to be tannic but a softer style that is easier to drink young has become popular in recent years. We are serving you a £10 Corsini Barbaresco DOCG 2007 14% from Waitrose, with a selection of meat antipasti. John’s notes on the Barbaresco we tried: For an under £10 Barbaresco this was very pleasant and accompanied the meat anti-pasti very well.

5. SANGIOVESE RED WINE
Sangiovese, a grape variety from Tuscany, produces much of the other high quality Italian reds – notably Brunello Chianti Classico and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Styles and quality vary tremendously. We are serving a rather unusual wine which is non-vintage wine produced from two years of over-production (2005 & 2008) by a good Brunello producer – Rosso del Palazzone vino de tavola Montalcino 13.5%. This should match well with our main dish of the evening, a Tuscan beef stew and give you a very good idea what an expensive Sangiovese wine would taste like but at under £12. John’s notes on the Sangiovese we tried: this was the star of the evening, the sort of wine that brightens up your whole day, a very nice example of what some might call a “Baby Brunello”. It accompanied Jane’s excellent Tuscan beef and bean stew superbly. Great value, buy some before it runs out.

6. SUPER TUSCAN RED WINE
The title “super” means that the wine is made with international grape varieties rather than just the traditional Italian grape varieties or at least breaks the blending rules. The wine we are serving comes from near Bolsgheri where the famous Super Tuscans of Sassicaia and Ornellaia come from. It is a Casa Catelli Toscana IGT 2008 13.5% FromVineyardsDirect.com. This lovely complex wine should match well with our lovely Italian cheese course. It contains Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese grapes, was aged for 14 months in French oak and costs about £10. John’s notes on the Super Tuscan we tried: Very nice £10 wine that gives you a big hit of blackcurrant, and went well with the cheese (Parmesan, Pecorino and Tallegio).

7. SWEET WINES
We must not ignore the sweet wines of Italy which include Vino Santo from Tuscany, Recioto della Valpolicella from North East Italy and Marsala from Sicily. Tonight our final wine will be a £7.50 Pellegrino Marsala Superiore DOC Garibaldi Dolce 18% from Tescos. Marsala has rather fallen out of fashion and now seems to be used more in cooking than for drinking. This is rather a shame as Marsala makes a great desert wine. Ours is made in the west part of Sicily from Catarrato, Grillo and Inzolia grapes and matured in wooded casks for at least two years. We are serving with the classic Italian dessert – Tiramisu. John’s notes on the Marsala we tried: Surprise hit of the evening, went well with the desert and many appreciated it as it wasn’t too sweet or cloying.

Thanks to everyone for their generosity with the raffle prizes and kind comments. Special thanks to Bob Monk for his help during the evening and loan of the fridges. Our lovely Parmesan and sundried tomato bread came from the excellent Tongham Bakery.

If you enjoyed trying these wines tonight, why not join Tongham’s wine tasting group “Tongham Tasters” that meets monthly (normally on the second Thursday or Friday of the month) to blind taste six wines. Next events are on Thursday 14th July and Friday 12th August. Contact John Etherton on 07717 876743 or email tonghamtaster@gmail.com if you want to join in the fun. Cost is shared by those attending and includes food and wine and is a maximum of £10 a head. Find out more at tonghamtaster.blogspot.com and click on wine circle.

Seven quick wine facts about Italian wines:
1. There are more grape varieties in Italy than anywhere else in the World (over 2,000)
2. Most Italian wines need food if you are going to appreciate them.
3. DOC is the Italian equivalent of the French AOC.
4. DOCG is meant to be slightly superior.
5. Classico often indicates the best area within a DOC or DOCG.
6. IGT is the equivalent of a French Vins de Pays and can be very good wine.
7. Vino de Tavola is ordinary table wine or a good wine breaking the normal rules.