Thursday Club with talk RADIO: The famous grapes from Piedmont, Italy

This week on the Thursday Club, we start to feel a little more Autumnal and head to Piedmont in Italy, which always comes into it’s own at this time of year. Think truffle hunting, wild boar stews, foggy mornings… it’s just beautiful. Piedmont is also home to some of the most famous wines in Italy. It’s the home of Barolo, Barbaresco, Gavi, Barbera and Dolcetto to name but a few and all are fantastic food wines. Today we are looking at three grapes that deserve your attention: Arneis, Barbera and Nebbiolo. Huge thanks to Corney & Barrow who supplied al l the wines for this tasting.

Roero Arneis, Cascina Ghercina, Italy, 2019

Keep your eye out for this white grape as it becomes more popular. If you’re looking for an alternative to Gavi, this elegant little white is for you. Arneis is the grape and here it comes from it’s spiritual home in the hills of the Roero, northwest of Alba in Piedmont. It’s a tricky grape to grow, which is why it’s often called the little rascal, but when treated properly, it flourishes to give a crisp, white wine with delicate floral aromas, notes of ripe pear, apricot and a touch of sweet spice. 

Find it here for £12.95 

Barbera d'Alba, Fratelli Antonio e Raimondo, Italy, 2019

The pretty, foggy hills of Piedmont’s Alba is the perfect place for classic Barbera (that’s the grape) like this one. Silky smooth and perfumed with notes of red cherry and fruits of the forest, this is a red for those who like less tannic reds like Pinot Noir without the bombastic fruit and oak of the New World. Quietly elegant and seductive, this is cracking with charcuterie too.

Find it here for £12.75.

Langhe Nebbiolo, Pian delle Mole, Giulia Negri, Italy, 2019

Nebbiolo is the most famous grape of Piedmont and one of the most notable in Italy, being responsible for the wines of Barolo, Barbaresco and Gattinara. It’s a paradox, looking quite pale and elegant in the glass but packing real power on the palate. Think Dita Von Tease and what she can do with a pole... The elegance but oh, the power! Tar and roses is the classic tasting note for Nebbiolo as well as a touch of marzipan, violet and truffle when it has a bit of age. They can keep for years thanks to the tannin and often need time to age. When from the Langhe region however like this one, they can be much more fruit forward and ready to drink earlier. 

Find it here for £18.50

Thursday Club with talk RADIO: Classic Iberian Wines

This week on talkRADIO, we are continuing the Iberian theme for the summer as most of us can’t get out to Spain or Portugal. I’ve gone for three wines in very different styles that you may have heard of, but not be sure what they are. We have a white, a red and a dry sherry. Yes! It’s time to taste that again.

ILUSIONISTA, Verdejo, Rueda, Spain. 

Rueda is another Spanish wine region that favours white wine, and these whites are made with a grape called Verdejo. If you like a more tropical style of Sauvignon Blanc, you will love this. It’s aromatic, zesty and limey with notes of smoky passion fruit and guava. There’s a creaminess here too that makes it a great food pairing wine and as you’d expect, it loves Spanish cuisine. Try it with seafood, white meat, carpaccios, sushi and semi-cured cheeses.

Find it for £11.15 from Vinissimus here.

Tio Pepe Fino Sherry, Jerez, Spain.

Don’t run away! This is not the sweet stuff your nan drinks. Sherry is one of the most misunderstood wines in the whole world. I think it’s because the word itself sounds sweet! The truth is, classic, ‘proper’ sherry is dry. Bone dry. If you’re into salted almonds, twiglets and salty umami goodness, then you should give it a try, chilled in a small glass. It’s incredibly moreish and fantastic with salty snacks. Fino is made with a grape called Palomino fino, hence the name. It’s made as normal dry white wine, then fortified with grape spirit to around 15% and aged in barrels under a type of yeast bloom called ‘flor’. You could also switch thing up and try it in a ‘Tiojito’ instead of rum. So refreshing! Here’s more on Fino and the other style of Sherry here.

Find it for £10 from Sainsbury’s here and many other stores

Extra Special Douro Red, Portugal.

In the past when we thought about red wine from Portugal, it was all about Port: a fortified red. Nowadays however, Portugal is producing some fantastic DRY red wines that are totally unique to the country and provide fantastic value for money as they are less famous than others. The main red wine grape used to make quality red Port is Touriga Nacional and the Douro wine region is king for this. It often forms the backbone of the red wine blends (they’re usually always blended), with the rest being made up by several local red wine grapes. Always big and bold, think blackberry, prune, blackcurrant and cinnamon spice. Open it up early to give it some air and it would love some grilled meat or even dark chocolate.

Find it on offer for £4.88 (down from £6.50) at Asda here.

Thursday Club with TalkRadio: Tequila Special

This week it’s all about Tequila! We’ll be discovering some top serves to get the very most out of your bottle. Forget shots, this week it’s all about smooth sipping and appreciating some of the finest liquid known to mankind!

Tequila Dobel Diamante

Made with 100% pure agave and formulated using a blend of Extra-Añejo, Añejo and Reposado tequilas. This complex spirit gives you a mix of sweet flavours – caramel, honey and maple alongside a nutty vanilla finish. An indescribable smoothness and a long finish that leaves you wanting more.

ABV: 40% // Size: 700ml // Find here: £54.95

Spicy Margarita

50ml Tequila Dobel Diamante
25ml Lime
4 Slices of Chilli
10ml Agave Syrup

Herradura Reposado

The Original Reposado. Tequila Herradura introduced the world to Reposado in 1974 and has been setting the standard ever since. Aged longer than industry standard for 11 months, Reposado has a rich amber color with notes of cooked agave, vanilla and butter. This additional time spent resting in charred American White Oak barrels creates a smooth, sweet finish with a slight taste of spice.

ABV: 40% // Size: 700ml // Find here: £43.64

Chocolate Orange Margarita

50ml Herradura Reposado
15ml Grand Marnier
20ml Lime
1 Dash Chocoalte Bitters
1 Dash Vanilla Bitters

Storywood 14 Year Speyside Añejo

Bottled at cask strength, Storywood Double Oak is at the top of the range of their Cask Strength Limited Editions. Raised over 14 months in single malt Scotch whisky casks and Oloroso Sherry casks. Honey and caramel merge with cherry and dark fruit notes for a radically rare tequila. Limited to around 500 cases a year.

ABV: 40% // Size: 700ml // Find here: £53.20

Tequila Old Fashioned

50ml Storywood Double Oak Anejo
15ml Agave Nectar
1 Dash Angosturra Bitters
1 Dash Orange Bitters

Top Tip: When making margaritas, use Grand Marnier to hit that cocktail up a notch!

To see more of the bottles we’ve featured on Thursday Club click here!

Thursday Club with talk RADIO: Top wines from Co-op

This week on the Thursday club, it’s the last in our supermarket series and this time, it’s the turn of the Co-op! I’ve chosen an impressive little white that you may not have heard of before, a simple and delicious pink Rioja and I also spotted a real bargain red that tastes a lot more expensive than it is…

Co-op Irresistible Marsanne 2019

Made by one of the star winemakers of the Languedoc; Jean-Claude Mas from Les Domaines Paul Mas, this is a well-made, perky white that is simply a great expression of the Marsanne grape. Marsanne is normally associated with Rhone Valley and often blended with Roussanne as it can often be a bit much on its own, but this one is really attractive. Think of ripe peach, pear and subtle, tropical fruit flavours with a lovely, creamy texture and good weight. It’s a bit different. If you like Viognier, you will like this. 

Find it for £8 here

Cune Rosado 2020

Cune is a name to know in Rioja for its fruit-forward, modern styles of wine that are easy to love. Despite its youth, the 2020 pink is drinking perfectly now, with a pretty scent of ripe cherry and delicious strawberry notes on the palate. It’s elegant, juicy and so easy to drink. Amazing value too, knocking many Provencal rosés off the shelf. 

Find it for £8.50 here

Co-op Tinto, Vina Gala NV

This was the surprise of the tasting to me. A non-vintage wine that clearly has some age on it - it must be a small parcel they have picked up. Made with 100% Tempranillo (the same grape that makes Rioja), this is super savoury with notes of grilled meat, leather and a flash of stewed strawberry and woody spice. Perhaps not one for everyone, but with a bit of air and either a slab of meat or some cheese, this properly belies it’s ridiculously low price. 

Find it at Co-op for £5.85 soon to be online

Thursday Club with talk RADIO: Great Value Italian Wines

Today on the Thursday Club with talkRADIO, we sing the praises of three Italian wine grapes you might not have heard of but certainly need to be tasted: Fiano, Nero D’Avola and Primitivo. They also often make wines that are fantastic value too, like these three below.

All wines this week have been sent courtesy of Corney & Barrow , who also happen to be doing a celebrity wine tasting tonight (May 13th) at 8pm to raise money for hospitality. See more here on that.

Fiano Masseria Bianca 2018

The white grape of Southern Italy is Fiano, which makes universally loveable white wines that combine a citrussy freshness with riper, tropical notes of nectarine and pineapple.  This one is grown on limestone-rich soils near the Ionian Sea in Puglia, which gives it a particular freshness and cool slick of chalkiness. Campania is the main Italian region for this grape but you can find i elsewhere like Puglia and Sicily too. If you like un-oaked, new world Chardonnay.

Find it here for £10.25 from Corney & Barrow.

Mucchietto IGT Primitivo del Salento 2019

The Primitivo grape is said to be the old cousin of Zinfandel, which is famous over in California for making equally rich and brooding reds. It thrives in its Puglian homeland in Italy, where it makes wines that are particularly ripe, figgy, soft and juicy, often with notes of chocolate dipped cherry, sweet spice and beeswax. This is the comfort blanket of Italian red wine styles. If you like red Zinfandel, you’ll like this.

Find it here for £10.25 from Corney & Barrow.

Cipollina IGT Rosso Terre Siciliane 2018

For this wine, we head over to Sicily where the native Nero d’Avola grape rules the roost for rustic, easy-drinking and inexpensive red wines. This one by Cipollina is Nero d’Avola dominant with a cheeky splash of Syrah. Brooding and dark red, thanks partly to the sun’s heat, it has notes of rich, baked cherry pie, warm spice, plum and violets. The perfect party or barbecue wine, it’s a crowd pleaser that looks and tastes much smarter than its price tag would suggest.  If you like Shiraz /Syrah, you’ll like this.

Find it here for £8.50 from Corney & Barrow.

Thursday Club with Talk Radio: Unusual Pinot Noir

Thirsty Thursday means it’s time for the Thursday Club on talkRADIO! This week, it’s about Pinot Noir - ‘the heartbreak grape’, so named because due to its thin skin, it's very difficult to grow to its best potential and has caused many a winemaker nights of lost sleep. When conditions are right and it goes well however, it makes wonderful, elegant, aromatic wine. 

Today’s Pinot Noirs are a little different as they are not from places you might necessarily expect and certainly not from the most famous regions for them, namely Burgundy in France, Champagne and California. Welcome to a Pinot Noir fine Wine special. 

Sancerre Rouge ‘Les Champs Clos’ Pinot Noir, 2019 FRANCE

Sancerre is always white, right? Wrong! While the majority of Sancerre wine is white, 20% of wine production there is actually red and it will be made with the Pinot Noir grape. Mind blown? I thought so. Sancerre is a region in France’s cool climate Loire Valley and it is the spiritual home of the white grape Sauvignon Blanc (White Sancerre = Sauvignon), but it suits a cool and elegant style of Pinot too. Think floral notes of violet with crunchy, red cherry and berry fruit and a moreish, tart acidity. 

Find it at Sainsbury’s here for £11.50

Bolney Estate Pinot Noir, 2020, Sussex, ENGLAND

English still wine used to be a bit of a joke, with germanic varieties producing wines that were at once screeching high in acidity yet also too sweet. Nowadays, we’re finding that many serious producers are looking to the key champagne grapes like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for their still wines and having much better results - globally award-winning results in fact. The founders of Bolney Estate had the foresight to plant back in 1972 in Haywards Heath, West Sussex as only the 6th commercial vineyard in the country. Now, the winemaking team is lead by the daughter of the founders, Sam Linter. Her Pinot Noir has won multiple awards internationally and the 2020 is just released, with its soft, velvety red fruit, hints of earth and coffee beans with a touch of chocolate dipped cherry on the finish. 

You can also visit Bolney for a wonderful day out. They have tours, tastings, a bar, a lovely restaurant and an event space available to book. When we can do that again!

Find it at Waitrose Cellar here for £17.99 and Bolneywineestate.com

Akitu, Central Otago, New Zealand

Pinot Noir is one of the very few red grapes that is frequently used to make white wine. The most common version of this is of course in Champagne and sparkling wine; it's much less common to see still, white Pinot Noir like this one. Hailing from just beside Lake Wanaka on 250 million year old schist soils in New Zealand’s Central Otago, lots of sunshine and dry autumns give amazing fruit purity and complexity. The delicate pink gives away the grape’s red skin and subtle notes of raspberry, white chocolate, honeysuckle, citrus and mandarin. There’s also a proper, creamy texture that makes this a silky, serious white wine.

Find it here at The Champagne Company for £32

Thursday Club with Talk Radio: Spring Wines

Intipalka Chardonnay, Vinas Queirolo, Peru, 2018

Yes, Peru. You read that right. This wine is made from vines in the Ica Valley where the Queirolo family have been making wine since 1880. The dry, sunny climate with warm days and cool nights create a super crisp, vibrant wine with pure fruit flavours of peach and melon. 'Intipalka' means 'valley of the sun' in Quechua, the language of the ancient Inca people. 

ABV: 13%
Size: 750ml
Drink Now: 2018 - 2020
Find here: £10.95

Sanziana Rosé, Cramele Recas, Romania 2019

Romania is showing its hand as a serious wine producing country, especially down in the South West of the country. Cramele Recas is a Premium Romanian wine estate with vineyards that are said to be some of the oldest in the world. This brilliant value wine is floral with notes of ripe strawberry, redcurrant and cinnamon spice. 

ABV: 12%
Size: 750ml
Drink Now: 2020 - 2022
Find here: £8.50

Garnacha, Loncomilla, Maturana Wines,  Itata Valley, Chile, 2018

This silky smooth, chocolatey Garnacha (aka Grenache) comes from ancient heritage vines grown in Loncomilla, a remote sub-region of the Maule Valley and spend time in amphorae. Think of ripe plums, blackcurrant and earthy spice.

ABV: 14.5%
Size: 750ml
Drink Now: 2018 - 2020
Find here: £15.25

For more white wines, check out these Chardonnay choices or if you prefer red then you want to get sipping on this Malbec!

Thursday Club with Talk RADIO: Chardonnay

Join Helena every Thursday with Mike Graham on talkRADIO for the Thursday Club! This week, Helena took us all on a tasting tour of the Chardonnay grape. Here’s what she tasted with Mike and where to find them:

Crisp & Chalky: Chablis

Chablis is a region in cool climate France, famous for a style of Chardonnay that is crisp and chalky - perfect with seafood. Chablis is not normally associated with oak (though at the loftier premier cru and grand cru levels, there is sometimes a little). We tried Irresistible Chablis, J.M. Brocard from the Co-op.

ABV: 12.5%
Size: 750ml
Find here: £12.50.

Creamy & Fruity: Chile

If you like your Chardonnay with a whack of fruit and creamy, vanilla characteristics, then head to the New World: Chile, New Zealand or Australia in particular. These can be oaked or un-oaked. We tried Chardonnay, Montes Reserva, Curico Valley, Chile, 2020 from the Co-op.

ABV: 13.5%
Size: 750ml
Find here: £8

Blanc de Blancs Champagne

If your Champagne has ‘blanc de blancs’ written on it, it has to be 100% Chardonnay. Meaning ‘white from white’, it refers to white wine from white grapes, which in the Champagne region of France means it can only be Chardonnay. The other two grapes that can be used in Champagne are both black (red): Pinot Noir & Meunier. Champagne Delamotte is one of the most respected houses in the Champagne region. We tried Blanc de Blancs, Champagne Delamotte, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger.

ABV: 12.5%
Size: 750ml
Find here: £27.25 for a half bottle.

Have you tried Crémant? Made in the same way as Champagne but at a fraction of the price you can’t beat it! Check out our suggestions here.