What we tasted in January 2024

In January we welcomed Charlie Dall’Omo of San Martino Wine who presented an entertaining range of wines from their Italian portfolio.

For more information:
Web: sanmartinowine.co.uk
Email: ciao@sanmartinowine.co.uk
Tel: 0115 671 5804
Facebook: Sanmartinowine
Instragram: Sanmartinowine

The wines tasted were:

  1. Prestige Pignoletto Spumante Brut DOCG
  2. Ortrugo Frizzante DOC 2018
  3. Famoso ‘Serenaro’ IGT Rubicone Bianco
  4. Salamino di Santa Croce DOP ‘Alfredo Molinari’
  5. “A” Quevri Rubicone IGT Centesimino
  6. Riserva Romagna Sangiovese ‘Longiano’ DOC 2016
  7. ‘Felis Leo’ Colli Romagna Centrale Rosso DOC 2011
  8. L’appuntamento Malvasia Bianco Passito

Next tasting – Friday 12th January 2024

In January we welcome Charlie Dall’Omo of San Martino Wine who will be presenting a range of wines from their Italian portfolio.

For more information:
Web: sanmartinowine.co.uk
Email: ciao@sanmartinowine.co.uk
Tel: 0115 671 5804
Facebook: Sanmartinowine
Instragram: Sanmartinowine

San Martino Wine are at the Beeston Farmer’s market on the 3rd Saturday of every month.

Note that Members are required to confirm attendance at the next tasting and paying the tasting fee in advance. It will not be possible for guests to attend or for members to simply turn up on the night owing to space limitations.

What we tasted in October 2023

In October we welcomed back Dan Farrell-Wright of online wine and spirits merchant Wickhams who presenting an excellent range of Italian wines from indigenous grape varieties. Congratulations to Wickhams for winning the 2023 Decanter South & Regional France Best Specialist Retailer Award.

For more information:
Web: wickhamwine.co.uk

The wines tasted were:

  1. Filare Italia Prosecco Extra Dry DOC 
  2. Santa Seraffa Gavi del Comune di Gavi DOCG 2022 
  3. Lunaria “Civitas” Pecorino Terre di Chieti IGP 2020 
  4. Sentieri Siciliani Etna Bianco 2021, Sicily 
  5. Contrade Bellusa Nero d’Avola 2021, Sicilia DOC 
  6. Giribaldi “Caj” Barbera d’Alba Superiore DOC 2019 
  7. Monte Faustino Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore 2019 
  8. Giribaldi “Ravera” Barolo DOCG 2017 
  9. Brunello di Montalcino Selezione Prime Donne 2018 

Next tasting – Friday 13th October

In October we welcome back Dan Farrell-Wright of online wine and spirits merchant Wickhams who will be presenting an interesting range of Italian wines from indigenous grape varieties.

For more information:
Web: wickhamwine.co.uk

Note that Members are contacted by a member of the Committee each month to commit to attendance at the tasting. Unfortunately, it is not possible for members or guests to simply turn up on the night owing to space limitations and the need to arrange catering in advance.

What we tasted in October 2022

In October we welcomed back Italian specialist Ben Robson from Bat & Bottle of Oakham with his ”The Abruzzo, Misunderstood and Magnificent” tasting. This very exciting region showed an interesting variety of grapes and styles at a range of price and quality points.

For more information:

Web: batwine.co.uk
Email: post@batwine.co.uk
Tel: 01572 759735 / 07809 828662
Address: 18d Oakham Enterprise Park, Oakham. LE15 7TU

  1. Cantina Sangro. Passerina 2021, Terre di Chieti IGT
  2. Camillo Montori. Trebbiano ‘Fonte Cupa’ 2021, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo DOC
  3. Camillo Montori. Pecorino ‘Fonte Cupa’ 2021, Colli Aprutini IGT
  4. InAlto. Abruzzo Bianco 2017, Abruzzo DOC
  5. Frentana. Montepulciano ‘Frentano’ 2020, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC
  6. Frentana. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva ‘1960’ 2017, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC
  7. Camillo Montori. Montepulciano ‘Fonte Cupa’ 2018, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Colline Terame DOCG
  8. InAlto. Rosso 2016, Vino Rosso
Ben Robson, Bat & Bottle

Next tasting – Friday 14th October

In October we welcome back Italian specialist Ben Robson from Bat & Bottle of Oakham with his ”The Abruzzo, Misunderstood and Magnificent” tasting.

The Abruzzo is Italy’s rural heart, a large mountainous region stretching over 4000 square miles, with 100 miles of coastline and under 1.2 million inhabitants. 

Their famed wines are Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, for many years these were the only 2 DOC wines on offer, but that is changing fast.  It turns out that Trebbiano plantings were rarely a single variety… Pecorino was identified and noted for its excellence, as was Passerina, these varieties are forging another path for Abruzzo whites.  Montepulciano is undoubtably a world class variety, historically used to make simple wines though a group of producers around Terame backed the variety to raise it up and have been rewarded with their own DOC.  In the Gran Sasso, a magnificent mountain national park, there has been some serious investment and the results are extraordinary, InAlto has only made wine for a few years and has already won 3 glasses from the Gambero Rosso.

So much variety, so much quality, when it comes to price/ quality, age worthy wines, this is a very exciting region.

For more information:

Web: batwine.co.uk
Email: post@batwine.co.uk
Tel: 01572 759735 / 07809 828662
Address: 18d Oakham Enterprise Park, Oakham. LE15 7TU

Note that Members are required to confirm attendance at the next tasting and paying the tasting fee in advance. Unfortunately, it is not possible for members or guests to simply turn up on the night owing to space limitations.

What we tasted in April 2021

In April we welcomed Ben Robson of The Bat and Bottle, Oakham presenting wines from Villa Giada. Villa Giada are based just south of Asti in the Piedmont region of NW Italy. Ben was joined Andrea Faccio and Matt Gregory for the engaging presentation. A massive thank you for the tasting.

Andrea stubbornly supports the wines of his territory with an unerring belief in their qualities. By dint of study and hard work he has fine-tuned the qualities of each individual wine and carved out a niche for each one. His work is meticulous in the vineyard and he has earned his reputation for being ‘a bit of a geek’ (rough translation) in the cellar. His friends Giordano (La Montecchia, Veneto) and Sergio (Rocca di Macìe, Tuscany) recognise this strength and allow responsibility to fall on Andrea for the final stages of their unique joint-
venture wines: ‘Primo Volo’ and ‘Tre per Uno’.

All of the Villa Giada’s vineyards are hand-picked by locals who have helped the family for many years. Spraying and treatments are kept to an absolute minimum. The energy and funds that could have been wasted on certifications have been spent on real benefits to the environment; the petrol-head thing may not quite fit, but nobody is perfect.

The lifeblood of the estate is Barbera and Andrea makes five versions, each one recognising the potential of the vineyard.

For more information:
Web: bat.wine

The wines tasted were:

  1. The English Wine Maker – Mascot 2018 – GRAPE – Moscato
    This has settled into bottle very nicely, it is an expansive dry Muscat with aromas that take in lychee, orange, honeysuckle and lavender; the palate delivers these nuanced flavours with some restraint. It is an extraordinary, ethereal expression of the variety.
    13% 908 bottles made

    This is pure Moscato Bianco di Canelli, a highly developed biotype of Muscat that has been the focus for Canelli vine growers since the 1600s. Villa Giada’s Moscato vines are planted on a southeast facing slope at an altitude of 320 metres, the soils are chalky and the vines are kept well ventilated by constant breezes. Mascot’s grapes are from the heartland of the newly created Moscato Cru, ‘Moscato Canelli’, the pinup for Moscato d’Asti. (A low alcohol sweet and frothy white, very lovely and enormously successful and the antithesis of this wine.) The vines were harvested by hand, enough grapes to fill one 10 hectolitre (1000 litres) steel tank. A quarter of the bunches were left whole, the remainder went through the de-stemmer and were crushed. The fermentation started spontaneously, the temperature was moderated by the mass of whole bunches which acted as a natural break. The juice went through a complete fermentation leaving no residual sugar. The wine then remained on the skins for 63 days, during this period it went through a full malolactic conversion. The wine was then pressed using a traditional basket press and returned to rest in the steel tank. It was racked just after Christmas and bottled on 30th January 2019, no fining and no filtration and an absolute minimum of sulphur. There is some light sediment, you will see it, the bottle is clear – it is easy to avoid by pouring carefully, it can be mixed into the wine or left as an interesting last glass, all are good options.
  2. Villa Giada Suri Barbera DOCG 2018 – GRAPE – Barbera
    All bramble and raspberry, a totally joyous and vibrant wine. The little black dress of our selection, eminently flexible: the full, crunchy forest fruit is the perfect with a linguine and wild boar ragu and equally at home (when served slightly cooler) well with spiced seafood dishes. Andrea’s Barbera is grown in the heart of Barbera country, the Asti province in Piemonte, in the communes Calosso and Agliano Terme. His vineyards are Vadrini, Spessa and Ponticelli, all have excellent exposure from West to Southwest. The vines were hand-picked in the first part of October. The bunches are de-stemmed and macerated before a spontanous fermention , which once started, lasts from 10 to 12 days. After this, the wine is racked off the skins and held in tank where it undergoes a malolactic conversion and a little refinement lasting 4 to 5 months. The wine is then bottled and given a short period to catch its breath before being released.
  3. Villa Giada Quercia DOCG 2017 – GRAPE – Barbera
    Crushed sloe, Victoria plum and black cherry, black pepper and strawberry. Rich dark fruit, liquorice and violet, deep brambly fruit with a twist and cinnamon and pepper. Classic Barbera that balances the grapes natural acidity with its generosity of fruit, a vigorous and lovely wine. Villa Giada’s ‘La Quercia’ is a wine named after an old oak tree that stands in the vineyard. This Barbera is made from the best grapes selected from this Agliano vineyard. Fermentation lasts three weeks in steel vats where the wine also goes through a malolactic fermentation, after which it rests before being transferred to the traditional 7hl (7000 ltr) barrels where it languishes for just under a year. This is a typical recipe of the area which Andrea has pretty much perfected.
  4. Moscato d’Asti DOCG – GRAPE – Moscato
    Andrea’s Moscato d’Asti is made from Moscato Bianco di Canelli grown on the Ceriole hill in Canelli. The vineyards face South-East to South-West and there are some plantings on the northern slopes to help with freshness and perfume. The Audrey Hepburn of sweet wines. 5%

Next tasting – Friday 9th April

Villa Giada with Ben Robson of The Bat and Bottle, Oakham

In April we welcome Ben Robson of The Bat and Bottle presenting wines from Villa Giada. Villa Giada are based just south of Asti in the Piedmont region of NW Italy. Ben will be joined by the winemakers for the presentation.

Ben Robson of The Bat and Bottle, Oakham

For more information:
Web: bat.wine

Note: This tasting will be presented via Zoom. Members are contacted prior to each tasting to order any wines they wish to try. 

What we tasted in January 2020

Many thanks to Claudia Balestracci of Mentzendorff for presenting a range of Italian wines from producers Fertuna, Ceretto and Ciacci Piccolomini D’Aragona.

More information is available here:
Web: mentzendorff.co.uk

  1. Ceretto Lange DOC Arneis 2018 Blangé
  2. Tenuta Fertuna Droppello IGT Toscana Branco 2018
  3. Ceretto Barbaresco DOCG 2016
  4. Ceretto Barolo DOCG 2014
  5. Ciacci Piccolomini D’Aragona IGT Toscana Rosso 2016
  6. Ciacci Piccolomini D’Aragona Ateo Sant’Antimo DOC 2016
  7. Ciacci Piccolomini D’Aragona Rosso di Montalcino DOC 2015
  8. Ciacci Piccolomini D’Aragona Brunello Di Montalcino DOCG 2014

Next tasting – Friday 10th January

In January we welcome Claudia Balestracci of Mentzendorff presenting wines from their extensive portfolio, from Italy.

More information is available here:
Web: mentzendorff.co.uk

Note that Members are contacted by a member of the Committee each month to commit to attendance at the tasting. Unfortunately, it is not possible for members or guests to simply turn up on the night owing to space limitations and the need to arrange catering in advance.