Watching the Perseids meteor shower at 2am on 12th August was an incredible experience. I hope you managed to get a patch of clear sky not completely drenched in light pollution to watch it yourself.
Firstly, I was in shock at not being sound asleep after yet another crazy dance weekend where I made myself both exhausted yet fulfilled by teaching dance psychology and running whisky tasting parties*. Secondly, it felt like both a beginning and an ending. It's the end of my year as an international party princess. I'd finished working in the corporate world a year before to focus on learning more about wine and enjoying life to the full. Both missions accomplished. But it also feels like an ending, because the good times cannot roll forever (at least according to my bank manager), and there was that first sense of a chill in the air that signals the end of summer, the start of autumn, and with it, a time to focus on getting down to business. Yet something in my heart is unable to let go of a diary filled with international friends at dance events across the globe, and other assorted travel adventures. August is traditionally a time when I think of absent friends, and so a gentle but pleasant melancholy started to settle as I gazed at the infinite. The shooting stars and satellites both created their own sense of wonder and emptiness. It was time for comfort food and comfort wine.
Firstly, I was in shock at not being sound asleep after yet another crazy dance weekend where I made myself both exhausted yet fulfilled by teaching dance psychology and running whisky tasting parties*. Secondly, it felt like both a beginning and an ending. It's the end of my year as an international party princess. I'd finished working in the corporate world a year before to focus on learning more about wine and enjoying life to the full. Both missions accomplished. But it also feels like an ending, because the good times cannot roll forever (at least according to my bank manager), and there was that first sense of a chill in the air that signals the end of summer, the start of autumn, and with it, a time to focus on getting down to business. Yet something in my heart is unable to let go of a diary filled with international friends at dance events across the globe, and other assorted travel adventures. August is traditionally a time when I think of absent friends, and so a gentle but pleasant melancholy started to settle as I gazed at the infinite. The shooting stars and satellites both created their own sense of wonder and emptiness. It was time for comfort food and comfort wine.
£6.45 from M&S (12.5% abv) with plastic cork Lasagne and garlic bread are not exactly summer food staples. But with a building melancholia, salad and grilled fish just won't do, no matter how good they are for the waistline. So what to pair with this rich fare? Many of my favourite red wines are wasted on such powerful flavours, either squashing or being squashed. So, I decided to go for Italian, despite a consistent resistance to Italian reds, figuring that local goes with local... I'd greatly enjoyed a bottle of Nero D'Avola over the weekend, but this has already been reviewed here, so I was pleased that on a trip to my local branch of Marks and Spencer a new wine was being featured: Aglianico from Campania at just £6.45 a bottle seemed like the perfect pairing for lasagne. In fact, the reverse label even suggests this match, so who was I to resist?
During my Wine and Spirit Education Trust studies last year, Aglianico del Vulture (Pipoli) was one of the few Italian wines we sampled which I could truly say that I loved. But it's pretty hard to get a hold of, especially the 2008. And I'd drunk my only bottle some time ago. If you're interested though, The Drink Shop will be selling the 2010 online from 20th September for under £10 a bottle, and a more premium version of the 2008 for around £17. Since my course, I've consistently been troubled by the general lack of availability of this unusual grape variety. Well done Marks and Spencer for bringing it to a wider public. The question is, have they brought us a good example?
During my Wine and Spirit Education Trust studies last year, Aglianico del Vulture (Pipoli) was one of the few Italian wines we sampled which I could truly say that I loved. But it's pretty hard to get a hold of, especially the 2008. And I'd drunk my only bottle some time ago. If you're interested though, The Drink Shop will be selling the 2010 online from 20th September for under £10 a bottle, and a more premium version of the 2008 for around £17. Since my course, I've consistently been troubled by the general lack of availability of this unusual grape variety. Well done Marks and Spencer for bringing it to a wider public. The question is, have they brought us a good example?
Aglianico (pronounced roughly as "ahl-YAH-nee-koe") is thought to have been originally a Greek grape variety, but now it's almost exclusively grown in Italy, primarily in the Campania and Basilicata regions with Taurasi being the most prestigious sub-region in Campania and Vulture holding the same status for Basilicata. There are experimental plantings in Australia and California so let's see if they eventually bring us something worth drinking.
Meanwhile, this low cost version of the grape holds the signature deep garnet colour, with firm tannins and a good acidity, helping it pair well with rich tomato and meat dishes. This one probably sits more as a medium rather than full-bodied example and is pretty drinkable, though Mr Purple Teeth was less than impressed.
It definitely lacks some of the complexity and potential that higher priced versions from the DOCG regions will carry, but it's a good introduction to a new grape variety without the higher price tag that often comes along with it. The tannin is still present, even after the wine has been open for 24 hours, giving some good structure without being too drying while the acidity means it doesn't have that "heavy" feeling that makes red wine less suitable for warmer evenings. In fact, for a red, it's pretty crisp. Flavours are predominantly of raspberry, blackberry and plum with some hints of morello cherry.
In the end, though, I was a little disappointed and perhaps unfairly so, given that this wine is considerably cheaper than most of the wines I've been drinking of late. Getting a drinkable bottle of red for under £6.50 is becoming ever more difficult with each tax increase and though I wouldn't choose to drink this on it's own, it will make a perfectly acceptable partner for your home made pasta dishes. That said, I'd probably pay the extra 50 pence or so to get the Nero D'Avola from Tesco. Especially as the last bottle I had was possibly drinking better than it's ever drunk before.
Meanwhile, this low cost version of the grape holds the signature deep garnet colour, with firm tannins and a good acidity, helping it pair well with rich tomato and meat dishes. This one probably sits more as a medium rather than full-bodied example and is pretty drinkable, though Mr Purple Teeth was less than impressed.
It definitely lacks some of the complexity and potential that higher priced versions from the DOCG regions will carry, but it's a good introduction to a new grape variety without the higher price tag that often comes along with it. The tannin is still present, even after the wine has been open for 24 hours, giving some good structure without being too drying while the acidity means it doesn't have that "heavy" feeling that makes red wine less suitable for warmer evenings. In fact, for a red, it's pretty crisp. Flavours are predominantly of raspberry, blackberry and plum with some hints of morello cherry.
In the end, though, I was a little disappointed and perhaps unfairly so, given that this wine is considerably cheaper than most of the wines I've been drinking of late. Getting a drinkable bottle of red for under £6.50 is becoming ever more difficult with each tax increase and though I wouldn't choose to drink this on it's own, it will make a perfectly acceptable partner for your home made pasta dishes. That said, I'd probably pay the extra 50 pence or so to get the Nero D'Avola from Tesco. Especially as the last bottle I had was possibly drinking better than it's ever drunk before.
And did it help? Comfort food it was, comfort wine, perhaps less so. But there's always something about having a glass of wine with dinner that feels like a warm cuddle.
I still feel the familiar August pain of missing friends and family, some of whom I'll never see again, but looking back on the meteors I'm reminded of some important facts.
1) I'm grateful for the most amazing year of memories
2) We carry people in our hearts even when we cannot see them
3) It's up to me to make Purple Teeth into a successful business (but I would welcome your suggestions on what you want!)
4) In the end, every penny I've spent on wine and dancing has enriched my life
5) There will be meteors every August to remind me of absent friends
6) Someone somewhere reading this just might be inspired to start living the life they've always imagined too.
7) And even if someone somewhere just chooses a different wine for a change then that's fine too.
Thanks for reading. Cheers!
I still feel the familiar August pain of missing friends and family, some of whom I'll never see again, but looking back on the meteors I'm reminded of some important facts.
1) I'm grateful for the most amazing year of memories
2) We carry people in our hearts even when we cannot see them
3) It's up to me to make Purple Teeth into a successful business (but I would welcome your suggestions on what you want!)
4) In the end, every penny I've spent on wine and dancing has enriched my life
5) There will be meteors every August to remind me of absent friends
6) Someone somewhere reading this just might be inspired to start living the life they've always imagined too.
7) And even if someone somewhere just chooses a different wine for a change then that's fine too.
Thanks for reading. Cheers!
* The whisky tasting party was a huge success with Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or being the winner of favourite malt across an audience from 6 countries.
I'm undecided about what next week's wine of the week should be, but as it'll be my birthday next week, I'm tempted to declare Pinot Noir in general, since it'll give me plenty of excuses to drink this grape variety and I have some marvellous examples on the wine rack. Let me know what you think...
I'm undecided about what next week's wine of the week should be, but as it'll be my birthday next week, I'm tempted to declare Pinot Noir in general, since it'll give me plenty of excuses to drink this grape variety and I have some marvellous examples on the wine rack. Let me know what you think...
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