Group F. It's got to be Argentina when it comes to the World Cup of Wine...
Nigeria has it's mind on other things right now, and I don't think wine was ever up there among it's priorities anyway.
Iran? I'm not even sure alcohol is permitted. Certainly, they have less frivolous matters on their minds.
Bosnia... well, there is some production, but let's just say it hasn't hit our shores yet. If the Balkans are all friends again nowadays, perhaps they'll partake of some of their former Yugoslav colleagues' wines. The Sainsbury's basic Pinot Noir is from Macedonia and only £4.50, but given the choice , I'd choose the wines from my good friends at the DiBonis winery in Serbia. They were a big hit at one of my multi-country tastings. Stay tuned as I hope to offer these wines to my followers very soon.
Nigeria has it's mind on other things right now, and I don't think wine was ever up there among it's priorities anyway.
Iran? I'm not even sure alcohol is permitted. Certainly, they have less frivolous matters on their minds.
Bosnia... well, there is some production, but let's just say it hasn't hit our shores yet. If the Balkans are all friends again nowadays, perhaps they'll partake of some of their former Yugoslav colleagues' wines. The Sainsbury's basic Pinot Noir is from Macedonia and only £4.50, but given the choice , I'd choose the wines from my good friends at the DiBonis winery in Serbia. They were a big hit at one of my multi-country tastings. Stay tuned as I hope to offer these wines to my followers very soon.
Aconcagua snow-melt reservoir feeds Mendoza's vineyards Argentina. As a Scot, memories of the Tartan Army heading South with high hopes are never far away. The English will surely never forget the Maradona Hand of God. It's lucky they make amazing wines.
Visiting Argentina 4 years ago, I was lucky enough to spend time in Mendoza, even stayin on the Tapiz Winery. I tried many Argentine wines there, and am ever more impressed by the quality of what's coming out of these high altitude vineyards.
Visiting Argentina 4 years ago, I was lucky enough to spend time in Mendoza, even stayin on the Tapiz Winery. I tried many Argentine wines there, and am ever more impressed by the quality of what's coming out of these high altitude vineyards.
| White of Argentina  Sampling whites at the "Wines of Mendoza" tasting room, in, Mendoza of course! The discovery of the trip has to be Torrontes. It's got lovely floral notes, some peach and grape flavours, and has an almost honey flavoured sweetness although, it's generally a dry wine. It was love at first sip for us. Once home, we made it our mission to seek these out. There's a great one from The Wine Society, and most supermarkets have one or two nowadays. My favourite is the Tesco Finest Torrontes from Salta, a bit further north than Mendoza. At £6.99 (20% off if you buy 2) and with a Bronze medal from the International Wine Challenge, it's definitely the white to sip if you like Viognier, Gewurztraminer or Muscat wines.  Catena Chardonnay Waitrose £12.99 If you're up to spending a bit more, head to Waitrose for the Catena Chardonnay (buy any 6 bottles to get 25% discount till 17/6). At £12.99 it's probably double what many readers would pay for a white wine, and it's worth it. At least I hope it will be when I open my next bottle. Perhaps I rated it so highly drinking it in Ecuador because of wine deprivation. I'm expecting some vanilla on top of pineapple, nectarine and well-balanced acidity. Fans of pink wine can also find satisfying tipples in Argentina. I've only tried the one, and I liked it. The Tesco Finest Malbec Rosé (reviewed here) is a more serious pink than many. "Red wine only" drinkers might even be convinced to try a glass (or two.) I hope you can get hold of it, as it's currently out of stock online, but at £6.49 a bottle, I'm not surprised. | Reds of Argentina  Deep, black Malbec Grapes growing in Mendoza. There are lots of good red wines produced in Argentina, but it's with Malbec that the country has made its reputation.  If money is no object, head to Gaucho and enjoy the Luigi Bosca DOC with a spiral-cut fillet. For the rest of us there's the supermarket picks. I found the Santa Julia (£7.49 Waitrose) soft and easy drinking when I got it from a Quito supermarket in desperately wine-deprived times. It's picked up a Decanter Silver Medal so I reckon it's worth adding to your shopping basket. For the truly price conscious, the Tesco Finest Malbec is currently reduced to £5.99. It's made by Catena Zapata wineries. Nicolas Catena is the godfather of Argentine wine, and not just because of his Italian ancestry. He was the first South American winemaker to be Decanter Magazine's "Man of the Year" in 2009, and he's received many more awards since.
At Waitrose, £11.99 will buy you the Norton Winemaker's Reserve, or for £12.99 you'll get the Catena Malbec which is a superior blend from finer quality grapes than the Tesco Finest bottle. Drinking the Norton last night, it seemed a great wine with your barbecued red meats. Juicy acidity lightens the full-bodied hefty blackberry flavours tinged with coffee, mocha, chocolate and liquorice. On last year's World Malbec Day, I reviewed the previous vintage of the Catena Malbec along with several others. You can read about them here. |
Poor Group H. All dressed up and no place to go, at least when it comes to wine.
Islamic Algeria isn't likely to go into massive wine production any time soon.
Belgium is ALL about BEER! If you've never tried a fruit beer, it's as good a time as any. Many of the Belgian beers are super strong, though, not least, Delirium Tremens. Do bear this in mind if it's a late game and you've got to drive in the morning.
I've only experienced the Korean alcohol "Soju" once before at Bibigo restaurant in London (which comes highly recommended). Their wine list features a few of myFrench selections: Picpoul, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris, so there's no Korean wine to speak of.
As for Mother Russia, there is Russian wine, and I've even been promised a bottle of their fizz one of these days (I'm not holding my breath). Russia is all about Vodka. My favourite is flavoured with birch sap and the name is only printed in Cyrillic, so I can't even begin to tell you anything except it's smooth and delicious. Sorry Group H. Game Over.
Islamic Algeria isn't likely to go into massive wine production any time soon.
Belgium is ALL about BEER! If you've never tried a fruit beer, it's as good a time as any. Many of the Belgian beers are super strong, though, not least, Delirium Tremens. Do bear this in mind if it's a late game and you've got to drive in the morning.
I've only experienced the Korean alcohol "Soju" once before at Bibigo restaurant in London (which comes highly recommended). Their wine list features a few of myFrench selections: Picpoul, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris, so there's no Korean wine to speak of.
As for Mother Russia, there is Russian wine, and I've even been promised a bottle of their fizz one of these days (I'm not holding my breath). Russia is all about Vodka. My favourite is flavoured with birch sap and the name is only printed in Cyrillic, so I can't even begin to tell you anything except it's smooth and delicious. Sorry Group H. Game Over.
You'll find all my supermarket wine picks to match your world cup watching on the blog. Just one more group to come. Please share your bargain bucket beverages on our Facebook Page.
Cheers!
Cheers!
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