Denis Montanar’s ever patient Uis Blancis 2012
Simon J Woolf discovers that Denis Montanar’s skin fermented white blend Uis Blancis isn’t just good, it’s great, on a second hearing.
The dreaded Palomino – Daterra Viticultores
Tasting at a busy wine fair is hard. Where to go, what to taste? Did I miss something mindblowing amidst the crowds? A tall, rather statuesque lady with impressive dreadlocks grabs my attention. I offer my best/only Portuguese “Posso provar os vinhos brancos?”, she retaliates with a stream of Spanish. I catch the word “Galicia” and little else. The owner of the dreads is Laura Lorenzo, Daterra Viticultores, Galicia.
Oxidative versus Oxidised: Pacina – La Cerretina 2012
“It’s oxidised” – how many times have I heard this statement, when talking about orange wines? Even amongst wine professionals, the misconception often prevails. Most of us are very visual creatures – confronted with what we’re told is ostensibly a white wine, and a darker russet brown, golden yellow or downright orange colour, it can be hard to shake off the thought that the wine is in less than prime condition.
Work in progress: Rossidi Orange 2015
Rossidi winery is the brainchild of Edward and Rosie Kourian, who make wine together with their friend and consultant winemaker Peter Georgiev. Rossidi are one of a very few producers in Bulgaria who are daring, playful and savvy about what 21st century consumers might like – Eddie’s character runs through everything from his self-confessed “extravagant” satorial style to the beautiful self-designed labels. I tried their wines at a large tasting in Plovdiv last October. They were a breath of fresh air amongst many rather clumsy, oak-monsters.
Benvenuti’s homage to a previous generation – Anno Domini 2010
Some varieties take to skin maceration like a duck to water. Malvasia Istriana is one of those, and there are a handful of producers in Croatia’s “Northern Tuscany” who are exploiting this quite delightfully -Giorgio Clai, Kabola and Benvenuti are the ones I’ve discovered so far.
The red badge of honour
Lukas Plöckinger picks me up in Eisenstadt at 6.30am prompt, on a chilly October morning. Lukas is the winemaker and vineyard manager at Weingut Tinhof, in Austria’s red wine heartland Burgenland, and he’s my teacher today as I pop my Read more