May’s Wine Club meeting looked at wines suitable for summer, whether for a celebration with friends, lunch al fresco or a barbecue. We opened the evening with a Cava, an underrated sparkling wine made in the same way as champagne but at a fraction of the price. The Contevedo Cava Brut from Aldi was a good example of the value for money it can offer – at just £5.79 (£3.60 of which is tax!) it was included in The Times list of ‘Best Cava to Buy Now’. Sure, not the finesse of champagne but a dry, light, fruity fizz. The only white wine of the evening was also from Aldi, highly rated by Decanter, The Guardian and the Daily Telegraph; a Gemischter Satz (literally a mixed bag) from Austria made from up to 20 different grape varieties grown together in the vineyard. £8.99.
Rosé is a favourite choice for summer drinking, and we tasted two. The first was a well-known one from Majestic, Roseblood produced by Château d’Estoublon, a typical Provence version, bone dry and salmon-pink in colour (£18), a blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah and Vermentino. This was contrasted with the next, a Puglian rosé made with the Primitivo grape. Although Primitivo is the same grape as Zinfandel, the Tramari from San Marzano (£12.50 from Strictly Wine) was far superior to a zinfandel blush, offering a juicy, fruity wine with aromas of sliced peaches, cherries and ripe strawberries.
Our first red was a Lambrusco … not the sickly sweet version popular in the 70’s and 80’s when it was the most imported wine into the USA, but a dry, slightly sparkling red wine served chilled. With balsamic notes and a blackcurrant finish it would be perfect at an Italian lunch to accompany pizza or pasta with a rich meat sauce – £11.35 from Strictly Wine. We followed with a wine from Crete, again slightly chilled. Liatiko is Crete’s very own red-wine variety, and as an easy-drinking wine it would be a good accompaniment to moussaka. The Lyrarakis Liatiko (£13 from Majestic) was highly rated by Julia Harding MW, writing for Jancis Robinson. Its production is a logistical challenge, as the grapes are sourced from 138 vineyards owned by 66 farmers, some of whom are in their 80’s. As the grapes ripen, Lyrarakis have to organise their collection in their refrigerated truck with up to 35 farmers on the phone asking when it’s their turn…
We finished the evening with a dessert wine to accompany strawberries. Some dessert wines can be sticky and cloying, but a Prunotto Moscato d’Asti (£16.25 from Strictly Wine) is sweet but light, slightly sparkling, and low in alcohol (5%) – perfect with strawberries or just as an aperitif.
