As the LCBO is having an Italy feature, thought I might use the opportunity to give my three-sentence lecture on understanding Italy reds. It’s all you need. And my Primitivo recommendation may be all you need in red wine. Get on it.
1. Italy’s great contribution to wine is its everyday reds which are rustic in nature. They’re very dry, a little bitter and non-smooth.
2. Rustic reds stimulate the appetite, keep the taste buds refreshed and flatter food. Especially the Italian menu of grilled meats, oven roasts and tomato sauced pastas. But they are not necessarily fun to drink at parties.
3. As ever, selection is key as many Italian producers have altered their wines to suit the current fashion for rich and smooth. Stick with the traditional/rustic and you will live a full wine & food life without ever spending too much. Just as Italians do. Recommendations coming in next posts.
All posts in Billy’s World
The Rustic Italian Red Experience
Fruit Over Vegetables
“A fruit is a vegetable with looks and money. Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something brussels sprouts never do.”
~P.J. O’Rourke
P.S. Happy Birthday Harland!
Billy Tours Sold Out!
Happy to report that all of our fall tours are sold out – Ireland, Piedmont and Lisbon & area!
VERY EXCITED to present an inspired and intoxicating week to those who were smart, lucky and rich enough to sign up!
NEXT YEAR’S PLANS are in the works:
Ireland – of course!
Italy – again!
Argentina in March
and perhaps south of France and Spain….
SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER on the front page of this site to get the latest news, or drop me an email with the subject UPCOMING TOURS to get ahead of the pack.
Billy
Wine Fun in Peterborough
A FUN AFTERNOON IN PETERBOROUGH
Shari Darling, a wino colleague in Peterborough sent me the following blurb.
“On Sunday, April 15, 2012, we are holding the first annual Kawartha International Wine and Food Festival in Peterborough. The festival is being held at The Venue, at 286 George Street North from noon until 8 p.m. Tickets are $12.00 per person and include a Canadian Wine and
Food Pairing Wheel (retail value $10).
Our tagline is global wine; local food. We will have International and Ontario wineries, micro breweries and spirit vendors, along with amazing restaurants, cheese makers and gourmet shops. This is cottage country. A casual affair. Come in jeans and bring your friends!”
The website with all the information is www.
Irish Whiskey at LCBO Vintages
We all screw-up, but you’d think that someone working on the Vintages catalog would know that a shamrock has three leaves, not four. In Ireland you could get into a lot of trouble confusing clover with shamrock.
Irish Whiskey could be likened to Scotch without the obvious peat and strong maritime influences. There is more expression of the barley and other warm feelings. Dare I say it’s easy to like – something that never appealed to me. But the past decade has seen a rise in premium brands – something worth drinking. What you may not know is that the dozen or so premium brands available today are mainly revivals, or new creations. At the end of the 1900’s whiskey making in Ireland took a beating from English taxation and more recently from the take-over and closure by the multi-nationals. The whiskeys featured below are either new, or are reborn names of long gone distilleries. Irish Whiskey seems to be on a roll and I foresee lots of growth now that rock divas Rihanna and Lady Gaga are publically touting the stuff.
What’s the difference between a $34 bottle of Jameson and the $54 Locke’s? Think of the former as an easy drinking, slightly sweet $12 Chardonnay, and the latter as a more concentrated, more interesting, drier tasting $32 Chardonnay. One is straight ahead pleasure, the other is an experience. The following are some Irish experiences you might like to indulge in on shamrock week.
P.S. Green Spot is not in the current Vintages catalog, but is available. It’s a special blend produced for Dublin wine Merchants, Mitchell & Sons.
INISHOWEN 656017 $34.95 . . . bold, gutsy, earthy . . good
WRITERS TEARS 271106 $47.95 . . . rich ‘n warming . . quite the show
THE IRISHMAN 250159 $59.95 . . . bluesy, challenging . . . the perfect partner for a Van Morrison song
LOCKE’S 8 YEAR OLD 913475 $54.95 . . . tons of personality. The woodsy warmth of an old Irish country pub
GREEN SPOT, Mitchell & Sons 699827 $84.95 . . . toasty, rich and enduring. Shades of a mature White Burgundy.
Billy: Yikes! Clearly I didn't drink ENOUGH.
Thanks....
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