Moor`s Edge

Wine Tasting

February 2024

Our February meeting was held at Sarah's house with Hugh providing the wines.

The first wine was Chardonnay 2022 from Chile. It was very modestly labelled without any maker or estate name. The wine's flavour was the typical tropical fruits of pineapple, white peach and apple. It would pair well with lobster, creamy pasta and hard cheeses. It cost £7.99 from Lidl and had an ABV of 13.5%

Our second wine was Colpasso Nero d'Avola Appassimento 2022. Nero d'Avola is a classic Sicilian grape variety with flavours of plums and pepper. Appassimento means that some of the grapes were partly dried before fermentation. The remaining grapes were fermented fresh from the vine and the two wines blended for the final wine. The result is rounded and full-bodied. Hugh bought this wine from Morrisons for £8.00, reduced from £10.00. Its ABV was 14%.

Our final wine was Rosemount Estate Shiraz 2021 from Australia. It had lovely dark fruit flavours of blackberries, plums and cherries with oak. It would pair well with richly seasoned dishes, meats and strong cheddar. It cost a surprisingly cheap £6.00 from Morrisons and its ABV was 13.5%.

All three wines were well received and Hugh was congratulated on his choices.

January 2024

In January 8 members met at Jill's house with Jennie supplying the wines.

The first wine was Le Rocher de Saint Victor Picpoul de Pinet 2022. The wine was a greenish yellow colour with citrus aromas. The flavours were fresh and zingy tastes of green fruit and citrus especially grapefruit. It would pair well with pasta, poultry and seafood. Its ABV was 12% and the wine cost £7.49 from Lidl.
The Picpoul Blanc grape variety is grown mostly in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France producing dry white wines. This grape is quite an old variety, known by many other names, but fell out of favour. It has recently become more popular.

Our second wine was Duca di Sasseta Chianti Governo 2021. This was a rather dry, dark red wine with flavours of cherries, plums, pepper and wood. Chianti is made with Sangiovese grapes in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its ABV was 13.5% and cost £7.99 from Lidl. This wine would pair well with typical Tuscan food like roast meats and casseroles. Personally, I disliked this wine, but it was served rather cold and would probably have improved with a warmer temperature and being allowed to breath for a while.

Our final wine was Bio Organic Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2022. This is one of my favourite wines so I knew I would enjoy it. Its flavours were of dark fruits with vanilla, chocolate and oak notes. Its ABV was 13.5% and cost £7.99 from Lidl. This wine is from east Italy and pairs well with all Italian food.

During our meeting we discussed the possibility of a vineyard visit in the summer. We haven't done this since before the covid pandemic. Two possible vineyards have been selected and we will make a decision at our next meeting in February.

November 2023

We met on Thursday 30th. November at Marilyn's, our last meeting of the year. We decided to make this our Christmas meeting when we have Christmas food and wine. There was a wonderful selection of cheese, crackers, mincepies, antipasti, quiche and roulade. The wines were provided by Sarah and myself.

The first wine was Prosecco Brut, a favourite for Christmas. The British are officially the greatest consumers of this sparkling Italian wine. It is best served chilled as an aperitivo or with antipasti. It had citrus and pear flavours with peach blossom aromas.
Prosecco is cheaper than Champagne because the second fermentation, needed to produce the bubbles, is done in stainless steel vats. Champagne has its second fermentation in the bottle, which takes longer and makes it more expensive. The wine was purchased from Tesco for £8.00 and its ABV was 11%.

Our second wine was Barefoot White Zinfandel. Zinfandel is made in USA, mostly California, from a grape variety with many different names. In Italy, for example, it would be known as Primitivo. White Zinfandel, despite the name, is actually a rose wine. It is made by pressing the grapes very gently and then promptly removing the skins. Fermentation is also shorter than the red variety lasting 7-10 days. There were intense pineapple and strawberry flavours. This is an excellent wine to serve with appetisers, summer fruits, chicken, seafood and cheeses. It was bought at Tesco for £5.50 (a special club card deal) and had an ABV of 8%.

Our third wine was Malamado fortified Malbec, a gift from a relative. It is the first fortified wine from Argentina. It was sweet and silky with intense aromas of quince, figs, raisins and plums. Its flavour was very similar to a port. It would go well with chocolate or cheese, and its ABV was 18%.

Our final wine was also a gift, this time from Sarah's Finnish neighbours. It was a cloudberry liquor. Cloudberries only grow where the air is very clear which can be found in Finland. This liquor had a flavour similar to a mature sherry.

August 2023

Our August meeting was held at Kate's house with Marilyn providing the wines.

Our first wine was Trivento white Malbec 2022. Trivento is a well-known Argentine wine producer and is known for its punchy wines. Malbec is usually a red wine so we were intrigued by this white version. By the use of Google we discovered that white Malbec is made by pressing the red grapes so gently that the skins don't colour the wine. The wine was so pale, almost like water, but the aromas and flavours told us otherwise. The aromas were fruity, cherries and raspberries, and the flavour was of sharp green apples. The wine had an ABV of 10.5% and cost £8.50 from Morrisons. It would be suitable for vegans.

Our second wine was simply labeled Douro from the Douro Valley in Portugal. It was a blended wine with aromas of blackberries, prunes, cassis and oak spices from the oak barrels it was stored in. A lovely rich, full-flavoured wine which would pair well with roast pork and winter casseroles. Its ABV was 13.5% and cost £6.25 from Asda.

Our final wine was Fairtrade Carmenere 2022 from Chile. This dark purple wine had complex flavours of berries and vanilla with a peppery spice. The grapes for this wine came from grape-growing families in one of the less developed areas of Central Chile. The bold flavours make this wine a good companion to pasta, spicy foods, beef and lamb dishes. Its ABV was 12.5% and cost £7.25 from Sainsburys.

Dates for your Diary
Thu Mar 28th Pauline's house at 7.00 pm
Thu May 2nd 7.00 pm at Ginny's house.
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Art Appreciation Arty Crafty group
Book Club Bridge for Beginners
Canasta Coffee Cake and Chat
Country Dancing Darts
Garden Visits Garden Visits 2
GARDEN VISITS 3 LONG WALKS GROUP
Map Reading & Navigation Music Events
Play Reading Quiz Group
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TAI CHI Ukulele Group
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Wine Tasting