More To Sicilly then The Mafia

I know what you're thinkin (but only if you've been following our blogs over the last couple of week- and you better have been!!) another photo of Don Corleone??? Well i'm sorry but he has to be included- especially when you talk about Sicillian wine! La Casa Nostra, or more lovingly known as "the mob", emerged in Sicily in the late 19th century! And as everyone knows a good mobster needs a good drink- and what could be better than after a long day planning armed robberies and illegal gambling games, than to sit down to a nice glass of Nero d'Avola. Nero d'Avola is the most important red wine grape in Sicily and is suprisingly similar to a new world shiraz! It posses that punchy peppery fist that is wraped in a velvet glove of sweet tannins! A balance between brute physical force and pure class! It is no wonder then to find Cusamano have blended some Nero D'Avola with Syrah (see Shiraz Vs Syrah).

This blend of Nero d'Avola (70%) and Syrah (30%) combines the best known Sicilian indigenous red with the refinement of an international varietal, and a judicious amount of oak. The end result is an unforgettable combination of: a floral perfume, thick red and black fruit, medium to full-bodied structure, and a well integrated oak finish. And now for the important bit, the name of the wine is Cusamao Benuara. Benuara is the name of a local red wildflower, which can be seen on the label.

Organic Wine What Are They All About.

Organic wine at its most basic level, is made from grapes that have been grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides.

But when a label says "organic," it means the wine has met certain standards that are set by a government agency. Different nations have their own certification criteria, so what's organic in one country may not be in another. Another complication is that many wineries that are technically organic still choose not to be certified. There are many reasons for this, for instance I have heard of wineries that are almost wholelly organic, but decided against getting completely certified as it would prevent them from use of fertilizers and other products which maybe required in a particularlly challenging vintage. Others do not want the added costs and bureaucracy of registering. Others may disagree with their government's standards. It can also be a marketing decision. Whatever the case, try asking a member of staff about these nearly but not quite organic wines.

Sulfites

Organic wines are not sulfite-free.

Let me repeat because many people have used sulfites as a bugbear to blame for many things to do with wine, mainly the RWH (see earlier post). The use of added sulfites is debated heavily within the organic winemaking community. Many vintners favor their use, in extremely small quantities, to help stabilize wines, while others frown on them completely. Also it must be noted that most wines, even wines without added sulfites contain sulfites.

The Priests Hat.

While browsing the offers we have on Italian wines at the moment, looking for a bottle to bring home for Sunday afternoon, I stumbled onto Candido's Capello di Prete, tranlation 'The Priests Hat'. After using trusty goolge translate to discover this I decide this was the wine for me. Not only is the name impressive but so is the wine, it is produced from 100% Negroamaro grape which is native to Apuglia or Puglia in southern Italy.

The high heel of Southern Italy, the region known as Apuglia, is virtually paved with vines. Breaking up the vines are vast olive groves for the production of oil. These two resources not only guaranteed the economic viability of the region but, have served as sustanence as well for over two millenia. The Greeks settled these lands long ago, calling what was to become Southern Italy "Enotria" which means 'Land of the vines'. While some things have changed over the years, the vines have remained the same. The vast vineyards, much of them planted to Negroamaro a great, indiginous variety of this area.

The wine produces from the Negroamaro grape tend to be of a deep dark garnet colour. The are medium to full bodied and dark fruit and plumy flavours, firm tannins and good acidity. Candido's Capello di Prete (Literally the Priest's hat) is an outstanding example of Negroamaro, from on of Puglia's top family producers. This wine is selected from a single vineyard of Negroamaro. It is fullbodied with a dark cherry red colour and a richly perfumed nose with nuances of coffee, liquorice and vanilla. It has a lovely warm mouthfeel with delicous dark fruit flavours and a soft yet lingering finish. A wine you could drink all night long!

The Dreaded Red Wine Headache!

All too often do we get people coming into us in store complaining about how red wine gives them a serious headache after only one glass!! Well I'm sure they will be delighted to know that they are not alone in their misery!! Red Wine Headache (otherwise known as RWH) usually comes on after the first glass, and can be accompanied by nausea and getting flushed! But this blog is intended to debunk some myths surrounding this phenomenon! A common explanation for this happening is sulfites! if you look at any bottle of wine you'll see a warning saying contains sulfites, and because of this people usually assume thats the cause of their headache! But the reality is, it isn't the cause- many foods contain much higher levels of sulfites than red wine, and only 1% of people are sensitive to sulfites!!

Generally what you'll be asked when you complain about a wine realted headache is- "did you drink too much???". But obviously we can all tell the difference between a problem and a hangover! The second shool of though on RWH is that histamines are the culprit!! Histamines usually affect people who are lacking in a certain enzyme- sounds relatively plausible right? but researchers believe that the amount of histamines found in red wine are nowhere near enough to spark such a reaction!! The most recent victim of blame (and i say victim because innocent till proven guilty!!) is the tannins... the argument is that the tannins naturally bind starch together in the blood system and through some long medical process, which i'm not going to bother writing about because its too long winded, it prevents the flow of blood to the brain and then you have a headache!!! But this theory has not been explred enough to back it up- as in why do tannins affect some people and not others?? But on the off-chance that this is the cause of the dreaded RWH!! Then some reasonable advice would be to avoid any red that is overly oaked!! This is because tannins are not only found naturally in the grape but also in wood, and while they are completely harmless!!! They may still be at the root of this problem some how, so anything that has been aged in oak will have more tannins and therefore could stand more of a chance of giving you a headache!!!

Having said all of this the one shore way i know of too a headache is to consume too much alcohol.... buuuutttt that doesn't mean you shouldn't try and enjoy as much of it as you can!! And if you enjoy red wine then here are some possible solutions (now i'm no doctor, but these are just some things i found online which make the most sense!)

1: take an anti-histamine before drinkink it... if it doesn't work then we know whats not causing it...

2: if it is the tannins then they're certainly not the only guilty one... if it wasn't for the high alcohol content then tannins wouldn't cause such a headache! some people suggest drinking a glass of water in between each glass of wine in order to cancel out the alcohol some what...

Aglianico: The Barolo of the South

This is the Grape of the World's first ever First Growth wine, Falernian, a favourite of the Romans. The grape comes originally from Greece but it is in Italy and specifically Campania, in Soutern Italy, where it has become a treasure. Much sought after by the Italians themshelves, Aglianico is their best kept secret. While many of us search out for great value Barolo we tend to ignore southern regions in Italy.

Wines produced from Aglianico tend to be full bodied with firm tannins and high acidity, making this a wine that has aging potential. The rich flavors of the wine make it appropriate for matching with rich meats such as lamb. In its youth the wine is quite concentrated but can be very approachable. As it ages the fruit becomes more pronounced. The trademark colouring of the wine is a deep garnet. It can have chocolate, blackberry and plum aromas, and notes of berrys on the palate.

Mastroberardino Aglianico, Campania €19.95 per btl or 2 btls for €35

Blackberry and toasted flavours on the nose are join by a slight touch of chocolate. This wine is soft yet elegant on the palate with notes of berry jams, such as strawberry and raspberry. Outstanding finish, this wine is absolutely irresitable once tasted and is drinking fabulously at the minute.

Two Tuscan Gems

When many of us think of tuscan wines we instantly think Chianti, but Tuscany has for many years produced some fabulous wines other than Chianti and I'm not just talking about Super-Tuscan although more on them in a later post. What I'm talking about is wines from Montalcino and Maremma. Now may people will have heard of Montalcino because of the stunning Brunellos they make there but they also make a younger, more accesable and certainly more pocket friendly wine; Rosso di Montalcino.

Whereas the beautiful and historic Coastal region in Southern Tuscany known as Maremma is lesser known to the wider world but it is well known to wine lovers as the home of two of Italy's most famous wines Sassicaia and Ornellaia. Not all the wines from here fetch the vast sums of the two just mentioned but they are certainly superb quality.

Il Poggione Rosso Di Montalcino 2007 €17.95 per btl or 2btls for €30

This Baby Brunello is made from handpicked fruit from15 year old vines located in the Montalcino Region of Tuscany. This wine has a ruby red colour and inviting aromas of wild berry fruits. Velvety and rich mouthfeel with berry fruit flavours repeated. Great Structure with smooth rounded tannins.

Mazzei Belguardo 'Serrata' Maremma 2005 €19.95 per btl or 2btls for €35

This indigenous blend of Sangiovese and Alicante grapes is exceptionally reach, aromatic and pleasurable. It represents the most intriguing and innovative expression of the Tuscan Maremma wine area. Garnet red in colour with aromas of berrys and violet hints and an earthy touch. The wine is full bodied with finne tannins and bright long finish.

Ideas For Meals! Part 1

More and more we get people coming into us here in the store asking for Wines that will go with certain dishes- so I've decided to start a blog series which will give a recipe from any one of the amazing celebrity chefs in the world (but don't worry i'm not going to pick something overly complicaed!) and then I will let you know which wine in store we have that will compliment the dish to its fullest extent!

So, lets get down to it, because today is the first of October- which means that there is next to no chance that any of us will be getting sunburned for the foreseeable months, and that all we can take for certain now is that the rain is coming! And it seems the only escape from this fact of life

is to go away on a cheeky holiday to a country that appreciate the finer things in life- like oh say i don't know... Italy!! Now I'm not going try and sell this blog as a legitimate substitute for a trip to

Italy, but in fairness hopin on a plane to Italy isn't quite as easy an option as it used to be! But what i will do is give ye this- a recipe from Jamie Oliver's Book "Ministry Of Food" and will also pick some wines that will compliment this meal perfectly, and not only that- but we are actually having a special on Italian wines at the moment so it won't even cost you that

much! Whenever i think about Italian food I instantly always think about the Godfather movies! It seems like for the entire movie all they do is eat! I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! So

because of this I'm picking a dish that Don Corleone himself would enjoy! Meatballs and Pasta!

In the interest of time and because there is a lot to this recipe that only Jamie Oliver can explain I'll attach the link to the recipe at Jamie's website where you'll find

far more detailed instructions than i could ever give here!!!! And if that wasn't enough- here you'll find the youtube link where you can watch him cook it himself! The best rule of thumb i could give any of ye who want to know more about food and wine (aside form the obvious that it is all entirely subjective, and that what works well for you may not work well for another) is that a ceratin type of dish from a region will go well with a wine from that region- not always, but it certainly makes sense if you thin about it. Generations have

grown up on this type of food, they're not going to be drinking something that makes it taste awful are they? Because Meatballs and Pasta is a traditional southern Italian dish with a tangy red tomato sauce, then you can't beat the dry Italian red wines- Chianti of course, but also Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, or Salice Salentino. Luckily for all of ye, we have any number of different varieties of these in store!!

Ricasoli Chianti Riserva 2005:

A rich, elegant and complex wine. With raisin and sultana notes on the nose. a very smooth palate and very well balanced tannins- not too over powering as to wash out the rich flavours of the meatballs, but not to weak that it doesn't compliment them either! Marked down by 20% this wine is now available for just €16.96

Of course you are not just limited to this wine, we have a whole host of different Italian Wines in store now, that are sure to work well with Jamie Olivers Meatball recipe! So don't hesitate in asking any of us here!