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In Photos – A Tasting at Mustilli Winery

Andrew Barrow — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:45:16 +0000

In Photos – A Tasting at Mustilli Winery

I’ve been in Italy, vineyard hopping, snow permitting, from Umbria down to Campania and Naples. Not just me, I should add, but a party of fabulous people gathered in Italy for the International Wine Tourism Conference and various trips out after, if we behaved ourselves!

The Mustilli Winery was just one such stop, quite quick, in the little town of Sant’ Agata dei Goti. An old, established local family with vineyards reinvigorated since the 1960’s. They appear to own several buildings in the town – a 400 year old cellar, an Agriturismo that “serves authentic regional cuisine” and the family home itself that also houses a wine bar the “Le Cantine di Mustilli” with live music, plus a guest house. Not entirely sure where we went after delving into the cellars but assume it’s the restaurant.

It is local grapes all the way with the Mustilli’s – Falanghina and Agliancio perhaps more well-known than the Fiano, the Piedirosso and the Grifo di Rocca. All these wines shine brighter with food; and even expert palates struggle to appreciate this when faced with nothing more than a bread stick. Actually we didn’t even have those.

We were offered some local apples after, the Annurca variety that only reveals its delicate red hue once picked and stored and turned regularly, we were told.
Three wines were offered. The sparkling Mustilli Spumante is made from Falanghina, its applely, dry in an aperitif style and, as was suggested, would be good with various fish dishes, just as a still Falanghina would.

“a lemon and mandarin thing going on here… a mineral apple thing” – Julie Pegg

The Mustilli Falanghina Sant Agata Dei Goti 2010 [Adegga / Snooth] demonstrated this; the acidity is quite marked. Flavours of those Annurca apples abound.

“a decent nose -a little touch of honey… a little peel… citrus” – Bill Eyer
“Very fresh, citrus, and floral tasting. Would taste great with seafood” – Mary Cressler
“There’s a definite aroma of perfumed talc… old lady’s perfumed talc” – David Lowe

The red variety, the Aglianico, really is a beast of a wine (in general) with the Mustilli version really crying out for food. The Mustilli Cesco di Nece Aglianico 2007 [Adegga / Snooth]. is the house ‘cru’ wine, named after the hills on which it is grown.

“really impressed with the nose, fruit forward, rich, jammy fruit lots of raspberries. Very approachable. Medium to full bodied, a little dryness on the after taste. Tannins as expected. Really nice.” – Melba Allen

The tasting was preceded by an exploratory wander through the estates ancient cellar – mould covered walls, racked vintages snuggly aging, and oak barrels maturing the latest vintages. Well worth a visit.
Mustelli lies just a little inland from Naples and is open to visitors and staying guests. The historic cellars, wine bar and room for wine sales are on Via dei Fiori 20.

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Winery Steps, Castello della Sala

Andrew Barrow — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:42:07 +0000

Winery Steps, Castello della Sala

A day late with this Sunday Snapshot post; but I have an excuse – I have spent the last week in Italy. It seems an age ago now, but in reality it was just over a week that our party rolled up at the Castello della Sala winery in Orvieto. Its new and gleaming, all shiny stainless steel, designer lights and clean, crisp lines. But its a working winery not a batchelor pad. We had a single bottle tasting here but, I expect not the best the estate produces. It was the shadows from this metal stair that attracted my eye. It seems to me to be better in black and white…

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From The Etymologicon

Andrew Barrow — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:45:16 +0000

From The Etymologicon

Not having given it that much contemplation I always assumed that Marvin Gaye was walking through a vineyard for his 1968 song. But apparently not. And, while I was aware that the word alcohol was Arabic in origin, I didn’t know it was a kind of make-up al kuhul. As kohl is an extract and a dye, alcohol began to mean the pure essence of anything (the alcohol of an ass’s spleen anyone?) and only from the 1750’s did (wine) alcohol become what it means today. Just two snippets from the amazing The Etymologicon that now resides in my Kindle ap.

Elsewhere there is also a superb explanation of why George Washington’s plantation is named after British Admiral Edward Vernon, who, incidentally led a 1739 British assault on Porto Bello in Panama and how, to the west of London a farm was named in honour of the attacks success. The road to the, long vanished farm, is now home to Portobello antiques market. Old Vernon’s nickname (from his thick coat made from grogram) also came to mean the watered down rum he served to the seamen (grog) and lent, eventually, to how alcohol makes you groggy. I mean, you just got to love this stuff!

To avoid being groggy perhaps make today and tomorrow a non-drink day. For these, according to the latest edition of When Wine Tastes Best (a biodynamic calendar for wine drinkers), these are Root days and not good for wine tasting. Not good also, for celebrating today’s Chinese New Year although Burns night on the 25th is a Flower day – they thus recommend substituting wine for the traditional whisky!

“Vodka, whisky [aqua vitae – water of life], aquavit, balderdash [wine mixed with beer or water that could be sold cheap] and rum are just enough to make the sort of punch that will knock you out. Only just, mind you, because punch comes from the Hindi word for five: panch. That’s because, technically, a punch should contain five different ingredients: spirits, water, lemon juice, sugar and spice. That’s also the reason that the area of India that contains five rivers is called the Punjab”

The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language is available in book form from Amazon for £7.99 and as a Kindle download for £1.99.

The booklet When Wine Tastes Best: 2012 is available from Amazon for £2.99.

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Raimat Vineyard

Andrew Barrow — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 10:30:53 +0000

Raimat Vineyard

It’s a mammoth operation, industrial in scale, but the Raimat estate in Spain operates within strict environmental constraints and practises. Here, between the vines, are freely growing cover crops, a haven for wildlife, and a sign of a healthy balanced vineyard.

The latest photograph in the Sunday Wine Shot series.

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Cognac Masterclass Live WebTV Show

Andrew Barrow — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:03:08 +0000

Cognac Masterclass Live WebTV Show

Cognac Masterclass The video below is the result of the live webTV show held on Wednesday 18th January 2012

Whether it’s drunk neat or in a cocktail, cognac lovers everywhere are familiar with the smooth, fruity taste that the drink brings to the pallet. A taste which, over the years, has continued to evolve through a variety of new blends, cognac has definitely developed into a classic favourite, no matter how you choose to enjoy it.

But with such a long history of evolution and a wide array of options available, how do you choose the perfect tipple for your tastes, and how do the experts think cognac is best enjoyed?

Baptiste Loiseau, Deputy Cellar Master at iconic fine champagne cognac makers Rémy Martin, joins us today to hold a rare Master Class on all you need to know about cognac, whether you’re a seasoned fan or just want to try something new. He’ll be taking us through the heritage and history of the drink, and offering up different ways to serve cognac along with his tips and advice when it comes to tasting.

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Why You Will Be Drinking Tonight

Andrew Barrow — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:15:00 +0000

Why You Will Be Drinking Tonight

Personally I thought today was just fine and dandy. It was going to be a ‘non-drinking day’ too but perhaps not if this Oddbins formula is to be believed…

On the widely reported most depressing day of the year, Oddbins has calculated the likelihood we’ll reach for a glass of wine tonight – and the probability is looking high…

Dubbed ‘Blue Monday’, due to a combination of cold weather, lack of light, and possibly a lack of imagination on the part of the PR industry, the national wine merchant suggests we’ll choose to relax indoors and enjoy a glass of wine this evening. On top of today’s woes a general lack of motivation to keep up the New Year gym and detox regime, inane ‘holier-than-thou’ stories from gloating exercise-fiend friends, plus of course the riveting antics of the housemates of Celebrity Big Brother 2012 will likely find you grabbing yourself a sweet spot on the sofa tonight.

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Sunset Over Italian Vineyards

Andrew Barrow — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:11:02 +0000

Sunset Over Italian Vineyards

The latest photograph in the Sunday Wine Shot series. This photo was taken looking towards the Adriatic as the sun set in glorious fashion to our right. Flickr holds a couple more shots taken at the same spot – particularily notable is this sunset by Ryan Opaz.

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A Vintage Wine List Circa 1956

Andrew Barrow — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:30:29 +0000

A Vintage Wine List Circa 1956

Fancy a flagon of Safari Burgundy from South Africa or a “very full” Algerian Burgundy? Maybe a Spanish Sauternes is more your tipple? The most expensive still wine on the list is a Berncasteler Estate Wine, 1955 vintage yours for 18/6 a full bottle. That’s 18/6 in old money, that, coupled with the ’55 vintage gives an indication of the age of this Christmas price list from now defunct Unwins.

These two lists were discovered many moons ago in the shop, an Unwins offie, which he managed. They were lining a bottom of a box at the back of a cupboard if memory recalls correctly. Said friend gave me copies and what a fascinating little slice of wine history they are.

One list is a Christmas list the other seems to come from a year or two later but both are of the similar design. The non-Christmas list gives a later vintage of the Berncasteler; the ’57 now available for 18/0. Now I’m unsure if these are the full product range of the merchant but what is interesting is the domination of sherry, sherry-style (South African in origin), port wines and port-style wines (both South African and Australian) and Madeira. The full gamut of sherry styles are listed – pale, golden, ‘palido’, brown, golden oloroso, fino, manzanilla, amontillado, walnut brown (isn’t that a brand?) and oloroso cream. The latter the most expensive at 21/0 the rough equivalent to £18 today.

Deinhard Liebfraumilch 1957 at 14/6 is the same price as a Beaune 1953, producer unlisted. That 14/6 converts to about £12.60 today. British wines, Chanticleer or Tattoo (both brands I believe), are available in something called a ‘Large Oval’. Interesting too, that nearly all the wines listed are available in both bottle and half bottle sizes. A Grand Cru Chablis 1955 would set you back 13/6 (£11.76) for a bottle or 7/3 (£6.30) for a half.

[The Pound/shilling conversions for this vintage wine list were undertaken via a facility at The National Archives]

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Vineyard Outbuilding, Skirk Winery, Italy

Andrew Barrow — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 10:20:56 +0000

Vineyard Outbuilding, Skirk Winery, Italy

The latest photograph in the Sunday Wine Shot series. This is an image taken in the Skirk Winery, Fruili, Italy – a couple of small wheels, some chopped vine wood and vine trellising wires.

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Raimat Vineyards

Andrew Barrow — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 10:45:13 +0000

Raimat Vineyards

The view from the bedroom – and what a view! The Raimat Castle in Spain, has a series of rooms offered to visiting journalists, retailers and other wine people. This was the view from my room when I stayed over night last year.

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