At Richmond in March and Teddington in April our topic was the Veneto.
A large region in North Eastern Italy, the Veneto is home to many famous wines, and the most famous of these were our focus. We kicked off with Prosecco, and it was very reassuring to see that quality shone through – the Ca Morlin from DOCG Prosecco Asolo showed what the Glera grape variety can produce when grown on (very beautiful) steep hillsides, at low yields – a complex wine that had all of the delicacy and freshness of Prosecco but none of the soapy over softness that many of us have come to expect. And the Prosecco Romeo which we contrasted it with at Teddington was also a cut above. Proof, if one needs it, that paying a bit more can pay dividends in wine.
Our whites were from the famous region of Soave, at one time one of Italy’s most famous. In recent years it has suffered in the same way that Prosecco has, from a massive increase in production from grapes grown on flat fertile lands outside the original hilly ‘classico’ region. All the wines we tasted were DOC Soave Classico, and we took ourselves on a journey from a good, basic co-op Soave to the heights of La Rocca, a flagship of the leading Soave producer Pieropan.
Then it was Valpolicella time. Many (most?) of us could remember the wicker baskets and the simply fruity wine that they contained. At Richmond we learned that the Corvina grape, the principal variety of Valpolicella is noted for producing pale wines without much tannin – great for rural lunchtimes when everyone was heading back to work, but not so good for complexity and ageing. To produce wines capable of these things the grape must needs to be concentrated, and Amarone and Recioto wines are made from grapes that have been harvested and then dried, still on their bunches, historically in the lofts of houses, nowadays in purpose built air conditioned facilities. The loss of water concentrates not just flavour and tannins but also sugar, so this is a world of potentially high alcohol wines – particularly in the case of Amarone wines which are fermented to dryness (and often then aged in oak to soften and further enhance complexity). Recioto wines are sweet, so fermentation is stopped while sugar still remains, and at Richmond we discovered this rich sweet red wine went jolly well with chocolate brownie!
Probably the biggest discovery was how good Valpolicella Ripasso can be. These wines are made by mixing ‘regular’ Valpolicella with the remaining must of an Amarone fermentation, where there is still plenty of sugar, flavour and tannins to be extracted following a gentle pressing. A world of difference from wicker basket wine.
At Richmond we enjoyed the Britannia’s beetroot and goat’s cheese salad followed by a beef ragu, at Teddington we had chicken followed by some rather super Gorgonzola.
For details of the wines please go to the Wines we have tasted page.
