Wines of the week: May 17
It was on a recent visit to a supermarket in Los Angeles that I got some idea of how most customers feel when confronted with a wall of wine. Almost everything was from within California and I had heard of almost none of them. How could I differentiate between them? I felt a powerful urge to grab something with a pretty label and leave quickly. Wine buyers, merchants and journalists think that it’s helpful to order wine by country, but I’m not sure that many customers notice where their purchases are from. They want something a bit like that nice one they had the other day, you know the one with the duck on the label – or was it a bicycle?
It’s now common for restaurant wine lists to order wines by style and Morrisons has taken the brave step of doing the same. Customers are encouraged to take a short test to find out what sort of wine they like best. There are four categories: sweet, fresh, smooth and intense. Reds and whites are mixed in together. The categories didn’t work for all wines but the big surprise for me was just how good some of them were:
Three Houses GSM, £4.49
From the ‘smooth’ section, this is actually a rather rough and ready Spanish red and all the better for it.
Nostro Meglio Barbera d’Asti Superiore 2009, £9.79
Lovely ripe nose and then light, pretty and fragrant. This was dubbed ‘intense’ but could just have easily been ‘fresh’.
Gavi di Gavi Ascheri 2011, £13.99
Again both ‘fresh’ and ‘intense’ with a smell of lemons and an amazing length. This is a serious wine.
Wirra Wirra 12th Man Chardonnay 2011, £16.99
So ‘intense’ is this one that the man next to me dubbed it Wakey Wakey Chardonnay.
Go to www.morrisonscellar.com for more information.
It’s now common for restaurant wine lists to order wines by style and Morrisons has taken the brave step of doing the same. Customers are encouraged to take a short test to find out what sort of wine they like best. There are four categories: sweet, fresh, smooth and intense. Reds and whites are mixed in together. The categories didn’t work for all wines but the big surprise for me was just how good some of them were:
Three Houses GSM, £4.49
From the ‘smooth’ section, this is actually a rather rough and ready Spanish red and all the better for it.
Nostro Meglio Barbera d’Asti Superiore 2009, £9.79
Lovely ripe nose and then light, pretty and fragrant. This was dubbed ‘intense’ but could just have easily been ‘fresh’.
Gavi di Gavi Ascheri 2011, £13.99
Again both ‘fresh’ and ‘intense’ with a smell of lemons and an amazing length. This is a serious wine.
Wirra Wirra 12th Man Chardonnay 2011, £16.99
So ‘intense’ is this one that the man next to me dubbed it Wakey Wakey Chardonnay.
Go to www.morrisonscellar.com for more information.