Wine with Leslie: Bright, fruity wines from Italy are perfect for dark evenings
"Lively cherry fruits balanced by taut acidity can bring joy and lighten our moods."
In this the darkest month of the year I have gone in search of the light. Rather inevitably I have looked to Italy where bright fruity wines can bring cheer on a dark evening, where lively cherry fruits balanced by taut acidity can bring joy and lighten our moods.
I can’t promise they will bring the same lift to your mood as a red-gold Venetian sunset over the Grand Canal or a misty dawn over some Tuscan hills, but if served with a silky risotto, with fresh made focaccia or a piping hot pizza, the wines of Northern Italy will certainly bring contentment.
In January 2023 I spent five days in Venice and mainly drank Valpolicella, Bardolino and Refosco, lighter wines that can match with rich fish dishes and of course cicchetti (a sort of Venetian tapas). White wines were consumed too — floral fruity Soave and Lugana, and of course there were a few Amaro Spritz — made with either Campari or Select (both of which have more bitterness than Aperol).
I also ate nearly my own weight in frittella, the glorious seasonal fried doughnut that Venetians consume in quantity in the weeks before Carnival. Frittella can be filled with crème pâtissière, pistachio cream, with chocolate mousse or simply with raisins; you will find recipes online and I suggest you wash them down with a glass of Moscato d’Asti.
Suggestions this week should lighten any wintry moods. A citrus-focused pale ale from Belfast and three joyful wines from the Veneto under €15. These wines will match with pasta ragu better than say venison stew so if you feel like you need more heft to match your winter warming cooking then upgrade to a Valpolicella Ripasso or maybe an Amarone or head south for Primitivo di Manduria, Salice Salentino or Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.
This peach scented lively wine is made from an old variety native to North Eastern Italy and Slovenia and not found anywhere else.
Almond, peach and orange peel aromas, fruity and textured with lemony acidity. Similar flavours and textures can be found in the ‘Found’ Moschofilero-Roditis for a similar price.
This is a blast of ripe Italian fruits from the hills around Lake Garda.
Perfect for matching mid-week pizza, vegetable focused dishes or light pasta (it is too light for say stew or bistecca alla Fiorentina/steak frites). Crunchy red and blackberry tinged fruits, lively and lithe with a finish of bitter cherry that morphs into sweet cherries.
This was created by La Scuola nel Vigneto, a social-educational project promoting sustainable winemaking. Corvina is the star grape in the Veneto and this is typical —red cherries with spice hints, rounded and fruit-focused with juicy, red and black fruits. The white Garganega is similarly crisp and zingy.
Craftcentral.ie; CraftBeersDelivered.ie; Bullhousebrewco.com
Bullhouse was founded in Northern Ireland in 2016 and now employs 26 people. The Bullhouse East Tap Room & Pizzeria on the Newtownards Road is well worth a visit and their website currently has a 25% off Christmas Case Sale.
Bullhouse are self-confessed ‘hopheads’ and this showcases Citra. Pouring a lightly hazy pale straw colour with classic citrus and peach aromas, it's crisp and smooth on the palate with a delightful tang of grapefruit mixed with tropical fruits and a zingy dry finish.
