Drinks of the Month
Nero Oro Grillo Appassimento
Appassimento - letting wine ferment on semi-dried grapes - is a technique normally used to give extra sweetness and richness to red wines but it has been used in this highly unusual Sicilian white called Nero Oro (which means black gold)
It’s made from the local grape grillo and is deliciously peachy, not totally dry but not as sweet as a dessert wine with a refreshing acidity that stops it being overly cloying. Not the sort of wine I’d drink with seafood or pasta but it would be great with anything that combines sweet and savoury flavours - especially the kind of hot and sweet dishes you find in Thai, Burmese and Sichuan cuisine. Think Thai fishcakes with sweet chilli sauce for example. I reckon it would also work with a lamb and apricot or quince tagine, a pastilla and middle-eastern dishes with a touch of sweetness too. Maybe a roast butternut squash salad or some roasted root veggies. It's 13.5% so can stand up to some big flavours.
You can buy it from Majestic for £8.99 on a mix six deal. Definitely one to try if you're in there.
Planeta Alastro 2015
If you’re a fan of sauvignon blanc you’re going to love this fresh, aromatic Sicilian white from one of the island's best known wineries, Planeta.
Admittedly the weather in England right now isn’t quite as gorgeous as it was when I tasted it in a beachside restaurant in Ragusa in sweltering 34°C heat (below) but I still think you’d enjoy it
It’s based mainly on the island’s indigenous grecanico (70%) with 15% each of grillo and sauvignon blanc and is really quite sauvignon-like but with more of a zesty citrus than a gooseberry/elderflower flavour. It went brilliantly well with a vast array of different seafood dishes from salads to grilled fish.
The reason I’m recommending it at this particular moment is that Great Western Wine has it on offer, reducing it from its usual £13.75 to £9.95 which is an incredibly good deal. You get a further 10% off if you buy a case which reduces the cost per bottle to £8.96.
Alternatively you could split the order between the Alastro and Planeta’s very attractive, crisp rosé which is also on offer at £9.25. (That should appeal if you’re a Provence rosé fan.) The deal lasts until the end of the month.
I travelled to Sicily as a guest of Planeta.
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