Drinks of the Month

Chianti in magnum from Lidl

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on March 7 2020 at 12:10

The more, er ... mature ... among you may remember when you went to an Italian restaurant and found a round straw-covered bottle of Chianti on the table, often with a guttering candle stuck in the neck and wax (always red) dripping down the side. It’s rather weirdly called a fiasco - which is Italian for flask as well as referring to a disaster. Like Brexit. Or Boris.

Well Lidl is selling one in magnum which I think would be fantastic fun for an impromptu spaghetti and meatball - or lasagne - party. OK, I cannot lie, it’s not the BEST Italian red I’ve ever tasted but it’s clean, fresh and perfectly drinkable and TBH your friends will be having such fun they won’t notice. And at just £9.99 (a magnum is the equivalent of two bottles, remember) it’s hard to resist.

If you prefer a slightly fuller-bodied red (or they’ve sold out of the Chianti) you could buy a bottle or two of the Corte Aurelio Nero d’Avola which at a ridiculous £7.99 a magnum or £3.99 a bottle is even cheaper. I can’t help feeling it must be a bit dodgy for that price but if you’re a student or otherwise strapped for cash, you might consider it worth a whirl. It would also go with spag bol.

Somewhat improbably nero d’avola is Britain's favourite wine - a conclusion extrapolated from a large blind tasting last year organised by Majestic. I have to say I'm not convinced. My own litmus test of popularity - whether taxi drivers are talking about it - suggests it would be a poor runner up to Malbec. But who knows? Maybe it's the Next Big Thing - though possibly not on the evidence of this particular wine.

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