'Where's your wee wine gone?' asked Eldest Boy earlier today. He was referring to the wine I've just made. As a wine buyer I spent much of my time in cold cellars tasting wine samples from tanks but until now, I'd never made my own wine from start to finish. Granted, the grapes came in the form of grape concentrate in tins. I didn't have to grow anything. I just had to unpack the home winemaking kit, chuck the contents of the tins into a fermenter and add some yeast. And at about £1 a bottle, it really is cheap as chips. But the thing is, it looks like pregnant wee and smells like an old pub floor. It's for a piece in the newspaper and of course I'll report back once tasted but in the meantime, here are some wines that don't look like urine. Much more appealing.
Current white in the fridge: Blind Spot Pinot Gris 2014, £8.50, The Wine Society
Sent to me by The Wine Society to try, this is one of a new range of wines made exclusively for them by Mac Forbes, a great Australian winemaker. He's scooped up a few limited quantity parcels of wine that might have otherwise been missed, ending up as part of a bigger blend. This gorgeous Pinot Gris (same grape as Pinot Grigio, just a different name) is from the King Valley in South Australia and tastes of apples and pears. Definitely more interesting than most Pinot Grigio wines I've tasted recently - and way better than my wee wine could ever possibly be.
Current red in the rack: Wine Atlas Marzemino 2013, £5.97, Asda
If Asda had a blind spot, it was for small parcels of wine that were a little off the beaten track. They've fixed that with the launch of their new Wine Atlas range, a collection of wines made from (some weird and) mostly wonderful grape varieties from all over the place. This is one of my favourites, made in Italy's northern Trentino region from the Marzemino grape. It's quite light, tastes of cherries and is kind of savoury. Completely refreshing in flavour, it's got a definite summery feel about it. One for the ice bucket.
Chin chin xLabels: 2013, 2014, Asda, Australia, Italy, marzemino, pinot gris, red wine, The Wine Society, Trentino, white wine
