Meeting 428 - -"Italy - North vs South"
Friday 22nd October 2021 Neville Hall, Waltham St Lawrence
* Presented by Committee Members
This month, for the first time since restarting events at Neville Hall, we had major problems
arising from the pandemic as both our presenter, Gavin Whitmee of Purple Foot, and our caterer had to pull out
Mark, our caterer, was able to send a replacement; and the wines and accompanying notes were delivered to the
Secretary, who then presented the wines with valuable assistance from the Chairman and Vice-Chairman. Gavin's theme was Italy, currently
the leading producer of wine in the world, and his emphasis was on differences between the North, producing both white and red wines that
were ideally accompanied by food, and the more fruit-driven easy-drinking wines of the South. After a Prosecco Rosé we tasted two examples
of the Cortese grape from Piedmont.
Followed by a Verdicchio Classico by Monte Schiavo in the Castelli di Jesi DOC and an Etna Bianco from the Cantine Nicosia; this last wine,
made from the Carricante grape at 700 metres on the slopes of Mount Etna, proved to be the most popular white wine of the evening with an
average score of 7 and higher scores from some members.
We then moved on to four reds, firstly two from Piedmont: a 2018 Langhe Nebbiolo from the Araldica co-operative and a 2018 Crocera
Barbera d'Asti from the top estate of Il Cascinone; these were followed by two Puglian wines, a 2020 Primitivo from Cantine Minini and a
2018 Ca' Vittoria Limited Edition made from predominantly Negroamaro with a 25% mix of Merlot and Primitivo, and using the Appassimento
method of allowing the grapes to wither on the vine for 20 to 30 days and then leaving the skins in the must. The Nebbiolo was
light-bodied yet also rather bitter on the finish, but the other three reds had considerable body, richness and length, and
scored either 8 or (for the Appassimento) 8.5.
Mark was unable to attend this meeting but his colleage, George, served wild mushroom arancini balls as a starter, followed by an extremely tasty cacciatore of
pheasant accompanied by fried polenta and kale. Overall, especially considering the inauspicious omens, the evening proved a success.
| Aperitif:Il Caggio Prosecco Brut Rosé | 9/99 | 6+* |
| (1)Piemonte Cortese 2020, Araldica | 6.99 | 6 |
| (2)Gavi 2020, La Battistina | 10.90 | 6* |
| (3) Verdicchio Classico 2020, Monte Shiavo | 8.50 | 6 |
| (4) Etna Bianco 2020, Monte San Nicolo | 16.8 | 7 |
| (5) Alasia Langhe Nebbiolo 2018, Araldica | 11.90 | 7+* |
| (6) Crocera Barbera D'Asti Suoeriore 2018, Il Cascinone | 10.50 | 8 |
| (7) Terre Avare Primitivo 2020,Cantine Minini | 10.50 | 8 |
| (8) Ca'Vittoria Appassimento Limited Edition 2019, Botter | 10.99 | 9+ |
* Average of a wide range of scores!! Often 5 to 9
** Price to Members