Ben Llewelyn's Blog

That was a buzz! It was the first time I have had to host a show on my own and I must say that it was great fun, although it is funny to think now, but a few times I thought I might be lost for words. Luckily for me Hannes Durnwalder from Erste and Neue, a producer of wines based in Caldaro in Alto Adige, a fabulous wine producing region in Northern Italy, was at hand. His guest appearance was arranged mainly to help the viewer who wanted to know more about a Sud-Tyrolean gastronmic evening menu, but he also turned out to be a mine of information on the wine business in general and have some great wines to taste too, so thank you Hannes!

If you are a fan of fresh, crisp whites like pinot bianco or sauvignon, aromatic varieties which sit well with good acidity like reisling or gewurztraminer, or vibrant structured reds then Alto Adige is a good place to look. With altitudes ranging from 200 to 600 metres above sea level and a really mixed soild base, the region lends itself brillianlty to cool climate, terroir driven viticulture and with a bit of Italian penache thrown in you get real class too. We were tasting the following wines from Erste and Neue on the show:

2007 Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc): Crisp fresh apples on the nose with a light hint of blossom followed by a racy palate redolent of green apples and white flowers. Crisp, fresh and delicatly aromatic so great with shell fish and white fish dishes.

2007 Pinot Grigio: A fuller nose of peach and orange blossom. The acidity was well poised against the slightly oily palate and the fruits of the nose lingered well on the palate too. A fuller, more complex wine that needed the savoury lick of some salami or fennel sausage, but would work well with richer fish dishes.

2007 Lagrein: A variety closely linked to syrah and corvina (the mainstay of Valpolicella) which showed blackberry and violet fruit on the nose, ripe dusty tannins and delicious mouthwatering red/black fruit on the palate and a touch of vibrabt acidity to lift the falvours. A great wine to serve chilled with mortedella or warmer with red meats and game. A very versatile wine indeed!

So, look forward to seeing you at the next show. Please don't be afraid to send in those questions either before or during the show no matter how obscure or benal, it will be pleasure to contemplate and hopefully answer them with a semblance of intelligence.

Ben

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That was a buzz! It was the first time I have had to host a show on my own and I must say that it was great fun, although it is funny to think now, but a few times I thought I might be lost for words. Luckily for me Hannes D... (more...)

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