Last week we had a fantastic wine tasting session with one of our partners, where we explored a couple of our red and white wines on the menu in depth. It was a really useful session for us, so we thought we’d share what we learned, and give you some more info for you to come and enjoy some of our lesser-known wines on our menu!
Gavi di Gavi Guido Matteo
Whilst a Gavi is a reasonably well known wine, we can’t in all honesty say that it’s a wine we’d really had much of….but what a delight this one was! It comes from the area of Gavi, in northern Italy. It’s made from the Cortese grape and being “Gavi di Gavi” (made in the town itself), it has DOCG (denomination of controlled and guaranteed origin) status, which is a notch above DOC. The growers, Guido Matteo, are a small production winery, selling what is most certainly a premium product. The wine itself has a floral, stone fruit style with a lovely honey flavour. This was really pronounced and made for a delicious drop that we’ll certainly be sipping on more and more!
The Gavi di Gavi perfectly pairs with Roasted Chicken & Asparagus and Pan Fried Salmon dishes currently on our Dinner menu.
Louis Robin Chablis
Chablis is a white that a lot of people will have no doubt tried, or at least heard of. Although it’s one of the better-known whites, it was good to have a refresher of one the classics. As a chardonnay (the grape behind Chablis), it’s one that tends to have a marmite effect on people; you either love it or hate it. This Chablis however, is an un-oaked Chardonnay from Burgundy in France. There’s something really refreshing about this Chablis. It has a saltier, more mineral flavour than the Gavi di Gavi, and while there are honey notes, it is much less pronounced than the Gavi.
This is a wine that stands up to fish really well, and as a classic, would go very well with our well-loved classic, Fish & Chips.
Alice Vieira de Sousa
We then moved on to the reds, more specifically to the Alice Vieira de Sousa Red Reserve from the Douro valley in Portugal. This is made up of a number of lesser-known grape varieties (touriga national, touriga franca, tinta roriz), which are abundant in the region. This was a really enjoyable wine that surprised us in many ways. It’s impossible to talk about this wine without mentioning the history and wonderful story behind it. The family has been making Port for 5 generations, selling its produce on to the bigger names in the world of Port. More recently, they discovered a significant (and nicely aged) amount unexpectedly stored away which meant they could start bottling Port for themselves. And what a hit it is! We currently sell their late bottle vintage here at the Grid (which we’ll have to write about at another time!). Their story has successfully continued on, which is how we come to the Alice Red Reserve. This is a young red, it’s medium bodied, with fresh red berry flavours. This is a great red to enjoy on a warm day as it’s not too heavy and, as we found out, can also be served chilled.
This was a real delight to try, and pairs really well with our Grid Burger, available both on our Brunch and Dinner menus.
Valpolicella Moraria, Damoli
Our final wine of the session was a Valpolicella from the growers, Damoli. This particular Valpolicella is the “Moraria” which translates to the “Mulberry Tree.” It’s the location of their vineyard, 250m above sea level outside Verona in Italy. It’s a tiny winery in the region, employing just 3 people! What immediately stood out when pouring this wine was the beautifully bold ruby colour. It’s a wine bursting with red fruit flavours, giving a very “juicy” feeling when drinking it. It’s not quite full-bodied, it’s an easy drinker that goes really well with tomato-based flavours, which tend to be at the heart of Italian cuisine.
It’s difficult to pinpoint one or two dishes for this one as it’s a really versatile wine. That said, we think it goes fantastically with our Arancini and Roasted Aubergine dishes currently on the menu.
All the wines mentioned here, and much more, are available to try here at The Pimlico Grid for both Dinner and Brunch 🙂
Emily & Louisa