John Wilson on Wine on the ball
It’s not surprising that the layout of Wilson on Wine 2015, John Wilson’s latest book is clear, not over wordy and easy to follow. That’s the way he is with no pretensions and always a pleasure to meet. A listing with short descriptions of his recommendations of what wines to drink next year (and what’s left of this one) will appeal to those with all levels of budget, interest and attention to what wine goes with what food.
My personal favourites include the new Wiston Rosé made in Sussex by Limerick-born Dermot Sugrue. Available in the Ballymaloe shop and coming soon to Le Caveau in Kilkenny. A real treat.
Aldi’s €10 worth of Cava is there too for good value on the lower end of the scale. The book is divided into sections from light to heavy, so the second section after sparkling wines is ‘crisp and refreshing white wines’. Here we find the Santa Rita Sauvignon land which I had yesterday for lunch with sparkling water (driving grr!) and even dliuted there was plenty of flavour. If you like the use of the Verdicchio grape the Sartarelli dei Castelli di Jesi 2012 from Italy is a good choice stocked by JNwine.com.
It’s hard to beat Trimbach for a decent Alsace Riesling and the 2011 and richer 2004 Cuvée Fréderic Emile (also form Trimbach) are available in Cork at Karwig Wines as well as plenty of outlets in Dublin, including a favorite – Mitchell & Son. And yes, yes, yes, drink the 2011with Asian food. Save the 2004 to savour on its own or with milder food. One i like the sound of is Gaia Assyrtiko, if only to see if I can be convinced that there is a good Greek wine out there somewhere. Available from O’Briens.
If I go on you won’t need to buy the book, so I suggest you do just that and keep it in the glove compartment of the car for when you can stop to load up. It will fit nicely into a Christmas stocking.
Food
Wine
Travel
Raves
Roz Crowley 