This article “Tom Doorley Spring Wines” will be discussed on The Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk – Monday 20th April 2015 @ 11:30 – Make sure to listen in !!
The thing about the Irish climate is that we need the wines of the warm south to keep out the cold and the damp for much of the year. We have a great appetite for big, brawny reds and for whites that take no prisoners.
But now that Spring is definitely here, and Summer can’t be far behind (can it?), my thoughts turn to wines that are more in tune with both the weather, the mood and the kind of food we are eating, because this tends to change with the seasons too.
It’s a time for salads and seafood, for cooking in the open air (don’t let an inexperienced cook near a barbecue, by the way!), maybe even for picnics. This dictates certain kinds of wine, but what, from the thousands of choices out there, is the way to go?
Well, you’re more than welcome to my advice on this. I’ve chosen two wines that are in tune with the time of year and that offer exceptional value for money. And better still, they are both available all over the country.
Here we go…
Marsanne – €8.99, Aldi
Marsanne is the name of the grape, so this is what they call a varietal wine, and it’s a native of the Rhone valley where it’s involved in making some very serious white wines. This version is deliciously fresh yet full on the palate, there’s a touch of ripe pears but the wine itself is properly dry. Lovely with asparagus, seafood, even spicy salads.
Villa Pani Toscano Rosso – €9, SuperValu
I don’t know much about this wine apart from the taste but I suspect, being from Tuscany, that it’s got some Sangiovese in it. On special offer at the moment, it’s a splendidly multipurpose red wine, very fragrant and quite stylish on the nose and light to medium on the palate. Equally at home with pizza or roast lamb and a dab hand, especially at this price, at barbecues.
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