I have only got four weeks into my 52 wines in 52 weeks experiment and have had to choose a wine based not on the principle grape variety, but the producer and the area of production. It needed to be white, which is what made it hard.
I did try. There's a Greek wine from Zitsa, made with Debina. There's a Sicilian varietal Damaschino, a grape which more frequently is used as a minor component of some Marsala. I have heard of the Bulgarian Dimiat, the Hungarian Dinka, Italy's Drupeggio and South Australia's Doradillo, but could I find any? No.
I had to explain to a few wine merchants that I was looking for any of the above, only to be met with suspicion. Or pity. It was hard to be sure.
Therefore, week D (2013) is Darting Estate Durkheim Michelsberg Riesling 2012.It is a QmP rated wine from Pfalz, Germany.
The first thing to notice, after the pale lemony colour, is the petillance. This is a pretentious name for the very obvious bubbles that form on the inside of the glass. Not like those of a sparkling wine, because the bubbles don't rise. They exist due to some CO2 dissolved in the wine and that gives it a spritely, prickly feel in the mouth.
The next is that it smells mostly of crisp green apples and tastes of lemon and lime.
The grapes come from the Spielberg vineyard, allegedly the village of Bad Durkheim's best, and the warm climate there helps them to reach sufficiently high levels of sugar to produce 12.5% abv. Although it is a dry wine, or Kabinett Trocken, as the Germans might say, the dryness is disguised by the citrus fruits and the typically high acidity. Bracing, in fact. I think it would make a good aperitif.
The back label recommends eating it with a Thai green chicken curry and that, by good chance, is what The One has left me to forage this evening as she went off to do something connected to a church. So I did, as I always do (ask The One), what I was told. I also drank a bit more with some hand-cooked crisps and some tangy cheddar. All good enough.
This is my second M&S purchase in four weeks. £9.95 this time and I am unlikely to buy again, simply because there are too many letters in the alphabet to taste my way through and I expect to find wines I enjoy more.
I did try. There's a Greek wine from Zitsa, made with Debina. There's a Sicilian varietal Damaschino, a grape which more frequently is used as a minor component of some Marsala. I have heard of the Bulgarian Dimiat, the Hungarian Dinka, Italy's Drupeggio and South Australia's Doradillo, but could I find any? No.
I had to explain to a few wine merchants that I was looking for any of the above, only to be met with suspicion. Or pity. It was hard to be sure.Therefore, week D (2013) is Darting Estate Durkheim Michelsberg Riesling 2012.It is a QmP rated wine from Pfalz, Germany.
The first thing to notice, after the pale lemony colour, is the petillance. This is a pretentious name for the very obvious bubbles that form on the inside of the glass. Not like those of a sparkling wine, because the bubbles don't rise. They exist due to some CO2 dissolved in the wine and that gives it a spritely, prickly feel in the mouth.
The next is that it smells mostly of crisp green apples and tastes of lemon and lime.
The grapes come from the Spielberg vineyard, allegedly the village of Bad Durkheim's best, and the warm climate there helps them to reach sufficiently high levels of sugar to produce 12.5% abv. Although it is a dry wine, or Kabinett Trocken, as the Germans might say, the dryness is disguised by the citrus fruits and the typically high acidity. Bracing, in fact. I think it would make a good aperitif.
The back label recommends eating it with a Thai green chicken curry and that, by good chance, is what The One has left me to forage this evening as she went off to do something connected to a church. So I did, as I always do (ask The One), what I was told. I also drank a bit more with some hand-cooked crisps and some tangy cheddar. All good enough.
This is my second M&S purchase in four weeks. £9.95 this time and I am unlikely to buy again, simply because there are too many letters in the alphabet to taste my way through and I expect to find wines I enjoy more.
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