You might think that August Bank Holiday weekend would be an occasion for a light, refreshingly chilled white wine, a glass of Prosecco or a nice Rose from Provence.
You might think that it would be a good weekend to invite a group of friends around to play Croquet.
But then you might never have experienced an English summer before. We did play Croquet, but as it was cloudy and wet, the game came towards an end in premature darkness with each of the seven players having been issued with a golf umbrella. Now, I appreciate that the Hurlingham Club wouldn't consider it the correct approach to have two teams of three and four players respectively, or to play after dark in the rain, but then they probably wouldn't have approved of the lawn either, what with it being made primarily of clover and moss and as smooth as the rough side of Uranus.
So, having dispensed with formality and abandoned hopes of a balmy evening, I also dispensed a full-bodied, Autumn-friendly red wine and settled for a barmy evening instead.
Week A (2015) Aglianico del Vulture 2013. M&S £10
Rather good, this one. It was used to lubricate the consumption of a selection of five of Mr Waitrose's pizzas, each with a different topping. At the bidding of The One, I had enhanced each of the pizzas with an additional sprinkling of pre-grated Mozzarella and similarly treated Cheddar to such an extent that it was impossible to tell what was hidden beneath. Apart from the chillies. They made their presence felt.
Anyway the point is that Mr M&S recommended the wine as an ideal accompaniment for rustic pork dishes, cured meats and artisan cheese and that, in my book, is exactly what an unidentifiable selection of pizzas smothered in a two cheese mix, is. And they were right. Incidentally, I did question the social acceptability of pre-grated cheese, but a withering look and a mumbled threat about 'doing all the preparation and the clearing up' put me back in my box.
I started this journey with an Aglianico, but not one whose grapes came from the slopes of Mount Vulture, the classical home of the variety. It was cheaper than this one and rightly so. This isn't expensive, but it does have good redcurrant, plum and cherry fruit, a hint of vanilla from French Oak, and some herbal touches. All in all, quite a complex set of flavours for a tenner.
I don't know if Aglianico is grown much elsewhere, but it does have a long a impressive history in the South of Italy where it is thought to have been introduced by the Phoenicians and later became used in the production of the Roman empire's favourite tipple: Falernian. Pliny the Elder noted that Falernian was so strong it would catch light if exposed to a naked flame. I didn't actually try, but I doubt that this would have helped to light the fire pit this week. Especially with the rain.
You might think that it would be a good weekend to invite a group of friends around to play Croquet.
But then you might never have experienced an English summer before. We did play Croquet, but as it was cloudy and wet, the game came towards an end in premature darkness with each of the seven players having been issued with a golf umbrella. Now, I appreciate that the Hurlingham Club wouldn't consider it the correct approach to have two teams of three and four players respectively, or to play after dark in the rain, but then they probably wouldn't have approved of the lawn either, what with it being made primarily of clover and moss and as smooth as the rough side of Uranus.
So, having dispensed with formality and abandoned hopes of a balmy evening, I also dispensed a full-bodied, Autumn-friendly red wine and settled for a barmy evening instead.
Week A (2015) Aglianico del Vulture 2013. M&S £10Rather good, this one. It was used to lubricate the consumption of a selection of five of Mr Waitrose's pizzas, each with a different topping. At the bidding of The One, I had enhanced each of the pizzas with an additional sprinkling of pre-grated Mozzarella and similarly treated Cheddar to such an extent that it was impossible to tell what was hidden beneath. Apart from the chillies. They made their presence felt.
Anyway the point is that Mr M&S recommended the wine as an ideal accompaniment for rustic pork dishes, cured meats and artisan cheese and that, in my book, is exactly what an unidentifiable selection of pizzas smothered in a two cheese mix, is. And they were right. Incidentally, I did question the social acceptability of pre-grated cheese, but a withering look and a mumbled threat about 'doing all the preparation and the clearing up' put me back in my box.
I started this journey with an Aglianico, but not one whose grapes came from the slopes of Mount Vulture, the classical home of the variety. It was cheaper than this one and rightly so. This isn't expensive, but it does have good redcurrant, plum and cherry fruit, a hint of vanilla from French Oak, and some herbal touches. All in all, quite a complex set of flavours for a tenner.
I don't know if Aglianico is grown much elsewhere, but it does have a long a impressive history in the South of Italy where it is thought to have been introduced by the Phoenicians and later became used in the production of the Roman empire's favourite tipple: Falernian. Pliny the Elder noted that Falernian was so strong it would catch light if exposed to a naked flame. I didn't actually try, but I doubt that this would have helped to light the fire pit this week. Especially with the rain.
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