Thursday, February 4th, 2010
2008 La Spinetta Moscato d’Asti ‘Bricco Quaglia’, Piemonte, Italy (RMB 172)
Available from Watson’s, Contact Lily Li: LilyLi@asw.com.hk www.watsonswine.com
La Spinetta is one of the top producers in Italy’s Piemonte region. As well as making great Barolo and Barbaresco, among other wines - for a stunning example from the 1997 vintage click here - La Spinetta also produces one of the region’s best Moscato d’Asti, a delightful sweet sparkling wine (in this case named after a hill-top vineyard - bricco - frequented by quails - quaglia).
Light green in colour with attractive, gentle bubbles, the nose has Moscato’s wonderful perfume of orange blossom and lime fruit. The palate is medium sweet with just enough acidity to balance and low alcohol (5.5% abv.), making it very drinkable!
Moscato d’Asti – which is typically of higher quality than generic ‘Asti’ – does not get much better than this! Try with dishes that contain chilli (or other acidic spices) or enjoy with Chinese fruits at the end of a banquet.
NV McGuigan Sparkling Shiraz Black Label, Australia (RMB 128)
Available from Gelipu Wines, Contact Danny Wu: ausdanny@gmail.com, 13911229053 www.ai9.com.cn
Sadly, there is not much Sparkling Shiraz in China. Most of it is consumed in Australia where it is extremely popular, particularly for special occasions. This is a fun and food-friendly wine ideal for Chinese New Year banquets.
Medium purple with an attractive, full mousse, the nose has pleasant black cherry and berry fruits with a touch of spice.
The palate has refreshing medium acidity and tannin is kept to a minimum for this style of wine. Very adaptable to many kinds of Chinese dishes. We just wish there was more Sparkling Shiraz available here.
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
(Photo: www.theworldwidewine.com)
Sparkling Reds
With Chinese New Year and Western Valentine’s Day falling on the same day this month, nothing could be more suitable to celebrate than a decent sparkling red wine. Most sparkling wines are either white or rosé; and whilst pink may be considered a romantic colour, red, especially in China, is undeniably positive.
The sparkling red with the longest history is Lambrusco from Central-Northern Italy. Lambrusco is the name of the grape variety used and the region of production is Emilia-Romagna, famous for its especially rich cuisine (in which butter and olive oil are frequently combined and Parma ham and Parmesan are not far behind).
(Photo: www.turismo.comune.mo.it)
Buying good Lambrusco is difficult: firstly, there are four types of which one, Lambrusco Reggiano, is sweet, while the other three are off-dry. There is also a glut of cheap Lambrusco, which unfairly tarnishes the image of what can be a wonderful wine (we once tried a Lambrusco in Bologna produced by Rinaldi Rinaldini that was a superb example).
Generally, high quality Lambrusco should be medium to deep red in colour with a generous sparkle, attractive red cherry fruit and refreshing, integrated acidity – perfect with many types of food from Italian pasta with tomato sauce to Hunan dishes (in Bologna the wine accompaines tortellini in broth or rich ragu sauces).
The other main sparkling red is the uniquely Australian Sparkling Shiraz (see this month’s Wine Picks for an example). This can be made from 100% Shiraz grapes or may have other red grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon blended into the base wine. It is generally off-dry but higher quality and usually more expensive examples will be essentially dry.
Like many other forms of Australian Shirazes, Sparkling Shiraz is full of berry fruits (mulberry, blueberry, blackberry, etc.) and has a very friendly palate with gentle acidity. However, unlike other styles, Sparkling Shiraz should be very low in tannin, thus the palate should not astringent at all.
Sparkling Shiraz should be easy to drink and is a great wine to pair with such classics as Beijing roast duck, hamburgers and many other forms of grilled or roast meat.
NV McGuigan Sparkling Shiraz Black Label, Australia (RMB 128)
