W
L
WINTER WARMERS
As we wave goodbye to Christmas, and welcome in yet another New Year,
we head further into winter. At this stage of the year many of us can suffer
from empty bank accounts, from bugs, a variety of common illnesses,
from a New Year’s resolution that hasn’t even lasted for a couple of weeks,
let alone for the whole year, and for many of us we have had to return to
work too! We face cold days and dark nights. So, have you got the New
Year Blues? Whether you have, or you have not, fear not – red wine is
here to help!!
When it comes to red wine, we are spoilt for choice today. Elegant reds,
light fruity reds, wines with restraint and beauty, delicate reds with smooth
and delicate tannins are all around us. Fantastic - but this time of the year is
about sticking the fire on and tucking into a bottle of something rich, hearty,
warming and comforting when it comes to wine. It is time to bring out the
big guns. The big, the bold, the heart warming and the sumptuous, all to
brighten up a winter’s day.
If you need any more encouragement to drink a drop of red wine, then bear
this in mind too. There is another very good reason why we might want
to have a glass or two of red at this time of year. Red wine is packed with
antioxidants, which boost your immune system, and also possesses certain
anti-inflammatory properties. Research has revealed that wine can be a
powerful ally against a number of common and frequent health problems,
many of which are part and parcel of our winter months. Catching a cold,
or generally feeling grotty at this time of year with ‘flu like’ symptoms, is
perhaps one of the inevitable consequences of winter. So why not fight off
the symptoms with a glass of rich, heart-warming and comforting red wine.
If you haven’t yet succumbed to such symptoms or illness, why not think
ahead and reduce your chances of developing such problems. Get your glass
out – and fill it up!
SO, WHAT SHOULD YOU BUY? Ultimately that is up to you – but go big,
go bold, be bold and be adventurous. To whet your appetite:
Cantina San Marzano ‘Primitivo di Manduria Riserva DOC
Anniversario 62’ – this wonderful wine comes from Puglia in
Italy. Made from the dark skinned primitivo grape (otherwise
known as zinfandel in the USA and in other parts of the world)
this is an awesome glass of wine. I am currently drinking my
way through the 2011 vintage of this superb wine. It is full
bodied and rich, yet is soft and possesses beautifully balanced
tannins. Ruby red, full of fruit, jammy, a touch of spice, vanilla
extracts and a complex nose. Sumptuous. More recent vintages
of this wine are available on line from a number of outlets at
around the £20 - £25 a bottle mark. A bargain for a wonderful
wine.
Cantina San Marzano ‘Vindoro’ Negroamaro – another
big, bold wine from the San Marzano stable. The grape here
is the dark negroamaro grape that produces dark, rustic, yet
perfumed wines. Again I am finishing off some of the 2011
vintage here (so a bit of age again). Described by some as a
‘beast’ of a wine, it possesses elegance and finess. It is dark,
velvety, jammy and full of fruit. Soft tannins, great acidity and
almost soft on the palate. Perhaps not as widely available as
the primitivo – but selling at a few outlets online for £20 - £23
a bottle.
38 wirrallife.com
The Chocolate Block – this wine comes from the
Boekenhoutskloof Winery, Western Cape in South Africa. It
is a wine that has become something of a legend in its own
right. The wine is a blend of a number of grapes, with the blend
being tweaked from vintage to vintage. The 2016 Chocolate
Block is a blend of 79% syrah, 11% grenache, 6% cabernet
sauvignon, 3% cinsault and 1% viognier. Unsurprisingly you
get chocolaty notes on both the nose and the pallet. Perfume
on the nose, masses of red fruit, pepper, spice and super fine
tannins. Another wonderful, heart-warming glass to enjoy –
either by the fire or with a lump of red meat. Again search
online. The wine will set you back around £22 - £23 a bottle.
Again, well worth every penny.
Pulenta ‘Gran Corte VII’ – from the wonderful Pulenta Estate
in Argentina. I am a big fan of many of their wines; and there
are a number to choose from. Here we look at their great ‘Grand
Corte VII’. This is a blend of malbec, cabernet sauvignon,
merlot, petit verdot and tannat. A dark wine with fruit in
abundance. With a bit of spice, this is a smooth, elegant and
structured wine. Described on the Pulenta website as a wine
that is ‘hard to forget’, this is a real treat. It has the potential
for aging (I am currently supping my way through the 2006
vintage). More recent vintages than the 2006 are available on
line at around the £30 a bottle mark.
Guigal Côtes du Rhône – this comes from one of France’s,
indeed probably the worlds, best wineries. From the fabled
winery, created by Etienne Guigal in the 1940’s, comes this
lovely wine. Made from syrah, grenache and mourvedre, this is
a delicious wine. Again dark fruit, a bit of pepper, a bit of herb
and very quaffable. Again look online – a bargain at around
£12 a bottle. Perhaps not in quite the same category as the
other wines I have suggested when it comes to power and brute
force, but a great little bottle of red wine for the winter.
Alvear Montilla-Moriles Pedro Ximénez de AñadaPedro
- not a red wine, but a thumpingly good sweet sherry. Figs,
raisins, some nut, chocolate and caramel. This is sweet, but
beautiful and complex. It is balanced, has no hard edge to it
at all, is seamless and is one of the best PX wines that you will
find anywhere. For winter this is a perfect match to drink on
its own by the fire. In the summer, pour it on your ice cream or
pudding. Not widely available – but there are outlets selling it
at the bargain price of around £16 a bottle (375ml).
When we get to next month’s edition of Wirral Life, I hope some of you
will have been able to sit by the fire and enjoy some of the wonderful red
wines that we have available to us today. Many of these will help us through
the winter months ahead and, remember, it also has medicinal qualities too.
As well as the fact that red wine is an ally against the common cold, and
the lurgy that we can all suffer from at this time of year, there is a growing
body of evidence that red wine does you good by lowering the risk of heart
attacks, dementia and a stroke.
My new year’s resolution is to drink more red wine, and to stay fit, happy and
healthy. Why not make it yours (in moderation of course)? Happy New Year!