John versus the Volcano – Day 4: Heeere’s Johnny!

After my full day of volcano trekking and wine tasting, I decided to take Sunday as a traditional day of rest and took to writing about my exploits of the previous day.

Things didn’t go quite as efficiently as planned.

As the sun shone across the breathtaking landscape, and the sound of absolutely nothing drifted all around me, I was finding it all too difficult to focus on my writing.

Pretty soon I had cracked open some wine and found myself just sitting back to enjoy the moment.

Unfortunately (for my writings sake) the ‘moment’ seemingly lasted until sunset, and my word-count was looking decidedly unhealthy.

John versus the Volcano – Day 3: Passopisciaro

I have a confession to make. I am writing this sober, so I apologise in advance if this post is more coherent than usual.

My third day in Sicily was my first without any major travelling and my first real opportunity to get in amongst the vines of Etna.

With a 10am appointment scheduled at the vineyard of Passopisciaro, I had to set out early. The journey was a good 5 kilometres as the crow flies and unfortunately I’m not a crow.

Crows rarely have to negotiate rough terrain rising over 200 metres, searching for paths that seemingly only exist on the map, or find themselves crawling on their wings and knees through bramble and barbed wire to reach the closest resemblance of a road Etna has to offer.

John versus the Volcano – Day 2: Trains & Terre Nere

First can I please offer in the way of a guarantee after yesterday’s ramblings the following: There will be, at some point during this post, a wine review of sorts.

The day started a little blurry – probably due to the previous night’s gallon of mystery wine or perhaps because the bed was just a little too hard? No, I can sleep anywhere, it was the wine.

Up and packed I headed back onto the streets of Catania eager to start my journey to the north of Mount Etna – Wine country.

Arriving at Catania central station I thought I had everything under control.

John versus the Volcano – Day 1: Catania Calling

With an abundance of vacation days and a rapidly diminishing year, I decided to create a spur of the moment “Wine Adventure” for myself.

So, with a dash of planning and heap of gusto, I’ve jumped on a plane and headed to one of the most exciting new wine regions of the world – Mount Etna.

Whoa whoa whoa! I hear you cry. Etna has some of the oldest vines in Europe! So why do I call the region new?

Simply because no other classic wine region has declined so much during the 20th century only to be so vigorously revived in the 21st. I challenge any new world region to come close to the level of innovation and variety on show here in the shadow of Sicily’s great volcano.

Bodega Catena Zapata – Catena Alta Chardonnay, Mendoza, Argentina 2008

New World Chardonnay never used to be the most appealing of wine to me. Too often I found it over-oaked, blandly buttery and lacking any real individual character.

This is, of course, nonsense.

The truth of the matter is that Chardonnay is not a grape that takes to skimping on quality lightly. If you really want to experience what this wonderful grape is truly capable of, you must be willing to part with a little more cash than you might be used to for a New World wine.

Catena Alta Chardonnay – from Argentinian maestro Nicolás Catena – is a prime example of what can be accomplished with South American Chardonnay.

Cantine Leonardo da Vinci – Leonardo Chianti, Tuscany, Italy 2009

A co-operative of thirty farms, Cantine Leonardo da Vinci was established in 1961 – at the time only selling wine by the barrel. In 1971 they launched two bottles: the white, Collebello, has since been confined to the annuls of history, however the red, Leonardo Chianti, is still going strong.

Though the stated blend of 85% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot and 5% “other red grapes” may be a tad non-specific – don’t be deterred by the poor choice of wording on the label.

Initially, rich and silky red in the glass – light reveals a clear, intensely bright colour. On the nose, plenty of fresh dark cherries, mixed with spice and a touch of pepper.

A tale of two price brackets

It is human nature to categorise.

Ever since the caveman first simplified his world into two distinct lists:

1. I can eat this

2. This will eat me

we haven’t looked back.

We automatically place everything we see or do into a category or bracket. It is the only possible way to cope with the sheer amount of information we are exposed to on a daily basis and then, in turn, make rational decisions based on that information.

When buying wine we are subjected to countless categorisation – from colour, to grape, to country, to region… and, of course, price.

Better wine on any budget – A starting point: Find a name you can trust

Fine wine is a rich man’s game.

Now we’ve got that out of the way we can all pack up and go home. Well, not quite. The enjoyment of a deliciously crafted, beautifully structured wine can be experienced by anyone and on any budget.

As a general rule, the standard of good quality wine will increase with it’s price. However, that is far from the end of the story, most notably because – not all wine is ‘good quality’ in the first place, with the market saturated by anonymous labels and ‘quantity over quality’ branded bottles.

As I will undoubtedly mention many times on this blog – a little knowledge can go a long way when it comes to choosing and buying wine. In this case, if you can learn a little about a few quality vineyards and/or winemakers, you can use their knowledge to lead you on the road to better drinking.

Finding a collection of names you can trust is imperative to consistent quality wine buying on any budget.

All renowned winemakers have extremely well established reputations, and it is hugely beneficial for them that these reputations are upheld throughout the entire breadth of their enterprise.

Planeta – Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Sicily, Italy 2007

Just for a moment, let’s pretend that the summer sun is more than just a mere memory. Here’s an extraordinarily fruity Sicilian red that makes for excellent summer drinking – Planeta, Cerasuolo di Vittoria.

The first and only D.O.C.G. in Sicily – Cerasuolo di Vittoria has somewhat of a reputation for standing out from the crowd. With it’s uniquely vibrant colour, perfume and taste.

A classic blend of native Sicilian grapes – Nero d’Avola and Frappato – Cerasuolo di Vittoria positively screams ripe fruit at you from the glass. Waves of glorious cherries fill your nose and continue across your tongue, complimented by

Welcome to The Drinking Man

Welcome to The Drinking Man.

This is a website dedicated to the enjoyment of wine. Be it the enjoyment gained from sipping a refreshing glass of Sauvignon Blanc on a sunny terrace, or from storing that special bottle of Saint Emilion Grand Cru in a cellar for 25 years or more.

Wine is part of all our lives (well if you found yourself here I presume it is!) and I believe that you deserve to enjoy your wine to the fullest.