The takeaway.

I love cheap and cheerful, in almost anything, and at £5.00 a bottle (approximately $6.50) this wine was definitely cheap - and quite cheerful.

Purchased at Sainsbury's, The Takeout, 2015 Sangiovese (Rubicone IGT) was just the wine to pair with Thud's pasta bake; a hearty dish of baked ziti, meatballs and tons of cheese - which we ate in.  Whilst I would have liked a little bit more acid (though, unfortunately, I think I did detect a bit of volatile acidity), The Takeout was smooth, plummy and, ultimately, quite easy to drink.  

The label on the bottle (funnily enough, most info about this wine is on the front label), recommends drinking this wine with tacos and burritos, amongst other things.  Good English fare?  Hee, hee, I think not.  Saying that, it is a commonly held misconception that English people do not like spicy food.  On the contrary, Mexican food may be eaten in England now, but the English have been shovelling down curry for more than 250 years. But marketing is marketing and the whole, "Enjoy fine dining from the comfort of your couch" and "Great wine to take away" is this wine-peddler's schtick. Especially when paired with the slightly silly food pairing suggestions, (see what I did there?)

Oh, and happy International Malbec Day.

A bunch of rosés.

Although there hasn't been much rain since I have been home it has been extremely blustery. Extremely blustery.  In other words, the weather has been anything but rosé-weather.  I was hoping that whilst I was here I could perhaps enjoy a glass, or two, of a nice pink vino with a leisurely lunch, or dinner.  No such luck. (Although I did have a nice glass of Frascati after the Grand National.)
If the weather had been nice, and a tasty rosé had been in order, I would probably have had a hard time picking just one to buy.  The selection of rosés available in the local Sainsbury's supermarket is rather extensive, I wish it was like that in my Napa supermarket.
I may still have time to partake of something pink, but only if the weather cooperates.  For now, I will just imagine that I am sitting in the Napa sun with a glass of a nicely chilled rosé in my hand and my trusty poochie, V2, who I am missing like mad, by my side.

El Greco.

I don't always remember to try a wine varietal that has piqued my interest in some way in the past, but whilst out buying groceries with Thud in Sainsbury's today I saw an interesting bottle of wine.  Having seen baby Greco di Tufo grapevines growing last month, I just had to try this wine.
This 2012 Greco di Tufo, Campania (DOCG) was really quite nice; fragrant - herbs and pineapple, nicely balanced - good mouth feel and acid, paired nicely with dinner - salmon and salad.  Coming from a supermarket, it may not be the best Greco di Tufo ever made (however, I have nothing to compare it with), but I would buy it again.  Maybe on my next holiday.

Ba, ba, ba, ba, Barbaresco...

...in my glass.
A fairly decent wine, consumed over two nights.  A little tight and uninviting on the nose the first night, this wine really opened up on the second.  Medium bodied and definitely displaying the distinct bouquet of roses and liquorice, as promised on the front label, it went very well with the steak on my plate.  Yum!