February 2011 Meeting - Spot the Difference

Alison Etchells and Mike Clarke hosted a very informative and fun evening. We were presented with three pairs of wines: one sparkling, one white and one red pair and invited to “Spot the Difference”. All the wines were from the Wine Society. Each pairing had in common the grape variety, the country/region and generally a similar year. In fact the only major difference was price...

One of the most popular wines of the evening was the Alfred Gratien champagne (£25), which was infinitely superior to the Saumur Brut sparkling (but the latter much cheaper at £7.95). With the white wine pairing, it was much harder to identify the more expensive one, indeed the price difference was only £3.30. Both were made from the Garganega grape and both were Italian of the same year. The wines were a Coffele Soave Classico (£8.25) and a Palladium Garganega Veneto dry white (£4.95).  The red wines, Chilean and one year apart in age, were both popular with the group. One was a Lascar Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009 (£4.95) and the other, grown at a slightly higher altitude, was a 2008 Alto Maipo Cabernet Sauvignon (£11.95). Once again the more expensive wine was preferred!

 

A most enjoyable tasting where everyone managed to identify correctly which was the more expensive wine and many were also able to identify the grape variety and the country of origin. Obviously we must be learning something at our meetings!