Event: Mambo Italiano Italian wine tasting with Buff Wine at Brel, Ashton Lane, Glasgow

Last Thursday Ross from Buff Wine invited us along to one of his regular wine tasting nights in the colourful upstairs room at Brel on Ashton Lane in the west-end to sample 3 reds and 3 whites from Italy.

The wines took us on a journey up and down Italy with most from the north and 1 red from the far south. We know a bit about Italian wine having visited a few of the regions and from a few previous wine tastings that have included Italian bottles.

The wines on the night were:

1 Ca’ di Alte Prosecco – a lovely light sparkling wine from the Veneto, made from the Glera grape variety with honey on the nose and fruity peach and pear flavours. Average price in the shops is £11 a bottle.

2 Pieropan Soave Classico, also from the Veneto. This was light, slightly acidic with more peachy flavours and a hint of tropical fruit, it was really easy to drink – so a good all round wine really. Average price for this is £11 a bottle.

3 Falesco Grechetto from Umbria, we weren’t familiar with this one at all but it was really smooth with autumnal leafy flavours and some acidity so more interesting than a typical Orvieto wine. Average price is £9 a bottle.

4 We travelled back up north to the Veneto with Allegrini Bardolino. This was the first red of the night and had a slightly aniseed, sherbet and…er, countryside aroma. Probably the sourest of the wines with fruity plum, cherry and perhaps tart berries. Average price is £8 a bottle.

5 Cantina di Montalcino Sangiovese from Tuscany, another red and one which actually had a red grape juice aroma! This was dry and tannic but nice and smooth. Average price is around £8 a bottle.

6 A Mano Primitivo from Puglia, the most viscous of the night’s wines – it had “legs”! With a complex aroma of tobacco, bread, raisins and perhaps even paint fumes! Initially this was smooth with a warm finish so it probably had the highest ABV of the night. It was also dry and tannic like the previous wine. Average price is £7 a bottle.

Along with the wine there was of course food – some lovely cheese, meat, bread and rapeseed oil – and all from Scottish producers too.

This was a fun informative night and Ross was very entertaining, providing stories (some myth and legend!) behind the history and development of Italian wine regions and some funny stories involving his faux pas with Italians (such as crossing a football rivalry boundry!)

If a Buff Wine tasting night is something you’d be interested in then there will be more at Brel tomorrow evening and for the next two Thursdays after that. Tomorrow and 27th August will be French wine tasting, but if you prefer the sounds of Mambo Italiano then this will run again on the 20th. Tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite and are £30 per person, this includes six glasses of wine, a platter fo food between two, lots of chat and wine-related anecdotes in the pleasant surroundings of Brel on Ashton Lane.

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