Enotria's new list
ENOTRIA wines has just published its latest wine list, which, in common with the best merchants' lists, is full of useful information especially about Italian wines.
It is much to the credit of merchants such as Enotria (081-961 4411) that Italian wines are now more widely understood and are found on the lists of restaurants other than just Italian.
The new list, apart from an easy-to-follow map, provides valuable information about the regions and the particular estates which Enotria represents. Quotes from wine writers about the wines listed may help a decision about which to taste.
The successful Le Veritiere range of house wines has a brochure all of its own. It consists of an oak barrel-fermented Chardonnay, a Pinot Grigio, a Rosé, Rosato do Merlot, and a Sangiovese, made from the dominant grape of Chianti and a Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon blend. All are of the 1993 vintage except the last, which is a blend of different years. Best of all, each of the wines work out at less than £3 a bottle excluding VAT. They are approachable wines ideal for the British palate, with plenty of recognisable grape character.
Not all Enotria's goodies are Italian. Corbiäres is a region which has increasingly impressed me in the past few years. The wines have a directness and regional character rare at a time when grape flavours tend to shelter behind a screen of oak.
