56 | Tuesday 11 June 2013
BANDS +EATS /THE ARTS
at the heads corey & sam
at the heads jane & jess ica
at the heads lisa, alison & julie
at the heads warren & ann e
G R A P E V I N E Torquay Froth and Bubble returns BY ALI DEANE
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
JON HELMER
The full Montepulciano WITH the colder weather comes a certain desire for rich, warming comfort foods and wines to match. It’s a no brainer that red wines in particular become our favourite buddies, most popular are those that are deeply coloured and richly flavoursome with soft rounded edges. Having found that my palate seems to be getting back into Italian wines at the moment, or maybe it’s just that more and more of these great value wines are finding their way to my door I’m not sure? Anyway, be it from up north in Piedmont, centred around Tuscany, D’Abruzzo, or down in the south around Puglia or Sicily/Sardinia I’m always interested and with a few new Montepulciano vintages having landed in my lap recently and a long Sunday family lunch booked, the rain was settling in and a bottle of Montepulciano sounded just perfect. Ah, “Montepulciano”, say it as you see it, “Monteh-pull-chi-ano” - sounds easy, yes? Now here’s the conundrum, yes Montepulciano is a grape, but it’s also a hill top town (commune) in Tuscany. Confusing? Of course, it’s Italy, what would one expect? No disrespect intended to any Italians reading, but the reality is that it can be confusing if you’re a novice fan of Italian reds so here’s today’s basic lesson on Montepulciano – the grape, and the town. The medieval hill top town of Montepulciano is located in the Italian province of Siena, south east of Florence in Tuscany. Popular for its pork and cheese, its wines are also famous worldwide and are known as “Vino Nobile di Montepulciano”. They are primarily made using a minimum of 70 per cent Sangiovese blended with other indigenous red grape varieties, including Canaiolo Nero and smaller amounts of Mammolo. They are generally
aged for two years in oak, with the “Riservas” spending three years in oak and the more youthful style of “Rosso di Montepulciano” only aged for one year in oak. Premium quality wines from this commune are much sort after by wine enthusiasts with the prices reflecting this demand. The grape known as Montepulciano is widely planted throughout central Italy and further south and is noted for producing deeply coloured wines, with moderate acidity and mild tannins. It ripens late and can produce high yields making for good value wines rather than styles at the super premium end of the quality spectrum. A producer located in the baronial fief of Valforte in the famous Abruzzo region of central Italy is Barone di Valforte. It has been owned by the Sorricchio family since the 14th century. They farm 500 hectares over various communes within the Teramo Hills region. They produce a wide range of red and white wines but their Montepulciano D’Abruzzo is the focus of this article, here’s the tasting notes.
2011 Barone di Valforte Montepulciano D’Abruzzo DOC ($17)
TORQUAY Froth and Bubble Literary Festival is back for another winter season, and this year’s offerings span across three big events, from June to August. Officially opening on June 21 at Sticks and Stones Café, the festival will begin with an evening of poets, balladists and writers sure to delight, complemented by gourmet hamburgers, local wines and ciders. The organising committee has prepared a full program for the festival’s sixth year that is perfect for anyone who enjoys literature, poetry, music and film. For the official season opening, author Ken Sheerin will share insights into Sideshow Alley, a young adult speculative fiction of the sci-fi, space opera, military and adventure genres. Councillor Rose Hodge from Surf Coast Shire will proudly open the festivities, and there will be folk music by Jill Meehan. In July, Marion May Campbell presents dramatic monologues from her new book Konkretion, a play reading by the Torquay Theatre Troupe, and Josephine Scicluna will present A conversation in an air raid shelter: a sonic poem about love, politics and time, a performance and production of the spoken word piece by Tom Kazas. The Sticks and Stones Café events on Friday June 21 and Friday July 19, begin at 6pm at Surf City, Torquay.
For more information head to torquayfrothandbubbleliteraryfestival.com, email frothnbubble@gmail.com or contact secretary John Adams on 5261 2899. For an article on the August events, keep an eye on future editions of this paper.
Super delicious feel here with abundant floral/savoury/ dark choc/fruit aromatics and lovely succulent dark fruits, raspberries, savoury/spice and crushed dried berry richness on the palate. So fulsome, soft, and rounded with medium weight. Stunning value and a wine you simply must try! I love it, time for some more, glug, glug, glug.
BECOME A LOCAL VIP CUSTOMER
LOCAL VIP SPECIALS *Mention VIP Customer when ordering and must present keyring on pick-up
2 x Medium Pizzas 2 x Large Pizzas 2 x Family Pizzas
$26 $32 $38
2 x Main Pastas
$28
1 x Main Pasta & 1 Large Pizza
$30
Specials valid for pick up orders only. Not available Fridays and Saturdays. Not available for Delivery & Dine in orders. *Specials may change without notice (conditions apply)
SHOP 3/24 BELL STREET, TORQUAY | OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK | PH: 5261 3100 | www.torquaywaves.com.au