34 18 APRIL 2024 Food&Drink Wine list PIERPAOLO PETRASSI Partner & Master of Wine S CAN T HI S CODE TO S HOP T HE WI NE S PIERPAOLO’S EXCLUSIVE RECOMMENDATIONS For an even wider choice of wines and spirits than you’ll nd in store, order from waitrosecellar.com. You can buy single bottles, compile your own case of wine or choose from cases put together by our experts, including monthly o ers. Collect your order from your local Waitrose store, have it delivered to you, or simply scan the QR code to shop the wines Pierpaolo recommends each week. TROPHY International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) Wine Supermarket of the Year 2023 This is a deliciously dry take on Furmint, the grape more usually used in Hungary’s famous dessert wine, Tokaji. There are avours of juicy orchard fruit and quince, with refreshing citrus and spice. Vibrant and smooth with a lovely refreshing nish, it’s great with sushi, grilled sh or poultry dishes such as chicken and leek pie. THE ‘NEW’ EUROPEANS Patricius Tokaj Dry Furmint £10.99/75cl La Umbra Merlot £7.49/75cl SLOVENIA HUNGARY ROMANIA GEORGIA DISCOVER UNEXPECTED GEMS With warm summers and cold winters, these Eastern European nations are naturally suited to winemaking Puklavec & Friends Sauvignon Blanc & Pinot Grigio £9.79/75cl Orovela Saperavi £17.49/75cl (selected stores) The countries from which I’ve chosen this week’s recommendations are di erent in many ways – but as far as wine goes, they have a lot in common. They all lie in continental Europe, with ideal climates for grape growing – their summers are warm and sunny but not too hot, and cold winters mean the vines go dormant exactly as you want them to. But it’s the political history they share that, for a long time, shaped their wine industries. During the Iron Curtain years, big, state-funded wineries turned out and exported cheap wine, almost as a foil or contrast for the image of communist countries of being grey and joyless. With the end of the Cold War, a lot of wineries closed, but in recent years, the region’s winemakers have staged a comeback, and the results are a revelation. They include good examples of international grape varieties such as Merlot, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir, and exciting wines made from more unusual, indigenous varieties. I like to think of these countries not as Eastern Europe, but as ‘new’ Europe – a region with plenty still left to discover. A full-bodied Romanian red made in a modern style with no oak in uence. The rich, vibrant palate is full of plum and bramble fruit with chocolate on the nish. The Merlot grapes come from vineyards at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, where ripening conditions are near perfect. Try with roasts or strong cheese. Two popular grape varieties – Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio – are cleverly combined here in this wonderfully crisp, refreshing white wine from Slovenia. It has lovely aromas of passion fruit and lemon and a brilliant weight of avour. Delicious with goat’s cheese tarts or lightly spiced chicken dishes. A rich red, Saperavi is an old grape variety indigenous to Georgia, regarded by many as the cradle of winemaking. This limited-production wine is in a modern, fruitforward style. The palate shows intense avours of blackberry and cherry, with a long, smoky nish. Wonderful with rich red meat dishes. Our expert finds some treasures from wine regions that were once behind the Iron Curtain Illustration: Getty Images, Drink responsibly: waitrose.com/alcohol
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