If the thought of wine tastings where it’s all sipping, sniffing and spitting are not for you, then you might like to try Salvo’s approach to tasting vino from Italy.
Every couple of months they put on a wine event in the Salumeria, three doors down from their Headingley restaurant. It’s a deli/cafe by day, spruced up with candles and flowers by night, but it retains its informality. The aim is to taste the wines in their natural habitat – ie alongside regional and often rustic food – and you get five generous glasses to try with grub to match.
A recent event showcased Sardinian wines from Cantina Santadi, a co-op, which like a lot of Italian wineries, has caught the wave of making artisan wines from indigenous varieties. You might not get to see these on the supermarket shelf, but it’s a chance to try something new.
Stars of the evening were the Vermentino de Sardagna, Villa Solais, an aromatic, effervescent, crisp white, matched with antipasti where it cut through and complimented the saltiness of the salamis and olives, and Carignano del Sulcis, Grota Rossa, a herby, supple red served alongside Porceddu, Cibuddau e Carciopattada – that’s roast suckling pig, with slow cooked onion, potato and artichoke to you and me. Delicious – and the remains of the opened bottles were shared out amongst the 30 or so guests at the end of the evening.
The wines are introduced by an expert from Salvo’s wine importers Enotria, who not only tell you about the wines, but also about the characters and history behind them. Catch Simon Chant and his hilarious, alternative views on Sicily if you can – dry it’s not.
At £42.50 per person, it’s not a bottom dollar evening, but the wines are always top notch, the food is fab and the atmosphere is jolly and generous. More…