DIT 2012

This week Ricco were at Lords Cricket ground; has Trevor (finally!) been discovered as the worlds greatest Cricketer? No...although he did once have a beard to rival that of W.G. Grace.

Daniele and Trevor

Instead, we were at the Definitive Italian Winetasting 2012 to showcase a selection of our fine Italian Wines to an audience of Restaurateurs, hoteliers, wine merchants and journalists. Joining Trevor and Owain was Daniele Manfrini of Cantine Podere Belmantello - an excellent producer from Northern Puglia.

An immediate impact was made by a new wine to our list, Podere Belmantello's 'Nerodise' - a sparkling Rose' from 100% Nero di Troia grape. Steven Spurrier of Decanter Magazine described it as "a very well-made wine" which was "clean, refreshing and uplifting". We would go even further and say that this is the finest sparkling wine we have tasted for a good while; a great aperitivo and very versatile with food.

Overall this was a very good day for Ricco and the other wines that caught the attention of the professionals included; Salapia, Pignoletto, Secondopasso, Cacc'e' Mmitte and the Albana Passito.

We were very happy to have been visited by a number of our clients; Jonathan from Shardana, Andres and Marie-Lou from the Purefoy Arms, Preston Candover along with Stephen Terry and Ben Bedell of the Hardwick, Abergavenny.


Later, we enjoyed an excellent supper with Stephen and Ben at the Galvin "Bistrot de Luxe" in Baker Street. The whole experience here was truly refreshing; the food, ambiance and service were excellent. A real pleasure (and an affordable pleasure!) well done "Bistrot de Luxe", Ricco will definitely be back.

Ricco Review - L'Intruso 2009

Queen's Jubilee Weekend - June 2012

A huge thanks to all that joined us at Ricco for our tastings last week, we had a busy weekend and really enjoyed your company.

As ever, the "Chloe" Spumante from Althea was very popular. The new vintage Pignoletto was also a real winner - a very food friendly white wine. The new "Lorenzo" Piemonte Cortese also received a very positive response; this is in every respect a Gavi, but cannot be named as such because it has a screwcap closure.

Going south into Puglia, the range of wines from Alberto Longo were universally enjoyed for their style and quality; in particular his "Le Fossette" Falanghina - a very impressive premium white wine from 100% Falanghina. A wine traditionally matched with seafood, white meat and fresh cheeses.

Something (almost) as popular as the wine was the arrival of Mark and Nicola in their classic Ferrari Testarossa, Mark would do anything to outshine Trevor in his Renault Kangoo van!

As for the reds, the wines of Petrigama continue to delight, the Rosato, Aglianico and Nero di Troia. Take advantage of our June promotion; 15% discount on this fantastic range!

Our new addition from Tuscany, the "Camponovo" 100% Sangiovese from Tenuta di Sesta - a wine of great character and drinkability, offering versatility with foods; salamis, steaks, roast meats, lasagne and young cheeses. Watch this space for other new wines from this excellent cantina.

Another new addition to our list is "Scassa" Barbera d'Alba Superiore from Grimaldi Bruna. An excellent example of Barbera with a great balance of fruit and rounded tannins.

To complete the weekend, the "Albana Passito" dessert wine proved popular for those indulging their waist-lines, no offence intended to the officers from Sandhurst who found this particularly appealing! For those needing to accommodate both chocolate and cheese, we advised the "Il Griccio" red dessert wine from 100% Syrah from Alberto Longo, well done Alberto!

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR RICCO'S EXCLUSIVO EVENINGS - DATES SOON TO BE ANNOUNCED.