The joy of La Gioiosa
Something light to get you through thsoe summer afternoons
I had started writing a piece about what makes a great wine, it was late at night and the heat was unbearable. To think of great wines, moderate or excessive in price, was impossible. All over Europe, I thought, wine aficionados would probably be thinking the same thing. Summer is undoubtedly the most challenging season for wine drinkers. As May and June give way to July and August, the range of agreeable wines grows increasingly limited. I am rarely inclined, for example, to reach for a warm, robust Ch?teauneuf-du-Pape or a mature Maratheftiko when the asphalt is melting, and while I wouldn’t turn down a glass of Haut Brion, I would much rather have it in November.
It is not just that our taste in wine is influenced by the weather. The way the wine tastes is also influenced by the weather. And that is the enemy of most high-end wines: it can kill them in the bottle (a wine exposed to excessive heat will often taste of baked or stewed fruit) and it can also ruin them at the table.
There are, however, a number of light, refreshing wines appropriate for summer, and many of them are dirt cheap. Ros?s, for instance, are getting some much-deserved play these days. Summer whites including local Xinisteri whites, Greek Moschofilero or France’s Loire Valley are places I generally turn to. Of course, there are days in any summer when the heat is so bad that wine is hardly worth the bother, and for such occasions there is a simple answer: beer or Gioiosa Italian wines from Veneto.
I stumbled across these wines at Gina’s Place deli in Kato Paphos. Salamis, ham and cheese can be pretty powerfully flavoured or they can be surprisingly delicate, so the ideal is to find a wine that has the right weight for your particular selection. La Gioiosa surprised us as a charcuterie partner. All of us know that red wines have a reputation of full body that is heavy, round and suitable for coldish weather. The sparkling wines are light enough for the hottest days and taste just as good, if not better, when chilled and they have more mouthwatering fruit than their white counterparts. La Gioiosa Rosso Frizzante – Italian for sparkling – is just that: blackberries, raspberries, cherries burst with flavour as the fizziness quickly disperses and the aroma dies down. Extraordinary as it may seem, the wine is served at 3?C in iced wine glasses.
La Gioiosa Venduzza (IGT) is a Vino Verde in disguise. This light but impressive wine causes taste buds to tingle with only the slightest of fizz. It is young, green and a lingering taste of gooseberry, grass and grape comes together with crispness that suits most types of summer food. Unlike the red, this is served at 8? – 10? C.
The ros?, Gioiosa Rosato-Frizzante, holds its own as the perfect drink that complements all summer fruit. The pale, coral-coloured sparkling wine is so prettily light that when you sniff it you are overwhelmed by the smell of strawberries. Once you take a sip, the first sensation is crispness, like a good apple, then the fruit takes over and, after swallowing, it leaves a welcome sensation to the mouth.
And there is a wine with lower alcohol content. La Gioiosa Bianco-Frizzante is delightfully herbaceous, appley and grapey with a mouthwatering taste – a terrific cooler and enlivener. Serve at 3?C so those beads of condensation start forming on the glass. And finally, the Gioiosa – Prosecco served in 20cl, screw-top bottles – small, easy drinking fizz, but impressive. Off dry, made from the Prosecco grape. On the nose it has flowery aromas and pear-drops, with crisp notes of freshly cut apples. The palate is lively and deliciously easy to drink, with a hint of intense sweet fruit, before a dry tangy finish that is flooded with gooseberry and grapefruit zest. With only 11% alcohol, it is an uncomplicated but delightful wine, ideal for a lunchtime aperitif or Sunday brunch. Remember, in mid September we can enjoy the ‘real’ stuff.
Wine of the week
2005 Ros? Kyperounda, Kyperounda Winery, Limassol Region, and Alcohol Volume 13.5%
Kyperounda winery’s ros? venture is a blend of Grenache Rouge and Syrah. Minas Mina, the Kyperounda winemaker, decided to experiment with these two grape varieties. On tasting the wine, I hope that Minas keeps experimenting as this wine is a sheer delight. Unfortunately, it comes on limited quantities. Pomegranate colour, it bursts with sweet cherry and juicy strawberry fruit, caramel with a peppery edge. A wine with good crispy acidity balanced with gentle sweetness, delicate and nicely made. A natural for sipping by itself on a hot summer day served at 11?C, its fruit and light sweetness will work with spicy diner salads and lighter meats or fish preferably cooked a l’ oriental.
