Dinner Quadro on the 25th of June 2024

This month was my team’s turn and we decided that it was time for an all-white tasting event.  White wine Qatra tastings have historically had lower attendances as some members who realise that only whites will be served – from the choice of wine glasses – choose to cancel.  A couple of members do have health reasons to avoid the whites but others it is just a preference, perhaps considering white wines as not worth it.

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However, on the other hand we do have several members who look forward to a white wine pairing event and their preferences need to be catered for too.  my two fellow team leaders, Daniel and Nick are keen to add a white in the mix of reds during their months and consider white wines worthy of being part of our blind tasting as much as I do although I prefer to be more traditional and stick to the 4 reds or 4 whites formula – the advantages of having 3 different teams choosing the wines!

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The white wine chosen was a Vermentino.  This varietal is often overlooked when one considers quality whites where the kings and queens are the Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc varieties.  Even with the second rankers, this grape is not high on the list of most popular grape varieties.  Yet, this is a grape that is capable of producing delicately perfumed, smooth, dry wines with decent acidity even in our increasingly hot climate, especially giving its best when cultivated close to the sea being a typical coastal wine.

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The origins of Vermentino are not entirely certain, but traces of its cultivation dating from the 14th century have been found on the island of Corsica and in the Liguria region of Italy, meaning that it probably came from the Iberian peninsula. It appeared in Sardinia in the late 19th/early 20th century, being planted first in the north-east before becoming popular all over the island.

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My favourite was wine B which as the Meridiana Astarte closely followed by the Mesa Opale while members gave the lowest vote to the Astarte and highest to the Pala Stellato.  However, I think that all the wines represented well the variety and seeing from the high consumption this time one can conclude that although the votes were all slightly on the lower side, members had no problem quenching their thirst with them.

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As for the food provided by Quadro, this was the highest vote we recorded with even some 10/10 from some members.  The venue certainly did us proud this time and congratulations were forwarded to the management.

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Iro