the vines are mine

January January February

April May May

David Perry of Shaftesbury Wines always spotted the potential of the patch of land behind his shop. Now he’s counting down the months to his first grape harvest

June July August

After 13 years, I’ve finally got a vineyard of my own

Ihave a little vineyard behind Shaftesbury Wines. Probably the highest in Dorset and almost certainly the smallest.

Why? Well, why not? We have a little courtyard space behind the shop. Beyond that there is a patch of land which was attached to the neighbouring shop. It had been left wild and overgrown for decades. It’s slightly sloping and south facing, with a high stone wall on three sides, and for 13 years I looked at it and thought, “I could plant a few vines there”. I could see an old vine trailing among the ivy at the bottom, too.

Last December the shopkeeper retired, and the shop was done up and re-let. We have the same landlord, so we flipped my fence and the land became attached to my shop.

I started clearing it in January this year, and in May put in 40 dry-rooted Bacchus. Why Bacchus? My daughter’s partner, Nick, has planted a few thousand vines for a client of his just down the road. They are on the edge of chalk lands so he planted a mix of Bacchus and Chardonnay. This year he had to buy a few more to fill

May

some gaps, and I had the spares. My soil is rich and loose, so it had to be Bacchus. (Bacchus gf1 on SO 4 op31, for the grape geeks.)

Those are the working vines. I also have a Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, Chasselas and a wild thing that looks like it should be Grenache, but these are more like pets. The old vine at the bottom is probably a Black Homberg that escaped from a greenhouse that was demolished 50 years ago the other side of the wall. It had looped and rerooted so is now three separate gnarly old vines.

There is now also a sizeable veggie plot which has provided me and a few local restaurants with all sorts of stuff: runner beans, courgettes, marrows, borlotti beans, tomatoes, kale, cauliflowers and, still to come, purple sprouting broccoli. It was a lovely summer, so I’d come in an hour early and potter before opening the shop.

It’s quite an education. When the Bacchus broke through the wax seals I had to choose the strongest shoot and cut off the rest. That took ages on my hands and knees – and there are only 40. Imagine thousands! It makes you realise just how much work goes into a bottle of wine.

All the new vines did very well. They are now going into the dormant phase following “veraison”: well, of the stalks anyway – no grapes for a while. In January I have the heart-breaking and back-breaking job of cutting them right back to the second bud and watching them start again, but by the end of next year the roots should be well established. In year three we might have a few grapes, which will go in with Nick’s 4,000 litres.

It’s such a shame that it took 13 years to get hold of the land. Next year I will be drawing my state pension. I suppose I should start to think about thinking about having to sell up, but not for a while. I want a few vintages first.

I don’t expect the little vineyard will add value to the business, but it might make it more attractive to someone one day. I hope they let me come and potter once in a while in my dotage.

August

A piece of Piemonte

The wines of Tacchino showcase everything that’s wonderful about the Alto Monferrato subregion. A group of independent merchants enjoy Dolcetto, Barbera and a sweet treat to round off a happy lunch

acchino is, arguably, the producer

Tof one of Italy’s finest Dolcetto wines. Du Riva has been awarded the exclusive Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri every vintage since 2008. This alone makes a Tacchino lunch, at Wilding in Oxford, an irresistible treat.

Located in Alto Monferrato, Tacchino has the cachet of being based in a still relatively unknown part of Piemonte. From here the business delivers fine, aged wines at prices that can still be described as good value.

Co-hosted by UK importer Bancroft Wines and export manager Romina Tacchino, the event is a fabulously convivial affair. Tacchino and Bancroft have been working together for 18 years, and there’s an easy confidence between the two that sets the tone for a fantastic tasting.

The focus is on the estate’s Linea Elite red wines – Barbera and Dolcetto – which are comparatively new additions to the Bancroft portfolio. Current vintages for both wines reflect seven or eight years of wine ageing, making them unique Monferrato offerings.

efore the wines, a bit of background.

BRomina and her brother, Alessio, are the third generation at the azienda. It was their grandfather, Carletto Tacchino, who purchased the land in the early 20th century. When he died, his wife was forced to sell off some of the land, to support the young family he left behind. Happily, 40 years or so later, his son Luigi was able to buy back these plots, and today the property extends to some 25 hectares, half of which are planted to vines.

Romina and Alessio have striven to show the potential of the Alto Monferrato and to shrug off the idea that they are in some way the poor relation to some of Piemonte’s more famous DOCGs.

Listening to Romina, it’s clear the approach at Tacchino is one of thoughtful innovation. They’re not reinventing the wheel; rather, using the resources at their disposal with care, and maximising the opportunities to shine at their brightest.

Romina says: “We are certain that our wines should be sold when they are ready to drink, and this means we are bringing to market wines that have several years of ageing.

“In my role as export manager, I have heard people saying that their wines needed to be aged for another two years before they would be ready for drinking. In my opinion, this is not correct … we should sell wines that are ready to be enjoyed now, and yes, with maybe the potential to keep for more years to come.”

Tacchino has challenged the Consorzio too, lobbying successfully for the use of screwcap on its (much enjoyed) Gavi di Gavi. Theirs was the first to use the closure in the DOCG. Romina is hoping to follow with screwcaps on the more entry-level Line Tralci red wines.

Alto Monferrato Serious wines come from special terroir and Romina talks about Alto Monferrato’s unique qualities. “Our vineyards are close to the Ligurian sea; maybe 20 miles or so, and we have cooling sea breezes. The calcareous-clay soils are mostly white and there is a good amount of minerality in them.”

These qualities, and the undulating topography, give a unique feel to the Barbera and Dolcetto wines that come from here.

“We should sell wines that are ready to be enjoyed now, with maybe the potential to keep for more years to come”

DOCG Dolcetto di Ovada

Superiore Du Riva A reference to Carletto Tacchino’s nickname, Du Riva is a Dolcetto with star quality. We are treated to both the 2014 and soon-to-bereleased 2015 vintages.

It’s 100% Dolcetto di Ovada, from south west facing vines, planted in calcareous-clay soils. The wine is aged in 550-litre tonneaux for about two years, depending on the vintage.

Everyone’s agreed that this is Dolcetto like they’ve never tasted it before. That

Romina Tacchino with winemaker Mario Ronco

the wine is released with such a significant amount of age is impressive, at the price. “This was the wine I preferred – which I wasn’t expecting – as I felt it had good fruit and a quite complex finish,” says Ted Sandbach of The Oxford Wine Company.

“The makers clearly understand the grape and what it can achieve. That the wines have been released late must contribute to their roundness and softness.”

Holly Salt of Hay Wines in Ledbury adds: “I think the Dolcetto is really interesting, and it’s not what people might expect if they’ve had Dolcetto before. It’s a handsell wine but if you got a customer who is engaged and happy to try something new, then I think that it would sell really well.”

There’s lots of nodding agreement about the need to put the wines in front of customers, and also that the Dolcetto di Ovada is very much a gastronomic wine. “It is a wine that is very good with food, but A slightly geeky look not something that is too heavy … perhaps, at Dolcetto – and what for example, agnolotti,” suggests Tacchino.

makes it so brilliant at

Tacchino DOC Barbera del Monferrato

Dolcetto may sound all sweetness and light, but it can be a fickle variety to grow and prone to reduction in the winery. It’s also a variety with many biotypes, and Tacchino considers itself fortunate to have plantings of the clone known locally as Nibiò (aka Dolcetto del Peduncolo Rosso, and no relation to Nebbiolo).

Nibiò has smaller bunches and berries than its relations, and yields more richly fruited wines with more tannic structure than you might typically associate with Dolcetto. This clone doesn’t necessarily ripen well in more northerly Piemonte, but it shines in Alto Monferrato. Albarola Albarola is 100% Barbera del Monferrato and, like the Du Riva, is aged for not less than two years in tonneaux.

There’s some chat at the table about whether the wines will age further, and as we get a chance to sample the 2011 against the 2014, the answer to the question is an emphatic yes. There is clear evidence of ongoing development, and the response to the wine is enthusiastic.

Razvan Barbulescu of Bristol independent Corks of Cotham says: “The Albarola Barbera wines were my favourites of the day, with both vintages showing great length, balance and well preserved fruit tones. I believe there is a good market for well-priced, ready-aged wines and good potential for these to be included [in our portfolio].”

As with Du Riva, Albarola is a food wine and has the structure to pair nicely with full-flavoured dishes and fattier meat dishes. Blue cheese or Toma Piemontese were also touted as potentially delicious pairings.

A refreshingly sweet finish It would be criminal to sign off without making mention of Tacchino’s DOCG Moscato d’Asti which wins fans as an aperitif, as it did with a fruit-topped crème brûlée. Lightly sweet and delicately sparkling, there was no doubting the wine’s potential appeal.

It is a happy gaggle of indies that spills out on to Oxford’s Little Clarendon Street as lunch and the tasting draw to a close. The credentials of Monferrato wines, and their ageing potential, are in no doubt.

Harvest time in Monferrato

Sponsored by Bancroft Wines Visit bancroftwines.com or luigitacchino.it for more information