Saturday 1st June 2024 at 5.00pm : "A Taste of Italy with Jack from Gusto Wines" with Sally & Peter in Rustington

Wine List

1. 2022 Greco do Sannio, Fremendo; Campania, Italy; Greco grape; 12% abv; £10.49 per bottle (£11.99 per bottle retail)

Gusto Notes: This dry white wine has a strong straw yellow colour. The fruity nuances increase progressively leaving a well-balanced, pleasant and refreshing finish.

2. 2022 Carlomagno Fiano IGP; Puglia, Italy; Fiano grape; 12.5% abv; £9.49 (£10.99 retail)

Gusto Notes: Straw yellow shot with green; very full and intensely fruity on the nose with exotic fruit such as melon and banana, featuring hints of citrus reminiscent of grapefruit. On the palate it is very well-balanced, with a good acidity, backbone and length.

3. 2020 Cortese Vanedda Bianco Terre Siciliane IGP Organic; Sicily, Italy; Catarratto Grillo Grape;13.5% abv; £15.99 (£19.99 retail)

Gusto Notes: Clear and golden yellow in colour. Above medium fullness and acidity, vanilla from oak barrels, light tannins, honey notes and a little spice. Long aftertaste. Serving recommendation: oysters, scallops, blue mussels, crustaceans.

4. 2019 Nostru Carricante IGT Terre Siciliane, Azienda Agricola Cortese Organic; Sicily, Italy; Carricante grape; 12.5% abv; £12.99 (£14.99 retail)

Gusto Notes: Rediscovering precious grape varieties from Sicily’s rich past. With a big personality and distinctive minerality this is a memorable white.

The Cortese story is fascinating. A sprawling vineyard in the Ragusa region of Southern Sicily, it was previously owned by the locally infamous matriarch Giovanna Cortese. As Signora Cortese reached an age where she was no longer able to manage the land anymore, she decided to sell to Italian wine legend Stefano Girelli in 2016 who immediately set about transforming it. While modernising in some ways, he decided to keep all the very old vines of unusual varietals and even began to use ancient wine-making techniques such as fermentation in terracotta. the result is a unique and interesting range of artisanal wines that are truly representative of the Terre Siciliane.

Carricante, usually synonymous with the white wines of Mount Etna. Winemaker Stafano Girelli thinks it also works further south on the island, where it’s grown at an altitude of around 400 metres, and he’s right.

This organic dry white wine has pretty aromatics of peach, apricot, stewed apple, citrus and blossom. There’s a brisk acidity on the palate, with fresh notes of green apple and yellow citrus. A clean and mineral style, made with precision.

5. 2019 Santa Tresa Cortese Boscopiano Frappato, Siciliane; Sicily, Italy; Frappato Grape; ??% abv; £10.99 (£52.49* retail)

* This wine MAY be mispriced per bottle on the Gusto web-site - ed.

A niche product, made with organic grapes from a single one-hectare vineyard, planted in 2005 in the Bastonaca district. We are in Vittoria, in the province of Ragusa. This is where Boscopiano 2019 was born, from the Cortese farm, one of the two wineries (the second is Santa Tresa, both of which produce only vegan wines) where Stefano Girelli together with his sister Marina Girelli – a Trentino family that has been in the world of wine – about twenty years ago he invested in Sicily. A “land touched by God”, as described by the entrepreneur born in the Dolomites. The Frappato grapes are harvested by hand late, in the first ten days of October, and kept in a cold room for one night. Another peculiarity is the fermentation and subsequent rest of the wine in amphorae until the following harvest, for about a year.

Then, after the assembly between the different amphorae, it is transferred to steel. Boscopiano Frappato Terre Siciliane Igt 2019 is a wine outside the box and, at the same time, of great tradition and craftsmanship. At sight, it has the typical color of the vine, ruby red with splendid purple reflections. The nose is a riot of red fruits, spices, flowers, cream, orange, almond, and then notes that bring you back to the Sicilian sea, in a combination of great finesse and depth. In the mouth it is remembered for its notes of ginger and blood orange, for a soft and very long sip. ruby red with splendid purple reflections. The nose is a riot of red fruits, spices, flowers, cream, orange, almond, and then notes that bring you back to the Sicilian sea, in a combination of great finesse and depth. In the mouth it is remembered for its notes of ginger and blood orange, for a soft and very long sip. ruby red with splendid purple reflections.

6. 2020 Santa Tresa Carasuolo di Vittoria Classico DOGC; Sicily, Italy; 40% Frappato, 60% Nero d'Avola grapes; 14% abv; £13.99 (£15.99 per bottle)

Gusto Notes; 60% Nero d’Avola, of which 15% is lightly dried on the vines, using the Appassimento method. 40% Frappato.

60% Nero d’Avola, of which 15% is lightly dried on the vines, using the Appassimento method, 40% Frappato.

A ruby red colour, with violet flecks. On the nose, there are notes of morello cherries, and caramel. The palate is mouth-filling, with excellent structure, soft tannins and a long finish.

7. 2021 Passo del Cardinale Primitivo di Manduria, Paololeo; Manduria, Italy; Primitivo grape; 14% abv; £13.49 (£15.49 retail)

Gusto Notes: With a deep ruby color and a pronounced bouquet of black berries, mainly cassis and black currant, with notes of licorice and coconut.

This is a full-bodied and balanced red with velvety tannins and a perfect acidity; lingering finish of forest fruits and spices jam.

Primitivo grapes ripen very early, which explains its name. Interestingly, just 20 days after the harvest, Primitivo vines produce new grapes, traditionally called “second harvest”; these younger bunches are used by the winemaker to increase the freshness and acidity of these bold wines, given as a result a perfectly well-balanced red wine.

8. 2019 Marchese Di Borgosole, Salice Salentino Riserva DOC; Puglia, Italy; Negroamaro, Malvesia Nera grapes; 13.5% abv; £5.99 (£10.99 retail)

Gusto Notes: This Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera blend from Puglia is a deep maroon colour. Notes of cherry and plum pronounced oaky tones and a light spicy peppery zing at the finish.

9. 2015 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG Carismante; Tuscany, Italy; Sangiovese grape; 14% abv; £44.99 (£52.99 retail)

Gusto Notes: After a meticulous green harvest the grapes are collected in small boxes, cooled overnight and then checked on a double sorting table. Fermentation takes place in small steel tanks. After maceration on the skins, the wine is transferred to French fine-grained oak barriques from the best selection where malolactic fermentation takes place. It rises in barriques “sur lies” for 24 months. After bottling, it ages in glass for at least 12 months before being placed on the market.

Wine of extraordinary varietal identity, balanced, intense, rich and complex with fruity notes of small red and black fruits and undergrowth, pleasantly spiced with light hints of tobacco and boisé. Full, fine and balanced taste with silky, dense and voluminous tannin. Juicy and balanced with a fresh acidity that extends into long and persistent fruity, floral and spicy notes. Deep and elegant finish.

10. 2020 Recioto della Valpolicella Classico Doc 'Le Arele', Lonardi (50 cl); Veneto, Italy; Corvina, Croatina, Rondinella grapes; 14% abv; £ 25.99, (£30.49 retail)