The best festive fireside fizz.
Only one language has a term for wines intended to drink slowly, thoughtfully, without food – and it isn’t French.
The term vino da meditazione was coined by Italian wine writer Luigi Veronelli to represent, in his words, wine that is ‘very complex and unusual… that should be enjoyed on a long winter evening, sip by sip, by the fire.’
Italians tend to conjure broad, aged and complex reds in this scenario: Amarone and Brunello, deep and dark and brooding.
Red wine is having a bit of an identity crisis, however. Even in Italy it now only represents 37% of the market, down from close to half at the turn of the 21st century, according to industry analysts OIV.
Perhaps a general desire for wines with lower alcohol is at play; sink into a bottle of Amarone at 16% alcohol, and it’s not just the fire doing the warming, after all.
Lower-alcohol reds don’t often seem to cut it, though – they’re wines for the beginning of things (meals, parties, days), but not the end. If you’re deep in meditation over the ebbs and flows of life itself – but also mindful of tomorrow’s 7am start – perhaps a Champagne, full of complexity but sneaking in at 12.5%, could fit the bill?
Blanc de noirs Champagne: Warming, savoury and wintery
Blanc de noirs Champagnes – meaning literally white from black – are the region’s boldest, broadest wines, made only from the black grapes Pinot Noir
