talkRADIO: Alternative White Wines for Spring

Whoohoo! It’s getting warmer! What better time then to try some alternative white wine grapes? Come on, you’ve had enough Sauvignon and Picpoul. Here are three grapes that deserve your attention and some lovely examples to seek out. Happy Thursday Club!

If you like Albarino, try… Assyrtiko

Assyrtiko is THE key white wine grape from Greece and it makes one of those super refreshing white wines that are slick and saline with zesty lemon and citrus notes but a riper, peachy fruitiness with it. The most famous region for it in Greece is Santorini and this one comes  from winery Artemis Karamolegos and is made with fifty year old vines. 

Find it for £14.95 at The Wine Society

If you like Viognier, try… Roussanne

Roussanne  is a white grape hailing from the Rhône Valley that produces powerful, nutty white wines with intense aromas and flavours of flowers, peach, pear and apricot, with baking spice. Exotic, oily and textural, this grape is the opposite of zesty, zippy Sauvignon. Traditionally used in blends like white Chateauneuf du pape, we’re now seeing more of it as a single grape wine. 

Find it for £6.79 at ALDI

If you like Gavi, try… Verdicchio 

Verdicchio is one of the finest white native grapes of Italy and the most important area for them in the the Marche region around Castelli di Jesi. This is an area with many medieval fortresses on many hilltop villages surrounding the central town of Jesi. This complex and crisp dry white is often called the White Barolo thanks to its fabulous ability to age. When young, it has lovely floral aromas and subtle notes of tropical fruit and a yeasty finish. 

Find it for £6 at Tesco

Want to know what else we’ve tasted on talkRADIO with Mike Graham for the Thursday Club? Click here!

Thursday Club with Talk Radio: A Pride Special... with Aidy!

Today’s Thursday Club is a little bit different and a little bit special because both Aidy and I are on with Mike Graham and we are celebrating Pride month with a few drinks!

We’ve chosen these companies today because they are all created by members of the LGBTQIA+ community and all of them give back in some way, so are well worth our support. We hope you like them as much as we do. 

Gays Who Wine

Gays Who Wine is a friendly community where the founders run a popup, gay wine bar offering wine tastings and great food pairings in welcoming, judgement-free venues around London, Brighton and Cardiff. While live events are on hold due to you know what, they have been creating some wonderful, at-home experiences. It’s more than a shop, it’s a whole community. Today, we’re test driving one of their monthly, ‘at home’ hampers, which comes with a couple of bottles of wine, cheese bread and snacks. Today’s wine is a South African, Pinotage (that’s the grape) rosé. It’s packed with ripe strawberry and melon fruit with a beautiful, biltong-esque bite.

10% of the profits go back to LGBTQ+ charities. Find their hampers, beers, wine cases and a whole new community at www.gayswhowine.com

LuvJus (4.8% ABV)

The hard seltzers in super smart cans are all-natural, low sugar low alcoholic craft-pop drinks. They currently come in two flavours: The yellow one, which is Pineapple, Mint, Korean Ginseng, Jasmine & Vodka and the red one, which is Blood Orange, Pomegranate, Korean Ginseng & Vodka. It all started back in 2016, when housemates George and Owen set off for their first international Pride experience and discovered a true celebration of a huge, new community. The wanted a way to bottle the experience having had the time of their lives, but not finding anything they wanted to drink amidst the sugary, expensive, unhealthy options and corporate brands jumping on the Pride bandwagon, so they spent the day discussing their ‘perfect' drink and came up with this. In keeping with the supportive nature of everything they encountered during that first Pride, a proportion of the LuvJus profits support LGBTQ+ charities and initiatives. It has also become a social platform for the community.

Find it at Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Amazon and their website £19.95 for 6 cans.

Ciroc Vodka

Celebrate Pride month with this exclusive hunapologetic Philip Normal x INKD CÎROC design. For the month of June, INKD will donating £5 from every bottle sold to the Albert Kennedy Trust, a charity working to tackle homelessness in the LGBTQ+ community. Each bottle sold in June will also get an exclusive free Philip Normal tote bag featuring the text “It’s vodka hun”!

Philip Normal is famous for his bold, characterful statements which he integrates into colourful designs. Inspired by the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community, this bold bottle is a true celebration of self-acceptance.  Choose from a variety of CÎROC flavor's and add your own message to make this exclusive Philip Normal bottle your own.

Get it here for £45

Chambord Liqueur

Yep, it’s the world’s favourite raspberry liqueur and with their brand new PRIDE edition they’re giving back to the community! A portion of proceeds from ever sale will go straight back to the Stonewall charity.

The sumptuous spirit starts its life as an infusion of juices from blackberries, raspberries and blackcurrants. They intertwine with a variety of fine French spirits over six weeks before being gently pressed.

Finally, this berry infusion is blended with all-natural black raspberries flavours as well as with a combination of exquisite XO Cognac, Madagascan vanilla, Moroccan citrus peel and delicate honey. Et voila!

The normal edition is available on Amazon and in Tesco for £23.99 for 70cl and the Pride edition is out in July!

Want to discover more LGBTQ+ led drinks brands? Check out this article.

Thursday Club with talk RADIO: Crémant

Today’s Thursday Club is all about Crémant: the French fizz made in the same way (the traditional method) as Champagne, but from other regions in France, using their local grape varieties. You can get Crémant from many regions around France, the most famous being Crémant de Bourgogne (Burgundy) Crémant de Loire, Crémant de Bordeaux, Crémant de Limoux and Crémant d’Alsace. 

Only French wines can be called Crémants and they offer fantastic value, considering they are made in the same time consuming method as Champagne, where wine needs to be aged on the lees (dead yeast cells) albeit for a shorter amount of time. Lees is what gives fizz its biscuity, brioche notes. 

Today, we’re looking at Bordeaux and Burgundy.

Calvet Crémant de Bordeaux, Brut NV

Fizz from the world’s most famous wine region has existed for centuries but it was only officially recognised as a style in 1990. They are often more aromatic and fruity than Champagne thanks partly to the grape varieties used and less time on lees. 

Grape varieties: Sémillon and Cabernet Franc

£10 from Tesco

Calvet Crémant de Bordeaux, Brut Rosé NV

This rosé is made with the famous red grapes of Bordeaux, so offers a structured, savoury pink style that’s ideal for food like cold cuts. Cracking value and on offer at the moment. 

Grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot

Find it for £10.39 from Ocado (down from £12.99)

Crémant de Bourgogne, Blanc de Blancs, Brut NV

The famous white grape of France’s Burgundy region (Bourgogne in French) is Chardonnay and in this case, ‘blanc de blanc’ means 100% Chardonnay, though other local grapes such as Gamay and Pinot Noir can be used. While Chardonnay is also the grape used in Champagne, the region of Burgundy is a bit warmer and so Crémant de Bourgogne is often a bit rounder with more fruit. Very easy going. 

Grape variety: Chardonnay

Find it for £10.49 Waitrosecellar on offer (down from £13)

Crémant de Bourgogne Brut Rosé, Simonnet-Febvre, NV

The red wines of Burgundy are famously made with Pinot Noir and this Crémant is made purely with this grape. Pinot Noir is also one of the main grapes of Champagne but from here in Burgundy, the pinks are much more fruity with notes of cherry and spice. 

Grape Variety: 100% Pinot Noir

Find it for £15.75 from Vinatis

See what else we have tasted on the Thursday club here, here and here!