Ah, Wines from Amy Huberman
Wines from Ireland's darling
Disclosure: I was sent two bottles of Ah, Wines to sample, courtesy of Presence Plus. As always, I accepted without any obligation and all opinions remain my own.
I wish I could attend more wine tastings. I bloody love wine.
I can practically hear you sniggering at this. Let me clear up one thing right now. It’s not an excuse to get a little blotto. In fact, most professional wine tastings involve a lot of targeted spitting into a cardboard bin or a rather frothy spittoon. When you’ve got to taste 50+ wines in a session, you most certainly don’t want to get drunk.
The vast majority of trade wine tastings take place during daytime working hours. This absolutely suits people in the hospitality, wine and journalism worlds, but sadly doesn’t suit the likes of me who work full-time. As a result I regretfully decline a lot of invitations that otherwise would have me jumping up and down. And after a lot of declines, you simply don’t get invited anymore.
So therefore I was very grateful to receive two bottles of Amy Huberman’s new Ah, Wines to try at home. It did beg the question though of what the hell did the absolutely delightful petite national treasure that is Amy Huberman think she was doing in the world of wine?
Amy has teamed up with Shane Davey, Hugh Murray, Brian Fagan plus wine importers Barry & Fitzwillam to bring Ah, Wines to life. They work with Covinas, a cooperative of local farmers with vineyards in the heart of the Comunidada Valenciana in Spain.
So far, great story. Small farmers, cooperative, good vibes. So how did the wines stack up?
First up was the cava. Props straightaway to Amy for choosing cava over the more common celebrity favourite of Prosecco. Cava is made using the same method as champagne, granted from different grapes, resulting in a dry (less sugary) wine. This rosé cava (RRP €24.95) certainly looks attractive, and is very pleasant on the palate with lots of red berries and freshness.
Second up was the Sauvignon Blanc (RRP €17.95), an interesting grape choice for Spanish growers. At first sip, I got a hint of freshness, but it quickly dissipated leaving soft sweet fruits, such as pears and peaches, but lacking the acidity that makes a wine really zing. My take is that if you chill the f*ck out of this wine, it’s certainly very gluggable, especially with a group of friends in the sunshine.
Amy is without doubt a clever lady, having approached this venture from the perspective of the average wine consumer. The attractive label has space for you to write, perhaps to gift a bottle to a friend or to capture the high points of an evening. It’s cutesy and original. The wines are well chosen but not overtly challenging, instead geared towards fun with friends.
The biggest issue for me is the price point. Aldi and Lidl (plus others) have well-priced, quality cavas starting from around €13, while zippy, fresh Sauvignon Blancs are commonplace. The reality is that retailers will probably discount the wines as they do with many producers, and they could offer pretty decent value in that scenario.
All in all, the rosé cava is an inspired choice and well worth a punt at the right price.
"Chill the f*** out of it" oh dear, that had me laughing and feeling delighted sorry for the wine. And I'm not a fan of sauv blanc in any case.
Not buying those.