World Cup of Wine Round Three

The final set of group matches saw Italy and Portugal crash out, and Luis Suarez bite an opponent for the third time in his career. Sadly, these will be the last Italian, Spanish, and (less surprisingly) Australian wines of this World Cup, but the next blog will feature the first Argentinian wine as well as beers from Belgium and the USA.

Spain v Australia

Spain: I'm never going to stop banging the sherry drum, as I firmly believe it's the greatest drink in the world: for variety of styles, value for money, and sheer quality, there is no other drink that can rival it. Its problem is that it's not well understood, and drinkers are easily put off by their lack of knowledge of what sherry actually is. In a nutshell, sherry is a fortified, usually dry, wine that spends a long time ageing in permeable old oak casks; the style of sherry depends on how long the wine has spent ageing. Fino and manzanilla are young, delicate, and fresh; amontillado a little older and rustier in colour; oloroso older again, darker, with lots of dried fruit character; palo cortado a complex wine that combines the fresh nuttiness of amontillado with the mature aromas of oloroso; Pedro Ximenez is made from grapes that have been dried to the point of raisins, making the wine intensely sweet. Simple, right?

Valdespino Manzanilla Deliciosa En Rama (c.£12 for a half bottle)

I had an accident this week: I broke a bottle of this wine in the back of the shop van. It's painful to think of such a waste, but the van smelt so beautiful. Manzanilla is very similar to fino, but the wine has to have been aged in the coastal town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda which gives it saltier qualities. This manzanilla, from one of sherry's most historic producers, is classic: fresh, delicate, yet with a woody structure from 5-6 years' ageing, with aromas of apples, salt, and almonds.

Australia: Australia too has a long history of making fortified wine, though it makes far less than it used to. Both "sherry" and "port" have long been made, although those names cannot be used for wines sold within the EU - red fortified wine, often from Shiraz, is instead called "Tawny." Its most famous fortified wine is Rutherglen Muscat, from the hot inland town of Rutherglen in Victoria. Like sherry, it's aged and blended in a solera system, and like Madeira, it ages in hot conditions, together creating a rich, intensely sweet wine quite different from any other.

Stanton and Killeen Rutherglen Muscat, 12 years old (£16 for a half bottle)

Australians refer to their sweet fortified wines as "stickies," which is the perfect term for this mature, lusciously sweet, treacly, Christmassy wine. An ideal accompaniment to Christmas or sticky toffee pudding.

wine result a thrilling contest between two of the world's great fortified wines. Spain just comes out on top, as the Muscat is just so richly sweet it demands the further indugence of a pudding. Spain 4-3 Australia

actual result with both teams being eliminated and Australia missing their star player, Tim Cahill, this was a rather one-sided and inconsequential match. Spain 3-0 Australia

Italy v Uruguay

Italy: besides being home to some of the most famous wine names in the world, such as Valpolicella, Chianti, and Barolo, interesting wines from non-Italian varieties are being made in Italy. Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot (both cheap and higher quality) are found in the Veneto region in the north east, Pinot Noir (or Nero) in the Alto Adige, and Merlot in Lazio around Rome.

Marchesi di Grésy Monferrato Merlot 2007 (c.£20)

Marchesi di Grésy is one of the top producers in the Piemonte region of Barbaresco, and they also make this exceptional wine from Merlot in the small DOC of Monferrato, a hilly area where non-Italian grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are grown. This wine has spent several years in old oak casks to mature, only released when ready to drink. It has a lovely balance of oak and fruit, with sweet spices and dried fruits coming through too. For such a good wine, this is great value.

Uruguay: the fourth-largest wine-producing country in South America, with much of its exports going to neighbouring Brazil. There's a strong Italian influence, which is why many growers are small farmers, as well as from the Basques, who introduced the Tannat grape to the country in the 1870s. More than a third of plantings are of Tannat, a grape which, as it name suggests, is high in tannins and is found in Madiran, in south-west France. The wines produced are quite different, however: whereas Madiran is heavy in tannins and ages over many years, Uruguayan Tannats are softer and fruitier, and drunk younger.

Alto de la Ballena Tannat-Viognier 2011 (c.£20)

A very unusual blend of Tannat and Viognier, a white grape which is used in the northern Rhône and Australia to soften and give fragrant aromas to Syrah. It performs a similar function here, with floral, perfurmed aromas overlaying the spicy oakiness.

wine result two high-quality wines offering power with a touch of finesse. A close victory for the Italians, with just a touch more sophistication and maturity. Italy 3-2 Uruguay

actual result a bitty game won by Uruguay, which saw them qualify from the group at the expense of Italy but will be remembered more for Luis Suarez's actions than the football. Italy 0-1 Uruguay 

Germany v USA 

Germany As mentioned in the first round of matches, Germany may not be particularly known for its red wines, but it produces high-quality Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder). The grape, which in Germany produces generally earthy, gamey wines, is grown in the regions of Rheingau to the west of Frankfurt (particularly around the wonderfully-named village of Assmannshausen), sunny, dry Pfalz near the border with Alsace, and Baden in the Black Forest, Germany's warmest and most southerly region.

Franz Keller Spätburgunder Ahr 2011 (c.£20)

An earthy, smoky, spicy wine from Baden, with red cherries and plums, which goes well with hearty meat dishes. Franz Keller is a family-run winery that's been making wines for several generations, and also owns several highly-regarded restaurants in the area, including the Michelin starred Schwarzer Adler. Matching this wine with the local food in the beautiful surroundings of the Black Forest would certainly be a heavenly experience.

USA the region of the USA most known for Pinot Noir is Oregon. Until the 1960s, virtually no wine had been made in the state, but a small number of intrepid oenologists started wineries in Willamette Valley south of Portland during the decade, including David Lett, a young student and avid fan of the wines of Alsace and Burgundy and convinced that Willamette Valley had the ideal conditions for the same grapes. His 1975 Pinot Noir was entered into a competition in Paris in 1979, where it performed so well that Joseph Drouhin, a noted Burgundy producer, invited Lett to enter the wine into another, more formal competition in Beaune in 1980, where it came second. All of a sudden, this unknown state became the centre of attention for Pinot Noir lovers.

Domaine Drouhin Cuvée Laurène 2010 (c.£40)

Drouhin was so impressed by the Pinot Noirs being produced in Oregon that he persuaded his daughter Véronique to visit there, where she became winemaker at the newly-established Drouhin Oregon off-shoot in 1987. Oregon is the one New World region that makes Pinot Noir comparable in style to Burgundy, as this wine proves: red fruits, integrated oak, an earthy nose, a gamey texture, and plenty of ageing potential.

wine result two exceptional wines, but the quality, longevity, and class of the Drouhin wins the day. Germany 2-4 USA

actual result another close run thing, the US competing gamely, but Germany's class was ultimately too much. Germany 1-0 USA

in the next blog, the competition expands to include the beers of Belgium and the USA, as well as featuring Argentina v Switzerland.