Italy: North-West - White, including Gavi
2016 Gold: 2 Silver: 3 Bronze: 5 Commended: 2
2015 Gold: 3 Silver: 1 Bronze: 2 Commended: 5
The past couple of years look to have been pretty good ones for Gavi, and this year our teams were uniformly happy with what they were tasting. There was genuine enthusiasm at being able to pick the best of a good bunch for the Gold List, rather than, effectively, having the job done for them by a patchy selection with a couple of stand-outs.
With their soft flavours and delicate mouthfeel there’s plenty here for your customers to get enthusiastic about, whether you’re an Italian restaurant or not, and the more expensive wines here could be an interesting trade-up for those punters who come in looking for Pinot Grigio.
The Tenimenti Ca’ Bianca, which won a deserved Food Match Trophy, is particularly good for under £40 on a list.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘The Gavis were great. All were very well made, very fresh, and good value for money.’ Carlos Ferreira, The Sign of the Don
‘A very good standard. Gavi is classic in style, and only one was showing some oak. I think it’s a fashionable style, because it’s delicate, the aromatics are subtle and gentle on the nose, and there’s some nice minerality – good food wines.’ Angela Reddin, team leader
‘Gavis are easy to sell, the cheaper wines were very good for their prices, but you’d want more for your money at the more expensive prices.’ Roger Jones, The Harrow at Little Bedwyn
“These [Gavi] were very representative of the varietal. Though at the higher price points we didn’t always find the quality we expected.” Mahesh Nair, Charlotte Street Hotel
FOOTNOTE: Includes wines from Valle d’Aosta, Lombardy, Piedmont & Liguria.