Wine lovers this way – Indigenous wine tasting with Divino in Vino

‘Would you like to go to a wine tasting?’

To be honest, it would have been a shock to everyone if I’d said no.

That’s how, on a rainy and humid Monday evening, I found myself on a train journey to Hackney with the promise of wine and cheese with Divino in Vino in my future. I’m an easy woman to please, apparently.

After shaking the rain off our coats, we settled in. The night was comprised of a small group of us bloggers all gathered across a rectangular table at the famed Pidgin. It’s always such a treat going to events with these ladies as a chance to catch up when all of our busy schedules can allow it.

But onto the wine!

First of all, let’s not pretend that I’m a wine expert. I know what I like and that’s mostly all white wine. And what I don’t like? Honestly, it has to be red, But it’s only because I get a headache the next day in a massive way.

Being a group of fun loving wine drinking bloggers, on most occasions, we enjoy wine not because we have any knowledge of it, but because we like the taste. We like the fun part.

Our Divino in Vino host and sommelier for the evening, Silvia had her work cut out for her.

A little backstory for you about the workshop. Silvia set up Divino in Vino, From wine to wine, back in 2013, moving from Italy to the United Kingdom.

She didn’t scoff at our tasting notes either by the way. Highlights of mine include ‘really like this’ and ‘FAV’ along with ‘salty + nice’ because much like a bottle of wine, I’m also a complex individual.

In this particular workshop that we were invited to, we learned specifically about Indigenous wines. In case you didn’t know it, indigenous wines are local wines that are only available to that region. They actually aren’t and can’t be produced anywhere else in the world.

Interesting right? So it’s kind of like how you can only get true champagne, in the Champagne region of France.

The course of the evening with start with bubbles, progress into whites and finish with reds.

Our first wine of the evening, we tried the Titiana Brut, Pansa Blanca 2012, Alella – Spain. This wine was like a bubbly Prosecco, very yellow in appearance, including citrus herbal notes. In conclusion? ‘Really like this’. was my note. Brilliant. I am without a doubt, a wine visionary.

Wine tasting, we learned from Siliva is based upon Appearance, Nose and Palate. You can even take a look at the before set up of my tasting notes. And no, you won’t see what they looked like at the end of the night.

Following the brut, we moved onto my favourite wine of the evening.

Which no one else liked except Jasmin who was sat next to me. So we basically coveted this bottle the entire night. It was called the Eschenhof Holzer “Haide” Roter Veltriner 2015, Wagram – Austria. What a mouthful, right? A light yellow appearance and the scent of mushrooms and minerals… I couldn’t get enough. Simply ‘FAV’ was written in my conclusions section.

From there we tried another white wine before moving into the cheeses, which helped to complement our palates between white and red wine tastings.

And onto the reds. My judgement of red wines is even more limited than the white. So I listened to Silvia for guidance. And these reds were fantastic picks. We started with a Portuguese wine, followed by Spanish and finally, an Italian wine to finish. The Portuguese was ‘easy drinking + a good red’. I liked it very much for a red.

The other two were a bit stronger in taste. But it was lovely to end on an Italian wine of Silvia’s choosing.

Silvia hosts a variety of workshops across London. And yes, you too can get involved in them! For £25 per person, you’ll try 5-6 wines and learn about them over two hours. It’s definitely a fun relaxed environment where you can book in with your friends and learn more about wine in a comfortable setting. Questions are 100% encouraged, and predictably, we asked all of them.

Her next event? Perfect for the summertime, she’s hosting a wine tasting in the park! This tasting in particular will be about finding the perfect park wine to select for your outdoor meal. As well as tips on how to choose good wines in supermarkets. Maybe not like that discounted one under a fiver that always seems like a good idea.

In addition to her upcoming tasting, be sure to visit Silvia’s website to learn more about Divino in Vino and future bookings and workshops.

Thanks again to Silvia for a fabulous evening with great friends… and excellent wine.

Kelly xoxo