Spectator Wine

Italy’s victory over Scotland in last week’s Six Nations Rugby provoked much merriment in our house. Our Scottish chums watching with us were stunned into grumpy silence, and the grumpier they got, the funnier this seemed. It took many bottles to restore their good humour.

Said bottles were all Italian, of course, courtesy of Honest Grapes, and here are our collective favourites. The multiple random chasers of single malt whisky, though, were neither big nor clever.

The 2022 Giuliana Vicini Pecorino (1) from Abruzzo, halfway between Pescara and Ortona, is a crisp, lively white made from 100 per cent Pecorino. This indigenous grape has nothing to do with the cheese of that name, other than the fact that some locals reckon it’s so-called thanks to it being a favourite snack of the sheep (pecora in Italian) that used to graze hereabouts. Produced by Chiara Ciavolich, whose family have tended vines here for over 500 years, it’s hand-picked, steel-fermented and bottled unfiltered, and makes a tasty choice for those bored by Sauvignon Blanc. £11.70 down from £12.70.

Honest Grapes have long championed these wines and I’d be astonished if you didn’t love them too

The 2022 Alcesti Edesia Grillo (2) from near Marsala, in the far west of Sicily, is another easy-going white that is perfect for spring. Made from old vine, organic Grillo, handpicked from two vineyard sites – one in the cool of the hills and one on the coast fanned by sea breezes – the wine has a delicious freshness to it, a hint of citrus and touch of garrigue herbs. £12.80 down from £13.80.