And here we have a Lily Kitten in her natural habitat…
But actually, I’m not just in any old bar, drinking any old wine. Today Veeno (not to be confused with La Vina!), a small independent wine bar in central Manchester are launching their new summer menu. Veeno specialise in wine tasting – and drinking! – with all wines sourced from heir family vineyard in Siciliy, esrved with traditional “spuntini” (appetisers) to compliment your drinks. So, to celebrate, I was given a sneak peak of their new menu last weekend.
I had never been to Veeno before so I wasn’t sure what to expect when they invited me over for some wine-tasting. Upon arrival, I was greeted by the two most welcoming and friendly Italian waitresses and made to feel right at home. My guest and I were taken over to a reserved table (note: wine casket) which had 5 bottles of wine on. Well, this looked like a good challenge to me!
Our waitress explained that we would be trying 5 types of wine, all sourced from Veeno’s family vineyards in Caruso and Minini in Sicily. She talked us briefly through the first three wines first, answering any questions we had in a lovely and approachable way. With such a strong accent, the whole experience felt very Italian, which is obviously exactly what Veeno are going for! Apparently the vineyard has been in their family for 4 generations and offers 5 different labels of wine, looking after the whole process from grape to finish – pretty impressive.
Shortly we were also brought out a spinning platter of traditional Italian Spuntini (appetisers). Our waitress instructed us to eat this in a clockwise motion, starting from the bread and olive oil, to coincide each appetiser with a certain taste of wine. I think this was a really nice touch, as it added a little some extra to the wine tasting experience. And we all know I love a good snack!
We tried two white wines, and then three red wines and were left to do so at our leisure: no pushy wines salesman stood over us the entire time! There was also no ‘spitting’ out of the wine, which quite frankly I always thought was a waste with other wine tasting experiences, ha. Instead, we were left a folder which told us all about the wines we were drinking, and the price should we decide to purchase one. I really liked the way this worked as it was more like a sophisticated bar experience, then your usual salesy wine tasting event.
Bottoms up!
Obviously the tasting of the wine itself was the best part. All of the wines were absolutely delicious and all had subtle differences, which our handy folder helped us to pick out. The servings were also pretty generous: 5 glasses half filled, which is much better than a shot-style amount.
My personal favourite of the wines with the Terre di Giumara Inzolia (that’s a mouthful!). It was the second white wine I tried and just felt so nice and warm?! Unfortunately I am not a wine connoisseur but trust me, you need to try it if you enjoy white wine. The wines were priced from £10 – £20ish if you decide to buy, which I think is a very reasonable price for a wine specialist. The wine tasting experience is £19.90 per person, which I don’t think is extortionate but I do think is a little expensive – perhaps if you also had more food it would be more justified.
After we tasted the five glasses of wine – a decent amount, not too much or too little – we were presented with the final wine to try. The 6th and last wine was a dessert wine, presented in a shot glass as apparently this was a lot stronger than the rest. It was also served with a traditional Italian Tiramisu to compliment it. This was the only wine that I couldn’t drink leisurely, but I fully accept that it was a lot stronger and that was reflected in how it was served. The Tiramisu on the other hand was fantastic. I wanna eat it all day erryday.
Over all, I had a pretty amazing time at Veeno Wine Tasting Manchester. I went not knowing what to expect, and left feeling pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t only the wine that was nice, the whole experience was just lovely. Our Italian waitresses were SO Italian, and the decor just looked Italian and the atmosphere was just the right mix between chilled and fun. Basically, it felt like I was actually in Italy for an hour or so sitting in a little wine bar in Sicily, when I hadn’t really left Manchester at all.
Full time I'm an ambitious Head of Marketing and Communications in the luxury industry. Part time, I'm an enthusiastic British Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle blogger and YouTuber from Manchester, UK. This blog has been my outlet for the past 7+ years, and as a longstanding, Award-winning blogger I take the most enjoyment from creating content I truly love and believe in. All authentic. Always.
