Wine club's wine from Mount Etna with ash on the gritty label!

At the Bellavita Italian food and beverage show at the Business Design Centre, Angel, Islington, I stopped at a stand promoting wine grown on Mount Etna. The first surprise was that you could grow vines in volcanic soil. 

(My second double take was at the idea that anybody would want to risk working on the hillside, or risking their business, crop and workers. OK - just a passing thought. I didn't mention that, and nor did the man on the stand. The next surprise was that you could get decent tasting grapes. Or that you could operate machinery without throwing up ash or walk around in your boots without getting ash on your hands or sliding down the mountains.)

However, as one who delights in unusual stories, I was intrigued to taste the wine. (Since I like sweet sparkling wines, of which my favourite is Prosecco, I am not one to judge a red wine, unless it is sweet and fruity sickly aromatic, which most are not.) Yup - it was a dry red.

However, the final amusement was the label. They take the grey ash and add it to the label. It isn't just a grey colour. When you feel it, your fingertips or nails find bought surface like an emery board. If you want a talking point at a party, or something for the person who has everything, here's a novelty.

More about unusual and limited availability wines from the Bat and Bottle wine club.

Bat and Bottle

18D Oakham Enterprise Park

Oak well Road

Oakham

Rutland

LE15 7TU

email emma@batwinel.co.uk

Call 01572 759 735

Membership is free. Members receive a quarterly newsletter. They have two clubs Conspirators and Vini Curiosity. Members are offered

Conspirators - Cases costing £150 consisting of 4 different wines, (3 bottles of each). Members can choose from mixed, red or white.

Vini Curiosity Cases cost £159 and are made up of 6 different wines.

If a case consists of 12 bottles, you can see that each bottle is in the £10plus range, plus post and packing? If you are interested, call them or email them.

That seems to work out at £12.50 a bottle for the first case of 12. I don't know if that includes VAT and customs and post and packing.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Follow my blogs, link to me on LinkedIn, befriend me on Facebook, check out my books and buy them from Amazon and lulu.com