Wannabe Wino

When I went to visit my parents over July 4th, we stopped in at Branford Wine and Spirits. Jay, the owner, was asking me what kinds of Italian reds I like, and I mentioned how much I had enjoyed several bottles of Negroamara last winter. He pulled out this bottle and sent it home with me to try.

We drank this on its own the other night, the 2006 Tormaresca Neprica. The wine is a blend of 40% Negroamara, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 30% Primitivo. It clocks in at 13% alcohol by volume, has a real cork closure, and appears to run between $10-$15.

On the nose I found chocolate covered cherries, cherry cordials, currants, wood, choclate, and licorice. The nose had a bit of heat, which was odd at 13% alcohol, but it blew off quickly. The mouth showed cherries, raspberries, herbs, bitters, and licorice. The flavor had that nice bitter quality that draws me to the Negroamara grape. Overall, the wine was smooth, integrated, and well balanced. Very food friendly, certainly helps continue my affair with Negroamara!

The wine for the evening was a 2007 Albino Armani Pinot Grigio. I picked this wine up at Total Wine and More, even though it was more than my $10 limit when I'm there. However, I tasted it while there and figured I'd bring a bottle home. The bottle clocked in at 12.5% alcohol by volume, had a real cork closure, and cost me $18.

On the nose I found vanilla bean, lemon, pineapple, starfruit, and citrus. In the mouth I got citrus, lemon, and peach. There was also a hint a cream. The wine was light, lively, and had great structure.

I'm not normally a Pinot Grigio fan, I tend to find on the lower end of the price structure that they are fairly flabby and uninspiring. So I was thrilled to find this one, which, with an $18 price tag is still in the budget and delivers a lot of bang for the buck. I'd definitely get this one again.

*Disclaimer: I received this bottle of wine as part of a blogger trial of Bottlenotes.

The bottle was a 2006 Catello Banfi Le Rime Chardonnay-Pinot Grigio. I can't say I have ever seen such a mix before, but I was intrigued and couldn't wait to try it. In fact, delinquent blogger that I am, I tried this wine months ago and simply let the notes get lost among the now well over 500 posts on Wannabe Wino.

The wine hails from Tuscany, clocked in at 12% alcohol by volume, and can be purchased from Bottlenotes for $10! I don't think the wine saw oak, though I did see some creamy tendencies in it...maybe it went through a little malo or it's just the influence of the Chardonnay?

On the nose I found creamy vanilla, lemon, tropical fruit, and pineapple. The nose was very light, and it took some serious sniffing on my part to tease out some flavors. In the mouth the wine was crisp and light, it showed a little lemon, peach, pineapple, and tropical fruit. I sort of expected it to be oaky after the creamy nose, so the crisp mouth feel really surprised me. This was an interesting bottle, and for the price, definitely something to be tried for the novelty of the blend.

Can you guess who took this picture? :)

The wine was a 2005 Siema Rosso Vino da Tavola by Lodali Winery from Piedmont. Sorry, I seem to have not taken a picture of this one. The wine clocked in at 12% alcohol by volume and cost me $8!!!! at The Winery in Old Town Alexandria. It's a blend of 50% Barbera and 50% Dolcetto. I believe I took more notes on this wine than almost any other red wine I've had in recent memory. I'm still shocked at the layers and depth in this little $8 bottle of wine. What I should have done was go buy the rest that The Winery had because this was simply an amazing value.

The nose showed smoke, leather, a little barnyard, red berries, and red currants. It kept opening up as the night progressed and the smell was amazing. In the mouth the wine was red and earthy. I found red berries, red currants, earth, leather, a smoky characteristic, and more red fruit.

This was just an absolutely fabulous deep wine with layers of flavors. Everyone loved this one at our dinner party. I served it with homemade pizza, and in addition to everything else, the wine was wonderful with pizza! The smoky flavors were perfect for the cheese and pepperoni covering the pizza.

The wine for the night was a 2005 "La Colombaia" Valpolicella Ripasso. I'm scratching my head to figure out where this one came from. Apparently I paid $18.99 for it, which leads me to believe that perhaps it came from the Winery in Old Town Alexandria. It had a real cork closure, clocked in at 14% alcohol by volume, hails from Italy, and is made from Merlot.

The nose of the wine showed raisins, currants, spices, plums, earth, and cherries. In the mouth I found tart cherries, raisins, earth, and spice. After a little while a touch of plum showed through. The wine continued to open up in the glass, showing a lot of depth. This was an easy drinking wine, very yum, and incredibly food friendly. A quick search reveals you can find it online for about $15.99.

Our assignment for the first edition of the Wine Book Club (WBC) came from David of McDuff's Food and Wine Trail. He tasked us with a book longer than any I have read in the last 5 years, unless you count Harry Potter and law school case books. Yes, this makes me less than intellectual, but honestly, I don't have much of an inclination to read any more. I got tired of it to be truthful, and I still read so much for work, that the thought of picking up a long book when I get home just doesn't appeal to me. I clearly read a bit, I've reviewed a few wine books here for you before, and will continue to do so as I get more from PR people and publishers (in fact, I've got one for you soon, I read half on the plane to Atlanta and intend to finish is Friday on the way home!). So I must say, I was actually quite glad when Dr. Debs proposed the idea of a wine book club. Like other wine geeks, wine books pile up on my shelves, and I really should get around to them!

With that in mind, I picked up this month's book, Vino Italiano, by Joseph Bastianich and David Lynch, and got to reading. It's 531 pages including all indexes and appendices. It took me the whole assignment time, but I did it.

First thoughts: The organization, especially with the appendices and indexes, makes this the ideal reference book on Italian Wine. You can find anything about Italian wine that you never thought you wanted to know instantaneously. Each chapter has a handy guide at the end giving the quick and dirty on the region, the principle grapes, key vintages, etc. I found the guides to be one of the most useful parts of the book, if you aren't inclined to read it in its entirety, and trust me, I'd be the last to blame you for that one, you can easily flip to the guides and get a fast overview of the region, which can assist you in deciding if the chapter is one that will intrigue you or not. I see myself turning to this book both as a reference in the future, and for more knowledge on particular grapes and regions.

Second thoughts: The stories at the beginning of each chapter kept me going to the next chapter, even when I felt a little bogged down in the weeds. They were fun and charming tales of a slice of life in each region, and I salivated over some of the food described, while feeling a bit repulsed by other "delicacies."

Third thoughts: The book contains so much information, that it's hard to digest all at once, and I think perhaps the pick and choose as you are interested in a region approach might be the best in tackling this book.

Fourth thoughts: Italian wines and varietals were on my list this year of things to learn about. So really this was a perfect book for me to read. I dove in, and was again astounded by the sheer volume of types of Italian wine. But alas, I came away a touch disappointed as I learned that many of the very small production local grapes are just not available here in the US. I guess that cements my desire to make our next BIG vacation to Italy...it'll satisfy the classical historian in Matt and my desire to drink lots of Italian wines and gorge myself on priscutto drizzled with fresh pressed olive oil....::drifts into a daydream of cheese, cured meats, and wine::

And ultimately, that's where Vino Italiano left me: hungry (thirsty?) to try more Italian wines (and cured meats), and to continue referencing the book to learn more as I am drinking. Which, I think might be my next adventure. Pick a chapter, find a wine from that region, and drink the wine while learning about the region.

Thanks to David for hosting this month and to Dr.Debs for the WBC idea!

I picked up this bottle of 2006 Ruvei Marchesi di Barolo Barbera D'Alba at The Winery in Old Town, Alexandria for $18.99 minus a 10% case discount. It clocked in at 13% alcohol by volume and had one of those terrible plastic cork closures.

On the nose I found cherries and leather. The nose was sweet with spicy undertones. In the mouth I got flavors of dark cherry and spice. The wine was lighter in the mouth than other Barbera's that I've had. It didn't have as much going on as similarly priced bottles either.

It was a nice quaffing wine, but look for other bottles in the same price range that offer a better value.

Literally, I have no idea. I usually write these things down, but it had no price tag on it, which makes me think it didn't come from The Winery. I think perhaps my brother gave it to me for Christmas, I know he gave me two bottles of wine, but I have several Italian reds of unknown origin, and I don't remember which one was from him! See, I told you I'm losing my mind!

Anyway, the wine as a 2003 Camp' du Rouss Coppo Barbera D'Asti. It looks like you can find it for about $18 online, it clocked in at 13.5% alcohol by volume, and had a real cork closure.

The wine had a deep and bitter nose. It showed a little barnyard funk, but it blew off quickly. A little fruit, but it comes and goes, raspberry, blackberry, and dark cherry. The nose was leathery, very leathery. In the mouth, I found red raspberry, a little spice, and leather on the back of the palate. Overall the wine was smooth, a tiny bit tannic at the finish, but well integrated. The flavors were dominated by the leather. For around $18 I think this is a good value for a Barbera.

Wine: 2005 Carpineto Dogajolo Dry Red Table Wine
Cost: About $12 at The Winery
Alcohol Content:13%
Closure: Real cork
Locale: Tuscany, Italy
Blend: 80% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon

Many thanks to Andrew of Spittoon who is hosting this iteration of WBW, with the theme "Just Seven Words." Andrew asked us to choose an Italian red, any Italian red, and put our tasting notes into just 7 words that are grammatically correct.

My 7 words:

Riding horses through eucalyptus and berry fields.

After my last post on Montepulciano, Tasters A and B of Smells Like a Grape were quick to email me and assure me that there are excellent Montepulcianos out there, as they had just done an enormous tasting of them. Little did they know that I rarely (if ever) fully fall off the horse with a wine grape and will almost always give it another shot. As I had already done with the Montepulciano, with much more success.

The bottle was a 2005 Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. It has a real cork closure, clocked in at 13% alcohol by volume, and ran me around $15 at MV Wine and Spirit in Madison, CT.

On the nose I found spice, leather, raspberries, oak, red currants, a little saddle room, and eucalyptus. In the mouth I found raspberries, eucalyptus, and leather. The wine was a lot lighter in the mouth than I had anticipated based on the color and nose, and had the bitter element I have come to expect from Italian varietals.

This bottle definitely leads me to believe that my previous bottle of Montepulciano must have been flawed in some way, either it was too old or perhaps it got cooked along the way.

As we know from some past WBWs, the world is full of Bubbly that is not Champagne. One of my favorites for value and quality is Prosseco from Italy. I also love it for its low alcohol content.

This bottle was a Mionetto Valdobbiadene Prosseco Brut. I picked it up at MV Wine and Spirits in Madison, CT for $10.95 (I see it online for between $13-$20), it clocked in at 11% alcohol by volume, and had a typical sparkling wine closure.

On the nose I found green apple, honey, and and overall "fruity" aroma. In the mouth the wine has apples, peaches, and lemons. The wine had nice bubbles, it was crisp, and tart. This was a fun and easy sparkler and an excellent value!

The wine was a 2004 La Valentina Montepulciano D'Abruzzo (Sheesh, these Italian varietals are often a mouthful!). It clocked in at 13.5% alcohol by volume, had a real cork closure, and cost around $13 at MV Wine and Spirit in Madison, CT.

An unforgiving nose on this one. Some barnyard funk (not in a good way) when I opened the bottle that eventually blew off, but underneath that, there was not much there. Maybe some spice, oak, and currants. In the mouth, the wine was flat, I'm wondering if it was past its prime. I got some indistinguishable dark fruit, spice, but overall it seemed hollow. After a few hours, I found some dark cherry and raspberries, and the wine had finally started to open up. I found it to be terribly bitter and tannic at the beginning, but that gave way a bit as the hours passed (my mom and I drank this bottle and it literally took over 4 hours for us to get through it).

I'm not sure if the wine was too young or too old, but something wasn't quite right here.

and coming! The Italian Reds you see....but you can't say I didn't warn you! I've been very interested in the Italian reds since the WBW-Go Native theme, and picking them up in my mixed cases has now become routine.

The wine was a 2005 Le Volte Ornellaia Toscana. I picked it up as a replacement to the David Bruce Petite Sirah that was corked at my WBW blind tasting. It cost $24.99 minus a 10% case discount, had a real cork closure and clocked in at 14% alcohol by volume.

On the nose I found blackberry, sandalwood, leather, and pepper. I could also smell spice, but the nose was very dark. It also smelled a little syrupy on the nose. In the mouth, the flavors were cherry and blackberry. Those nose was much more complex than the mouth. The wine was bitter, but oddly a little sweet, and quite tannic overall. It was different than any other red I've had and it was lighter in the mouth than I expected.

Jack and Joanne of Fork and Bottle are our kind hosts for this edition of WBW, the brainchild of Lenn of Lenndevours. The task they set us to for this month was to find a white wine from Friuli, any white we wanted. Though they suggested that we spend $18 or above or else we might be disappointed in the wine we chose.

This was a difficult assignment for me. I checked our usual local haunts and had not luck. Three or four stores, and I didn't turn up a single bottle! I was getting desperate when we went to my parents' in CT for the holiday. Fortunately, I accompanied my dad to his local wine store, and there on the shelf was one single bottle of white from Friuli! (There was a red to, but that didn't fit this WBW!)

The wine I finally found was a Livio Felluga 2005 Tocai Friulano. I purchased it at MV Wine and Spirit in Madison, CT, it cost $27, had a real cork closure and clocked in at 13% alcohol by volume.

First impression: I can smell the floral bouquet across the room. After I buried my nose in the glass (as is my habit, much to both the delight and chagrin of Matt...delight because it means I drink less of the bottle, chagrin because I chide him for drinking more than his share!) I found peach, tropical fruit, almonds, and apple. The flavors were a bit bitter. In the mouth I got flavors of pear, peach, apple, tropical fruits, almonds, and spicy white pepper.

I would describe this wine as lively in the mouth. It was refreshing and fun, and very nicely done. I served it with Roz's Zuppa Toscana, and it was actually a really tasty match with the slightly creamy flavors of the soup. It did really well cutting through the soup and reviving the palate. My only reservation is the price tag. It's more than I'm willing to pay for an unknown bottle, but both Matt and I really enjoyed what was in the bottle, Matt wants to get it again! Though I have no idea where to find it around here, so that will have to wait.

And a bonus! We went out to dinner last night at the Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar in DC and they actually had several bottles of Friuli wine on the menu. I suppose that's one of the great things about WBW, it causes me to keep my eye out for new things. I never would have even noticed "Friuli" before this WBW because I knew nothing about the region. So true to my nature as an inquisitive wine blogger, I had to jump at the chance to taste at least one. The restaurant offered tasting sized pours of one of the Friulis, $5 for 3 ounces....which I must say, was a VERY generous 3 ounces!

The wine was a 2006 Di Lenardo Vineyards "Toh" Tocai Friulano. You could purchase the whole bottle for $35 if you wanted. In the glass, I noted the golden straw color of this wine, something I also noted about the Livio. On the nose I found lemon, herbs, almond, passion fruit, and peach. In the mouth there was lemon, almond, tropical fruit, and peach. Overally, the dominating flavor and aroma in this wine was peach. The wine wasn't nearly as lively in the mouth as the Livio, but it was still quite tasty.

I enjoyed my foray into Friuli and I will definitely keep looking for more bottles from the area in the future. It also helped me gain a new grape variety as I had never had a Tocai Friulano before! Thanks to Jack and Joanne for hosting, and I look forward to the round-up!

The wine for the evening was a 2005 Rosso Salento Promessa. It was a blend, 70% Negroamara and 30% Primitivo. I picked the bottle up at the Winery in Old Town Alexandria for $12.99 minus a 10% case discount. It clocked in at 13% alcohol by volume and had a real cork closure.

The nose of the wine smelled bitter, of coffee, licorice, cherry, leather, and earth. In the mouth I found bitter cherry, alongside fresh cherries, and an almost cranberry flavor. The wine was smooth, but had a nice tart element. It was a very dark wine.

I'm really enjoying the value I'm finding in native Italian varietals. For around $10, I feel like I got a lot of bang for my buck with this wine, and quite a complex bottle too. Very good value.

We picked up this bottle of Girone Dei Folli 2003 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo from Villa Bizzarri at the Winery in Old Town Alexandria as part of a mixed case. It clocked in at 13% alcohol by volume, had a real cork, and cost us $12.99 minus a 10% case discount.

On the nose I found what can only be described as a mist of Vick's cherry cough syrup, bitter espresso (though I suppose "bitter espresso" is kind of an oxymoron), leather, and Eucalyptus. Overall, I found the nose to have a slightly medicinal quality. In the mouth flavors of tart cherries dominated, with hints of the same cherry Vick's cough syrup, and a little bit of spice. The wine was very dark, and reminiscent of Negroamara, but with different qualities. It was more herbal and medicinal than the Negroamara, but that's the closest thing I can compare it to.

The wine of the evening was a 2005 Sedara Nero d'Avola. It also said "Donnafugata" on the label, but I can't say I know what that means! The wine had a real cork closure, hailed from Sicilia, and clocked in at 14% alcohol. I picked this up at the Winery in Old Town Alexandria for $15.99 minus a 10% mixed case discount.

On the nose I found aromas of raisins, deli meat, and dark berries. There was a smoky note emanating from my glass as well. In the mouth, flavors of tart dark blackberries and bing cherries were present. The fruit was sour! The wine overall was mouth puckering, very dark, with a fairly long finish, and a slightly bitter aftertaste.


I served the wine with turkey soup that I made out of our Thanksgiving Tom, but I think the wine was too dark for the soup. It was a heavy soup too, so I was little surprised it didn't stand up to the wine. Overall, the wine was interesting, but I'm not sure I would get it again.

Apparently I've either been spelling "Negromara" wrong or there are several ways to spell it since this one was spelled "Negroamara" though regardless of how this is spelled, the lack of information about this bottle on the internet is definitely immense.

The bottle was a 2005 Villa Mottura Negroamara from the Puglia region of Italy. I picked this bottle up at UnWined in Alexandria for $9.99. I know it had a real cork closure, but Matt tossed the bottle (again) before I could record the alcohol by volume.

On the nose I found raisins, currants, and raspberries. I also noted a peppery aroma and a smoky note similar to the Negroamara I drank for WBW-Go Native. In the mouth the wine was dark with fresh raspberries and a bit bitter, but not exactly bitter in the same way our last bottle of Negroamara was.

Overall the wine was smooth and dark and I thought I detected something slightly meaty about the wine. I like it and fro $9.99 it's definitely a good value.

*Disclaimer: I received this bottle in a sample pack from Domaine547.

I have very recently fallen in love with Barbera. We've had several bottles in the last month and they have all been gorgeous. It's not a varietal I have a lot of experience with, but you can bet that I will be continuing to seek it out in the coming months. A nice, earthy red, with plenty of tasty fruit, it seems perfect of the pastas and stews we tend to eat in the winter. Jill of Domaine547 sent this bottle to me, not knowing (as I have yet to post those reviews) that this is quickly becoming a prized grape in our house!

The wine was a 2--5 Braida di Giacomo Bologna "Montebruna Barbera" d'Asti. It's made of 100% Barbera grapes and is actually fermented in stainless steel for 2 weeks before being aged in oak for a year. The wine clocked in at 14% alcohol by volume, had a real cork closure, and can be purchased from Domaine547 for $24.99.

On the nose, there was a little bit of sour funk that quickly blew off to reveal an excellent wine. Showing through were aromas of leather, black cherries, and a slightly earthy note. At this point, I finally tasted the wine and my first note was "omg yum." I found black cherry, which reminded me a bit of cherry Juicy Juice(which is still one of my favorite things, I am a kid at heart), but for adults. Plummy, with both red and black berries, the wine was smoky and had a lot of depth of flavor. This is one I would definitely buy at this price.

Thanks Domaine547, we really enjoyed this bottle!

I returned to The Winery in Old Town Alexandria to scoop up a few more bottles of the excellent Negromara that we drank for WBW: Go Native. Sadly, none were left. We actually got to meet the owner of the store this time, and were lamenting that she was out of it and only had 3 bottles of the Touraine Rose we loved as well, as we had planned to buy a case! She suggested a different rose (more on that later) and this bottle of 2005 Faunus Cesanese del Piglio.

The bottle cost $12.99, was 13.5% alcohol by volume, and had a real cork closure. It's a red blend of 80% Cesanese, 10% Barbera, and 10% Montepulciano.

On the nose the wine was spicy with black pepper, cedar, and black currants showing through. In the mouth again, the wine was spicy, with black cherry, black currants, and a very smoky note. The cherry flavor was incredibly fresh.

Overall, I felt as if I should be wearing a smoking jacket and lighting up a cigar while drinking this wine, but that would detract from the wine. It had a lot of depth of flavor for the price point. Another successful recommendation from The Winery. I think this place will become my go to wine shop, so far I've been very impressed with all the selections I've purchased.

I served the wine with an eye of the round roast, purple mashed potatoes, and green beans. A good match for the dinner, I like how the meat went with the smokiness of the wine.