Friday, March 4, 2011

Christmas in February - kinda, sort, o.k., not at all

A few weeks ago I was invited to attend a tasting of Italian wines at Eataly in Manhattan, NY (in case you were thinking Kansas). It was a last minute invite and as I'd already committed to hanging out with an adorable 23 month old vintage, I asked my classmate and friend from my WSET classes, Jen F., if she woould attend the tasting and be so kind as to write up her notes. Jen braved a sinus infection and New York City traffic (not to mention the foot traffic at Eataly) to deliver.
As it turned out, two out of the four wines she tasted were those that I was sent to taste over Christmas. When Jen told me, it made me that much more interested to see her write-up and compare it with my thoughts.

Here's what Jen had to say about the two wines I hadn't tried:


"Grecante Grechetto dei Colli Martani DOC I'm always interested in trying new white varietals from Italy and this Grecante did not disappoint. This wine is made from 100% Grechetto grapes. I thought it was delicious. The color in the glass was an intense straw yellow, which I learned is one of it's characteristics. It was soft and well balanced, very fruity with some floral notes. I really enjoyed this wine and would definitely drink it on its own, but it would also pair with seafood.

Sagrantino di Montefalco 25 Year DOCG

This is their jubilee wine, that was produced for the first time in 1993 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the winery, but has kept the name ever since. Again it is made from 100% of the very best, carefully selected Sagrantino grapes. Very similar color, nose and taste as the Collepiano - but everything is just more intensified! Very good!!"

And the two wines that I'd already tasted:

"Montefalco Rosso DOC

This is one of the wines that I noticed on your blog that you were able to try as well. Beautiful rich ruby color with notes of ripe red fruit and a little vanilla from the oak. It's a blend of 70% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino (the grape that this winery is best know for) and 15% Merlot. I agree with you that it was slightly thin, fairly dry and a little acidic, but the red berry fruit really came through. This wine, as with all Italian wines, are best enjoyed with food. You were definitely right with your pairing of this wine with prosciutto and salami. That is actually the serving suggestion that the winery itself was recommending for their Montefalco Rosso.


Sagrantino di Montefalco Collepiano DOCGThis is the other wine that you tasted as well. It's made from 100% Sagrantino. According to their brochure, "Collipiano represents the "renaissance" of Montefalco as a wine region and the Sagrantino as a unique variety grown only in Montefalco." Very dark ruby, almost garnet color with notes of rich red fruit, as well as some spice and vanilla from the oak. The rich red fruit came through on the palate as well, it was very smooth with a slightly bitter aftertaste. I'm not a big fan of bitter things, but I could see how this wine would shine more with food, especially meat. Once again your pairing with the filet was right on!"
 

When I read Jen's write up I was thrilled to see that she got a lot of the same things out of the Montefalco Rosso and Sagrantino di Montefalco that I did.  I promise we did not compare notes before she wrote up her thoughts.  

So if you see either of these wines and you're having hearty meats, you've now heard from two of us that these are worthwhile to check out - especially the Montefalco Rosso which retails in the low $20 range.

Until the next sniff, sip or quaff,

Cheers,

Alli M. 

8 comments:

elliej said...

Although I don't eat prociutto, the Montefalco Rosso is worth trying. Alli, how would it pair with wonderful Applegate meats?

Unknown said...

There are certainly a lot of details like that to take into consideration. That is a great point to bring up. I offer the thoughts above as general inspiration but clearly there are questions like the one you bring up where the most important thing will be working in honest good faith. I don?t know if best practices have emerged around things like that, but I am sure that your job is clearly identified as a fair game. Both boys and girls feel the impact of just a moment’s pleasure, for the rest of their lives.
Tanko119.jp
Gh-magokoro.jp
Cesi666.de

Information said...

This is the right blog for anyone who wants to find out about this topic. You realize so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I actually would want…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, just great! Information Information

Chand Mason said...

Would you be interested in exchanging links?

Opencollective.com
Information

Eileen Price said...

Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive read anything like this before. So nice to find somebody with some original thoughts on this subject. realy thank you for starting this up. this website is something that is needed on the web, someone with a little originality. useful job for bringing something new to the internet!

Answers.informer.com
Information
Click Here
Visit Web

MariyamSimones said...

You have a great blog here! would you like to make some invite posts on my blog?

Click Here
Newninja.com
Visit Web

JeanAdams said...

Can I just say what a relief to find someone who actually knows what theyre talking about on the internet. You definitely know how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More people need to read this and understand this side of the story. I cant believe youre not more popular because you definitely have the gift.

Ourstage.com
Information
Click Here
Visit Web

Dirga Aliya said...

Spot on with this write-up, I truly think this website needs much more consideration. I’ll probably be again to read much more, thanks for that info.

Trailblazer.me
Information
Click Here
Visit Web