Posts Tagged ‘nero d’avola’
Varietal: Petite Sirah; Tempranillo; Syrah; Grenache; Malbec; Mourvedre; Nebeillo; Tannat; Souzao; Aglianico; Barbera; Zinfandel; Petite Verdot; Cabernet Franc; Charbano; Nero d’Avola; Sanviovese; Sagrantino
Region: California – USA
Cost: $10 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: This Big House Red lives up to that old Fruit Bomb moniker that you’ve come to expect. It starts with a nose full of blackberries and raspberries, with hints of leather and spices. The palate is clean, exhibiting flavors of cranberries, roses, and a touch of rhubarb. This finish lingers, with flavors of vanilla and a touch of dark cherries in the finish. Pairs well with all grilled meats, lasagna Bolognese, grilled vegetables, or even sashimi grade Ahi tuna.
My Review: The previous version of this wine was one of those that I was torn on. I liked what they were trying to do by creating a table wine with a little bit of everything that could then go with a little bit of everything, but I felt that the attempt created a wine that just fell flat. This vintage was different.
Varietal: Blended Red Wine (50% Nero d’Avola; 50% Merlot)
Region: Italy – Sicily
Cost: $14
Intense red colors with hints of purple featuring aromas of cherry, sweet spices and tobacco with balanced tannins on the palate. Pairs well with pasta with meat sauce, braised beef, juicy steak.
Recommendations: When this wine showed up for me I instantly started thinking of what to pair it with. The bottle itself recommends pasta with meat sauce, and given my love of Italian-style food, I was quick to agree. More purple than red in the glass, with a good tannic structure, the high alcohol content (14%) does demand that you pair the wine with something to help take the edge off.
That being said, allowing the wine to open up (either by decanting or just letting the bottle sit for a bit) takes the edge off the wine and makes it a very enjoyable sipping wine, especially with the flavors of crushed fruit that came through for me after it opened up. Read the rest of this entry »
Varietal: Blended Red (Sangiovese, Syrah, Carignan, Barbera, Zinfandel, Mourvedre, Montepulciano, Petit Verdot, Tannat, Aglianico, Petite Sirah, Nero d’Avola, Grenache)
Region: California – USA
Cost: $7 – $10
Cherry, raspberry, blueberry, cassis, and chocolate flavors all blend together. Pair this wine with chicken, ground beef, pizza.
Recommendations: I’ll be the first to admit, my wife and I first paid attention to this wine because of the bottle. We thought, if nothing else, it would look good over our cabinets (see my previous post if you haven’t already). Having looked over the list of what was in the wine, we decided that the wine would go better with pizza, and so when we ordered a pizza one evening, we opened the bottle.
I wanted to like this wine, I really did. I’m a fan of most of the varietals that they used to blend it, and I’m a firm believer in table wines that aren’t impressive, but aren’t bad. Unfortunately, the Big House Red just left me shrugging. It wasn’t terrible in a pour the bottle out kind of way, but it just didn’t do anything to make me pay attention – good or bad. Read the rest of this entry »
So, it’s been a couple of weeks since I returned from my trip to California, and I realized that I haven’t talked about our second day in wine country, when we visited Sonoma. I’ve been busy. We drove out to Sonoma, passing over the Golden Gate Bridge (which we had originally planned to bike over at some point, but were suddenly very glad we hadn’t).
Our first stop was at Viansa Winery & Marketplace. The tasting room and grounds at Viansa are nothing short of spectacular, and I recommend stopping in there just for the view. We tried several of their wines, including their Senza Chardonnay, an unoaked Chardonnay that was light and crisp, the Reserve Chardonnay, featuring lots of butter on the nose, and a Pinot Noir that was velvety right up to the end where it showed a bit of bite.
We also tried a Zinfandel with that was jammy, with lots of cherry flavors but very little pepper and spice on the finish, much different than the Prindelo, which was very full-bodied and not at all jammy. The Sangiovese offered a spicy nose with fruit and tannins on the palate.
We finished up at Viansa with two Cabernet Francs. The 2004 Cab Franc was dark with with a fruity, jammy nose, and was the closest to a Virginia Cab Franc I had experienced on my trip. The 2005 Samuele Cabernet Franc was more robust, with a peppery nose and a dry, tannic finish.
Our next stop, right down the road, was Jacuzzi Family Vineyards. If you’re a fan of olive oil, I would recommend a stop to Jacuzzi for that alone. They have a great selection of flavored and unflavored olive oils that are worth the drive. But let’s be honest – that’s not the only reason I went there. Read the rest of this entry »
