Tag Archives: Italy

Crabby night

The Lovely Lugana

The Lovely Lugana

Tonight we dined on crab. It’s a treat we don’t have very often. And we don’t have it often because it’s somewhat pricey and also it makes my feet swell. I wrote swell, right? I’d hate for you to think it made my feet smell. It doesn’t. Anyway. HubbyDoug came back from his most recent trip to Italy with a lovely ’11 Le Quaiare Lugana. Wait. A white wine? It’s true, I’ve spent much of this blog writing about red wine and, for the most part, we do prefer the reds. Yet this white was something special. And it needed to be paired with something just as special. I think what I enjoyed most about this wine was that it had a light, playful grape and honey essence on the nose. It tasted of delicate apple that seemed to enhance the light, salty brine of the crab while adequately cutting through the fattiness of the butter. To paraphrase Cole Porter it was de-lovely!

Cheers!

 

Wine Tasting 101~ An Italian Stallion

A new favorite

A new favorite.

Tonight, I had a romp with a great Italian Sangiovese (Brunello di Montalcino): an 06 Casanova di Neri.  Since my husband brought the bottle back with him from a recent trip to Italy, I asked for his input.  His take: a mix of black currant on the first nose, that melted into a sweet toffee as the sips went on. I thought it had more of a strawberry preserve  vibe on the nose with a slightly astringent feel. At the end, it morphed into an almost cherry pie, dessert-like finish.  So sinful and gorgeous, it almost made my eyes roll back…but not quite.

What I know of old-world wine is that the first sip will generally be just like the end: good to the last drop. And that’s what many like and depend on in a wine. That’s what draws them to old world wine vs. new world wine time and time again: they always know what to expect when it’s rolling in around in their glass.

It was my first foray into the world of Italian wine and I can honestly say that I wasn’t disappointed. A few more glasses and I might even need a cigarette.

Cheers!