The month of March really was taking on that old motto and coming in right like a lion. With a nor’easter sweeping over the northeast US and the rain not letting up here in the South, it was beginning to feel like spring would never really come. Fortunately, the next wine in my lineup was a delightful looking red. It was just what I needed to combat this groundhog-despising mood.
I had not heard of the Primitivo grape before so I started my research there. I quickly discovered that Primitivo and Zinfandel are the same grape! Primitivo is grown in Italy and Zinfandel in California. Both originated from a grape in Croatia it turns out. * I was very familiar with Zinfandel, so I was interested to see if the two would taste similar or have some distinct differences since they were from different parts of the world entirely.
The Italian phrase, “Mi sento bene” is what inspired this brand and means “I feel good” in English. The founder’s Italian heritage is what motivated her to want to make her own wine. She wanted to combine the modern with the traditional and experimenting with wines has provided just the right outlet for this. *
This wine was from Puglia, Italy and sampled on March 23, 2018. Once poured this wine proved to be so dark that I had to label it maroon. It was extra inviting with the current weather situation. The scent of blueberries rippled from the glass. It was nearly overpowering. The first taste was full of tannins! Behind them lay the delicious tastes of ripe red plums and black cherry with a hint of cinnamon. I was listening to “Green Light” by Lorde. It held it’s own against the fatty and spicy burger and it turned out to be a nice compliment to the creamed spinach.
I gave this wine a rating of 3.5. The scent was what really held this wine back. It was just too overpowering. I would suggest decanting it so that some of the aroma could waft away.
Sources:
http://winefolly.com/tutorial/italian-value-wine-secret-puglia-wine/