Since it’s a scary time of year and this is a special Halloween blog post, I’ll try to do it up right with some special tricks and treats. This year my husband and I went all out for Halloween. We dressed up as Ron and Tammy II from Parks and Rec and had a total blast! We even won a costume contest! But enough with the bragging, let’s get down to the wine.
This week’s wine was 100% Vermentino. Vermentino is a white wine grape that is grown mostly in Italy. However, the grapes for this wine were grown in Australia. Vermentino is usually compared to Sauvignon Blanc or Grüner Veltliner. So if you like either of those then chances are, you’ll enjoy Vermentino just as much. Like Chardonnay, there are two main styles of Vermentino and they are determined based on the aging process. For a bolder and creamier style, bacteria are added during aging in order for malolactic fermentation to take place. Sounds spooky right? If no bacteria are added, then a fruity and zesty style of Vermentino is produced. *
The Mitolo family emigrated from Italy to Australia in the 1950s. While it took a few years and a couple of generations, that family starting creating Italian wines in Australia with the launch of their first wine in 2000. The Mitolos now have 10 wines available this year for purchase and with the opening of their new tasting room, they’re ready to share their heritage and new world mixes with everyone. *
This wine was from McLaren Vale, Australia and sampled on October 29, 2018. I was listening to “Zombie” by The Cranberries in order to get in a more festive mood. I took a whiff from the class and smelled freshness, like clean laundry and mint. It had a little bite to it at the first taste, much like a hungry vampire. There were lots of citrus notes and it gave the impression of biting into a lemon. Since lemon and chicken generally compliment one another, this pairing of the wine and oven baked French onion chicken was practically perfect.
I gave this wine a rating of 4.0. It was amazing with the chicken, but paled a little on it’s own. The scent was a little odd as well.
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