To be honest, this wine label scared me a little bit. The howling wolf with bat wings made me think more about scary stories and the No Sleep podcast more than wine. I was really hoping the research into the why behind this label would pay off and provide some sort of explanation for this strange little creature.
It turned out; the little creature had quite the fascinating backstory. It represented Asmodeus, the offspring of the first of mankind, Adam, and the demon, Naamah. Asmodeus represented the physical description of lust. Adam left Eve for 130 years and during that time; he had several children with Naamah, all of them considered the “Plagues of Mankind.” This wine was made with lust in mind. *
Sicily grows most of the world’s Nero d’Avola grapes, which is where this wine is from. However, the varietal is also grown in California and Australia. It is a full-bodied red wine that is similar to Syrah. There are really two camps for Nero d’Avola in Sicily. One camp produces a darker, more fruit-forward style and the other produces a brighter, more herbaceous and lightly fruity style. *
This wine was from Sicily, Italy and sampled on March 12, 2019. This wine was so darkly maroon that it almost looked velvety. It was very herbaceous on the nose. The scent of blackberry was also very apparent. I was listening to “Baby I’m Yours” by Breakbot. The tannins were very silky and left just a hint of the wine lingering after swallowing. The taste was heavy on leather, with a bit of black cherry and pepper. It paired okay with the pork, but it was really calling out for a heftier meal.
I gave this wine a rating of 3.0. By the end of the glass, I had decided that it was simply okay. Nothing was making it really better or worse than average to me.
Sources:
http://www.poggioanima.com/offering-details.php?name=asmodeus