Red, White

February 2020 Wines

March 4, 2020

I know February claims to be the shortest of months, but to me it always feels like one of the longest. At least that groundhog finally told us that Spring would be coming early! I cannot remember the last time that happened. Fortunately, I had a few wines to help me make it through the month! Vinaccio Rosso (Tim Manning) Non-Vintage Nerello Mascalese – Rating 1/5 This wine was from Sicily, Italy and sampled on February 5, 2020. I haven’t had many Italian wines, but I regularly hear good things, so this one interested me quite a bit. I was…

Red

Poggio Anima Nero d’Avola

Poggio Anima Nero d’Avola paired with BBQ Nachos
March 13, 2019

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…

Red, Sparkling

Frico Lambrusco

Frico Lambrusco paired with Pork Belly and Sweet Potato Fries
February 7, 2019

The wine for this week made me laugh as soon as I opened the box. The large pig on the label of the can let me know that this wine label didn’t take itself too seriously, but that it also might be Italian. Italians love to pair their wine with pork and often keep both of them paired as locally as possible. I would highly recommend this too if you can! I knew automatically that I would need some pork to pair this with and was thankful that my husband had made a trip to Costco that week. He picked…

White

Vinaccio Bianco

Vinaccio Bianco paired with Gouda, Almonds, Toast, and Crackers
September 12, 2018

I did not approach this week’s wine with high expectations. The label was a confusing mismatch of images on the front. On the back, the font was fun, but I noted the labeling of “Vino da Tavola,” or “table wine.” However, I started prepping my food and delved into my research anyway. The labeling of “Vino da Tavola” is generally used to distinguish between “table wines” and high quality wines in Italy. Table wines encompass a variety of different grapes. They can utilize blends of grapes from different regions as well as different vintages. * For this reason, they usually…

Red

Sento Bene Wines Primitivo

March 28, 2018

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…

Red

Fondo Antico Versi Rosso

Fondo Antico Versi Rosso paired with Spicy Chili and Eggs
January 4, 2018

  The closer it got to Halloween, the more intriguing this deep red wine appeared. It was that time of year when being festive means darkness, deep colors, and spooky themes. This wine had it all! Even the label seemed in on the theme with the faded outline of a vine with no growth on it, the branches ever reaching out. Fondo Antico is a winery in Sicily that was established in 1995. They grow mostly grapes indigenous to Sicily, such as Nero d’Avola, which was the main blending grape in this bottle. The climate is dry and the soil…

Red

Prodigo Nero d’Avola

November 12, 2017

At first glance I fell in love with this bottle from Prodigo. At the time, I did not need to know that it was from Sicily or that it was made from the most important red wine grapes. * All I needed to know was that this dark tinted bottle and beautiful gold filigree was speaking to me. I found I had to pull myself away from that intriguing stamp that resembled a wax seal from the Middle Ages. This small touch was also decorated with gold filigree and seemed to look out at me just as I was looking…