Italian wine you might like: Villa Cerrina, Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 2012

February 25, 2014 / andreawu / Leave a comment

Big. Bold. Earthy. Tannins. Dry.

These are the words I often hear and associate with Italian wines, and a good one (like an I-live-in-Italy Italian man who doesn’t live at home) is hard to find. And these words have often been quickly followed up by, “I’ll have a French wine, please. Or maybe a Pinot” in my experience. Many consumers don’t often like a side of WWF red wine with their dinner–you know, the kind that might beat you up with a developing palette bruise as you sip it?

It’s true that in some circles Italian wines that you might want to drink within the decade they are bottled are hard to find. During the past month, I’ve tried about five different Italian reds, ranging from $24.99 to $49.99. I consider myself an expert-in-training, or at least an advanced novice, but I have to say–I was disappointed in my recent red italiano picks (My whites have been spectacular! More in a later post). As such, I hate to say it, but one of my favorite Italian reds and the topic of this post was given to me by a co-worker. The twist? It’s from Trader Joe’s. While not a two-buck chuck, I knew it was not going to be super spendy, as my co-worker somewhat giggled when describing it.

The day before this bottle, I had thrown away a Chilean wine after first sip. I don’t do bad (those calories add up, and why should my face look like an overcooked baked potato when “enjoying” a glass after work?) As is common practice, I was alone (again) on a wintry Minnesota night (this description is way too kind this 2014), so I thought, why not? Let’s open the gift bottle now–my frozen pizza deserves some spruce. So, I waited a couple months for the right moment. This was it.

The wine: Villa Cerrina Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 2012. Montepulciano is one of the most planted grapes in Italy, grown in regions such as Abruzzo (shocker, I know), Marche, Molise and Puglia. Because of overproduction in recent history, many have shied away from the wine because of a perceived dip in quality. However, I would say like other Italian varietals that are undergoing careful planting, this wine is on the rebound.

The nose was pleasant off the bat: fruity with some hints of spice and oak, it was fruit-forward more than the 13% alcohol in a 2012 Italian wine led me to believe. The first sip? Surprising! It was fresh, fruit-filled and accessible, with notes and flavors of red berries, blackberries a little more into the sip, and lightly dusted in oak, spice and earth notes (I would hazard a guess at vanilla, too). Medium in tannins and acid, I found this wine delightful on its own, and even fun and fruity with food. Two days later, I’m still drinking this wine, and find it as good on this day as the first.

The kicker? If you look up the price, this wine comes in at a whopping $4.99. And yet, like it’s earlier cousin, there was no throwing away of this wine. I say, Bravo!, and please pick up a few bottles to have on hand for a wintry night, party night, loner night or a night that you want to share something enjoyable with a friend.

Prego. E mille grazie, Pamela.

Blanket in a bottle: Laetitia Estate Pinot Noir

November 7, 2013 / andreawu / Leave a comment

This summer I was driving from San Diego to Las Vegas, when after a two week stint in the capital of US wines I realized: I hadn’t gone to a single vineyard.

The realization hit me in San Lois Obispo County–it was hot and it was a desert. I thought, as I frantically looked up vineyard names I didn’t recognize, it might be okay this time to ‘not seize the day’ and pass on something you might not want to discover. The heat was cloying, and a coke sounded better in the arid air.

Fast forward to this week when the first snow in Minnesota hit, and a white blanket–and darkness from daylight savings time–dampened our spirits. In a word, this week was hard, and as I headed home to unwrap even more boxes from my endless move, I thought: I need wine.

The wine: Laetitia Estate Pinot Noir, Arroyo Grande Valley 2011 sung to me on the shelf of Whole Foods, North Loop, MSP. Simple packaging, a sales price and a description that said, “Coastal Terrace 3 miles from the Pacific Ocean” I started to rethink my image of “dry and brown” from this summer’s jaunt. That close to a coastal region, the cooling effects of the Pacific would have a cooling and softening effect. It did.

The wine couldn’t have been better for what I wanted: a sigh of relief in a bottle–that was on sale for $15.99 (Kinda like Calgon, take me away, circa 1982 prices for wine). The taste sung of deep red cherries, clove, light oak singed with smoke, slight pepper, and herbaceous, earthy undertones. It entices as you lift it up to your mouth to taste–great, leaning smells of fruit and libraries.

This was beautifully balanced, fruity, complex, delicate–and a blanket all in one. You know the day–every pore is screaming, “stop–I can’t take another moment of being wrung out.” This blanket is a nice blend of cashmere–it wafts softly around the stress, versus a Richard Simmons “let’s get moving!!” Cabernet Sauvignon from Cali.

This wine is worth it. Buy it for a friend, your next party, or a viewing of desert pictures online–it will be a good friend for the night, and after the day I’ve had, I might very well skip the workout in the morning. Ole, dude.

I beat Comcast! Wine by Joe helped me win.

October 29, 2013 / andreawu / Leave a comment

Newsflash: Moving sucks.

I know you know this, but it’s hard to move things in. Set things up. Get boxes down to a manageable size. Re-wash things. And then, there is the electronics world.

Comcast–land of the automated voice that keeps replaying on a circuit with a fake computer noise that wants you to believe it’s registering your concerns, even when you keep asking for customer service, only to be rerouted to the circuit or led to a representative that said you called the wrong number, “I’ll have to transfer you, but our transfer system is broken. You gotta pen?” Tonight was that night where the automated demons walked the earth to foil all startup tech projects and eat the living for a snack. In a rush of frustration, I threw caution to the wind, threw the directions to the side, and managed to connect a TV, Internet modem and router, sync the TV with the remote, and change passwords without becoming one of the undead. In a word, or few, I rocked the tech (knock on wood a thousand times here).

The Wine: With my new-found skills, and time on hold, I opened a bottle of “Wine by Joe” –a 2010 Pinot Noir from Oregon. Unlike a common plumber’s name, the wine was less than common, but like it’s description, not pretentious. Good, in fact, for a light bodied, light-rubied pinot.

On the nose were earthy, aged cherries, spice of white pepper and a hint of black in the background, a touch of freshly rained on earth mixed with a hint of oak (the edge of the forest, if you will). On the palette, the fruit came through, as did more of the spice as if an unexpected “welcome basket” showed up at your front door. It carries with it a gift in a bottle, as It is extremely well-balanced, medium-low on the tannin and medium-high on the finish length and taste.

Bringing joy down to the simplest denominator, it’s taste is like being on the childhood playground and equally balancing the teeter-totter with your best friend opposite you on a spring day. Cue: rainbows and unicorns, this wine was that for me during a Comcast phone maze contest.

I have to miss the workout in the morning, because, as stated earlier, moving makes you her bitch and you are owned by a force greater than the sum of your zip code. But, I would definitely pick up this bottle the next time I battle Comcast. Or even just because I want a nice, light, enjoyable wine. If you would like to be rerouted to a red, press 1…or ask for Joe.

B is for…Bonarda.

October 8, 2013 / andreawu / Leave a comment

It’s been awhile since I moved from DC, but without a place to live and lots of new job stress, I woke up today noting my body didn’t want to be limber and move freely. Lots of sitting since the drive from DC and one untrained-for 10 mile run later, I decided I was stiff as a straight up whiskey shot (what? this is a blog about alcohol, not a forum for tired cliches).

I decided to go to yoga, and wanted to go to the first yoga place I started at 10 years ago: BKS Iyengar in Minneapolis. By far, my favorite structure of yoga. However, tonight the instructor was controlling and not very tolerant–she kept calling on and picking on an elderly man who had a hard time with the poses. And she equated us to her forth graders. Why we were there then, ostensibly, if not because we were imperfect? The instructor was part Amy Poehler in “Parks and Recreation,” part Kathy Bates in “Misery,” and part bitchy-out-of-this-world “Portlandia” sketch. Can you say B…onarda?

One could say she drove me to drink.

Or, one could say my great roommate had great pizza that required wine.

Whichever reason, I opened a nice, mildly-bold red wine from Mendoza, Agentina (Not just about the Malbecs, okay?) The wine: Tercos, 2009 Bonarda.

On the nose, it was fruit forward cherries and black cherries, but not very ripe flavors on the latter. There was smoke-on-leather notes as if lingering cigarette ash in the library, and all that translated to a lovely, balanced taste–again, fruit forward with smoky leather (not overwhelming), with a medium tannin, medium finish and medium acidity that paired nicely with a tomato-rich deep dish pizza. Not perfect, but hell, neither are zen masters these days. I feel like I can appreciate a little rough around the edges tonight more than most. This is a GREAT wine for Monday melancholia.

I already had the workout, but for $7.99 (on sale, but still a great price from “Elevated”) I would open this bottle up just to enjoy a glass. Or two. And all the while, strike an imperfect pose and fidget worse than a forth grader. Ole!

Le Clos 2011: Guilt-Free Pleasure

May 14, 2013May 14, 2013 / andreawu / Leave a comment

Into the life of every triathlete, a little tiredness, soreness, boredom, and–trepidation about repeating the workout refrain–must* fall. (*Must=self-inflicted)

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” Fitzgerald writes of Gatsby, the ultimate line ends the book. At times like this (excruciating exposition withheld for brevity’s sake) I want to belly up to the bar, forget my obligations, and let oblivion bring me back to finals week in college with a little Allman Brothers playing in the background.

But, let’s face it–that “workout” is not good for training, and if you have ever met an Ironman-In-Training, you know we are like Catholics the next day after a binge-we feel a tremendous amount of guilt and repent in a self-loathing manner. Pain will not surmount memory, and thus combined, creates a bigger cycle of guilt to overcome.

But I need a drink. Beer won’t cut it. Deep wines to relieve the stress will be too heavy. So I turned to a good friend, a French wine, Les Clos, 2011.

The Wine: This red, Languedoc wine drinks easy like Sunday morning (if you went to bed by 8 pm). A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, and Grenache mixes up the fruit-forward flavors and light secondary notes nicely–offering a nose and palette of youthful red and black berries and spice (white pepper and vanilla oak). The alcohol-at 13%-is balanced with light tannins. The body is light, the finish is light-to medium, and the guilt is low on the self-flagellation pole. It’s like Weight Watchers in a bottle!

Where: I purchased this (*again) at Cleveland Park Liquor & Fine Wines shop for $9.99 (the price is another guilt-reducing benefit). I am also slightly amused (and contented) that The Diner in Adams Morgan DC (one of my favorite go-to food joints) serves Le Clos. This wine will drink well this summer on hot days and well on into the fall. I would have this on hand as a go-to, a stand-by, and wouldn’t hesitate to take this to a casual dinner at a friend’s house. Can drink, be merry, and still make the workout on this wine.