Everyone has a Christmas wish this time of year…. I don’t have many. I am extremely grateful for having a roof over my head and food in my refrigerator. And if I had one wish it would be that others would be so blessed. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good bottle of wine. So this wine blog is going to be about my Christmas Wine Wishes.
The last couple of weeks I have been on a bit of a Primitivo kick. I have tried a couple of fantastic Primitivo wines, in different price ranges. Primitivo, being first cousin to the Zinfandel grape, it should come as no surprise I love it as much as I do.
You probably remember this one, from a couple of weeks ago. The $20 Amastoula is great value and a great Primitivo wine. Last weekend I tried another end of the spectrum.
Allow me to introduce you to the Farnese Vigne Vecchie Primitivo Manduria. Try asking for that one at a wine store. A spectacular Primitivo from the Puglia region of Italy, this wine features overly ripe grapes which brings out a big juicy wine with a hint of sweetness. Now when I say sweetness, I’m not referring to dessert wine sweetness here. Flavors of cherries, tobacco, and a minty spiciness stands out on the palate. This wine is great with any meat dishes. At just over $40, treat yourself and give it a try. Worth every penny.
Here’s a new California Cabernet I tried this week. A local wine boutique here in Halifax has it $10 off, so this was a steal of a deal at just $26.98. This is a really neat company who donates $20,000 of sales each year to Napa land preservation and education programs. And they make spectacular wine. Smoky black cherry and blackberry flavors combine with great tannic structure and a robust flavor that asks to be paired with a steak. No kidding, if you put your ear to the bottle, you’ll hear it asking, you’ll hear it ask for steak LOL
Here is the lovely selection I had last night. My good friend Rayell got me onto this one It is a beautiful French Gamay Pinot Noir blend. This is no ordinary Pinot Noir. In 2012 a new appellation was created in France that allowed winemakers to use grapes from any region in BUrgundy including the Beaujolais area. The appellation is called Coteaux Bourguignons If you go out looking for this wine I would just ask for the Louis Jadot Gamay Pinot Noir It has soft juicy fruit flavors with soft tannins and a nice lingering pallet. This wine is 70% Gamay and 30% Pinot Noir and half of the Gamay grapes come from the region called Beaujolais. Very food friendly. If you were having guests over for a Christmas party this will go with anything you put on the table.
Well that’s it for me for this week If you’re anything like me you might have a little explaining to do to Santa LOL Have a wonderful week
Cheers
Darlene
Wine-It’s Just My Opinion 