Botte Buona Sangiovese Rubicone

This is one of those cheap-o wines (€1.99 at Billa) that is so cheap, you've just made up your mind before drinking it that it will be disgusting. You almost have your heart set on bad wine. You think, "A wine without a date? That just says 'Red wind from E.U.' on the bottle? I'll just lower my expectations to the least common denominator."

But, Rubicone (named presumably for the river in Italy - one of the reason I got it. I am such a Classics nerd) was, actually, not only palatable, but quite so! I found it fruity, dark and dry, with a flowery bouquet and plum-type taste.

I will most likely be buying this again. Definitely a Sangiovese fan.

Did You Know?

Did you know that the color of your wine bottle can tell you what's inside without reading the label? Dark green is traditionally reserved for reds, light green for whites, clear for sweet wines, and amber for ports, and some reds. Blue glass is sometimes used for Rhine wines.

Vinous Twitterings

Check us out on Twitter with search #winesnobbery! Remember, in vino veritas! Cheers.

How to drink wine, from Brideshead Revisited, with Sebastian (Anthony Andrews) and Charles (Jeremy Irons). Enjoy!

Cantina Due Palme Brindisi 2009

The Brindisi region of Italy is known for producing wines from the Malvasia (Malmsey) grape, a sweet grape also used in the production of Madeira port.

This is the third of the "bargain bin" wines bought from Wein & Co. (which means I'll have to go back soon! Yes, apparently I have changed my opinion of the place). It is slightly sweeter than what I had expected from an Italian wine, being partial to Chianti. However, once decanted, the taste grows on you. Not as sweet as the Zinfandel I bought on the same trip (I unfortuanltely am going to have to put that one in the "yucky" pile), but still, not a wine to have with dinner. I made the unfortunate mistake of opening mine to sample with the roasted garlic and Brie I made...oops. That should teach me to assume an Italian wine is going to be dry.

Perhaps I'm a hopeless snob, but I did prefer the Brisini to the Zinfandel, although the tastes, textures, colors, etc., were similar. I am not a fan of sweet red wines, unless they are meant to be drunk with dessert. Perhaps this is a good time to bone up on my Italian so I can actually read the wine label and save myself from certain...errors in the future.

All was not lost, however, as this wine is better once decanted (i.e. left to sit out in my kitchen over night...) and tasted much better with a piece of Milka chocolate the next evening after supper!

Ironstone Vineyards Old Vine Zinfandel 2007

This, I believe, is the first California wine I've tried in Europe.

Not that I'm a snob about it or anything. Mostly, it's because (like European wines in America), buying a California wine in Austria just isn't cost effective, when there are cheaper, and equally good, local (or at least non-imported) wines to buy all over the place. But, since it's been a while, and I feel a bit homesick (maybe?) I thought I would get a California wine, seeing as it was also on sale - and looked pretty good, to be honest.

Speaking of honesty, I must admit, I'm not much of an "Old Vine Zin" fan, although I probably should be. Like most Americans, I am more familiar with White Zinfandel (sadly the staple at Christmas and other family gatherings) and I know what I feel about it. No nostalgia, no warm, fuzzy sensations - unless it's been shoved down my gullet and in struggling to get away I unwittingly imbibed too much of it. So, Zinfandels, I've had it out for you since before I could drink. Legally.

I remember my first encounter with Old Vine Zinfandel (red as opposed to rose wine) and it was not unpleasant: getting a bottle of Gnarly Head at some World Market campaign during senior year. Also a California wine, I remember being pleasantly surprised. However, it's been quite a while since then, and perhaps my taste buds have changed.

The second of my Wein & Co. bargain purchases, Ironstone Vineyards Old Vine Zinfandel is dark, flavorful, and very sweet...for a dry wine. It tastes, in fact, a little saccharine. i like strong flavors, nothing artificial, and to me, wine should not be like Coca-Cola but like wine.

The Zinfandel grape, it must be known, has a high sugar content, which is precisely why it makes such a popular wine. In fact, the sugar allows the wine to ferment to very high alcohol percentages, upwards of 16% in certain processes.  However, that aftertaste of sugary-syrupyness is not what I desire in a full-bodied wine. Leave me to my Merlot, and I'm the better for it.

My motto thus far has been: don't get anything in Europe that you can get at home. I think it'll stick, for now.

Did You Know?

Did you know that as of 2010, rosé wine sales outnumber white wine sales in France? Oh là là!


PS - Apparently in China, too. Follow this link for more!

Sturm!

Yes, they have officially started selling Sturm for the season! Sturm, for those unfamiliar with the wine-making process, is wine in its very first fermentation of the year. It's a lot like a mix between a grape cider and a grape beer, with the possibility of as much alcohol content as the wine it will become, but tastes just like juice, so you don't feel like you're drinking wine. Thus the name, "storm," which refers most undoubtedly to the hangover you get the next day...like a hurricane in your head. However, since it is only produced for a few short weeks, typically September through October each year, it is a rarity and an indulgence.

Sturm is almost always a white wine, perhaps because of the climate of Austria and the preference for white wines in this region, it is the most abundant. However, I have also seen red sturm, though I personally prefer white. Red sturm can be awfully heavy, whereas white sturm is lighter and, by contrast, more refreshing. Also, because of the yeast content, sturm has a lot of B vitamins!

Known as must in English, the drink appears in other wine-making cultures. But, I ask you, where else but in Vienna would you find sturm sold in such disparate places as: 1) a traditional Kaffeehaus, 2) a ritzy restaurant in the Museums Quartier, 3) a street festival, and 4) an Aldi (Austrian = Hofer)? If you have an idea, let me know.