My friend Cori came over the other night. Our plan was to have some dinner and watch some tv and, wonderful friend that she is, she supplied a bottle of red wine that she’d brought back from a trip to Italy last fall.
She and her husband had been traipsing the Italian countryside and found a resort in Tuscany to stay at for a couple nights. Since it was November the resort was mostly deserted (turns out people don’t usually stay in Tuscany in the rainy autumn), which worked out for the best because Cori and husband were treated to a lovely time by the Italian couple who run the place. Neither owner spoke English so things like ordering dinner and general conversation proved challenging. But! One thing they did manage to work out is the buying and consumption of good, cheap red wine and made on the premises. At four euros a bottle, who could resist?
And so Cori brought a bottle home. And shared it with me. And it was awesome.
The front label. So fancy, so Italian!
Back label, complete with impeccable English description. Intriguing considering the couple who made the wine didn’t speak a lick of English.
The wine was a blend of Sangiovese, Colorino, and Malvasia and produced in the Chianti region. To my knowledge I’ve only ever had Sangiovese, so this wine was an exciting introduction to some new varietals.
Cori had some trepidation about drinking this wine again, which I completely understood – the last time she had this wine was so special and different from her normal life. I’m a big believer in how the circumstances of enjoying a bottle affect your impression of it. Whether the wine is new to you or not, what you ate (or didn’t) as you drank it, whether you had a good or bad day, who you drank the wine with – all these things can change what you think of a wine.
Yep, looks like red wine…
Luckily for us, this bottle delivered. It was an interesting new experience with Chiantis – I found it fairly light in terms of body, and had a great soft flavour.. It was so soft and mellow, with some vanilla and something giving it some fruitiness, though I couldn’t tell which fruit (more homework is obviously needed where chantis are concerned!). It’s interesting to note that the flavours and texture I got from the wine aren’t typical Chianti flavours. I wonder if that’s because there was some Malvasia in there mixing around with the more common Chianti varietals of Sangiovese and Colorino.
Despite the slight deviation in flavour, I really loved this little bottle and am now indebted to Cori for sharing such a great experience with me. Knowing the story behind the wine made it special, as did knowing Cori wanted to share it with me because she knew I’d appreciate it.
Wine + friends = <3
Thanks Cori! Next time I’ll have to share a wine that has special meaning for me.
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