| | Our Daily Red
I picked up this wine at Trader Joe's (my new favorite place ever!) last week on a whim. I was actually hunting for an Australian red table wine that I had tried at a co-worker's dinner party, but I saw this one sitting quietly in the corner and I decided "what the hell" and I brought it home.
For someone who's a wine novice like myself, a Lambrusco isn't something that you hear about next to the every day chardonnays, cabernet sauvignons and merlots. But in trying this particular one, it's got to be one of the most underrated wines that I've tried.
I convinced WhineNCheese to sit with me and a plate of Piave (a hard aged cheese that has a texture and taste sort of similar to a young Parmigiano Reggiano) (and I'm talking actual Parmigiano, not the canned Kraft stuff that you put on your spaghetti. I love it, but it just doesn't beat the real thing) and two hours of SNL on this little taste test.
Produced in: Northern Italy's region of Emilia-Romagna, with grapes of the same name. Random factoid, Italians love their Lambruscos dry, but much of their exported Lambruscos are semi-sweet to sweet. I wonder why?
Visuals: Once we poured it out, it was a deep garnet color, and you can see it bubble up from the gentle tiny bubbles (in wine terms.. it's called frizzante, which is a light effervescence, not the strong bubbles that you find in a sparkling wine). I'm personally just learning how to appreciate red wines, and realizing that it was of the effervescent persuasion instantly made me feel better. Bubbles make everything better!
On the taste buds: And yes, I fell in love on first sip. I've always had a weak spot for Italian imports, and I was not disappointed. Light, soft and semi-sweet, it reminded me of strawberries and raspberries that round out to a flowery cherry aftertaste.
Food pairings: To be completely honest, it didn't go as well as I had hoped with the Piave, I expected the wine to be more robust than it was. The cheese ended up overpowering the wine a little bit, but thankfully since it's a hard cheese, it wasn't too bad of a combo. It would actually be better paired with a light pasta meal, or as an aperitif, with a milder cheese (but not too creamy or fatty) and cold cuts.
Price: At $5.00 a bottle, it's definitely a great wine for the price. Go get some while you can! Trader Joe's has a rotating selection of wines, so the wine selection could be different each time you shop. And now you see how see why I love Trader Joe's so much. 
-ODR
Whine N Cheese
Sweet Beginner Red Does Not 'Fizz Out' - Under $5
HALF-BUZZED, CA, APRIL 16, 2006 -- I had my doubts about this wine. We learned during the 2-buck chuck (also a Trader Joe's phenomenon) era that price is not necessarily an indication of flavor. But I had my reservations.
Thankfully they were on the whole unfounded.
It's a mild, semi-sweet red. A good beginner red, especially since it's not dry and not heavy and not too complex. Since I agree with my wino partner about most of her review, I'll just tap my fellow novices into some interesting things I've picked up on this vin voyage.
- A "V.F.Q.P.R.D." on the label means that the wine is a frizzante (see above).
- "N.V." means non-vintage. Non-vintage means that 95% or less of the grapes were from the same year. In other words, it means that over 5% of the wine is mixed with a grape from a different harvest year. So you might have a blend that is 70% 2001 and 30% 2002.
The cheese was delicious. Granted it cut through the taste of the wine a little too well, I would still recommend it for a more robust wine. Piave. Remember that name next time you want to make a salad or pasta or are just in town for a good, strong, hard cheese.
This is one of those wines that are just delightful slightly chilled. You know what else would be really fantastic with this wine? Berries. Next time I'm going to have a berry buffet when I drink this wine.
Happy Fooding and Wining!
-WNC
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| | Posted 4/16/2006 4:48 AM - 6 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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