Sangiovese. When I listen to that word, I just have to tell a tale. In the final term of my wine steward course at one of our wine dinners i was served, unknown in order to us, a Brunello di Montalcino wines. This is one of Tuscany's great wines that for obvious reasons will never be reviewed within this column. I was seated across from our teacher. When the first falls of this noble fluid reached my mouth I uttered a single term, pronounced more slowly than normal, Sangiovese. Twenty wine college students, and I was the only one who identified the grape. Two extra comments are in order; a) purists will note that the grape is Brunello, a clone of Sangiovese b) I have never been able to repeat this stroke associated with luck. When you want a fine wine in the $40 variety (or way, a lot more) you will probably do very well with Brunello di Montalcino.
The wine reviewed here is made from organic fruit grown without any chemical substances or pesticides. It comes in a recyclable Tetra Pak. I'll be reviewing many organic wines but not here; most organic wines price over $15 a container. Now, just so you realize, while the Sangiovese grape is often associated with Tuscany, this wines comes from Puglia in the southern area of Italy, which partially explains its fairly low price.
OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are ordered at the full list price.
Wine Reviewed Ciao Sangiovese Natural Carton 13.2 % alcoholic beverages about $11
Please note two things. There is no date about the carton. The carton is one liter, in other words it holds a third more than a standard bottle.
Let's start with the marketing materials. Tasting Note: Medium ruby with garnet tinges; aromas of red fruit candy, licorice as well as hints of oak; light, dry along with spices on the complete. Serving Suggestion: Burgers, ribs. And now with regard to my review.
At the first sips this wine was thin and never fruity but surprisingly long. The first partnering was with slow-cooked meat stew and potatoes. Along side it was a non-spicy Moroccan-style (Matbucha) salad composed of tomato, pimento, hot peppers, as well as garlic. The wine perked track of the stew. I tasted black cherries and a touch of tobacco. The actual tannins were moderate. Sangiovese wine beverages often go well with tomato dishes but nothing happened when I tried this wine with the tomato-based greens. When I added a quite spicy jalapeno pepper mix to the stew the wine wasn't overwhelmed, neither was it mind-boggling. The tobacco flavor intensified.
The second partnering involved a meatless lasagna full of sliced olives, peas, onions, cottage type cheese, and tomato sauce, and covered with mozzarella cheese. Once more I got tobacco. There was good balance between the acidity and the tannins however the wine wasn't very flavorful.
The final dinner included slow-cooked chicken thighs in a soy-based sauce, combined with potato patties and a pretty spicy tomato, lime, and garlic salsa, which offered as a palate-cleansing vegetable. The wine was round as well as balanced. It tasted of tobacco. However the salsa was too powerful for the wine.
The first cheese tasting had been with a provolone. This was a reasonably good combo; the wine was refreshing as well as fruity. Then I went to a yellow cheddar. The Sangiovese became darker mouth watering but the combination nevertheless worked fairly nicely.
Final verdict. If you are not looking for an organic wine, or something in order to pair with run of the mill cheeses, this wine has nothing special to recommend it. Nevertheless, if you want to go organic then this is an affordable choice. And as an additional benefit the recyclable box didn't seem to negatively affect the flavor. I would not trust a Brunello di Montalcino to such packaging.
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Levi Reiss written or co-authored ten publications on computers and the Internet, but really favors drink fine German born, Italian, or other wine. He teaches numerous computer classes from an Ontario French-language community college. His global wine website theworldwidewine features a every week review of $10 wines as well as new sections covering and tasting organic and kosher wines. Go to his wine, nutrition, and health web site wineinyourdiet .
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