18 Dec Doctor Somm January Selections
Posted at 13:38h
in Doctor Sommelier
The great thing about wine is that every time you think you’ve got it all figured out you have some amazing new experience at dinner with friends where a wine completely blows your mind and magically, you have a new favorite that you have to tell everyone about. That happened to me the other night while having dinner with friends and family at a local Italian restaurant.
I’ve grown to love American wines as I’m sure you all have. I’ve also grown to love French wines, Italian wines, and Spanish wines. But truthfully, until very recently, I didn’t know a lot about wines from the island of Sicily. If you’re someone who likes Pinot Noir wines from Oregon or from France then I’ve got two amazing wines that you have to try! Rosa Etna, and Nero D’Alba.
Think of a Pinot noir with all the amazing cherry, cranberry, strawberry, and raspberry flavors and then add leather, smoke, bacon fat, and saltiness that’s absolutely perfect with an amazing Italian meal. It all comes from an obscure grape called Nerello Mascalese. Most of the vines grow close to Mount Enta, so they give off a distinct smoky volcanic aroma. It’s a very affordable must try. Please see photos below for some examples.
The other one that you have to try is called Nero D’Alba. It tends to be softer than Rosa Etna and more on the ‘pinot noir-like’ spectrum but not without the additional complexity of leather, pink peppercorn, and cocoa. This is a wine made from grapes of the same name. Please see examples pictured below.
Both wines can be found at local Phoenix wine stores like Total Wine or BevMo, and both have amazingly affordable, delicious must-tries in the $20 range.
Don’t be boring. Drink the good stuff. Life is too short!