How We’re Celebrating National Wine Day

So it turns out February 18th is National Wine Day. And we missed it. Maybe the invitation got lost in the mail, maybe NWD (may we be so informal as to call it, NWD?), needs a new PR team, or maybe we’re just not paying close enough attention to social media.

No matter, every day around here is national wine day, so much like forgetting a dear friend’s birthday, we kick up our heels with the old gal on the regular so we feel some sort of reprieve and forgiveness in our oversight.

That being said, here’s a few of the bottles we’re enjoying this week, to inadvertently mark this momentous occasion. It seems we’re still feeling the amore of Valentine’s Day.

Fattoria Le Fonti Chianti Classico, Tuscany, Italy 2010
$15.75 Vintages 295162
Currently $4 off in Vintages, this is a juicy, fresh Chianti Classico that verges on the New World in style. Aromas of chocolate, cherry, blackberry, cured meat and spice, it’s medium bodied and bright on the palate with fine, slightly grainy, tannin and mouthwatering acidity. Flavours of black cherry, ink, cassis, spice and chocolate offer easy drinking crowd appeal, that’s great matched to cheese and charcuterie.

The Winery of Good Hope “Vinum Africa” Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2011
$15.95 Vintages 739995
We don’t normally expect Chenin to be oaked, so it was a bit of a surprise, but not an unpleasant one. Fermented in oak – only a quarter of it new, this wine still retains the brightness you would expect from Chenin, with fresh lemon, lime and citrus flavours, mixing with a subtle white flower note and yellow fruit.

Orestiadi Grillo, Sicily, Italy 2011
$13.95 Vintages 348698
Grillo is a white grape native to Sicily, and one of the better ones in Marsala, if you’re interested in trivia. This dry table wine is a terrific value, with a rich, waxy mouthfeel and flavours of clementine orange, white flowers and lemon curd. Straight forward and easy drinking, it’s a great wine to sip on while making dinner or as a starter to the evening.

Sottimano Bric del Salto Dolcetto d’Alba, Piedmont, Italy 2011
$18.95 Vintages 330738
Dolcetto in general has been well documented here as one of our favourite go-to grapes for it’s food friendliness, easy drinking personality, and fresh berry flavours. This is leans more to the serious end, and captures a bit more elegance and complexity. Pouring a deep purple with a nose of dark cherry, brining spice, a slight cured meat aroma and dark, bitter chocolate. The palate is medium bodied and fresh, with an initial sour note – like cranberries or cherries – but with a little decanting opens to dark cherries, black pepper and star anise spice.  Lovely with sausage ragu or wine and garlic marinated flank steak.