Lacrima dates back to ancient times and is not considered a true grape varietal because it generally includes the addition of either Montepulciano and/or Verdicchio grapes in its production.  This wine is mainly produced in the village of Morro d’Alba in Ancona Province, Marche.  The profile on this Italian wine is that it is a medium body wine with moderate acidity and mild tannins, and it possesses big floral and red-fruit aromas, while displaying earthy and herbal characteristics.  The flavors can also be somewhat sweet for a red wine.

About a week ago, I was looking for a red wine under $20 to go with our traditional Friday dinner of spaghetti and meatballs.  While I was talking it up with a buddy of mine, he suggested that I give the 2008 Velenosi Lacrima di Morro d’Alba a try.

Not being familiar with this particular style of Italian wine, I was expecting it to display a dried cherry/fruit characteristic, accompanied by a mild astringent finish that would tell my taste buds, “Hey buddy, you’re drinking an Italian red!”  What I didn’t expect to happen was to taste an Italian red wine that would break all of the “rules” of how I thought an Italian red wine was supposed to taste.

The 2008 Velenosi Lacrima di Morro d’Alba is a complete detour from your typical Italian red wine.  To start, when I smelled it, flowers was the first thing that came to mind – lavender, maybe?  As far as taste goes – it totally bails on the commonly used dried cherry/fruit component, and there is absolutely no hint of the familiar astringent aftertaste.  Instead, the folks at Velenosi opt for a massive blast of vibrant sweet berry flavors (an explosion of blueberries and boysenberries), then they lay the smack down on you with a velvety smooth, long finish that seems well… downright “Un-Italian”. 

I must say that it doesn’t quite jive with spaghetti and meatballs the way a traditional Italian red would, but don’t let this discourage you in the least from trying this fabulous, well-crafted wine.  It totally rocks on its own and seems to be an ideal match for rack of lamb, roasted chicken, duck, or any other gamey stuff.  A big high five to Frank for sharing this magnificent discovery with me!

 4 Stars out of 4.  The 2008 Velenosi Lacrima di Morro d’Alba is a big, juicy, and unique Italian red wine!

($19.99)

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As we watched “The Hurt Locker” put a hurtin’ on fellow nominees, we were putting a hurtin’ on a couple great bottles of wine!

The first of the evening was the 2009 Finca La Linda Torrontes bottled by Luigi Bosca.  This wine was produced in Argentina and consists of 100% Torrontes grape.  Torrontes is the wonderful and distinctively aromatic signature white grape of Argentina.  If you’ve never tried a Torrontes before, this one will certainly make a great first impression on you!  There’s a lot of interesting layers of flavors swirling around in this wine.  It’s a bombshell of racy, crisp acidity, packed full of tropical flavors, that reminded me of a Pina Colada.  The 2009 Finca La Linda Torrontes was a big winner and left us wanting more.  Costing less than $10, it secures a lofty 4 star WineLife365 taste rating and also earned itself many repeat visits as the weather in our neck of the woods continues to warm up.

Next up was the 2006 La Corte Solyss Negroamaro.  This red wine is from the South of Italy in the Puglia (Apulia) region.  Negroamaro, also known as Negro amaro, is one of the most widely planted native red grapes grown in the Southern regions of Italy.  It’s grown almost exclusively in Puglia (Apulia) and also in Salento, which is located at the “heel” of Italy.  The Negroamaro grape and the winemakers in this region tend to allow these wines to express rustic, earthy, and natural tasting characteristics.  This particular Old World red showcases some really interesting mineral, herbaceous and cherry twists that will undoubtedly make you question whether you’re a fan of it or not.  We were fans of 2006 La Corte Solyss Negroamaro and give it 3 stars out of 4 on our taste scale.  One final note on this wine – I paid $12 for it at a local retailer, but I’ve seen it as high as $25 online.  I’m not sure whether or not I’d be willing to fork over 25 bones for it, but if you can find it for less than $20, it’s certainly worth a shot!

With the 2010 Oscars behind us, I can’t say that there were many moments that will replay in my mind for any length of time.  However, I did find some winners that will have repeat performances in my glass.

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From: Argentina

Price: $8.99

ATTENTION ALL CALIFORINIA CHARDONNAY DRINKERS:  Please place your glass of wine down on the table and step away.

I want to share with you yet another outstanding value white wine from Argentina that you’re probably not paying attention to because it comes from a lesser known place in Argentina called the Calchaqui Valley.  It also contains that unfamiliar native Argentinean white grape known as Torrontes.  However, this Torrontes has a splash of that old familiar favorite in it – Chardonnay! The 2007 Inca white blend consists of 80% Torrontes and 20% Chardonnay.  The splash of Chardonnay is terrific.  It really gives this wine some serious backbone that allows it to hold up to just about any food that you throw at it.  We started drinking this white blend just before dinner.  Our dinner was some Tex-Mex chicken and steak fajitas.  We liked this wine so much that we continued to drink it with dinner, and it held up really well.

The 2007 Inca Torrontes / Chardonnay has an awesome crisp apricot and citrus (think grapefruit) flavor that is light on the “tree bark” (oak in wine geek terms).  This wine is very enjoyable and skillfully blended to near perfection.  And I almost forgot the best part – it can be purchased for less than $10…cha-ching!

This wine is an outstanding value and the Torrontes grape is quickly becoming one of my favorite white wine grapes. 

WineLife365 Rating: 4-Star

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From: California

Price Paid: $26.99

We were seeing an old friend and meeting a new friend for the first time.  My wife recently shared with our newlywed guests that we started the Winelife365.com blog.  So I really wanted to impress them with a wine that would blow their minds and make it appear like I know a little something about the topics I’ve been discussing in this forum.

I knew ahead of time that we were going to order Italian take-out from a great local place, so I didn’t have to give it much thought to know exactly what red wine I wanted to share with our guests.  Last year, I tasted the 2005 Earthquake Zin at the Nantucket Wine Festival and remembered how awesome it was. Unfortunately, my local wine merchant was all out of the 2005 vintage so I took a chance on the 2006 Earthquake hoping that it would be just as powerful as the 2005 version that I remembered.

The look on everyone’s faces at the dinner table said it all.  The 2006 Earthquake Zinfandel rocked!  All four of us were floored by this delicious and powerful California Zin.  Prior to tasting this particular red Zinfandel, my wife and our guests said that they had never been huge fans of California red Zins, but this one blew their socks off.  You know when people look at a wine bottle’s label more than ten times while drinking it that they don’t want to forget what’s knocking them over the head.

I’ll give the 2006 Earthquake Zinfandel 4 Stars based on our facial expressions alone.  The four of us really enjoyed this wine a lot.  I highly recommend the 2006 Earthquake Zinfandel – especially if you’ve never tasted a California red Zin that has rocked your world! 

WineLife365 Rating: 4-Star

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I’ve said in past posts that the “wine life” is about enjoying the small things in life, everyday.  Each day brings us all some ups and downs, but spending time with the special people around you is what really matters.  What better way to share this time together than over some good food and wine?

We recently had a wonderful Wednesday evening with our friend Val.  Val has shared with us some awesome juice from her travels, and loves red wines that just flat out kick her ass.  So when she stepped through our front door with this California Cab, I had a gut feeling that this wine was going to be some killer stuff. 

The 2004 Heitz Cabernet Sauvignon’s label really grabs your attention with its beautiful Arts & Crafts, California Mission style artwork on the label.  What comes next is the sheer explosiveness of this 100% Napa Valley Cab.  So far in 2009, I’ve been rather critical of a lot of California red wines.  They’ve tasted odd, manufactured, and flat out mediocre to me.  However, the 2004 Heitz Cab however is a monster of a red wine!

Here was my account of this wine:  It’s like a tightly compressed spring busting loose and smacks your taste buds with an intense powerful blow of chocolate, raspberry, dark cherry, and spices.  It’s definitely been a while since the last time I’ve tasted a red wine as good as this one.  The 2004 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon is by a long shot the best red wine that I’ve had an opportunity to try so far this year.  There is one minor problem:  A slice of heaven like this one comes at a price.  This wine runs nearly 40 bills.  But if you’re looking for a special red wine to share with a good friend or family, this one is truly a wine that people will not soon forget.

I give it 4 Stars.  I don’t know if it gets much better than this.  Thanks for sharing, Val!

WineLife365 Rating: 4-Star

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