Red, Red Wine....

Nineteen years ago this coming Monday, Brenda and I met face-to-face for the first time at Vineyards Wine Bar in Ottawa's Byward Market. One of the things that brought us together is our love of wine, and we sampled many different varieties that magical evening, as I fell head over heels for the beautiful woman who would become my wife.

Italy, as a country, produces more different varietals of wine grapes (Vitis Vinifera) than anywhere else in the world. In fact, when I was studying to become a sommelier, the course on Italy had to be spread over two semesters, and even then, we scratched only the surface.

While we were shopping the other day, we came across a pamphlet advertising a wine tasting at Eataly at a cost of €25 per person. We tried to reserve a spot at the cash, but no one on staff at the time knew how to make the transaction, and we were told to return later in the day to purchase our tickets. Later on, after some reflection, Brenda asked, "Do you know how much wine we could buy for €50 here?" Because wine is so relatively inexpensive in Italy, we decided to do our own comparative tasting of five different varietals that are less familiar to us Canadians than the typical Chianti, Valpolicella, Prosecco, and the like.

We went off to Pam, one of the local supermarkets, and were astounded to find wines available for as little €1.55 (about $2.60 CAD). We had set ourselves a budget of €30.00 for five bottles of wine, and came away with a Morellino di Scansano from Tuscany, a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, a Nebbiolo from Langhe, a Cannonau di Sardegna, and a Barbera Appasamiento from Piemonte.

We also picked up a bag of chips, half a dark sourdough loaf, a jar of Bella di Cerignola olives, and three cheeses: Parmigiano Reggiano, Asiago and Peccorino, to see which wines worked with each cheese.

The surprising best match of all was the Parmigiano with the Barbera. In second place, the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo with the Asiago worked very well. The only wine that matched with the Peccorino was the Cannonau, which, on its own, was a little unpleasant.

All the other pairings were simply "meh".

Judging only the wines, I had high hopes for the Nebbiolo, but it was a bit of a letdown. The Cannonau was a complete unknown prior to tonight, and it was not a favourite after the tasting. The least expensive wine of the five, the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, was the most pleasant and drinkable on its own and was wonderful paired with the Asiago. The Morellino di Scansano, a previous favourite of ours, was a big disappointment. This bottle was from a producer we had not tried, and it did not live up to our expectations. The Barbera was a very pleasant surprise. Typically, any wine available in Canada that has gone through appassimento (Ripasso or Amarone) is produced in the Veneto region using Sangiovese grapes, and, to find a Barbera from Piemonte that has spent time on dried grape must, was a revelation, and the only perfect match of the night was with the Parmigiano.

Just to be clear, we only had small samples of each of the wines on Friday night, and I re-corked the bottles at the end of our experiment. Several of the bottles improved greatly over the last thirty-six hours, and, as I write this, two days later, there is still wine left in four of the five bottles. Whatever is left at the end of the day tomorrow, I will very sadly, and reluctantly, pour down the drain before we leave Tuesday morning.

And so, a love affair that started nineteen years ago over several glasses of wine continues to this day, over several glasses of wine. Czytaj więcej