Tag Archives: Review
A Wine Lover’s Weekly Review Of $10 Wines – A Sweet Low- Alcohol Italian Wine
Did you ever want to drink a wine with a very low alcohol level? Here’s your chance. Today’s wine is kosher, marketed by the largest kosher wine distributor in the world. It comes from the Asti province of the Piedmont region of northern Italy home to some fabulous wines that, at least usually, aren’t low-alcohol or bargain priced. This wine comes from the Moscato Blanco grape, the most widely planted Muscat in Italy. This is the oldest known grape variety in Piedmont, and perhaps one of the oldest grape varieties in the world. You’ll find this grape in well-known French Muscat de Beaumes de Venise AOC and the quite pricey South African Constantia, both dessert wines.
OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.
Wine Reviewed Bartenura Moscato 2007 5.0 % alcohol about $ 10
Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. Description : Classic Moscato with aromas of peach, table grape and apricot. Medium sweet with a slight effervescence and a low alcohol. There is a pleasant minerality that gives the wine structure. Soft and pleasing. Enjoy with spicy seafood dishes or serve with fruit custard desserts. Tasting Note : Pale straw yellow color; spicy apple, citrus and light pear aromas; sweet apple and pear flavors with balancing acidity, with peach and litchee notes on the finish.
And now for my review. At the first sips the wine was sweet, and I tasted some honey. Its first pairing was with a commercial barbecued chicken and a side of potatoes roasted in chicken fat and a light, tomatoey sauce. The wine’s acidity picked up with the chicken wings and breast, and the potatoes. The stronger tasting chicken leg choked out the wine. When paired with a mixed tomato salad containing basil the Moscato lost acidity but picked up some fruit. It became too sweet.
The next meal involved ground beef in ground semolina jackets and a sour sauce containing Swiss chard. This is a delicious Middle Eastern specialty known as Kube. The wine had honey and refreshing acidity, but this wasn’t a good way to do sweet and sour. The Moscato’s honey taste picked up with fresh strawberries.
My final meal was composed of a Portobello mushroom omelet accompanied by a spicy salsa containing tomato, onion, green pepper, cilantro and other ingredients. The wine struck me as bold and its honey taste was strong. Interestingly enough the salsa intensified the wine’s sweetness.
I finished this bottle with Matjes herring followed by two local cheeses. The results were basically the same, apples, honey, and light acidity. The herring brought out increased apple taste, and the Swiss cheese intensified the honey. An asiago cheese split the middle.
Final verdict. I will not buy this wine because while above price represents the American market, I had to pay considerably more. But at the American price I would definitely buy it, especially for those times that I want a sweet low-alcohol wine that tastes pretty good.
A Wine Lover’s Weekly Review of $10 Wines – A Red Sicilian Blend
Please let me apologize. Usually I place these weekly reviews on my website Sunday night or Monday night. This one went up on Tuesday; last night was President Obama’s first prime time news conference. I’m not going to talk about the press conference here, except to repeat that this wine column is our attempt to deal with the present economic problems. We feel that in these very difficult times it’s important to keep your chin up, and to find a way to enjoy life without spending too much money. What can be better than the right $ 10 bottle of wine? We help you find the right ones.
Italy produces many fine wines. We have reviewed about two dozen fine Italian wines, coming from eighteen and soon nineteen of the twenty regions of Italy. Sicily is the number one Italian wine region both in terms of acreage devoted to the wine grape, a whopping third of a million acres, and total production, over two hundred million gallons. In fact, if Sicily were an independent country it would rank seventh in the world for wine production. Now quantity doesn’t necessarily mean quality. The wine reviewed is a blend of the indigenous Nero d’Avola and the international Cabernet Sauvignon, both red grapes. Nero d’Avola wines usually aren’t very expensive but I was quickly able to locate a $ 80 bottle on the web. Cabernet Sauvignon produces some very expensive wines such as the California Opus One costing hundreds of dollars, depending on the vintage. Enough of that; let’s see if this bottle is a good choice for dealing with these hard times.
OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.
Wine Reviewed
Montalto Nero d’Avola Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007 14% alcohol about $ 8
Let’s start with the marketing materials. Tasting Note: Deep red violet color; dark fruit and spice aromas and flavors; dry, medium to full bodied, long, smooth finish. Serving Suggestion: Roast lamb or beef, meat pastas, and grilled meats. And now for my review.
At first tasting the wine was thin but long with moderate acidity and a touch of oak. The initial meal involved homemade shepherd’s pie. There was dark fruit. The red blend washed the food down pleasantly. It was robust. Simple food, simple wine. Not that there’s anything wrong with it. I added some Turkish Harissa, a hot pepper sauce and the wine followed, picking up some spiciness.
The second meal was a combination of meat balls and recooked steak, slow cooked with potatoes. The Nero d’Avola/Cabernet Sauvignon was now powerful; it definitely packed a punch. I could taste the oak. The length was good.
The final meal was a middle-eastern specialty, kube, also called kibbe, ground meat in jackets made from ground bulgar, in a spicy tomato sauce. It was strange, at the first sip the wine was thin, almost watered. But as I drank more the power built. There was some oak and dark fruit with moderate acidity.
I finished the tasting with two cheeses. The first cheese was a provolone. The wine was balanced with good tannins and moderate acidity. But it was short. A marbled cheddar cheese flattened the wine somewhat. After the cheese the fruit came back.
Final verdict. If you feel like washing down simple meals with a simple wine this is an option. But I think I will keep looking.
Find More Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Articles
Resveratrol Red Wine Review
Resveratrol has been gaining popularity for quite some time now. People clamor for its age-defying effects. Scientists even say that it works in the same way as a caloric restriction diet does. Other than being a great platform for weight loss and fat removal, it is a very effective way to extending lifespan and lessens the chances of age-related diseases. The main difference between the two is the presence of hunger pangs. While people who undergo diet often feel hungry, people who take in Resveratrol feel like they are full all the time. People also like how they can drink red wine mainly to get the benefits of this nutrient. Resveratrol red wine is probably the most available source of this nutrient. Just go to any liquor store and you will be able to access all the Resveratrol that you want.
Resveratrol is a nutritional compound that may be found in a variety of plants and other natural source. It is said to be most abundant in food peanuts and grapes. The most common source of this nutrient is the Resveratrol Red wine. Resveratrol is produced in the skin of the grapes used in making the wine. That’s why white wine does not have any Resveratrol component. The skin is removed when wine makers make white wine; thus, the Resveratrol is taken out too. Red wine is also highly recommended for patients with heart problems, because it is proven to have different cleansing benefits.
Different theories have been developed to gauge how much of this nutrient may be found in Resveratrol red wine. Other studies have been done to measure the effects of Resveratrol, in general. Countless tests have shown that ingesting the nutrient from natural sources, such as wine, does indeed have age-defying benefits. It slows the aging of the cells themselves; thus, being more effective. The responses are found to be produced after the molecules are subjected to stress. Through this, it may be reasoned that Resveratrol combats stress-related diseases as well.
Scientists have been looking into how Resveratrol red wine may be used to control the growing obesity rate in the US. Red wine is rumored to be the main reason why the French stay slim despite their love for food. Why not look into it and find out if it’s true? Positive findings have the power to alter the platform for weight loss. Studies are currently under way, with the whole of the health and fitness field holding their breath.