Tasting Session #3

Tasting Session #3

For our recent third tasting session, we made the leap from whites to reds.  The theme for the session was affordable Italian reds.  The two winners of the evening, in my opinion, were:

(1) Folonari Valpolicella Ripasso Classico ($14.95)

            Easily recognizable as a Ripasso: rich, extracted dark fruit flavours (black cherry), with a smooth, silky texture.

(2) Matervitae Negroamaro ($9.85)

            Both the nose and palate were dominated by barnyard characteristics.  A simple, but enjoyable wine.

Negroamaro is a variety that I had not been exposed to before this tasting.  It is found primarily in southern Italy, where it is grown in both the Salento and Puglia regions (it is the dominant grape variety in the latter region). 

Oz Clarke describes it as a “rather odd-tasting grape” with farmyard and medicinal flavours.  It is often blended with Malvasia Nera to produce a higher quality wine.

Negroamaro is certainly a grape variety that I look forward to trying again in the near future.  The LCBO carries approximately twenty Negroamaro wines, all of which are under twenty dollars.